EP 053: The Wild West of Trading โ€“ @BTCVIX takes us inside the realm of Bitcoin speculation

Aaron Fifield Podcast 2 Comments


This week I interviewed a short-term Bitcoin trader, who goes by the alias of ‘BTCVIX’.

As you can imagine, this episode is a little different โ€“ this is an area (or should I say, a market) we haven’t yet explored on the podcast, in past interviews.

With that being said, I found this discussion to be really interesting and I’m certain you will also. Some of the topics we spoke about include:

  • Why VIX went from initially trading stocks and options, into Bitcoin markets โ€“ the Wild West.
  • We spend plenty of time discussing the landscape of Bitcoin; about how the digital currency is ‘mined’, how inflation is hard coded in the ‘ledger’, and the real ‘counter-party risks’.
  • Changing the way you may think about consistency, and understanding non-linear outcomes within your trading results.

But that’s just a quick sample of topics ahead โ€“ hit the ‘play’ button to learn more about the deep realm of cryptocurrencies.

“When you recognise that emotion is affecting trading, you have to have some defense mechanism.”

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Lessons learnt in this interview:

  • BTCVIX shares his early trading experiences, jumping between; penny stocks, biotechs, and options โ€“ before discovering Bitcoin.
  • By definition, BTCVIX explains ‘what is a Bitcoin’ for those who are unfamiliar, and what lead him into actively trading Bitcoin markets.
  • Why traditional technical analysis may be more applicable to Bitcoin, and who are the key players in this market.
  • BTCVIX speaks about the idea of ‘Trader Amnesia’ โ€“ a simple (yet effective) concept that has helped him to treat each day without bias.
  • The types of news and events that can impact the price of Bitcoin, and a brief history lesson about one of the first real-world uses for this digital currency.
  • How Bitcoin is ‘mined’, what does the ‘block’ refer to, and how inflation is hard-coded into the ‘ledger’.
  • Why someone would choose to trade Bitcoin over listed markets โ€“ and what are the benefits, barriers to entry and risks.
  • Thinking about consistent profitability in non-linear terms, and how this was a game-changer for BTCVIX.
  • Plus much more…

Links and resources mentioned:

  • The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb โ€“ BTCVIX is a great fan of Nassim’s work, and this title helped him to stop thinking in linear terms.
  • Antifragile by Nassim Taleb โ€“ A more-recent book from Nassim, written to help you thrive in uncertainty, which BTCVIX also highly recommends for traders.
  • WhaleClub.org โ€“ A 24/7 Bitcoin trading community and discussion of 200+ members from over 25 countries; BTCVIX was one of the founding members.
  • Telegram Messenger โ€“ An alternative platform for the WhaleClub Teamspeak, using the Telegram app so you can be involved with the group on any device.
  • @BTCVIX โ€“ And be sure to follow BTCVIX on Twitter!

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