When Millionaires Attack
So I trade in Ethereum on an exchange called Kraken. You might have heard of it. If so, you might have heard it's terrible. I have my reasons for using it though, so let's put that aside for now.
One issue that has been a problem lately is the size of Kraken. Probably as a consequence to some issues with the platform it has become pretty small compared to the top 3 exchanges. Lately this has given rise to some particularly rich individuals playing around with the market. I was trading away, watching the market go up when suddenly it drops $5 and has a big old 250 Ether plug to prevent it from going up. On Bitfinex this would be nothing, but on Kraken it can really ruin your day if you want the market going in a specific direction. Volume is low after all.
So I'm cursing out my computer for the market suddenly dropping unnaturally like that, and then it happens again. Another 250 ether at another $5 lower offer. Then another. Now Kraken is trading over $20 below market average and there isn't enough people awake to react to it. It goes up slowly, but I was banking on the market going up. Now I'm waiting here concerned over if they're going to drop another bomb or if the market is going to drop overall before Kraken can recover.
Now, $20 isn't a huge deal. Ethereum is almost at 1k. But someone just dropped a bomb, selling their own ether at a greatly reduced price because ???. I can't think of any reason to go THAT far below market. A drop of $10 will likely fill your order pretty fast, and the fact that there are tiers of money blocks suggests some ill intent.
Kraken seems to really attract these types too. It's the exchange that was used to crash the market when someone decided to sell a crap-ton of ether and drop the market down to around $1. Yesterday someone dropped the market instantly by $50. I suspect there's just one or two really rich fellows of ill repute that are pushing around their money in such a way. As much as I hope they throw their money in a way that benefits me, I'd rather if they just disappear. Let the market flow naturally.
Yea I moved everything out of kraken, glad i did.
It's one mess of an exchange. It's kind of the devil I know though, and as a day trader knowing that devil even for a short while is an important asset. That and Bitfinex isn't accepting new clients.
Day trading is stresful job. I am holding everything to the day I die :D
It certainly can be. For me it's less about the day-to-day activity, I have the nerves to keep up with it now, but rather the fact that I can't turn it off. I've spent several nights up way too late trying to catch the market. Also have had several major losses where I've gone from multiplying my investment by 6 to losing almost everything. That gets very depressing.
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STOPSorry to hear that brother! I am on Bittrex, Binnance, Gdax, and a couple of the DEX's out there but, I havent made my decision on which is the best! Being that I am US based I cant do margin, etc, so limits me quite frankly! If you have any other options, let me know! I am daytrading small scalps on Gdax, but only because of no fees when done with limit orders . So its not too bad! @johnyliltoe
I was going to hop over to GDAX, but being from Canada I apparently can't trade on the ETH/USD pairing, which is what I'm used to. I'm considering moving back to my original exchange, QuadrigaCX, but that would eliminate my ability to do margin. At the same time though it has a very easy to use interface and no delays, so with Kraken eating up my patience and my wallet when it becomes unresponsive it may be the better bet.
This is so true. It's as if they don't care to hide the manipulation because people can't be bothered to give a crap
That, and what is there to do? These are unregulated and smallish markets, so it's not like there's anything illegal going on. It's just in poor taste which is what can be largely expected when there's big money involved.