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CRG is a full-time trader, balls deep in the markets since 2017.
What attracted you to trading?
I studied economics/business for many years, so that’s what attracted me to trading initially. I had jobs before I started trading, and I initially went into Human Resources when I finished University, later specialising in Employment Law.
How long have you been trading, and what markets have you traded over your career?
My first trading account was opened in 2016 and my first trade was shorting cable (GBPUSD) around the time of the Brexit decision. Was only a small punt, but safe to say I got blown out and left it there. I then started trading tech stonks in early 2017. I then found this interesting asset on my CFD broker, called Bitcoin. I was mesmerised by this asset. An asset that just went up and up and up. It was at that point I fell down the crypto rabbit hole and have never looked back.
Was there an ideological attraction to BTC, or did you just love the volatility?
The ideological attraction came later after I fell down the rabbit hole. The whole libertarian / self-sovereignty aspect of Bitcoin hooked me hard.
How long did it take you to become profitable? Were there any major milestones where things just started to click?
Funnily enough, I was immediately profitable when I started properly trading in early 2017, as I was an up-only ape with tech stonks and crypto flying. I would take on hilarious risk and get away with it. All year long. 2017 was a great year but it created awful habits and in 2018, I paid the price - that’s where I paid my dues to the market and learnt how to manage risk.
I remember once in 2017, I woke up, half asleep, and saw that BTC had pumped. I was pissed off that I missed it. So I slammed some serious size in (while half asleep) and went back to sleep. I woke up like, ‘woah, I just made a load of money, nice! I’m a genius!’
Safe to say, habits like that did not treat me well in 2018.
‘woah, I just made a load of money, nice! I’m a genius!’
What does a typical day look like for you?
I wake up and cuddle my cat. Then drink coffee. Then say gm to my friends. Then check trader positioning on BTC & ETH. Then check the wider market. If anything interesting occurred overnight, I tweet / inform my TG. Then I check emails, respond to ppl, admin etc.
I then usually hit the gym around midday. I enjoy boxing and MMA, so I’ll be doing that if I’m not in the gym. I get back to the charts in the afternoon and talk to friends / do business/admin stuff etc. While I find it hard to switch off from the markets in the evening, I do my best. I love a good movie. Going out for a nice meal too is v nice.
Who did you look up to when you first started trading?
Milton Friedman. He was one of the largest advocates for free market capitalism the world has seen. Without him, the world would be a much different place. How did he impact my trading? Hard to say. But my knowledge of economics shaped my trading massively when I first started and he shaped my knowledge of economics.
Milton Friedman was one of the largest advocates for free market capitalism the world has seen.
Tell us about your most memorable trade
Got to be NEO. I bought a truckload under $1 before the rebrand (Antshares). Kept buying as it went up. Turbo conviction. Held it all the way up to 200x. Took some profits on the way up but nowhere near enough. Rode it all the way back down. I didn’t even have access to my ledger that held 75% of my NEO as I went to Asia for a year. Even though I made a lot of money (when thinking about my cost basis), the amount of money I gave back to the market gives me nightmares even to this day and served as an extremely valuable lesson in my trading career.
How does that impact your trading on an actionable basis? Do you have a set process for taking profits now?
I have real paper hands these days, especially with leverage. Serious lettuce hands. If I see profit, I’ll usually take (at least some) profit / move my stop loss into profit etc. Generally, though, I’m pretty discretionary.
I have real paper hands these days, especially with leverage. Serious lettuce hands.
What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?
‘The market bottoms when the selling stops, not when the buying starts.'
’‘The market is the almighty God, the ruler of all. Respect it or you will be punished.’
What drives you to keep trading?
I just love the market. There is so much to learn, so much to digest. It is constantly changing, constantly evolving. Studying the market never gets boring. Every day there is something exciting to learn/experience. There’s something beautiful about studying the unknown.
The friends / fellow traders I have within the market play a big role, too. Talking to them every day, shit posting, sharing ideas. It is incredible. Having a group of people with a shared passion and devotion is a necessity to make it in the markets.
