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Bitbit has been trading crypto since 2014 and runs a prop shop.
What attracted you to trading?
Someone once told me, "where it rains, everyone gets wet". Get a job where most people around you are rich. For me, it was either diamonds or trading. The choice wasn't hard to make.
For me, it was either diamonds or trading. The choice wasn't hard to make.
Tell us about your trading history
I’ve been trading since 2007, mainly futures, at almost any exchange in North America and Europe. I’ve been trading crypto since 2014.
Have you been forced to change how you trade crypto as the market matured?
It all started with me scouring the depths of spot crypto pairs, trying to find those inefficiencies, But then, the cool kids started talking about futures trading, and I knew I had to hop on that bandwagon. So, I set up an account on Bitmex, and let me tell you; it was a wild ride. I got more liquidation emails than I care to admit, but I finally got the hang of it. Nothing teaches you the importance of counterparty risk quite like watching your coins disappear in a blink of an eye. But I didn't let that stop me. Experience also saved me here, as I wasn’t going to degen on every deposit. After Bitmex exodus, I switched to Binance USDT pairs, which was a great decision. Things were going well. I started my own prop shop, and now I trade alongside the best traders I know.
Nothing teaches you the importance of counterparty risk quite like watching your coins disappear in a blink of an eye.
How long did it take you to become profitable? Were there any major milestones where things just started to click?
I was on simulation for the first month and started live profitably immediately. A major milestone was when I took a significant loss, the kind of money my dad would have had to work for ten years to make, in one day. I realised trading is not what I thought it was. I thought that I can do the same thing forever. Eventually the market gets everyone and that happened to me too. About a year since I started trading I entered a loop that was hard to come back from and I had to change a few things. Also I now have commitments, financial commitments and that added pressure and effected the way I was trading. These things forced me get back to square one and look back at my trading jornal, size down dramatically and start building again. I came back big time, and guess what, I got that kind of loop almost every year, but studying my trading journal and working on my stats saved me every single time.
Eventually the market gets everyone and that happened to me too.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My day at work starts with a briefing call with the traders, ensuring that we're synced with the market and aligned with the current narrative. Some research, stats, and looking at yesterday's positions are building the calendar ahead, all kinds of old habits. You may want to hear about sports, health, etc. I do that sometimes. But only sometimes. The day - busy building, researching, talking to our traders, doing stats, refining alerts systems, shitposting on Twitter, and talking to friends in the crypto space; yeah, I'm also trading. end of the day I close or hedge most positions. end of day time varies. - Trading days are like snowflakes, never the same.
How much of your trading is narrative driven vs strictly technical?
There isn’t much technical in my trading nowadays, just support and resistance levels, but nothing more. And crossing these levels are essentially fundamental events because everyone is watching the same chart as you. And when we cross a big level, the market just enters a new price discovery mode (either up or down). Staying on top of the narrative is ultimately where I spend the most time. Knowing what's happening is one but interpreting it into where the market should go from here is another. And both take a lot of time and energy.
Who did you look up to when you first started trading?
My old boss, which is who I'm a partnered with today. I saw him every day and learned a lot from him, but the most fascinating thing was that I couldn't tell if he was up or down for the day by his behavior. Traders usually show their emotions and reflect their PnL. But with him, it was always the same; his face, tone, and behavior never changed. He was not affected by his PnL, and I was impressed by that. I aspire to be like him, to have that level of emotional control and detachment from my PnL. I can’t really tell how I made it, but today I can say that I reached that level, I guess it has to do with years of experience, nothing more.
I aspire to be like him, to have that level of emotional control and detachment
Tell us about your most memorable trade
I will never forget the night when Trump suspended travel from Europe to the US. I shorted the ES (traditional) and BTC on Bitmex on his announcement. I held the ES position until it was limit-down. Meanwhile, BTC entered full bear mode, which eventually triggered mass cascade liquidation when the Bitmex liquidation engine did not stop hitting the market with 10 mil blocks. I don't remember what prices I got in, honestly, but I remember that I closed the BTC short above 4k.
Around this time, I longed ETH around $100, and a few minutes later, Bitmex shut down their matching engine and the exchange. It was scary and felt like it was offline forever because I had no stop, and the market didn’t look like it has a reason to bounce, especially when the bids on bitcoin are very thin all the way down to zero.
When Bitmex opened back up, the markets saw a massive spike up on the ETH pair, where I got filled at $175 to close longs. These orders were sitting there from a day or two beforehand, and I had many orders, which also got me into a short position. I was one of the few players that still had orders in this market, and a few seconds later, the first offer was below $100. I closed the short position that I just entered. That was a nice clean gift.
How would you describe your relationship/attitude towards risk?
