Day trading BTC for those keen (never risk more than you can afford to lose)

[CIYAM]

If you are thinking of "day trading" BTC then this is a simple guideline that might be of some use (and as the title points out don't risk losing money you can't afford to lose by doing "day trading" as it is inherently a risky activity).

Firstly - do a thorough check about the exchange you intend to use for your day trading (make sure they are established and that they can prove they have BTC reserves in cold storage and after that consider things like their trading and withdrawal fees, etc.).

Next - only inject as much actual fiat as you are prepared to lose (i.e. think of it as gambling and that you are taking a bet).

Next - assuming that you are starting with fiat you need to purchase some BTC with that fiat. In order to give yourself the ability to buy at a potentially lower price later you might want to simply purchase BTC with half of the fiat that you injected (so now you have half fiat and half BTC held in your exchange account).

Next - create bids and asks and record them yourself (don't just rely upon the exchanges records and be sure to check they are reporting everything accurately).

Next - if you manage a buy then create a sell for a price greater than you just bought for (allowing for any fees of course) and if you manage a sell then create a buy for a price less than you sold for.

Hint - it is always worth having a very low buy and very high sell in place just in case of dramatic price changes.

Next - do not deviate from the method - if you end up running out of fiat or BTC then you just "have to wait" for the price to enable you to trade again.

The last point is perhaps the most important - if you can't stop yourself from breaking such a simple set of rules then you are most likely going to end up losing.

Can you profit out of such a simple day-trading system?

Provided that BTC remains as volatile as it has for the last few years then it is very likely that you can.

[BTCBinary]

Great indications to follow for someone wanting to do day Trading with BTC. I have been doing day trade with a buch of altcoins and have won big but also lost a lot. Now I'm sticking with BTC daytrade because it is less volatile!

[equator]

If you are thinking of "day trading" BTC then this is a simple guideline that might be of some use (and as the title points out don't risk losing money you can't afford to lose by doing "day trading" as it is inherently a risky activity).

Firstly - do a thorough check about the exchange you intend to use for your day trading (make sure they are established and that they can prove they have BTC reserves in cold storage and after that consider things like their trading and withdrawal fees, etc.).

Next - only inject as much actual fiat as you are prepared to lose (i.e. think of it as gambling and that you are taking a bet).

Next - assuming that you are starting with fiat you need to purchase some BTC with that fiat. In order to give yourself the ability to buy at a potentially lower price later you might want to simply purchase BTC with half of the fiat that you injected (so now you have half fiat and half BTC held in your exchange account).

Next - create bids and asks and record them yourself (don't just rely upon the exchanges records and be sure to check they are reporting everything accurately).

Next - if you manage a buy then create a sell for a price greater than you just bought for (allowing for any fees of course) and if you manage a sell then create a buy for a price less than you sold for.

Hint - it is always worth having a very low buy and very high sell in place just in case of dramatic price changes.

Next - do not deviate from the method - if you end up running out of fiat or BTC then you just "have to wait" for the price to enable you to trade again.

The last point is perhaps the most important - if you can't stop yourself from breaking such a simple set of rules then you are most likely going to end up losing.

Can you profit out of such a simple day-trading system?

Provided that BTC remains as volatile as it has for the last few years then it is very likely that you can.

it is really a very good calculation you have provided , i was thinking of going for trading bitcoin, actually i was just buying bitcoin from exchange and sell them, this time i will try your formula with fiat currency and check how much can i earn.

[franky1]

add

Hint - if you now have 50% FIAT 50% bitcoin. and want to sell bitcoin because it has risen. DONT throw all the 50% at the higher price. because if it does sell.. but then never drops again.. your back to holding 100% fiat, 0 bitcoin and now having to buy higher at a loss and not benefit from the price rise, but getting hurt.
so put half of your bitcoin as a sell.. then if it rises. you still have half of your bitcoin (25% total holding) still benefiting from the rise. and then 25% of total hoarding converted to fiat for any slight drops. and your original 50% fiat that you havnt touched ready for the large drops


eventually you will have multiple active trades. multiple sells multiple buys all at different profitable levels.. sitting and waiting for the price to change to benefit.

general summerised advice
1. check for holes in your basket. (check legitimacy of exchange)
2. dont throw all your eggs into one basket
3. if your not sure on any trade. try half keep half

[CIYAM]

eventually you will have multiple active trades. multiple sells multiple buys all at different profitable levels.. sitting and waiting for the price to change to benefit.

Yup - and that is why you need to carefully record your own buy and sell offers to make sure you don't screw up (no exchange that I've seen so far will do this for you in a way that will let you easily work out your positions and I wouldn't trust them even if they did).