MASTR research
Copy trading: the leader's profit is not your result
MASTR's watchlist separates provider snapshots, historical performance and unverified social claims.
Research articles and reference entries are published in English. Navigation is available in seven languages.
In this article
Three datasets, three meanings
The research workbook deliberately keeps current provider snapshots, historical observations and social claims in separate sheets. A seven-day PnL number cannot be compared directly with a lifetime number. Realised profit, paper gains and a screenshot of current holdings also answer different questions.
Providers may count token universes, transfers, fees and failed transactions differently. A mismatch is a reason to inspect the definitions before drawing a conclusion about a trader. In the workbook, a claim marked unverified means it was not reproduced during that research pass. It does not mean the claim was disproved.
The execution problem
A follower's purchase normally lands after the leader's. In a thin pool, the leader's order and the earlier followers may already have changed the price. When the leader sells, a later follower can receive a worse exit as well. Copying the same token and nominal position size does not reproduce the same trade.
Imagine a leader buying at an average price of 1.00 and selling at 1.20. A follower enters at 1.12 and exits at 1.08 after delays and price impact. The leader reports a gain while the follower loses money, even before fees. No private arrangement is necessary for that outcome. These numbers are an illustration, not results from a named wallet.
What the score measures
The workbook's score uses trade frequency, token breadth, execution-style flags, copy integrations and disagreement between sources. It is a copy-execution risk indicator. It is not a fraud score, a certification of skill or a recommendation to follow a wallet.
Rows without enough recent execution data remain unscored. That is preferable to inventing a comparable number for every account. The methodology sheet also explains why a fast trader must not be labelled an intentional extractor solely because copying them performs poorly.
A useful comparison
Evaluate a strategy using your own achieved entry and exit prices, fees, delay, position size and failed orders. Include every trade in the period, including abandoned tokens. Inspect whether assets arrived as transfers rather than purchases. The accompanying workbook preserves the original sources and date; none of its balances or rankings should be read as live. Continue with PnL screenshots, survivorship bias and slippage and execution.
Sources
Research checked 5 September 2026. Historical cases retain the date and legal status of the cited record.