I enjoy taking risks, but differently to most people. I don't enjoy gambling at casinos or sports, and if I ever do, it's just to pass the time with a small amount of money. In trading, I only take trades where I have an edge and avoid wild bets. If I still have the urge to take a trade without an edge, I'll only put a small amount of money on it. I spend all day trading in the highly volatile market, but when it comes to managing my investments, I hire a professional to do it for me in a conservative way, except for my crypto investments, of course.
What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?
Have a plan and stick to it - deep and powerful, it's worth saying 'few understand.' Mainly because no one really sticks to it.
I take discipline very seriously, but at the same time, I understand that we're all human and trying to change a person's behavior won't always work. Trading is a tricky game, and if you push too hard, it could hurt a trader's confidence. Building confidence in a trader is the most challenging aspect of trading. That's why I try to create an environment where traders can express themselves without risking their progress. I believe in gradually building a trader's PnL curve and risk size. Remember, the market is unpredictable, and no matter how confident you feel, eventually, you’re gonna get caught. It's important not to fly too close to the sun and risk getting burned. So essentially, my extra job now is to watch other traders and ensure they have a good understanding of risk management and are aware of the potential pitfalls of trading. This way, I can help them progress and avoid costly mistakes.
Building confidence in a trader is the most challenging aspect of trading.
What drives you to keep trading?
I like trading; most of my friends like sports, and I find trading more entertaining.
What does ‘making it’ look like to you?
I will only say I made it when I see that all my traders have made it.
What’s the most promising behaviour you see in a young trader?
One word, passion! - it comes with everything else.
What's the most important quality in a trader and why?
A good trader will work from his strengths and work on his weaknesses- keep doing stats, looking back and ahead, stay dynamic and updated with the current narrative in the market, and finally know how to work his size.
Advanced traders can tell you about the power behind using the right size for the right trade. You can't spend all your bullets at war; never put yourself in a position where your hands are tied.
A good trader will work from his strengths and work on his weaknesses
How would you describe the way you trade?
How I trade depends on what I trade and what kind of edge I have; if I have none, I won't do anything. I’m at a level where I can scalp or take a longer-term position; I see no reason for giving it a time frame.
Has the way you trade changed over time?
Yes, the way I trade changed over time, and that's mostly because the trading platforms and access evolve, which makes it more competitive with time; in this industry, you either keep it dynamic and make it or fall asleep and lose it. New platforms/trading tools are making things even more reliable so that I can do more things simultaneously. On top of all now I have many other traders to watch over.
you either keep it dynamic and make it or fall asleep and lose it.
Why do you think you have success trading?
My success is mainly sticking to my edge and being persistent, taking only what the market gives. Now, this sounds like a cliche, right? The thing is, we are humans, gotta be honest with ourselves and surrender, you can't just watch the market doing nothing, so you have to find a solution. One of my tricks is when I'm bored; I'll just take many small trades and consider a negative PNL as a warmup/entertainment cost; never build a monster; that's what 'keep clicking' means. ‘Work on your weaknesses?’ this is how I do it.
What's the worst thing about trading?
The worst thing about trading is that it can affect your mood on a bad day, especially for beginners. Don't listen to the ones who say it doesn't. They aren't humans. With time it may get easier. Solution - never hit your full stop for the day, keep some daily risk safe at all costs, and remember, “you're good as your last trade” sound like a meme? It works, especially on a bad day. End your day with a good trade, even if it’s a small one.
What's something you've learned in the last six months that has made you a better trader?
This one is easy - Trust no one, not your keys, not your coins. FTX took us backwards a bit. The size was below 20% of our AUM at the crypto prop level, but we kept business as usual. No trader was affected by that loss, I took care of it. Keep clicking full force with holiday season in the middle, past week (Janury 2023) I managed to recover the loss already. Onwards.
What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?
People think that being a trader is an easy job. Yes, it is the best job on the planet (at least the best one I could get), but it takes hard work. There is a shit ton of work from building your journal to research to syncing with the narrative to doing your stats to build the best real estate on your monitors to have the best platforms, connections, latency, etc.
The trade itself is the least important thing; even an ape can make money trading; you can even do it on your phone (but that's not professional nor long-lasting).
The trade itself is the least important thing; even an ape can make money trading
If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be and why?
To new traders - Ask questions and, more importantly, listen. In addition, it can be beneficial to listen to both experienced and inexperienced traders as they can offer different perspectives and insights. Building relationships with inexperienced traders and sharing ideas can help pushing you forward and keep you in the game when you’re not ready for it, cause you won’t always be.
What goals do you set for your trading?
My goal is to have a big prop firm that is a source of income for many traders who work hard to build it together with me.
Any other comments you'd like to share:
There are two kinds of traders, the one who wants to do something and the one that needs to do something. Who do you want to trade against?
There are two kinds of traders, the one who wants to do something and the one that needs to do something. Who do you want to trade against?