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George is a 23-year-old full-time trader. He’s been trading Bitcoin since 2017 after reading about BTC in a magazine and deciding to buy some. It didn't take him long to get into the real trading world.
What attracted you to trading?
Most people here were attracted to trading because of the same thing: money. I’ve always been the guy looking around on the internet on how to make money online and eventually discovered the trading scene!
What other online schemes did you try before finding trading?
Before I started trading, I tried different things to make money online. One was playing a game and selling the in-game coins for money on PayPal. I made a couple of hundred euros with it, which wasn’t bad at the time.
How long have you been trading, and what markets have you traded over your career?
I came into the space in 2017 ~ roughly six years ago. At first, I just wanted to buy some bitcoin because I thought it would go up in price, but you can already tell; it didn’t take long before I fell down the rabbit hole of trading. I started trading crypto in the uptrend of late 2017, but as things began topping, I also got into trading forex commodities and indices. Crypto was always my preferred market.
What is it about crypto specifically that appeals to you as a trader?
I like trading crypto specifically because I know it the best. I’ve been in this world for a long time, and gut feeling counts for a lot, which is why I’ll always have an advantage in trading crypto over traditional markets.
How long did it take you to become profitable?
At the start of my trading career, I traded a couple hundred into a couple thousand, but that wasn’t that difficult because you could buy anything, wait a few days and be 100% in profit. Easy times. Those times didn’t last tho. As soon as the crypto markets started dumping, so did my trading balance. I never gave up and worked my ass off studying different kinds of methods of TA. I became truly profitable in late 2018-2019, mainly due to improving at keeping capital and managing my risk. As soon as the “1R” system clicked, things got much better.
I traded a couple hundred into a couple thousand, but that wasn’t that difficult because you could buy anything, wait a few days and be 100% in profit.
Any tools or resources you’d recommend for risk management?
Not really for risk management specifically, but a platform I really like is CMM CoinManager. That’s an online platform you can use to journal and analyse your trades using API. It gives you an overview of your trading and helpful analytics, including your equity curve. Definitely worth checking out.
Who did you look up to when you first started trading?
There are two guys I'll never forget. The first one is called @crypto_mountain. I looked up to him when I joined Twitter and got into crypto. He had a lot of followers back then. I started talking with him, and we became good friends. I learned some things but nothing major. He helped me grow on Twitter tho. After a year in the bear market, he was gone and never returned. I never heard a single thing from him ever again. The second guy is CryptoTrooper. I joined his and CryptoChase’s group and admired the way trooper traded. I learned most of what I use now from him and Chase. Apart from them, there are many more from the early days, such as TraderSZ and TraderMayne.
Tell us about your most memorable trade.
My most memorable trade was on an altcoin called SYS. Not dollar-wise but in trading terms. I remember it was my first 3x ever in the markets, and I clearly remember that I was out having fun with friends. I checked my phone, and as soon as I saw it had 3x’d, I dropped everything and ran home to sell. A trade I’ll never forget.
I was out having fun with friends. I checked my phone, and as soon as I saw it had 3x’d, I dropped everything and ran home to sell.
What’s significant about the 3x?
Back then, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I bought or longed random coins and sold a day later for profit. SYS was the first 3x out of nowhere, and it was when I realised there was a lot of money to make in this industry.
What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?
There will always be another trade; the market is going nowhere. It’s something that keeps me going. Even if you lose big in the markets, it’s never too late.
What drives you to keep trading?
In trading, there’s no ceiling in quality or performance. There’s always room for improvement, and that’s what I really like. The constant strive to get better and be one of the best, which isn’t purely down to PnL. It’s more about the trades you take. Being consistent in what you do.
In trading, there’s no ceiling in quality or performance. There’s always room for improvement, and that’s what I really like.
What does ‘making it’ look like to you?
In my eyes, there is no ‘making it’. There’s always room for more growth, both cash-wise and performance. I think one of the biggest achievements you can accomplish is being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want. If that’s called ‘making it’, I think I’ve made it!
What's the most important quality in a trader, and why?
