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Guru is a seasoned and versatile cryptocurrency trader, capitalising on opportunities across the sector.
What attracted you to trading?
When I entered the crypto space back in 2017, my attention was captivated by the profitability of trading altcoin pairs against BTC on Binance. Following the crash from the $20,000 mark, alts experienced substantial declines in both their USD and BTC values. By that point, I was already deep into the trading game and was looking for ways to maximize my BTC holdings. Then I discovered Kraken, where my trading journey began.
How long have you been trading, and what markets have you traded over your career?
I started leverage trading during the latter part of the winter in 2018. At that time, Kraken offered only 5x leverage on a limited number of majors, which led me to focus predominantly on executing trades on BTC/ETH. When BitMex emerged, I gained exposure to the world of 100x leverage, as well as various other alt pairs. My trading career started in crypto and will likely end with crypto.
How long did it take you to become profitable?
I wasn’t profitable until June 2020. My first major win was a long from the $9,300 BTC consolidation to the $12,000 temporary top before the run-up to $60k. I actually got a bit lucky, I had a 100x long on Bitmex on a $2,000 position that I entirely forgot about until $11,600. Had fired some longs on Binance at this point, since I no longer traded on BitMex much. I logged in to find I was up 25%+ on a 6-figure position. By this point, I had simplified my strategy. Prior, I was trying everything in the book. RSI, basic TA patterns, MA’s/EMA’s on every time frame, Guppy, and a ton of other strategies that didn’t mesh well together. It really clicked when I wasn’t over-trading trying to “make it” as a trader. I knew I was in it for the long run, I now had some capital to play with, so there wasn’t a need to fire off 50 trades per day using 10 different strategies to try and make a bag.
I was trying everything in the book. RSI, basic TA patterns, MA’s/EMA’s on every time frame, Guppy, and a ton of other strategies that didn’t mesh well together
What does a typical day look like for you?
It entirely depends on how hot the market is and what sector is booming. When the market is on fire, my day is all over the place. I sleep about 4 hours max per day Mon-Friday. My day usually starts around 8 am, when I lay in bed and check up on Twitter/Discord/Telegram and the charts. If there is volatility, I spend the majority of my morning on the computer. Keeping up with your health is also incredibly important, so most days, I try to squeeze fitness in at some point, preferably in the morning. I’m at the computer from around 10 am to 11 pm at night, and hit the bed around 11:30. I sleep till about 2-3 AM, then I’m back at the PC until about 6 am. I squeeze in an extra two hours of sleep, then rinse and repeat the entire process. Most of my time at the computer is spent scalping and slinging memecoins. I do analysis for a group for a large part of my day when I’m not focusing on making money in the market.
Sounds exhausting - is burn out an issue?
The burnout is beyond real. The mental fog between 8-10 am is next level, yet we keep kicking it. What’s funny is, after the FTX blow-up, I thought this market would be relatively boring, but it continues to surprise me every day. During the last bear market, there was nothing to do, it was you trading vs Arthur. This has been the most profitable bear market of all time. If you dig hard enough, there is always an opportunity hiding.
If you dig hard enough, there is always an opportunity hiding.
Who did you look up to when you first started trading?
I branched out into different crypto subreddits for my first 3 years in crypto. Landed as a normie in /r bitcoinmarkets and posted 24/7 there for a few years. There was a trader there that had a relatively high strike rate, his name was Chewy. Chewy always provided incredible insight on the market, and I learned a lot about risky management from him, although I got liquidated most of 2017-2020.
How did you find your way to CT?
A friend told me there was a decay of alpha on Reddit and to bridge to CT. He said more value in growing a CT following > followers on Reddit. Happy I made the bridge.
Tell us about your most memorable trade
It was pre-BSC season, there weren’t many eyes on the chain. Cake was hovering around 70c, and I just came off a highly profitable defi summer. Talked to a buddy who was already involved in the ecosystem, and he sold me on the investment. Put nearly every last dollar I had into Cake. At the time, farming Cake was around 400% APR at this time and went sideways for a few weeks before the expansion to $5+. I rode most of the bag to $20 after farming thousands of coins for free, then sold off the majority between $25-$35 before rotating a lot of profits into Bunny around $40 before $500. Which was also a farm with about 600% APR. The rest was history.
What did you learn from this period that made you a better trader?
My key takeaway was, you can spray and pray, it might work out in your favor. But when you have high conviction in a concentrated bet, it will pay more than anything else. They say “never put all your eggs in one basket”, but if the narrative is there, fucking do it.
They say “never put all your eggs in one basket”, but if the narrative is there, fucking do it.
What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?
ABC (always be closing) - do NOT be afraid to take profits. Often times you want to go for that "home run trade" to make it all back. Compounding small wins adds up fast, especially in chop conditions. Survival is key.
Diagonal trendline breaks aren't as profitable/powerful in a ranging environment. In a bull market, simple triangle breaks and retests can provide EASY 10%+ moves. In ranging conditions, don't be greedy and take your TP 1/2 after a few % move
Hard stops suck most of the time. Soft stops can often be better. With low vol/liquidity, wicks can get scammy and often, your stops can get hunted even though the trade is valid.
If you do get stopped, don’t immediately enter another trade. Take a step back and evaluate what happened. Look at your placement, did you chase the price? Did you buy into resistance in a ranging environment?
Equal highs/lows don't get taken as much due to a lack of liquidity. Pull up some charts, so many times, we will see double bottoms/eq bottoms that don't get run for quite a long time. Remember, this market is ALL about liquidity.
