The answer is clear: focus on max drawdown — it's much more important than win rate. In OKX's official "Composite Ranking" for traders, cumulative return and win rate together account for nearly half of the weight, while historical maximum drawdown and weekly maximum drawdown each get only 10%. You must understand that this ranking is an algorithm designed to showcase "popular" traders, not to help you make risk-control decisions.
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High win rates can easily fool you, but max drawdown does not lie.
Step 1: Understand the "deceptiveness" of win rate
Win rate = number of winning trades / total number of trades. The trap: a trade that makes 1 USDT counts as one win; a trade that loses 1,000 USDT also counts as just one loss.
Why this often leads to failure: You see a trader with an 80% win rate and think it's very stable. But maybe their risk-reward ratio is 1:5 — win 8 times, each time 10 USDT, and lose 2 times, each time 200 USDT. Net profit is still negative, but the win rate number looks great.
Risk reminder: On OKX's copy trading page, you can filter traders by "Composite Ranking" or "Win Rate", but OKX itself clearly states that win rate is only the "number of winning orders / total number of orders", completely ignoring how much is earned or lost per trade. If you follow a trader based only on win rate, you might end up copying a "small wins, big losses" strategy and eventually have a negative P&L.
Step 2: Understand the real meaning of maximum drawdown
Maximum drawdown = (highest point of account equity – lowest point) / highest point × 100%. It tells you directly: the largest loss you might have to endure if you follow this trader.
In OKX's official composite ranking for traders, historical max drawdown and weekly max drawdown each get a 10% weighting. It may not be the most heavily weighted indicator, but its very presence shows that OKX also considers it a key way to assess a trader's risk management ability.
How to use this in practice:
Open the OKX App, go to [Trade] → [Copy Trading].
Tap any trader's avatar to enter their profile page.
Find the "Max Drawdown" field (usually in the risk dashboard or performance area).
If the max drawdown exceeds 20%–30%, it's best to skip unless you can accept that level of drawdown and fully understand the trader's strategy.
A real pain point: A trader's account drops from 10,000 USDT to 6,000 USDT — a 40% drawdown — then rises to 15,000 USDT for an eventual profit of 50%. But if you panic and cut your position when it hits 6,000 USDT, the 3x gain that follows means nothing to you. Max drawdown is not just a number on the screen; it's the psychological stress you may actually endure.
Step 3: The right filtering order — check drawdown first, then returns
Don't get misled by the platform's default "Composite Ranking". Use this order when filtering:
Set a drawdown red line first: For example, "max drawdown no more than 15%". Eliminate those who fail the risk-control check right away.
Look at the Sharpe ratio next: On the trader's profile you can check the Sharpe ratio (if the platform provides it). It measures "how much return you get for each unit of risk you take" — the higher the number, the better.
Finally, check the return and win rate: Only after the drawdown and risk are under control do you compare the level of returns.
Completion standard: The trader you select should have a max drawdown within your tolerance and their returns should not come from a "small wins, big losses" approach.
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Verification after selecting a trader
Once you pick a trader, visit their profile and confirm three things:
What is the max drawdown over the last 30 days?
Are the returns over the last 7 days and 30 days stable? (If short-term returns are much higher than long-term ones, it might just be luck.)
Is the total P&L of followers positive or negative? If the trader makes a lot personally but their followers overall are losing money, it means the strategy is not friendly for copy traders.
Next recommended action: Before copying with real money, use "demo copy trading" to observe the trader for 1–2 weeks. Confirm their trading style matches your risk tolerance, then put in real funds. OKX also allows you to set a copy-trading stop loss — your copy relationship automatically ends when the maximum loss amount is reached. That is your last line of defense.
