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How to Pause or Stop Copy Trading
Find this control on your first day, not on your worst one. Anyone who teaches you how to deposit but not how to exit has taught you half of what you need, and it is the less important half.
Where the control is
Open the copy trading area, select the active strategy, and look for the stop or unfollow control on the strategy's own panel rather than in your general account settings.
What happens to your positions when you stop
When you stop copying SONIC, all open positions close automatically and immediately. You can withdraw your money right away. There is no waiting period.
Because SONIC trades only once per day and each trade lasts 1–2 minutes, you will almost never see an open position to close. Most of the time the trade is already done before you check your account.
If you pause copying (stop new trades but leave existing ones open), there are no existing trades to manage — the account resets to whatever profit or loss the closed trade left behind.
Want this checked against a specific broker before you deposit? That is what the companion site does, line by line.
See a worked exampleWhat happens to open positions
Two possibilities, with very different consequences:
- Positions close at market. Any floating loss becomes a real one immediately. Nothing further can move against you.
- Positions stay open, now unmanaged. This is the dangerous one. The strategy's own exit logic no longer applies, and those trades are now yours to close. Positions left this way by someone who then stopped watching are a common way to turn a moderate loss into a large one.
When stopping is the right call — and when it is not
Good reasons: the strategy has breached the drawdown level you set in advance; its behaviour has changed in a way you cannot explain; your circumstances have changed and you need the money; or you have realised you did not understand what you signed up for.
Bad reason: a normal drawdown that is well within the strategy's published historical range. Stopping there locks in the loss and removes you before the recovery that the record says usually follows. This is the single most common way copy traders lose money on a strategy that was working.
The way to tell the difference is to have written down your exit level before you started. That note, made calmly, is worth more than any judgement you make while watching red numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Does stopping copy trading close my open trades?
It depends on the platform. Some close everything at market, some leave positions open for you to manage. Find out which yours does before you rely on it.
Can I restart copying after stopping?
Generally yes, by setting it up again. You will not resume mid-position — you start fresh from whatever the strategy does next.
Is there a fee to stop?
Stopping itself is normally free. Any performance fee already earned on realised profit still applies, and closing positions incurs the usual spread.
Stuck on this step?
Send a screenshot of where you are. You will get told which button to press, not a sales pitch.
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Educational information only — not financial, legal or tax advice, and not an offer to trade. Opening an account through links on this site may earn the author a referral commission. Trading leveraged forex and CFDs carries a high risk of loss; the majority of retail investor accounts lose money. Rules differ by country and change over time: verify your own jurisdiction with your national regulator before trading.