Sometimes, the best trade is no trade. Absolutely 0 reason to force any trades, especially if you know your system and are confident in it. A lot of the time, you will get anxious because people around you are killing trades, and you have yet to see a trade, so you'll force a trade, and it will go badly. Do not do this. Sit on your hands and wait for your perfect set-up.
Do not chase, wait for trades to come to you.
Size down significantly on alts. There is only so much money to go around, especially with there being so many sectors in the crypto market. Capital is thin right now. The money faucet will turn on at some point, that's when you can size up on alts. Now is not the time.
Bullish narratives/news often don’t impact price action for long. People are looking for any way to grab a quick pump - while their vision of long-term holding has turned to a few-hour hold. Take your profit and get out.
Multiple long shadowed wicks into resistance often mark the top.
Do not buy rips. Buy dips. If price has broken out, don't chase. Wait for a pullback into the previous SR to buy with easy invalidation.
What drives you to keep trading?
The ability to have freedom and constantly exercise my mind. Although this market requires attention 24/7, especially when volatility is dry, I personally think it’s better than working a 9-5 to make someone else rich. I enjoy the flexibility aspect of it, and I’m comfortable enough in my strategy where I know I can be successful long term.
Would you say you’ve ‘made it’? If not, what does ‘making it’ look like to you?
For my age, sure. Have I made enough to sustain myself for the rest of my life, including my family and future family? No, I have not. But I love the game and will continue to play it as long as there is opportunity. I have definitely done well for myself relative to where most of the people I grew up with stand, but that isn’t enough for me to hang up the towel.
What's the most important quality in a trader, and why?
Patience pays. Crypto markets trade 24/7. Not only is there leverage trading, but there is also NFTs and memecoins. If you’re in it for the long haul, there is always an opportunity on the horizon for you to make money.
How would you describe the way you trade?
I’m an extremely versatile trader. If needed, I can turn the degenerate on and scalp on 1-3m timeframes over and over again. I can trade HTF and swing positions. Recently, I’ve been taking a more relaxed approach and only entering based off H4 charts and certain criteria.
Has the way you trade changed over time?
I used to force trades constantly. I would scan 100 alt coin charts and need to be in a trade to feel something. But with so much activity happening in other sectors, I’ve become patient and wait for multiple triggers before entering a trade.
I would scan 100 alt coin charts and need to be in a trade to feel something.
What sort of things do you look for as triggers/confluence?
My go to set up is FTG/FTL on H4 with Fisher Div confluence. I have posted ample times on my Twitter. Buy when H4 Fisher reaches Stdv -2-4. I won’t say more, you can work out the rest yourself. :)
Why do you think you have success trading?
After I perfected my strategy, I became incredibly consistant in following it. I stay in my own zone and listen to myself.
I stay in my own zone and listen to myself.
Do you think social media is harmful to most traders in terms of being influenced by others?
Depends what type of person you are. Twitter can be a great place if you follow the right people. There are amazing traders on Twitter, you just need to carve through the nonsense. I don’t look at Twitter for trade triggers, I mostly use it for lowcap gem hunting research. How many cashtags per hour? Who are the KOL’s? What is engagement like?
What's the worst thing about trading and why?
If you trade full time, the worst part is having to make money during periods of chop and low volatility. You are forced to make trades that might not check all of your boxes when entering to pay bills.
What's something you've learned in the last 6 months that has made you a better trader?
When SBF isn’t involved in the markets, they trade much cleaner. Market feels less heavy. Set ups have been trading cleaner, chop is a bit easier to read. You don’t have a short pudgy guy trading billions of dollars of your own money against you.
You don’t have a short pudgy guy trading billions of dollars of your own money against you.
What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading? Any tips to avoid it?
Sizing is one of the most difficult things for me to execute on. Your smallest positions move away from your entry the hardest and your larger positions end up being stopped out. I believe a lot of this has to do with doubling down when you’re slightly underwater. My advice would be to stick with the same size trade until you’re comfortable enough with your strategy to fire off a larger size.
There is this weird mental thing with trading where when you’re slightly under water, you continue to add for whatever reason. You can feel it in your bones that the trade might not be valid, but you don’t want to take the loss so you enter the playing field of “I can average this position down to get a better CA” but in reality, that’s usually not the best course of action. There is a saying where your most comfortable trades are usually the worst, where trades that make you uncomfortable end up being the most profitable. You size down on the uncomfy trades and size up on the comfortable trades.
You can feel it in your bones that the trade might not be valid, but you don’t want to take the loss.
If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be and why?
Don’t do it. Especially if you are in crypto, you’re much better off trading on-chain and making a concentrated bet. Similar to what I did with Cake back in 2021. Trading, especially when introduced to leverage is not an easy task. Conditions right now don’t favor trading and it's difficult to stay consistently profitable right now.
You mean invest in a specific ecosystem?
No ecosystem is guaranteed money. Each ecosystem has their time to shine, usually there is a catalyst leading up to it. You just need to make sure you’re staying ahead of the game, not fomoing in because everyone is talking about it. Be the person that makes people fomo in, not the one who fomos.
Be the person that makes people FOMO in, not the one who FOMOs.
What goals do you set for your trading?
Survive. My goal is to survive long enough to make it to the next raging bull market where we can all ride off into the sunset and never look back.
My goal is to survive long enough to make it to the next raging bull market where we can all ride off into the sunset and never look back.
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