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@Marenaltman is an astrologer and crypto trader studying the correlation between planetary cycles and price action in crypto market.
What attracted you to trading?
I’ve always had an interest in tracking patterns and cycles. So once I entered crypto and started looking at candlestick charts and understood how they represent largely psychological trends, I was immediately very interested.
What’s your trading experience?
I’ve been in crypto since spring 2020 and trading since fall 2020, with my major focus turning to trading in very early 2021. I’ve literally only traded crypto. I have a retirement account with some Tesla and Palantir, but that’s my only exposure other than crypto in my entire portfolio.
How long did it take you to become profitable?
For my few months in 2020, I’d trade up very small amounts, lose most of it and start all over. I knew I’d be losing at first in order to learn my own strengths, weaknesses, and how to navigate an entire field I’d never gotten any formal training in.
Early 2021, when I had a custodial service wallet hacked and all my ETH was stolen, I knew I had to get serious and profitable asap. That’s when I really went into high gear, learning from other traders and finding what worked for me. I’m still openly a total noob, fucking up in the wide open for everyone to see because I value transparency. It’s just fucking easier to show everything than nitpick to seem perfect, but I’m much better and more selective than I used to be.
“I KNEW I’D BE LOSING AT FIRST IN ORDER TO LEARN MY OWN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES,”
— MAREN ALTMAN
Do you have a daily routine?
I wake up, meditate, work out, and take the first 1-2 hours to myself. I’m a sober vegan yogi who’s totally insufferable and a hardass when it comes to my lifestyle and routine. After my morning routine, I check the market and see what the “easy” trades are: what’s moving a ton or in a very clear identifiable support or resistance level? I’d rather catch a clear pump or dump or pattern I feel comfortable identifying than force a BTC or ETH trade when they aren’t as clear-cut.
My trades are usually within 4 hours, often under 1, and when I hit my quota, I’m done for the day. Besides that, I work nonstop with content and TikTok and like to meet friends for coffee or food at some point about once a day. I’m in bed by 10 or 11.
What's the worst thing about trading?
The worst thing about trading is the ability to lose so much of what you’ve built so quickly. Proper risk management mitigates this, but even beyond a number, just the realization that you’ve erased so many gains with one bad move really sucks. You can’t call someone for a redo or talk your way out of fucking up your own setup.
Tell us about your most memorable trade.
My best was buying in on BTC + ETH on July 26th based on my astro call. Also heavily derisking in early December before the eclipse on December 4th.
My worst trade was putting 6 figures into Everest $ID because I believed someone who said it was a Bill Gates conspiracy-connected coin that would play into the New World Order and was the next Chainlink. I was a total idiot, and it was, like, February 2021. Anyway, I rode it to a 2x, then down 90% and sold at 4 figures. Absolute worst trade of my life, but I have no regrets honestly. It’s all about learning and making sure I can at least afford acai.
What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?
Have a plan. I know that sounds stupid and basic. But after having my own platform for a while now and sharing my trades, I can see how many people are idiots with no plan and blindly ape, accumulating unrealized gains and then losing them to the point of liquidation. Have a plan, look at your levels and your targets and fucking stick to them. My problem is greed, which is why I’m a better shorter usually since I stick to those levels. Have a plan, stick to it, and don’t overtrade otherwise.
“HAVE A PLAN, LOOK AT YOUR LEVELS AND YOUR TARGETS AND FUCKING STICK TO THEM.”
— MAREN ALTMAN
What drives you to keep trading?
Trading profits are a direct reward for skill and performance. I have ongoing issues feeling "worthy" of other forms of income, as they feel like I have not "earned them". I know this is a bullshit insecurity thing, but the root of why I keep trading is the feeling of deservedness from the success. And the fact that I'm weirdly better at short-term trades than picking any long-term winners.
What does ‘making it’ look like to you?
It doesn't look like anything to me because I'm insatiable and know that feeling accomplished is mythical. But as a simple concept to aim for and knowingly never arrive, I conceptualize "making it" as being a billionaire, frankly.
“I CONCEPTUALIZE “MAKING IT” AS BEING A BILLIONAIRE, FRANKLY.”
— MAREN ALTMAN
What gave you the idea to start reading bitcoin birth charts?
Anything ever created has a birth chart. A birth chart is a chart of the position of the planets around the earth at any given moment. A birth chart can apply to a human birth, a company’s inception, or the genesis block of a digital asset.
I am in no way the first or only person who reads financial asset birth charts and looks at how the current sky is in congruence with these charts. Naturally, anytime I’m looking to forecast the future of something, whether a person or a material object,
It sounds weird to people not into astrology, but it’s truly not strange or out there, especially in the field of financial astrology, by which I am far from the best or most prolific, though I don’t know if anyone’s taken the exact direction I have.
Are there any complications charting an asset vs a person?
When reading people’s charts, the areas of life depend on a human life. With an asset, we have to adjust a bit. For example, the 7th house (chart sector) of committed relationships for a person may turn into the house of partnerships and mergers with an asset. The 1st house of identity and personality may turn into the house of overall vibe and energy of what the asset is known for representing.
With charting an asset, we can also be a little bit rougher and more honest, which I prefer. For example, with a human, if you see a shit alignment and it screams terrible events in a certain area of life, as a consulting astrologer, you may have to bring in psychology skills to approach this area carefully. Whereas if transits coming up for Bitcoin look gnarly, I can just be like “this shit looks bearish as fuck, nuke it” without worrying about offending a person behind the chart.
How does astrology fit in with your trading?
In using astrology to trade, the pattern synthesis and correlative evaluation is no different on a fundamental level to TA or any other data tracking. In fact, I often say that astrology is technical analysis for all of reality, as it is identifying repeating cycles on different timeframes for various world events. It is not causal, it is correlative, much like how the clock on the wall tells you that it’s 3 pm but does not make it 3 pm.
