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@Daancrypto is a full-time crypto trader using a combination of technical and fundamental analysis.
What attracted you to trading?
I was drawn to trading after losing most of my gains from the 2017 run. I initially went 10x on my investment and then lost that money in 2018. I wanted to be ahead of those mistakes next time. I got into TA and started learning all kinds of indicators - something new every day to improve as quickly as possible.
What kind of indicators did you start with? Do you still use them today?
Mainly RSI, Fibonacci levels and Moving averages at the start. I still use them to this day. I find that often the simpler, the better when it comes to trading.
How long have you been trading, and how long did it take to become profitable?
I have been actively trading since 2018, and it took me approximately six months to become profitable. I learned trading in the middle of the bear market, which made everything harder, so when we started going sideways/up things improved.
Why is learning in a bear market harder? Surely sideways is worse?
Learning in a bear market is hard, but I’d agree that learning in a sideways market is even worse. The problem with just starting off is that all you do is look for longs, and you often don’t even know how to trade both ways.
“THE PROBLEM WITH JUST STARTING OFF IS THAT ALL YOU DO IS LOOK FOR LONGS.”
— Daancrypto
What does a typical day look like for you?
I don't have a daily routine at all. Except for going to exercise in the morning. The rest of the day is all over the place, but I always keep the charts open.
Always? Do you try and take time away from the charts?
If I feel like I need a break, I’ll always take one. The recent crab market (Feb-Apr 2022) was boring, and I barely traded. If everything is volatile and a lot is happening, I can’t keep my eyes off the charts.
What's the worst thing about trading?
The worst thing about trading is the stress it can bring. But once you have that under control, it's much better.
When are you at your most stressed?
Sometimes there is little action, and I still fall into wanting to force a trade. If that trade goes against you, it feels like you made a dumb mistake which you could easily avoid. I also feel stressed when there is just so much happening that I always have the feeling that I miss an opportunity somewhere. It’s part of the game but hard to accept sometimes.
What’s your most memorable trade?
The most memorable "trade" must be me getting into Axie Infinity in the summer of 2020, waaay before NFTs became mainstream. Bought a ton of land, items and Axies and some of those 100x’ed six months later.
What’s your strategy for taking profits on something like that? How do you hold after 10x, thinking it will 100x?
I mainly look at how big a project is and if it’s growing/gaining or not. When I was already 10x on my investment in Axie, it was still super small, and NFTs were just starting to get hyped. That and the fact it was NFTs made the hold pretty easily. A token you sell in a few clicks. NFTs feel like an easier hold since you can’t get rid of them just like that. This is, of course, also a downside to NFTs if there is no buying liquidity.
What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?
The best trading advice is to use risk management. Nearly everyone screws up at the start, but once you have that under control and find something that works for you, everything is much better.
Can you share a time when you blew up due to poor risk management?
In the bear market of 2018, I thought it was a good time to try leverage trading on Bitmex. I chose random amounts and just went with my gut. Trading 1 min timeframes with way too big position sizes. I lost about 30% of my account due to that. After that, I learned how to manage my risk per trade and started a trading journal to keep myself disciplined.
“I CHOSE RANDOM AMOUNTS AND JUST WENT WITH MY GUT. TRADING 1 MIN TIMEFRAMES WITH WAY TOO BIG POSITION SIZES. ”
— DAANCRYPTO
What’s the most important quality in a trader?
The most important quality is discipline, I'd say. Something I lacked at the start but am well versed in now. The hardest thing for me was always position sizing, something the trading journal helped significantly as you have to actively write down your entries, plan and target. This forced me to think about the setup twice before taking it.
“JOURNALLING FORCED ME TO THINK ABOUT THE SETUP TWICE BEFORE TAKING IT.”
— DAANCRYPTO
Why do you think you have success trading?
I have success because I learn from my mistakes, and I'm eager to jump on new things quickly. Like the NFT hype, I was in way before almost everyone.
How do you find cycles early like NFTs? What are some things you look for or look to avoid?
This is still something I’m developing, but it’s mainly about being active in the space and having useful groups of people around you. I’m friends with many guys on CT, and whenever we’d find something interesting, we share and discuss it with each other. Networking is very important.
What’s something you’ve learned in the last six months that’s made you a better trader?
I'd say letting my trades run longer during a bull market. I used to always close a trade early and then call it there. Even though it might be in a gigantic run-up. That's still the bear market PTSD in me that causes that, I think! Haha!
Do you have a framework for letting trades run?
I often have 2 targets on the way to the main target, where I secure anywhere from 25-35% of the position to lock in gains early.
For my spot holdings, I DCA out on the way up during a bull cycle. Same with DCA’ing back in when I think a bottom is near.
What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?
To put my stop too close to invalidation. Especially on coins like BTC, it can wick way further than you'd expect. Giving your stop more room solves this usually.
Does this impact your targets for required R, or do you simply have wider stops but with higher hit rates?
No, just wider stops and higher hit rates indeed.
If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice, what would it be?
My advice would be to find something that works for you and deploy risk management. Try out everything. Follow interesting people on Twitter and join some Telegram or Discord groups with like-minded people. There’s plenty out there!