I think the most important quality in a trader is being able to stay calm and disciplined and accept when you’re wrong. Most losses from people who are not profitable come from breaking their own rules after getting stopped out, or taking a loss. They overtrade and over risk. Once you manage to master your emotions after being wrong, you’ve already come a long way!
Most losses from people who are not profitable come from breaking their own rules after getting stopped out, or taking a loss.
How discretionary is your trading?
I wouldn’t say I’m a rule-based trader when it comes to TA, but I definitely am when it comes to risk management. As for my TA and the trades I take, it’s different from situation to situation; the confluence must be there for me to enter a trade. When it comes to risk, I do have rules. Generally, I don’t risk over 3% per trade and don’t take more than three positions at the same time. After a losing trade, I usually sit out for the day or, at most, have one more attempt at the trade.
How would you describe the way you trade?
Horizontal. I rarely use diagonal levels and mostly use horizontals. Price moves horizontally in time, so I analyse price horizontally. I don’t use any indicators. I focus a lot on where I expect stops to be resting. These provide liquidity, mostly above key highs and below key lows. I then look for price to take those stops into a confluence area. That area can consist of supply, demand fib levels and key levels like daily, weekly and monthly opens. This can give you high-probability setups with easy invalidation.
Price moves horizontally in time, so I analyse price horizontally.
What do you look for that indicates where stops may be?
Traders tend to place stops above or below isolated key highs and lows. By “isolated”, I mean price hasn’t traded at that high or low for a while.
Has the way you trade changed over time?
Yes. The way the market trades changed over time, so you’ve got to change the way you trade as well. Back in the day, you could literally buy a bullish swing failure pattern (a sweep of a low and a close back above) and have a 70% strike rate. Those times are over. Trading is much more difficult now, I think.
Why do you think that is?
Trading is a PvP game. The game can’t be easy. Not everyone can make money. When a certain concept becomes too easy, the markets adapt.
Why do you think you have success trading?
I think it’s because I know bitcoin very well. Every market has its own little characteristics; knowing those is a huge advantage. I’ve watched the bitcoin chart for hours, days, months, and years; it’s the only way to get to know an asset. Sometimes you can just guess what bitcoin will do simply by looking at a blind chart.
I’ve watched the bitcoin chart for hours, days, months, and years; it’s the only way to get to know an asset.
What's the worst thing about trading?
The worst thing about trading is the emotions. You have to control them, but even if you’re profitable, a winning trade will always feel much better than a losing one. Also, the trading doesn’t stop. It’s something that’s constantly on your mind, and it’s tough to let it go.
What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?
The hardest part is not trading. Especially when I was just starting out, I always looked for trades and entered trades I shouldn’t have. It’s normal; you want to get out there and make some bread. It’s hard just to sit there and do nothing, while that’s very often the best decision.
Something that helped me stay patient was keeping myself occupied while the markets were boring. Read a book, play a game or go out and touch grass. Enjoy life when there are no opportunities, hit the gas pedal when there are.
you want to get out there and make some bread. It’s hard just to sit there and do nothing, while that’s very often the best decision.
What hobbies do you like to do in your downtime?
I don’t have a lot of real hobbies, but I enjoy life in general. I often go out with friends, and I love to travel and eat at good restaurants.
If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be?
Spend as much time analysing and trading as possible. Experience is one of the biggest advantages you can have, which only comes with time. Risk a tiny amount and trade a lot. Look a what works and what doesn’t. Keep going.
What goals do you set for your trading?
Money-wise, I don’t set any goals for a specific period. I think it’s risky because trading is all about waiting for the right setups. Sometimes the best decision is not to trade. Setting profit targets can lead to over-trading and over risking. I do think setting goals in life, in general, is important, and what’s even more important is celebrating them. You need to have something to work towards. This goal can be very small, but it will feel good once you get there. Celebrate every moment of it.
Setting profit targets can lead to over-trading and over risking.
How would you describe your attitude towards risk?
I feel like I’m excellent at managing my risk. I always risk a certain % of my folio and rarely exceed 3%. I never win huge, but I also never lose big; that’s the way to go.