People can make fun of me, whatever, I get it, it’s a clout move and there are memes and shit now. But at its core, as I show in my videos, I’m tracking patterns like anyone else. Your quant probably uses similar concepts to mine. Real ones respect the rock.
“YOUR QUANT PROBABLY USES SIMILAR CONCEPTS TO MINE. REAL ONES RESPECT THE ROCK. ”
— MAREN ALTMAN
Who do you look up to or share ideas with?
AstroCryptoGuru / CryptoDamus on Twitter is the only other financial astrologer I’m friends with and talk with about the market. Can’t say I really look up to anyone as early this year a bunch of people tried to say I copied all my content, and I’m easily the most hated spiritual figure online because of it. 90% of financial astrologers are convinced I’m some fraud who steals content, and they’ve all blocked me. Honestly really sad given I don’t know them or anything about them, but it’s prevented me from learning from others. I’m just kind of looking at my own track record and what I’m finding while learning how to execute better.
Why do you think many traders react so negatively to your ideas?
I’m a stick-thin goth bitch with no sense of humor who posts lingerie pictures and then comes into crypto and is profitable trading with the fucking planets. I’d probably hate the shit out of myself too if I were them.
I think it’s a lot of shock and projection onto my identity rather than actually thinking about what I’m doing tracking correlations. Once people hear me speak, they often apologize or say they now better understand what I’m doing. But I get it. Even if quants are familiar with some of the cycles I track, the average unprofitable midwit thinks I’m an absolute idiot. It is what it is. Definitely not the worst thing to deal with, so I don’t complain.
Does criticism of your approach to the market bother you?
Criticism does not, as I invite scepticism. I think we should be sceptical of any and all new concepts we are introduced to. I find it predictable that many of the most successful, often public, traders are pretty vocal with me about their basic familiarity with astrology and/or the lunar cycle in trading. It’s truly not that weird, and criticizing my skill is warranted as an absolute noob
I often say that I ask for the universe to obliterate my beliefs so that I can learn better and become wiser. So criticism, no, it doesn’t bother me, though I can’t say that some of the hate can be pretty gnarly to deal with, mostly when people are bitter enough to make up narratives about your character. But just trolling me about “trading with stars” which I’m not doing as I don’t track any star but the Sun, so I trade with planets, technically, is annoying but not super bothersome.
What's the most important quality in a trader and why?
Objectivity. We’re literally trading asset pairs. Exchanging Bitcoin for US Dollars or vice versa. There’s no hodler “conviction” or “diamond hands” emotional fortitude. We’re literally just identifying the strength demonstrated in one asset versus another and trading to maximize our profit. Complicating trading with emotional hope for one direction or another will fuck you over and blind you to the probable price action. The most astute pattern identifier can be a shit trader if their emotions get in the way of execution.
Why do you think you have success trading?
In using astrology, I’ve been looking at patterns, cycles, and trends for much of my life. I like making predictions based on past correlations, and I’m used to living my life that way with using astrology to predict world events in my own life or a macro news level. Why not put my money where my mouth is and identify patterns in candlesticks too? So my success is the edge of pattern recognition that I’ve built up over a while, paired with objectivity. If I’m wrong, it’s usually because of a shit noob setup rather than emotional FOMO or fear.
What's something you've learned in the last 6 months that has made you a better trader?
Identifying your own strengths and weaknesses is key. You have to know the car you’re driving to drive it well. I see some pretty great traders that bring in indicators or considerations I know will never be my edge. For example, I might have a background in philosophy and am used to thinking about esoteric or ethical topics at a high level, but when it comes to macro market analysis, I simply do not have the lifespan to make really astute takes on where DeFi is headed. I don’t fucking know. It’ll go up, but I don’t have alpha or edge for the best early-stage DeFi or otherwise to invest in and sit on for a year to get 100x.
My strength is pattern recognition and objectively identifying support and resistance levels, with astrology underlying it to influence fundamental price action direction. So don’t ask me what metaverse project to invest in for the next year, I have absolutely no fucking idea and I can’t even do justice explaining what a metaverse is. What I can do is look at a chart and tell you where I think it’s headed in the short-term price-wise.
“DON’T ASK ME WHAT METAVERSE PROJECT TO INVEST IN FOR THE NEXT YEAR, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING IDEA.”
— MAREN ALTMAN
What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading? Any tips to avoid it?
My biggest mistakes come from greed. Often where I lose is hitting my long target and seeing it continue ripping, so I long again and as it retraces, I hang on “just a little more” until my stop is hit, and gains I’d made are lost and then some. It’s a story we all know very well I’m sure. The best way I’ve found to avoid this is just the pattern of hitting my daily quota and stepping away. The other moves I make are longer-term swing trades, so less greed comes into those since I’m in spot and not watching 15-minute candles. But my biggest mistakes always come from greed because I can get really ambitious. It’s why I have a better track record shorting because I hit the level and then get out pretty on plan.
If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be and why?
My number one piece of advice to anyone trading is to aim to live a stable, supportive, healthy lifestyle. It sounds stupid, I know. But this kind of career depends literally all on you. Your mental health and even physical well-being will directly be the foundation for your execution. I’m sure plenty of twenty-somethings who have made 9 figures will laugh and say they got here eating and sleeping like shit, but my advice still stands, take care of your fucking hierarchy of needs first. Shit setups and noob mistakes almost always come after a period of being very stressed and not my normal, mentally-kind-of-on-point self. Not that I’m the most mentally on-point. But most of my mistakes, whether greed or careless noob bullshit, come from my literal mind and body not being up to speed. And most people probably don’t have to be sober vegans who practice a lot of stoicism. It’s just what I enjoy.