For this exclusive HedgeTrade report, we talked to social traders who have taken their knowledge of traditional and Forex markets and moved into crypto trading. Learn from their experience and follow them to access the amazing trader content they give to their communities, including charts, strategies and signals.
EXCAVO
When EXCAVO first created his blog account on TradingView years ago, he was not even thinking about earning money from the content he provided in the “Ideas” section. It was more a way to give something useful to other traders entering the space and trying to learn.
When 2016-2017 rolled around, EXCAVO started to see many traders joining the crypto revolution. But most had no familiarity with cryptocurrencies or trading and not knowing how it all worked. That’s when he first began sharing his experiences with novice traders. This ultimately led him to his #1 ranking on TradingView, which he achieved in December 2017 (currently, he ranks #2).
Getting to that first place spot was mainly the result of his commitment to two ideas. “I made it a priority to transfer everything that worked in traditional markets to the cryptocurrency market”, he told us. “And then teach as many people as possible.” His dedication to doing just that remains today, as EXCAVO continues to provide ample free and paid content to his large following.
“We continue to work for the global crypto community”. – EXCAVO
AlexGrover
AlexGrover has been busy growing her community on TradingView and Twitter, building trust with her value-led posts and charts. She always caters to her community with helpful tips and easy to understand explanations of market movements. Her active channels, because of her simple yet concise writing style, are a great place for new traders. There, they can get their feet wet in crypto trading by learning from a more experienced trader.
While growing a community has gone well, there’s one aspect about social trading that has been a challenge for AlexGrover:
“Lack of trust is one of the greatest barriers when trying to monetize technical indicators.”
People coming into the space often are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content online about cryptos. Not only that, they have no clear way to determine which way to go or which group is a scam. So AlexGrover works on building this trust by providing regular commentary on markets to help newer traders learn the ropes.
And for those wanting to build their own social investment network, she suggests cutting yourself some slack and giving yourself the time needed to build a trusted reputation.
“Potential clients expect traders to be performant. But they also expect the creator to be extremely proactive in their community. This takes time to achieve.”
James Jason
James Jason is a financial analyst and currency trader at Mitrade. As with other traders we’ve spoken to, his switch to crypto from traditional stock trading took place in
2017. When asked why he made the switch, James’ answer was this:
“Honestly, my first reason for moving to crypto trading was because I am a market addict and I wanted to trade on weekends and holidays. Weekends looked like months as I anxiously waited for Mondays to resume trading. Therefore, when cryptocurrencies were adopted as tradable assets, I did not hesitate to switch.”
As a veteran of both traditional and crypto markets, James finds one of the biggest challenges to trading crypto is the huge spreads: “Due to the complex nature of crypto markets and acquiring the data feed, most brokers charge a higher spread – something that we understand as traders.”
The second challenge he brought up has to do with the differences between virtual currencies and traditional assets. “Cryptocurrency markets need more attention than fiat currencies or other trading instruments,” he told us. “For instance, Bitcoin can stall for a whole day then the moment you decide to take a nap, you wake up to huge spikes that took out your stop loss or setups that formed and left without you.”
Import things to remember about social trade
James emphasized that it was important to keep in mind that cryptos are “free-floating instruments not pegged on tangible factors such as economic data like currencies.” Because of this, he says, “They can be a little unpredictable. Or, they might ignore the normal market patterns, which are always respected by fiat markets and other traditional instruments.”
That’s why he recommends using extra risk management strategies and paying close attention to charts. For those folks considering crossing over to crypto from traditional markets, he suggests having an open mind and not thinking it will be the same as trading stocks or Forex. Additionally, understanding human psychology can be a great advantage:
“You will realize that crypto markets are more predictable if you understand human psychology and sentiment. Crypto markets are driven by demand and supply. If you know how people are likely to behave during specific situations, then you can easily make money in these new markets.”
Shanka Jayasinha
Shanka Jayasinha, who is currently CEO of Edge AI Technologies, shared with us how he first got lured into cryptocurrency trading. “The speculative opportunity it represents, new assets and markets always have pricing inefficiencies which can be exploited.”
But Shanka soon realized that trading crypto presented several challenges. “At the very beginning, it was hard to determine the drivers behind it. In stocks, you could have earnings, economic policy or global events driving a stock up. But in crypto, it’s just news of hopes and potential outcomes from different sources. So you need to analyse what drives which cryptos.”
For newcomers into the crypto trading space, Shanka feels it’s crucial to “not get caught up in the theories and biases you may find online. The news around crypto is much more extreme as its coverage relies mainly on online blogs that anyone could write instead of being covered by major newspapers that run a reputation risk for being too outspoken.”
Perhaps the best way to transition to crypto from trading stocks and currencies is to ease your way in. As Shanka explains, “Start slow, make sure you have a strategy with an edge, and then test it out. See the results and adapt accordingly.”
RocketBomb
RocketBomb is another social trader who shared her experience with us. As an active blogger on TradingView, she puts a lot of thought into the content she provides. She makes sure it is understandable to the many new traders coming on board.
While RocketBomb has long since crossed over to trading mainly cryptocurrencies, she says there’s still a part of her that really enjoys Forex trading. “The Forex market is very special for me. I feel calm trading there. I have a completely different strategy compared to the crypto market.”
It makes sense that traditional markets would seem so calm, as they’ve been around much longer than cryptocurrencies. But she has not wavered in her enthusiasm for virtual assets. “What I like most about crypto trading is the adrenaline, the drive, or that feeling of racing with the bulls.”
For those stock and Forex traders who are considering the transition to cryptocurrencies, RocketBomb has these words of wisdom: “Be prepared for difficulties and have a great desire to develop, then your success is guaranteed.”
Social trading is evolving
Crypto social trading has evolved rapidly since its beginnings in 2017. As such, the challenges for social traders in building trust continue to proliferate. More and more traders of all experience levels are trying their hand using social trading tools like TradingView and HedgeTrade.
Social trading platforms are great places for traders to share their ideas. At HedgeTrade, they also have a way to monetize those ideas and build trust more quickly through the use of blockchain-verified predictions. Check us out today to find out more!
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