Any BTC daily traders out there?

[bitofcoin]

I am just dipping my toe into it and would like to be able to ask a few (maybe more) questions that are probably a bit stupid!

No but I do have some and will watch this thread.

Is it just bitcoin you hold or do you have other cryptos?

I dont trade (much), but I am pretty deep into crypto.

What are you wanting to know?

Hi both, sorry for the late reply, I hadn't realised anyone had responded!

So, I managed to get answer for my very naive questions, so I feel a bit more clued up. I currently have BTC but am also watching TRX and may look to invest in this too.

Can I ask if you've ever considered day trading? I was unsure at first, but now I've worked out I can make money daily, even if the share price reduces/stays the same. Or do you see a risk that perhaps I'm missing?

Watching

I have day traded in the past, and quickly discovered I'm not actually very good at it. I've had more success with swing trading, but I find the time involved doesnt really make it worth it, and tbh, I cant really be bothered.

90+% of day traders lose money in their first year, so unless you are particularly skilled in technical analysis the prospects arent good.
Most serious day traders use bots (like hummingbot) to impliment their strategy rather than doing them by hand, as the crypto market moves very very fast.

If I were you I would start with swing trading (ie buy at one price, then set a limit sell order for a substantially higher price, as soon as it sells, set a limit order to buy for a lower price....then if and when the market runs away from you, reassess.

In terms of things to consider.

1. if you are day trading on only one exchange you will get rekt. Arbitrage is a massive part of crypto trading, and most amateur traders will have 3-4 exchange accounts. Pro-traders will have around 8-10 Swing trading is possible tho.

1. Watch out for fees. Typical fees are around 0.1% for a taker and higher for a maker.. Usually around 0.2%. There are also withdrawal and sometimes deposit fees if you want move your crypto off the exchange.

1. Not your keys, not your coins applies. You do not have control over your private key while it is on the exchange, so if there is an exit scam or the exchange gets shut down by regulators, you have lost it all. Crypto is not FCA protected, you are your own bank.

1. Crypto-crypto trades and crypto-fiat trades are taxable under CGT, whcih is an added complication and HMRC are becoming more proactive in tracking crypto. Its possible to end up owing more in tax than you actually have left at the end of a tax year.

For a new trader, I'd investigate stop-losses to minimise the impact of market crashes (crypto markets are both highly volatile and highly irrational), and stay away from margin trading, no matter how tempting it may be.

Sorry, I just re-read that and realised how negative it sounds.

Like I said, I dont trade very much and I wouldn't really encourage others to as there are so many stories around the crypto community of people who have made a lot of money from it, became over-confident then lost it all. But it can be quite fun, and you can definitely grow your holdings so long as you are disciplined and dont let your emotions rule your head.

Some positives

1. Most cryptonerds agree that btc is on an upward trend, and is likely to be for another 9-18 months, so if you are looking to increase your fiat (ie ££), then this is a very good time to get started.

1. Swing trading, where you set the price substantially higher to sell and substantially lower to buy and have trades going through perhaps every 5-10 days (and if you dont catch a trade, then reassess your orders) is much lower risk than high volume day trading and allows you to capture profit from the volatility with much lower risk.

1. Take out a proportion of your "winnings" every month or so, after a few months you should have made back your original money and are playing with house money. At that point you can take more risks as its pure profit. Its a good idea to continue to take money out regularly, and never chase losses by putting more in (thats when it turns from trading to gambling).

1. If you do decide to up your trading amount, make sure that you are doing it through rational decision making, rather than either the exhilaration of success or the anxiety of having suffered losses.

1. Its a good idea to take out both fiat and bitcoin. There are bitcoin savings accounts that are offering up to 8% interest at the moment. If you are relaxed about not having control over your private key and want the bitcoin to grow while it is off the exchange, they are worth looking into.

Good luck.

I lack the skills (and nerve) to day trade. Furthermore, I'm always short of time. For me, the best strategy is dollar cost averaging. I buy the same amount each week regardless of how the charts are looking. It has worked out well for me so far.

I had a garden takeaway with friends a few weeks ago and one was asking where to put a sum of money. I offered to help her buy bitcoin but she went with another friend's advice to buy premium bonds instead as she was intimidated by bitcoin. I'm not sure when it will stop being seen as a scary outlier by the 99%.

Yeah, I would agree, if you are new to crypto, buying a little bit of bitcoin regularly is the way to go. No need to buy a full one, just keep stacking sats and guard them carefully.

People see bitcoin with its massive fluctuations and think "hey, there's money to be made here", and there is....BUT, there are also a whole load of other people/institutions also trying to catch that money, and they can stay solvent a lot longer than you can.