day trading - what's the catch?

[Jamie_Boulder]

No catch, it's basically gambling lol with the exchanges being the real winner.

[littlewizard]

Sometimes I am confused, I see "day trade" a lot, and not sure what it means. Does it mean short term trade?

[Gimmelfarb]

Sometimes I am confused, I see "day trade" a lot, and not sure what it means. Does it mean short term trade?

yes, short term. could be within the day or several times a day (intra-day), or over a period of several days. basically, it's playing small moves and "scalping" rather than "swing trading" larger moves.

[hollowframe]

the catch: you give all your money away to the better traders.

[InwardContour]

the catch: you give all your money away to the better traders.

This is not necessarily true. If you truly know and understand the market then you can potentially make money from "day trading"

At this point the market has become too large and efficient for day traders to really profit. In other words the market reacts to new almost instantly and is accurately priced.

[Habeler876]

the catch: you give all your money away to the better traders.

This is not necessarily true. If you truly know and understand the market then you can potentially make money from "day trading"

At this point the market has become too large and efficient for day traders to really profit. In other words the market reacts to new almost instantly and is accurately priced.

Sure, the better traders make money -- the worst ones lose it. And most lose.

I disagree on "too large and efficient for day traders to really profit". Forex is bigger by huge magnitudes, and professional day traders trade that market as well. Admittedly, I've heard forex is more challenging than bitcoin.

[Salmon1989]

the catch: you give all your money away to the better traders.

This is not necessarily true. If you truly know and understand the market then you can potentially make money from "day trading"

At this point the market has become too large and efficient for day traders to really profit. In other words the market reacts to new almost instantly and is accurately priced.

Sure, the better traders make money -- the worst ones lose it. And most lose.

I disagree on "too large and efficient for day traders to really profit". Forex is bigger by huge magnitudes, and professional day traders trade that market as well. Admittedly, I've heard forex is more challenging than bitcoin.

With a more volatile market, the day traders have more opportunity to make profit.
In that sense, bitcoin is a much better place for daily traders than forex or stock or gold.

[Habeler876]

the catch: you give all your money away to the better traders.

This is not necessarily true. If you truly know and understand the market then you can potentially make money from "day trading"

At this point the market has become too large and efficient for day traders to really profit. In other words the market reacts to new almost instantly and is accurately priced.

Sure, the better traders make money -- the worst ones lose it. And most lose.

I disagree on "too large and efficient for day traders to really profit". Forex is bigger by huge magnitudes, and professional day traders trade that market as well. Admittedly, I've heard forex is more challenging than bitcoin.

With a more volatile market, the day traders have more opportunity to make profit.
In that sense, bitcoin is a much better place for daily traders than forex or stock or gold.

Difference is, in forex, traders use 500:1, 1000:1 leverage -- in bitcoin, the most I see is 10:1 (which is crazy), and on the more prominent exchanges, 3:1 and 2.5:1. Makes a big difference on little moves.

[Salmon1989]

Difference is, in forex, traders use 500:1, 1000:1 leverage -- in bitcoin, the most I see is 10:1 (which is crazy), and on the more prominent exchanges, 3:1 and 2.5:1. Makes a big difference on little moves.

Other than btc.sx and bitfinex, are there any other exchanges have leveraged trading?

[Habeler876]

Difference is, in forex, traders use 500:1, 1000:1 leverage -- in bitcoin, the most I see is 10:1 (which is crazy), and on the more prominent exchanges, 3:1 and 2.5:1. Makes a big difference on little moves.

Other than btc.sx and bitfinex, are there any other exchanges have leveraged trading?

FX Open has leveraged trading, I believe, but I haven't used it, so I can't say much. BTCE has leveraged trading through the Meta Trader platform (you can find it under the "finance" tab.

[Salmon1989]

Difference is, in forex, traders use 500:1, 1000:1 leverage -- in bitcoin, the most I see is 10:1 (which is crazy), and on the more prominent exchanges, 3:1 and 2.5:1. Makes a big difference on little moves.

Other than btc.sx and bitfinex, are there any other exchanges have leveraged trading?

FX Open has leveraged trading, I believe, but I haven't used it, so I can't say much. BTCE has leveraged trading through the Meta Trader platform (you can find it under the "finance" tab.

Thanks for the information, I didn't know btce offer leveraged trading as well.

[lemfuture]

the catch is that the commissioner get richer

[ObscureBean]

Hello,
I'm just interested if is it possible or there is some catch. I see that price of BTC on stocks is different (of course) but the difference is big enough to make money with just buying on one stock and selling on the other one. So my Q is what's the catch? I already checked fees and still it's should be ok.

I've never trade BTC (yet) so correct me if I'm wrong or there is only classic risks like falling price..

I check price @  http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/USD.html

Thanks in advance for your time.

What you're referring to is called arbitrage. You buy low on one exchange and sell a bit higher on another. This is a well-known exploit in trading.
I've done it successfully a number of times with other coins. With BTC, you'll have to invest a lot of USD for it to be really profitable.
The only thing you have to be wary of is price volatility combined with transaction time (the time it takes to receive the BTC can vary quite a bit).
If you've noticed the price difference, other people have too 

[ALToids]

Also note that if you're trading via arbitrage then record keeping can get pretty messy and if you're required to pay tax on the income it can become cumbersome without a script or database.

[cookmac]

I never seen a successful arbitrage since the deposits or wire transfers are always seemed to be delayed.

And the exchange like btc-e states they never receive it etc.

[hotsaucee]

The catch is losing your money lol. 

[ajareselde]

Hello,
I'm just interested if is it possible or there is some catch. I see that price of BTC on stocks is different (of course) but the difference is big enough to make money with just buying on one stock and selling on the other one. So my Q is what's the catch? I already checked fees and still it's should be ok.

I've never trade BTC (yet) so correct me if I'm wrong or there is only classic risks like falling price..

I check price @  http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/USD.html

Thanks in advance for your time.

There are many ways to predict the market, but none of them are correct 100%.
You have to be able to admit that some trades are bad ones, short and go on trading like nothing happened,
also, in some cases , the market is manipulated so that many of those who analyse charts make the bad move.

If youre going to start trading anything, start in low bets, and as you progress and learn more, increase your bets accordingly

[apepoof]

Isnt it like gambling?

[Peter882]

Isnt it like gambling?

Pretty much. There are some different theories to predict asset price though.

[Kenshin]

I think forex trading is easier than bitcoin trading. Forex trading, you can see news what is happening in that country, major events and press release. All these can move the price of forex. It is more predictable. Where as bitcoin trading, the price just goes up and down for no reasons most of the time. 

I used my skill and experience in forex trading, and apply that to bitcoin trading. I lost over £200 in one day. That is why I don't trade in bitcoin, I just hold.