‍What attracted you to trading?

Initially, thinking I could get rich quick back in 2017. Later on, it appealed to the competitive part of me that wants to be the best at all I do. I treat it like a game, so I must beat all the other players.

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Has the way you trade changed much since then?

A lot. I used too many indicators back then, watching YouTubers daily to ‘learn’ or find the newest gem.

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I used too many indicators back then, watching YouTubers daily to ‘learn’ or find the newest gem.

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Have you traded anything other than crypto?

A little bit of FX during the bear market, but it didn’t grab me and following two different sectors with news and macro events just takes too much time.

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How long did it take you to become profitable?

There were up and downs since the start. But I’d say I became consistently profitable around mid-2019. So about two years.

Looking back, I had no patience. If I wanted in, I would just market buy. This leaves a lot of profit on the table and your invalidation further away.

I used too many indicators and didn’t even understand how they worked. It takes time to build a system and to know how everything works. You don’t just become good at something the first day, week or month. You need experience.

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Looking back, I had no patience. If I wanted in, I would just market buy.

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‍What does an average day look like for you?

I always check the charts when I get my morning coffee between 7 and 8, set some bids, find out what looks interesting etc. 

Between 8 and 9, I take a walk/run. I’m still learning, finding a rhythm, and getting my knees up to speed after recovering from a long-term injury. But I get out there every day for at least an hour.

For the rest of the day, I go between shitposting on Telegram and Twitter and checking the charts, relaxing with my family and friends. It’s nice to have had a period with less trading than in 2020-2021.

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What's the worst thing about trading?

24/7 market. What’s the best? 24/7 market.

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Do you have to make sacrifices in other areas of your life to be available to the market?

When I wasn’t retired, I did for sure. I had a long period where I woke up between 03 - 04 in the morning to do my TA, set my bids, check the news etc., and then in the evening after work. I would do the same + read various books to learn more about everything trading-related.

After going full-time crypto, I would usually spend from 08 - 18 on crypto-related things, which could be anything from Twitter to trading to meetings, and then enjoy my evening.

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What’s your most memorable trade?

Holding Telcoin from launch and DCAing every month, only to sell just before it started going up. Also, investing in METIS when no one was interested in it, and in general, no one gave layer 2s attention back then.

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What are some tips for identifying a solid project early?

The team is more important than the idea. Having the right team is more important than having a better or revolutionary idea. I had a project I was super bullish on because what they wanted to build was needed. Synthetic assets. They failed to deliver, others built quicker, and they took the hype. 

Tokenomics > everything else – A project can have the best team or product, but if their tokenomics suck, you’ll be limited in your returns. 80% tokens to seed/private investors? No thanks. The best one I’ve seen on a tokenomics sheet was “Friends & family”. Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. 

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What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?

No one ever went broke taking profit.

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How do you generally take profit?

It varies a lot. Mostly I will take profit at support or resistance and get back in if it flips. I will religiously raise my stop for coins that are expanding beyond ATH.

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I will religiously raise my stop for coins that are expanding beyond ATH.

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Trading:

What's the most important quality in a trader?

Psychology. Ability to react on the fly. For example, when Binance added XRP as a base pair, I think it was Christmas Eve one year. I saw the tweet from CZ within seconds, and I thought to myself, ‘this is a balls-deep situation,’ and within 30-60 mins, I made a ton of money. I think around 20% gains unleveraged.

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How do you divide your time when developing your skillset as a trader?

When trading full-time, I always had Twitter and Telegram open on the PC, where I’ll shit talk with someone, discuss projects or brainstorm TA. I’d spend a few hours a day researching projects, talking to them, or just scrolling Twitter to find new ones. I’d try to listen to a few hours of podcasts, read books or meditate.

Lastly, I’d dedicate at least a few hours a day to TA. It wasn’t unusual that I could spend both Saturday and Sunday doing full 16-hour days studying and trading. I would do at least 4-5 hours on weekdays and often more. That also includes backtesting and journaling. That’s when I built a ‘system’. I backtested extensively and had many different excel sheets, with various combinations of MA or EMA crossings paired with RSI or Stoch RSI.

Today I’m much more straightforward in my trading and stick to a few different EMAs and briefly check RSI for divergences. I think this is something we all go through; you add complexity, find out what works for you and simplify.

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What's something you've learned in the last six months that has made you a better trader?

I would say to go back to basics. Coming off from the parabolic bull run, where everyone is a genius. Plug in the support and resistances. Have the patience to get filled. Take profit when it’s there and religiously move stops to breakeven when you’re well in profit.

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What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?

Rushing entries. Lack of patience. I’m very spontaneous. I’ve probably aped into a lot of ‘shitcoins’ that others wouldn’t. I’ve been rugged probably 100 times.

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I’ve probably aped into a lot of ‘shitcoins’ that others wouldn’t. I’ve been rugged probably 100 times.

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‍If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be?

Read the books. Watch the videos. Learn risk management. Don’t try to become rich quick. SPEND THE HOURS. Don’t blindly follow others, but instead try to soak in every bit of alpha you can.

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What books/courses/videos/materials did you start with?

I used to have a list of all the books I’ve read, but for some reason I can’t find it, I’ve read all these, and they should give you a good start. A lot of it is practice makes perfect.

- Technical analysis of the financial markets, by John Murphy

- The [New] Market Wizards, by John D. Schwager (there’s a new and an old one both good)

- Trading for a Living, by Alexander Elder

- Japanese candlestick charting techniques, by Steve Nison

- Technical Analysis, Gail Findlater

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Fill in the blanks

• Most traders would be better off working at Wendy’s

• What separates the pros from the rest is capital/risk management

• A good trader should never lose the hunger to become better

• The biggest misconception about trading is that TA is hard to learn. TA is easy. Psychology and risk management is hard to master.

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