DurdenBTC · Quant Macro · Survival Is Alpha

Systematic risk management for stocks and crypto.

Live macro regime signals. Systematic Bitcoin positioning. Seven independent forward tests. One philosophy — survive first, compound second.

Editor's note: Macro Regime Engine for the S&P 500. Arsenal BTC for Bitcoin. No discretion, no hope trades — just measurement and math, refreshed nightly.

Join on Substack — free, immediate updates to your inbox. Paid subscribers get the full dashboard and live signals for $7/mo.

The Systems

Two Systems, One Philosophy

S&P 500
Macro Regime Engine (MRE) v06
MRE v06 — 26-voter macro regime engine on SPY with regime shading and risk-on/off markers
26 macro voters across growth, inflation, duration, and FX.. condensed into four regimes (Goldilocks, Reflation, Inflation, Deflation) and one binary signal: risk-on or risk-off SPY. 23 years of backtests, seven independent forward tests, zero failures.
+10.86% CAGR 1.01 Sharpe −14.35% Max DD 7/7 forward tests
Full breakdown →
Bitcoin
Arsenal Bitcoin Trend System
Arsenal BTC — VAMS trend + three-layer volatility regime on Bitcoin with three-state positioning
Multi-layer architecture: a trend filter (SMA crossover) plus a three-layer volatility regime filters (calm-bull, calm-bear, crisis). Three-state positioning.. 100% long on +2 (BULLISH), 50% on 0 (NEUTRAL), 0% on −2 (BEARISH). Capture most of Bitcoin’s upside while cutting drawdown by more than half.
+88.10% CAGR 2.33 Sharpe −34.46% Max DD 10.6 yrs
Full breakdown →

Arsenal is a family. BTC, ETH, Gold, SPY, QQQ and nine US sector ETFs engines are live in the members dashboard. Live updates to the signals daily.

Explore Free

Charts, Research & Macro Data

Live Bitcoin models, macro economic charts, and weekly research.. all free, no login required. Start with the Bitcoin Harmonic Oscillator for a one-glance read on where we are in the cycle, check where price sits versus its 200-day moving average, or see how Bitcoin tracks the ISM manufacturing cycle.

What You Get

Live Data. Real Edge.

Paid subscribers get a live members dashboard with the MRE v06 engine, the Arsenal family of trend signals, and US sector reads.. refreshed daily before markets open. Screenshot below the cards.

Macro Regime Engine v06

Live regime classification (Goldilocks / Reflation / Inflation / Deflation), 26-voter breakdown, and current SPY position size. The full backtest history and seven forward tests are one click away.

Live

Arsenal Engines

Standalone trend signals for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold, SPY and QQQ.. each with a three-state position read (100% / 50% / 0%), diagnostic chart, and full backtest scorecard.

Live

US Factor Bets — Sector Heatmap

A 3×3 grid covering all nine US sector ETFs (XLB, XLE, XLF, XLI, XLK, XLP, XLU, XLV, XLY). Each tile shows the engine’s current read; click a tile for the diagnostic chart.

Live

Macro Weather

SAAR momentum across Growth, Inflation, and Monetary Policy. Gives you a deeper understanding of what headwins & tailwinds are driving the current macro environment.

Live

Global Liquidity

Global M2 money supply vs Bitcoin with rate-of-change analysis across 21 economies in real time.

Live

Financial Stress

SOFR-EFFR, VIX, bond stress (MOVE proxy), and DXY strength. The four stress gauges that matter for sizing risk under the MRE.

Live
Sneak Peek

Members Only Access Preview

A sneak peak into the members only area where you have access to everything listed above.

DurdenBTC members-only dashboard preview — MRE v06, Arsenal signals, sector heatmap, liquidity, stress
All the data, charts, signals, backtests & more.. at your fingertips.
How It Works

Three Steps

01

Subscribe Free

Join on Substack. Get signal updates, strategy deep-dives, and macro regime commentary delivered to your inbox.

02

Upgrade for $7/mo

Unlock the live members dashboard: MRE v06 regime engine, Arsenal trend signals (BTC, ETH, Gold, SPY, QQQ), US sector heatmap, macro weather, liquidity, and stress gauges.

03

Execute

Use the regime signals and live data to size your risk. Full position when conditions are green, scale down when they're not.

Pricing

Free vs Paid

Everything runs through Substack. Free gets you in the door. Paid unlocks the full dashboard for the price of a coffee.

Free

$0/month
  • Strategy breakdowns & deep dives
  • Macro regime commentary
  • Members dashboard access
  • Live positioning & macro weather
  • Financial stress & liquidity charts
  • Arsenal engines & US sector heatmap
Subscribe Free
Pillar Guides

Go Deeper

If you want to understand how the systems actually work — and the macro frameworks they sit inside — these long-form guides cover the full thesis. Each one stands alone; together they're the curriculum.

Start with a free subscription

Upgrade to paid anytime for $7/month to unlock the full dashboard.

Read the full thesis: Survival Is Alpha →