Time stop
Why do some traders close a position simply because time passed and the expected move never came?
In plain words
A time stop is a rule that closes a position after a set period, rather than after a price level is reached. It is used when the trade's idea depends on a move arriving inside a particular window.
Why it matters
Some theses are about timing as much as direction. If the expected move does not appear by the deadline, the reason for holding may be gone even though the price never touched a loss limit, and the capital stays tied up in a story that is no longer being tested.
In a real week: BTC, week of 15 September 2025
In the week of 2025-09-15, BTC opened at 115268.01 and closed at 115232.29, a -0.03% return: a full week that went nowhere. Its range was 3.07%, with a high of 117900.0 on Thursday 2025-09-18 at 18:00 UTC and a low of 114384.0 on Monday 2025-09-15 at 13:00 UTC, while realised volatility ran at 19.2% annualised. Volume was 0.7 times the prior 12-week average, and the return ranked in the 46.0 percentile against 396 weeks of history. A time stop set at the week's end would have closed a position at 115232.29, roughly flat against the 115268.01 open.
A common mistake
Treating a time stop as proof the idea was wrong. It only says the move did not arrive inside the chosen window; it says nothing about whether the move comes later, and it is unrelated to a price stop.