Copy trading on Solana means making the same trade as another wallet, usually within seconds of it. Solana suits it well: transactions confirm in under a second and cost a fraction of a cent, so a copy lands close to the original price. That speed is also the risk. Memecoins move fast, and a copy that arrives late can buy the top.

This guide walks through the whole process, from choosing a trader to closing the position, with the checks that matter at each step.

Step 1: Decide how much you can lose

Before you pick anyone, set a total budget for copy trading that you could lose completely without it hurting. Then split it. A common rule is to risk no more than 1% to 5% of that budget on any single copy, so one bad token cannot wipe you out. Read position sizing for beginners if this is new.

Step 2: Choose a trader by their record, not their followers

Follower counts and screenshots are easy to fake. What matters is a long record of closed trades. Look for:

  • At least a few weeks of history and dozens of closed positions, not one lucky week.
  • Steady weekly results rather than one giant win hiding many losses.
  • Small drawdowns. How much did they give back in their worst stretch?
  • Hold times you can follow. Someone who sells within a minute is very hard to copy by hand.
  • Few rugged tokens. A trader who keeps buying tokens that later collapse is taking risks you will inherit.

On Murmurn every trader with 10 or more closed positions gets a Trust Score built from exactly these checks, and every trade on their profile links to its on-chain transaction. Start from the leaderboard and open a few profiles. For a deeper method, read how to find profitable Solana traders.

Step 3: Fund a wallet with USDC

Most Solana tools ask you to hold SOL for network fees. On Murmurn you only need USDC: the network fee is paid in USDC inside the same transaction. Sign in, and your wallet is created for you. Deposit USDC on Solana from an exchange or another wallet, or buy USDC with a card. The smallest trade is 20 USDC.

Step 4: Pick manual copy or auto-copy

  • Manual copy: when the trader buys, you get the same trade pre-filled and confirm it yourself. Slower, but you can skip tokens you do not like.
  • Auto-copy: each copy is placed from your wallet within seconds, inside a size per copy and a daily cap that you set. Faster, but it follows the trader into every trade.

If you are starting out, use manual copy for a week and watch what the trader actually buys. Switch to auto-copy only for a trader whose style you understand.

Step 5: Set your limits before the first copy

  • Size per copy. A fixed USDC amount is simpler than copying a percentage of their size.
  • Daily cap. The most you are willing to put in across all copies in a day.
  • Slippage. How far the price may move before a trade is refused. Tight slippage on a thin token means missed copies. Wide slippage means worse prices. See slippage explained.

Step 6: Plan your exits

Copying the buy is the easy half. Decide in advance whether you will sell when the trader sells, at a set profit, or at a set loss. Turn on alerts so you hear when they exit. Many copy traders lose money not on the entry, but by holding after the trader they copied has already left.

Step 7: Review after two weeks

Compare your results with the trader's. A large gap usually means you are arriving late, sizing differently or missing exits. If the trader's own record turns, stop copying. A Trust Score describes the past, and it can change.

Common mistakes

  • Copying a trader because of one huge win.
  • Copying too many traders at once, so you cannot follow any of their exits.
  • Using auto-copy with no daily cap.
  • Copying into tokens that fail a basic safety check.
  • Putting in money you cannot afford to lose. Memecoins can fall 90% in minutes.