Welcome to our Community Insights column, where we check in with HedgeTrade social traders and they share their experiences on our platform. Our first contributor, Thebo, once a top trader on our Leaderboard and an active HedgeTrade user, has agreed to give us their insights about using the platform. 

What is your level of expertise with trading?

When I first signed up to HedgeTrade Beta in November 2019, I’d never traded stocks before in my life. And I’d only done a handful of crypto exchange transactions. I’m not a numbers person, I’m a big picture person. So it’s more interesting for me to watch the movements of coins over time and try to think about what will happen next.

If you weren’t a trader, why did you sign up for HedgeTrade?

I signed up because I was first introduced to the project a few years ago and saw potential, so I kept my eye on it and when I got the beta invite I figured I’d try it out. Back then, there were a lot of shit projects circulating, but HedgeTrade stood out. I could see the value of getting expert information but also having some protection since most beginners don’t know how to get good information in the crypto space.

I’m no pro trader, but I’ve been obsessed with crypto and blockchain since early 2017. I figured I would give it a shot to see if it was something I could use to make some money and get better at trading. It turns out what I’ve learned over the years has helped me spot Blueprints that are worth buying.

What was your first earnings experience like on HedgeTrade?

My first experience was interesting and rather unexpected because I learned that there were different ways to profit besides just selling predictions. The first time I actually earned HEDG tokens was by betting against other people’s predictions. I quickly learned to sort the Blueprints by highest to lowest profit potential to find the most lucrative “Closed Failed” predictions. 

After figuring that out I stuck with it because it seemed that traders wouldn’t buy my novice predictions anyways. My focus turned towards seeking out the predictions I thought would be wrong, and there were lots to choose from. I go after big profit potential and big price moves. Not so much the half penny rises you see with XRP and some other coins. Bitcoin is super fun to make predictions on because it’s always on the move and speculation is everywhere.

What was your reaction to becoming the #1 Top Trader on the HedgeTrade Leaderboard?

When I reached the first place position it blew my mind. Really took me by surprise. I didn’t think what I was doing would ever get me on the Leaderboard. After I realized that the earnings you make from betting against predictions don’t go towards your leaderboard status, I started to publish my own predictions. I used the HEDG tokens I earned up to stake when I published the blueprints. I got REALLY lucky on a prediction I made in April for BTC/USD to reach $10,000 (from $6730) by December 31, 2020. 

With the halving, a pandemic, and everything else happening, this seemed like a conservative bet to me. But bitcoin surprised me and hit 10k in just a few weeks. That 48.6% profit potential is what propelled me to the number one spot on the HedgeTrade Leaderboard. 

I have yet to replicate that big profit number. Not too long after that big prediction closed, other traders took my place on the Leaderboard. But it was cool while it lasted! And, of course, I do intend to make it there again! By the way, I’m still buying predictions that don’t look feasible. It’s a steady way to earn small amounts of tokens, as long as I call it right! And truth be told, sometimes I just buy blueprints to pick the trader’s brain!  

If you’d like to contribute as a HedgeTrade user, contact info@rublix.com with the subject “Community Insights.”