first buys only, and why the first entry is the one to copy
a trader's first buy and their fifth buy of the same token look identical in a notification. they are not the same trade, and the difference is mostly about where the price already is.
first buys only is a copy setting that mirrors a fomo trader's very first purchase of a token and skips their adds and re-entries. the case for it is timing: we timed 29 first buys from a large fomo wallet, median +39% one minute after the leader's fill, +43% at fifteen minutes, most given back by sixty.
every later buy of the same token happens somewhere on that curve, usually after the part you wanted. that is the whole argument, and it is also where its limits come from.
| kind of buy | what it is | what followers read | copied with first buys only? |
|---|---|---|---|
| first buy | the trader's first ever entry into that token | news: a token they may never have seen | yes |
| add | more of a token they already hold | maintenance | no |
| re-entry | buying back a token they held and sold before | a second chance, often after a round trip | no |
| sell of a token you hold | a full or partial exit | the part people miss | always copied |
why the first buy is the one that matters
a notification about a first buy reads as a discovery. followers open the token, some buy within minutes, and that buying is the move. our first-buy study is the evidence: the median move was mostly in by the first minute, peaked around fifteen, and had given much of itself back inside the hour.
an add is different. the trader already holds the token, the crowd already knows about it, and the price already reflects some of that. copying an add means buying a coin that has often run since the entry you did not copy. sometimes that is fine. on a curve that peaks in fifteen minutes and fades, it is often the worst available price.
re-entries are a separate risk. a trader who sold and bought back is trading a chart they know well, frequently after a round trip. you do not share that history, and your fill lands after theirs.
how fomo first buys only works in copyfomo
in copyfomo the setting is called first buys only, and it is one of the questions in the copy flow. the options are "first buys only" and "all buys", and the default is all buys. it is stored per trader, so you can switch it on for one trader and leave it off for another.
- what is skipped: any buy that is not the trader's very first entry into that token. you get a message naming the rule, with a button to change it.
- what still copies: exits. once you hold a token through a trader, their sells are mirrored whatever this setting says.
- what still protects you: max chase, which refuses a fill too far past the trader's entry, and the 24 hour no re-buy rule after any sell.
the full setting reference, with every default, is in the copyfomo docs.
what you give up
the filter is not free. three things to know before switching it on.
traders who probe, then commit
some traders open with a small buy and add in size once the token proves itself. with first buys only you copy the probe and skip the conviction. if you size with % of trader, that probe can be very small, and a copy is never placed under $3.
the interaction with minimum trade
this one surprises people. your minimum trade (default $20) ignores buys under that amount. if a trader's first buy is a $10 probe, the minimum skips it. their $2,000 add an hour later is not a first buy, so first buys only skips that too. result: you never hold the token. that is consistent, but it is worth knowing when a copy stays quiet.
fewer trades overall
on active traders the filter can remove a large share of buys. that is partly the point. it also means fewer chances, so judge it over weeks, not days.
who it suits, using real profiles
the useful input is the trader's swap size pattern. figures below are from the copyfomo traders snapshot (swap stats as of 2026-09-01):
| trader | median swap | middle half of swaps | what first buys only does |
|---|---|---|---|
| cosby | $2,488 | $2,237 to $4,976 | similar sizes, so the first buy is a full entry |
| nate | $18.62 | $4.97 to $49.75 | many tiny buys; a minimum trade will skip most first entries |
| ethermonk | $18,265 | $1,998 to $24,981 | wide range; a first buy may be a probe or a full size |
past performance and past trading patterns do not predict future ones. check the current profile before relying on any of this.
rule of thumb: first buys only works best on traders who enter once and size consistently, and worst on traders who scale in. for picking the trader in the first place, which fomo traders are worth copying covers the filters that matter more than any one setting.
a sensible setup
- fixed sizing, not %. a fixed amount per copy means a small probe still buys you a normal position, which removes most of the probe problem.
- first buys only on active traders. the busier the trader, the more of their buys are adds, and the more the filter removes buys that land late.
- a minimum trade that fits your traders. it is account-wide, so pick a value that does not erase the first entries of the smallest trader you copy.
- max chase on. first buys only picks which buys to copy. max chase decides whether the price is still acceptable when yours lands.
- exits left mirrored. on a curve that fades inside the hour, the sell carries a large share of the outcome.
copying does not reduce risk. memecoins can go to zero, first buy or not, and a filter only changes which bets you take. the general mechanics of mirroring a trader are in how to copy trade on fomo.
if you want to try it on a trader you already follow, @copyfomo_bot asks the first buys only question in the copy flow, and you can change it later per trader. copyfomo is independent and not affiliated with fomo.
frequently asked
what does first buys only mean in copy trading?
it is a filter that copies a trader's very first purchase of a token and skips everything after it: adds to a position they already hold, and re-entries into a token they traded before. the idea is that the first entry is the one that arrives before the crowd, while later buys often land after the move has already happened. exits on tokens you hold are still copied either way.
should i turn on first buys only when copying a fomo trader?
it depends on how the trader builds positions. if they enter once at full size, the filter changes little. if they probe small and add in size later, first buys only copies the probe and skips the conviction. check the trader's median swap and how often they add before choosing, and remember it is set per trader, so you can use it on some and not others.
why is a fomo trader's first buy different from their other buys?
because of what happens after it. a first buy tells every follower about a token they may never have seen, and we timed 29 first buys from a large fomo wallet: median +39% one minute after the leader's fill, +43% at fifteen minutes, most given back by sixty. an add to a position held for days does not carry the same news, so it does not usually trigger the same rush.
does first buys only stop my copies from selling?
no. the filter only decides which buys open or grow a position. once you hold a token through a trader, their sells are still mirrored, at the fraction they sold or in full if you chose to exit all at once. your own take profit and stop loss keep working on that position too.
why did copyfomo skip a buy with first buys only on?
because it was not the trader's very first entry into that token. they had bought it before, so the buy counts as an add or a re-entry and the filter skips it. the bot sends you a message saying which rule stopped the copy, with a button to change the setting if you disagree with it.
stop reading. start copying.
pick a trader from the fomo leaderboard, set your size, and the entries and the exits land in your own wallet while you sleep.
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