Having a group of people with a shared passion and devotion is a necessity to make it in the markets.
Would you say you’ve ‘made it’? If not, what does ‘making it’ look like to you?
Yes and no. I’ve created a great life for myself, a life I would not have envisioned when I started. I’m very blessed. But I still yearn for knowledge/growth and I do not feel at ease unless I am moving forward. So I don’t really ask myself that question.
What does moving forward mean? Being a better trader or progressing towards some other goals?
Well, I see myself as more than a trader and there is more to life than trading. If I’m extremely busy with other things and if I don’t have time to properly analyse the market, I simply won’t trade. I don’t have that kind of impulse to always be in a position like I used to.
If I don’t have time to properly analyse the market, I simply won’t trade.
What's the most important quality in a trader and why?
For long term profitability, probably discipline. But also the trait of bouncing back. To become a successful trader, you need to be able to get knocked out and get up again and again and again.
To become a successful trader, you need to be able to get knocked out and get up again and again and again.
How would you describe the way you trade?
Depends on the environment. If range-bound, I like to counter-trade sloppy traders w/ bad entries by analysing price action, Open Interest, Funding, basis etc.
Has the way you trade changed over time?
Yes, learning derivative data has changed my trading massively. I’m still a noob at it, with 1-year experience. But constantly learning. It gives great insight into how the market moves and why etc.To be honest, I’m a pathetic scared old man at times. Scarred from getting hurt by the market so many times. I used to be a lot sloppier with entries, but at times (i.e. in trending environments) - this works. When the market is trending hard, low IQ can be better. You just got to be in and the market do its thing. I think it's very important to know what environment the market is in on all timeframes. For example, equities often range from day to day. ES, for eg, 10/20/30 point range etc. But some days are trend days, and the algos just send it all day right until the close. Many a time, I have tried to fade a trend day in equities over the years, but recognising these kinds of days has helped me massively.
Why do you think you have success trading?
1. I haven’t given up
2. I’m constantly hungry to be a better version of myself than I was yesterday
What's the worst thing about trading and why?
Nothing is guaranteed. Sometimes you can work a 70-hour week and lose money. The key is to be prepared and not go on tilt. Have no ego. Losing day? Losing week? Part of the game.
I actually don’t always trade. Depends on the environment. For most of 2020/2021 I barely even touched leverage. Just HODL’d. During bull markets, I think most people should do this.
Have no ego. Losing day? Losing week? Part of the game.
What’s your advice for a bear market?
To still stay in tune with the market and put effort into whatever you’re building/doing. It shows strength of character to make it through a crypto bear market.
It’s good to know your edge and when it applies. Not losing money in choppy environments not suited to your style is very important.
What's something you've learned in the last 6 months that has made you a better trader?
Jim Cramer is the greatest trader the world has ever seen.
What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?
To stay level-headed, keep all emotion out and follow my system. Let’s say I’m scalping, and I lose two trades in a row, in a single day. My system then signals a third trade. My confidence is low, don’t feel great about myself, thinking, ‘fuck, I can’t lose 3 in a row’. What an awful day that will be!
If you have a system that works, you have to follow it and simply manage the risk. Losing days are part of the game and as long as you take high-probability trades (good R:R), you’re only a good trade away from reversing several bad ones.
you’re only a good trade away from reversing several bad ones.
If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice, what would it be and why?
Don’t do it. If you do, prepare for years of pain. Prepare to take years off of your life. Prepare for grey hair and expedited wrinkles.
How would you describe your relationship with risk?
Depends on the environment. Right now, I’m extremely risk-off in general and only take the highest probability trades. I’m saving my pennies for the looming recession (the yield curve keeps me up at night, I often have nightmares that it reverts). Don’t get me wrong, I always HODL some crypto. Always. But in this kind of uncertain macro environment, I’m just a scared old man.
In the right environment, I love taking risk. There’s no better feeling than slamming irresponsible size into some random shitcoin and hoping for the best.
There’s no better feeling than slamming irresponsible size into some random shitcoin and hoping for the best.
What goals do you set for your trading?
To survive.
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