SQQQ trading strategies, backtested
ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ — -3x daily Nasdaq-100 — profits when tech falls, decays when it doesn't. Every DeployQuant template run on SQQQ over 5.5 years of minute data, same engine, same window, sorted by return.
| Strategy | CAGR | max DD | Sharpe | trades | win rate | final value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Cross (SMA 50/200) | −7.5% | −49.9% | -0.06 | 3 | 33% | $6,492 |
| RSI(2) Dip Snapback | −8.4% | −78.5% | -0.02 | 164 | 54% | $6,160 |
| 200-Day SMA Regime Filter | −10.6% | −63.3% | -0.06 | 13 | 31% | $5,393 |
| SMA-200 Trend + 15% Trailing Stop | −12.1% | −70.1% | -0.16 | 32 | 41% | $4,887 |
| 20-Day Momentum + Trailing Stop | −15.1% | −64.3% | -0.28 | 69 | 29% | $4,056 |
| SMA 10/50 Trend | −19.9% | −77.5% | -0.25 | 18 | 17% | $2,932 |
| EMA 12/26 Trend | −21.8% | −78.8% | -0.29 | 19 | 16% | $2,569 |
| RSI(14) Mean Reversion | −23.5% | −84.5% | -0.41 | 15 | 47% | $2,272 |
| 3-Month Momentum Switch | −24.4% | −84.3% | -0.43 | 23 | 17% | $2,122 |
| Drawdown Dip Buyer + 8% Target | −28.9% | −89.7% | -0.45 | 4 | 100% | $1,519 |
| Weekly Entry + 7% Target | −28.9% | −92.4% | -0.47 | 250 | 38% | $1,517 |
| First-to-Last Day of Month | −40.3% | −95.8% | -0.54 | 67 | 33% | $578 |
| Buy & hold SQQQ | −30.9% | −88.4% | -0.56 | — | — | $1,292 |
Build it from blocks (or type it in English), backtest it on 5.5 years of minute data in seconds, tweak any parameter, then paper trade it on live data. No card, no broker needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
What was the best strategy for SQQQ?
Of the 12 templates tested on SQQQ over 2021-01-04–2026-07-17, the strongest by CAGR was golden cross at −7.5% (max drawdown 49.9%), versus −30.9% for buy-and-hold. Best-in-hindsight is not a forecast — check drawdowns and trade counts before drawing conclusions.
Did any strategy beat buying and holding SQQQ?
11 of 12 templates beat SQQQ buy-and-hold (−30.9% CAGR) on this window; 9 of 12 had a shallower maximum drawdown than holding (88.4%).
Other inverse etfs
Backtests are hypothetical, computed by DeployQuant's engine on minute-resolution consolidated US market data (2021-01-04 to 2026-07-17, $10,000 starting capital, no margin, fees and slippage not modeled) and do not guarantee future results. Nothing on this page is investment advice. Live trading involves risk of loss.