Nik Patel (Twitter handle: @cointradernik) is a professional trader, investor, author and consultant in the cryptocurrency field. He has been actively involved in the cryptocurrency market since 2013. Since then, Nik has attracted many followers on Twitter, and he also posts personal insights and chart comments about the market through his social account. He also writes token reports and shares his insights on the market through An Altcoin Trader’s Blog.

Binance Academy spoke with professional trader Nik Patel about trading investments, his overall market strategy, and his A look into the lives of cryptocurrency traders and investors.

Binance Academy: How did you get started with cryptocurrency trading?

Nik Patel:I didn’t know anything about cryptocurrencies before. Later, I stumbled upon the Dogecoin subreddit on Reddit in December 2013, and eventually the cryptocurrency Twitter in February 2014. I started trading the same month I signed up for MintPal.

Binance Academy: What were the results of your early trades? Are there any failed transactions?

Nik:The worst deal is the first ever. I signed up for MintPal and bought Mazacoin in February 2014 and I noticed it had been rising significantly for several days. Ultimately, I lost two-thirds of my starting capital on that deal.

Binance Academy:How long does it take for your trades to become profitable?

Nik:I spent about four months researching cryptocurrencies. Fortunately, I had good luck in 2014 and used the remaining time to fully learn, adjust and improve my trading strategies. Outside of cryptocurrencies, it took me over a year to become profitable.

Binance Academy: Are you still trading in non-crypto markets?

Nik:Yes, I am involved in all trading markets. In addition to cryptocurrencies, precious metals and indices are also two major investment areas.

Binance Academy: What is your most successful trade?

Nik: Calculated as a percentage of investment income, I bought Neutron at a price of about 130 satoshis. Then sell it at an average price of around 6,800 Satoshi, with a return of approximately 50 times the initial position.

Binance Academy: We have just discussed the peaks and undervaluations of your past trades. What do you think distinguishes successful trades from failed trades?

Nik:In successful trading, you follow the rules you set. In failed transactions, you often don't play by the rules and make emotional decisions regardless.

Binance Academy: Many successful investors would probably agree with this answer. The success of a transaction does not depend on actual results. Successful trades may result in losses in the future, and failed trades may result in profits. The key is to develop a smart strategy and stick with it for the long term.

We have been through the Bitcoin bear market for many years, what lessons have you learned from it?

Nik: When everyone (including myself) only cares about the price of altcoins against Bitcoin When doing so, don’t forget the dollar price. This is where the bubble was in January 2018. Next, I began to consider both price and historical context in my decision-making process.

Binance Academy: Interestingly, the herd mentality of social media can trigger and reinforce bias. While we're on the topic of community, which traders do you admire the most?

Nik:Tom Dante is probably my biggest influence on deal flow. In daily trading, I learned from him how to fine-tune strategies and constantly optimize transactions.

Binance Academy: Strategy optimization never ends and is an important task for all investors. What do you think your strengths are and how did you discover them? What advice would you give to new traders looking for an edge in the markets?

Nik: Cyclical position trading is an important strength of mine. I find low-cost projects that are undervalued by the market but have excellent fundamental indicators and maintain this trend throughout the market cycle. I recommend that novice traders keep detailed trading logs and analyze their strengths and weaknesses in the process of continuous learning.

Binance Academy: Probably most successful traders keep a trading journal. When tracking performance (especially in the early stages), it’s important to capitalize on your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. Do you typically set up a variety of trading strategies, or are you looking for a specific trading style?

Nik: For intraweek or intramonth trades (shorter than a week or a month), I Generally follow the core strategies of technical analysis. For long-term positions, I will research the fundamentals extensively, buy at historically low prices, and follow the laws of the market cycle.

Binance Academy: What is your longest holding period?

Nik:More than a year.

Binance Academy: Cryptocurrency is like life sometimes. Holding long-term positions and implementing risk management in a rapidly changing market is a big challenge. What do you think is the best metric for assessing the profitability of a currency or token?

Nik:Token issuance structure. Inflation is a stabilizing indicator that can lead to high returns or cause token decay.

Binance Academy:Do you incorporate on-chain data indicators into your trading strategy?

Nik:I like to pay attention to the transaction volume on the chain to determine whether there is speculation (based on transactions). I also looked extensively at a variety of detailed metrics (such as users with the most coins).

Binance Academy: Do you prefer technical analysis or fundamental analysis?

Nik:For long-term investing, I usually start with popular fundamental indicators and then follow technical analysis Make decisions. For intraweek spot trading, I only trade based on technical analysis. I do the same with leveraged trading.

Binance Academy: Let’s move on to some more practical trading points. They are important factors to consider and may not receive enough attention. What does your daily trading life look like, and how do you stay positive and sustainable while glued to a screen?

Nik: I tend to do market reviews on Sundays for all assets to get an idea of the week needs. I then detail this in a log and mark the charts, setting alerts on important price areas and attaching my actual needs in those areas. Finally, I execute trades and follow them regularly.

Most deals take more than a week to close, so I spend most of my time blogging, freelancing, reading, exercising, etc. I don't like staring at a screen, which is why I don't day trade. I use tips and systems when working from home, so I don’t have to watch the market for long periods of time. I don't like this lifestyle so I don't engage in day trading.

Binance Academy: Which tools are most important when trading?

Nik: I don’t need many tools. All I need is a laptop, a monitor, a tablet, TradingView, and a few brokers, depending on the assets being traded. These are enough.

Binance Academy: Of course, price prediction is an unavoidable topic. What do you think the price of Bitcoin will be at the end of 2020?

Nik:$26,000.

Thank you Nik for sharing your trading strategy with everyone. To learn more about trading, read our Guide to Margin Trading or The Ultimate Guide to Binance Futures Trading.

The following is a summary of the key points from this interview:

• Establish and follow some ground rules to avoid getting emotional . If you don't follow the rules when trading and start acting on impulse, your trading results may reflect negative emotions.

• Record transactions carefully and constantly look for ways to improve your strategy.

• Sometimes, it’s important to stop and think, and you must always be aware of whether different voices in the community are interfering with your trading.

• Don’t make the transaction overly complicated either. A good trading strategy and simple setup can help you go far.