Trading cryptoassets and other financial instruments involves significant risk, and automated trading does not change that. Read this page in full before you deposit, because it describes what can go wrong and what you can do about it.
1. Introduction and general warning
This page sets out the main risks of using an automated trading platform for digital assets and shares. It is not a complete list, and it does not replace personal advice. Trading products are complex, and a platform that makes decisions for you still exposes your money to the market. Read each section below, keep a copy for your records and ask your account manager about anything that is unclear.
Nothing on this site is personal financial advice. We do not know your full situation, and you remain responsible for deciding whether and how much to invest.
The risks are grouped into eight areas. For each one we say what the risk is, how it can show up, and what you can do about it.
General warning. You may lose all of the money you invest. Past performance, including anything described on this site, does not guarantee future results. No feature of Dromela, including automatic pauses or limits, removes the risk of loss. If you are not sure whether trading is right for you, seek independent financial advice.
2. Market risk
Prices of digital assets and shares can move sharply and quickly. A position can lose value in minutes, and several assets often fall together. You can lose some or all of the capital you commit.
In practice: a strategy that is profitable over a month can still show a large drawdown on a given afternoon. Seeing a red number on your dashboard is a normal part of this market, and the question is whether the size of the swing is one you decided in advance to accept.
What helps: Only commit money you could lose without changing your lifestyle, and set a loss limit you can live with.
3. Liquidity risk
In fast markets there may not be a buyer or seller at the price you expect. Orders can fill at a worse price than shown, which is called slippage, or may not fill at all.
In practice: smaller assets can have thin order books, so a market order of even moderate size can push the price against you. During news events spreads widen, which raises the cost of getting in and out. Automated execution reduces delay but cannot create liquidity that is not there.
What helps: Prefer widely traded assets and expect that exit prices may differ from quoted ones during stress.
4. API and integration risk
Connecting an exchange by API depends on keys, permissions and settings being right. A wrong setting can block trading, and a leaked key can let someone else act on your exchange account.
In practice: exchanges change their API rules, rate limits and permissions from time to time. If an exchange rejects a request or changes how a key works, a strategy may stop trading or fail to close a position until the setting is corrected. Our team can help you re-check keys during onboarding.
What helps: Enable read and trade permissions only, restrict keys by IP where possible and revoke keys you no longer use.
5. Counterparty and custody risk
Funds you hold at an exchange or payment provider are exposed to that provider. Outages, insolvency, hacks or freezes at a third party are outside our control.
In practice: crypto-asset exchanges are not all regulated in the same way, and the protections that apply to bank deposits do not automatically apply to digital assets held at an exchange. Check where your assets are held and what protections, if any, apply there.
What helps: Spread assets across providers you have researched and withdraw amounts you do not need on the exchange.
6. Operational risk
Software errors, infrastructure failures, data feed problems and connection drops can delay or distort the execution of strategies, on our side or on the side of third parties.
In practice: a delayed price feed or a dropped connection at the wrong moment may mean an order is sent late or not at all. We monitor our systems and have redundancy, but no system is free of faults, and some of the links in the chain belong to other companies.
What helps: Check your dashboard regularly and know how to pause your strategies at once.
7. Cyber security and phishing
Criminals impersonate platforms to steal passwords and codes. A single successful phishing message can give someone access to your account and exchange connections.
In practice: attackers often write that your account is at risk and ask you to act fast. A genuine message from us will never ask for a password or code. If something feels rushed, close it, open our site by typing the address yourself and look at the notices in your dashboard.
What helps: Use two-factor sign-in, check the domain every time and never share codes with anyone.
8. Models and automation
Algorithms learn from past data, and the future is not obliged to look like the past. An automated strategy can behave poorly in conditions it has not seen, and no model is certain.
In practice: a model trained on a calm period may misjudge a sudden regime change, and strategies that look similar can fail together. Features like automatic pauses during extreme volatility aim to limit exposure, but they do not rule out losses and may trigger after a price move has already happened.
What helps: Treat results as probabilities, review reports and adjust limits when conditions change.
9. Service availability
Maintenance windows, outages and temporary unavailability can happen. During such periods you may not be able to access the platform or change settings.
In practice: if the platform is unavailable you may be unable to change a strategy until service returns, even though the market keeps moving. Make sure you can sign in to your exchange directly, so that you can manage your positions there if you need to.
What helps: Do not rely on a single channel: know your exchange login and keep your manager's contact details.
10. Before you start
Take a little time to prepare. These four steps matter more than any setting inside the platform.
Understand the strategy
Ask your account manager how it works, what it trades and when it stops.
Set a loss limit
Decide in advance how much you can lose and configure limits to match.
Protect the account
Turn on two-factor sign-in and use a unique password.
Keep watching
Review reports, adjust strategies and pause if you are uncomfortable.
Read next
Risk is not only about the platform. Your personal situation matters too: your income, your other savings, your obligations and how you would feel if your balance halved. Money you may need within a year, such as a house deposit or an emergency fund, does not belong in a volatile market, whatever tool you use to trade it.
The crypto basics page explains volatility and risk management in plain English, and the fees page lists every cost so that you can include it in your calculation.
Questions about risk are always welcome on the call with your account manager.