How to add a Stock & Crypto Trading Simulator to Your Discord
Connecting your server’s currency to real-world events is a good way to keep the server's economy from getting boring. This tutorial will show you how to set up the stock market command so that when a company makes headlines, your members have a direct reason to jump into the chat.
ATTENTION
This guide assumes you already have the StartIT bot on your server.
If you’re getting started, check out our initial setup guide first.
Most server economies suffer from the same fate: users buy the "Elite" role, max out their balance, and then... nothing. The chat goes quiet because the money has nowhere to go. There’s no risk, no thrill, and certainly no reason to check the channels once you've reached the top of the leaderboard.
To keep a community active, you need a living economy. By integrating the Stock Market system, you aren’t just giving users a way to spend virtual cash—you’re giving them a reason to check your server every time the real-world market moves. You’re turning your Discord into a high-stakes trading floor where the "Wolf of Wall Street" vibes are just one command away.
⚠️ Note: This system is for entertainment only. It uses virtual currency and should never be used as a guide for real-world financial investments.
Here’s how to set up StartIT to handle the heavy lifting.
How /stock-market works?
StartIT doesn't use random number generators. It hooks directly into third-party financial APIs to pull live data from the US Stock Exchanges and Crypto data.
When a tech giant announces a new product in the real world, your users will see that price move in your server. To get them started, show them how to check the tape:
Command: /stockmarket info <ticker>
Once your members have the "itch" to trade, they’ll use their hard-earned virtual currency to buy in. This is where the StartIT economy gets interesting.
- Buying:
/stockmarket buy <quantity> <ticker> - Selling:
/stockmarket sell <quantity> <ticker>
What’s the point of being a trading genius if you can’t see the numbers go up? The portfolio command is the primary driver of engagement.
Command: /stockmarket backpack
Users see their total holdings and, more importantly, their Profit/Loss (P/L). This creates a natural "bragging rights" culture. Watching a user go from a $500 balance to a $50,000 portfolio because they "bought the dip" on a crypto swing is the kind of drama that keeps a chat alive for weeks.
Add stock market to your server
Setting up your virtual economy takes just a few minutes. Head over to your bot dashboard to find the Stock Market settings. Here is how to fine-tune the experience for your community:
Enable the Market
First, ensure the Stock market toggle is switched to green. This activates the command suite for your members.
Define the Conversion Rate
This is the most critical setting for your economy's balance. It dictates how your server currency relates to the real-world US Dollar.
The Formula: US$1 = [X] Server Currency.
You can put here number from $0.01 to $10,000,000 (however, 10 million isn't practical).
If you set this to US$1 - 4, a share of Apple Inc. (AAPL) costing $150 would require 600 virtual units to purchase.
Amplify the Excitement
You can make the market more volatile and rewarding by adjusting the Profit Multiplier.
- By default, this is
1x. If you increase it, the bot calculates the profit (Sell Price - Buy Price) and multiplies it by your chosen number. - Role-Based Rewards: You can use the Profit multiplier by role dropdown to give specific groups (like Server Boosters or VIPs) a higher multiplier, making their investments even more lucrative.
In the real world, most stock prices move slowly; adjusting the multiplier will cause people to lose or make significant amounts of money more quickly.
Setting an Earnings Cap
To keep your economy healthy, you don’t want one lucky trade to make a player so rich they never have to work again. The Earnings Cap acts as a "max win" limit.
It limits how much profit someone can make compared to what they spent.
If the cap is 50% and a player invests $30, the most they can ever make in profit is $15. They get their original $30 back, plus the $15 prize
Keep in mind that this is a limit on potential earnings only; if the stock market crashes, someone could lose everything they invested,
Prevent "Flipping" with Sale Cooldowns
Without a cooldown, the Stock Market can feel like a "clicker game" where players spam buy/sell buttons to catch tiny price movements. The Sale Cooldown forces players to actually invest rather than just "flip" stocks.
This ensures that if a player buys a stock, they are committed to it. This makes market changes feel more impactful and prevents players from trying to exploit small price jumps.
Recommended Value: 24 Hours. This is the "Golden Rule" for a stable economy. It aligns with real-world daily cycles and forces players to think carefully before they commit their hard-earned cash.
Old player advice
If you have owned shares for a week and decide to buy just one more today, your entire balance for that company is now locked. You won't be able to sell the "old" shares or the "new" one until the timer runs out again. This lock only affects the company you just bought. You can still sell your stocks in other companies whenever you want.
The Best Strategy: Always sell what you want to sell BEFORE you buy more. If you want to take some money out but also want to increase your stake, get your money out first. Once you hit Buy, you are committed to holding that stock until the cooldown expires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Navigating the financial world can be complex, so we’ve compiled the most common questions to help you and your members trade with confidence.
Is this real money?
Absolutely not. The Stock Market uses the virtual currency established within the bot's economy. While the prices are based on real-world data, your profits and losses stay strictly within Discord.
How often do prices update?
We are constantly connected to a 3rd party provider that sends us live stock data. While we strive for maximum accuracy, please remember that we are not responsible for any technical inaccuracies. Use this for fun, not for real-life financial planning!
I can't find a specific crypto. How do I search for it?
For cryptocurrencies, use the symbol followed by -USD. For example:
- Bitcoin:
BTC-USD - Ethereum:
ETH-USD - Dogecoin:
DOGE-USD
You can find all supported companies here: https://startit.bot/stocks
How do I stop people from "gaming" the system?
We recommend a combination of the Earnings Cap and the Sale Cooldown. The cap prevents "infinite" wealth from a single lucky break, and the cooldown prevents high-frequency trading that can lag the bot or exploit small price ticks.
Why keep virtual money on an exchange instead of in a bank?
StartIT allows you to create a dynamic economy by combining the robbery system with wallet limits, forcing players to balance three distinct financial options:
- The Wallet: Offers unlimited capacity, but leaves you vulnerable to being robbed.
- The Bank: Provides total security, but is restricted by a hard storage cap.
- The Stock Market: The perfect "middle ground" for excess savings.
The Stock Market is the perfect fit here because it gives players a place to put money that won't fit in the bank, but it comes with its own catch. Due to rounding, stocks immediately appear about $0.01 lower after purchase, making it an unstable and slightly "expensive" place to park cash. This ensures every storage choice has a downside—forcing players to decide if they’d rather risk a market dip or a street mugging.