My Story as a Trader. Forex / Futures / Crypto

Hello Steemit!

I'm a 20something entrepreneur from Sydney, Australia with a focus on trading financial markets. While my bread and butter has always been trading forex, the rapid rise of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology behind it all has been hard to ignore.

With this first post, I wanted to introduce myself by briefly telling my story of how I got into trading and where it's taken me over the last decade or so. As a new trader, I wanted to hear from and speak to the types of traders that I could relate to and hope that my background is relatable to some of you.

I'll then speak about my initial thoughts on cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and what I plan to do heading forward on Steemit.

Here we go!

My Story as a Trader

Introduction to Trading

My introduction into the world of trading is almost so cliché that it hurts. I was a lazy IT uni student that was studying to work a 9-5 job that I was disillusioned by before I had even started.

I was always interested in financial markets from my brief introduction in high school economics so when the procrastination rich Google search of 'how to make money online' was punched in, it was the stock market related results that immediately grabbed my interest.

I was hitting the demo accounts of various CFD brokers hard, but as a broke 18 year old with limited access to funds, the commissions, fees and minimums pretty much priced me out. It was here that a chance flash of a "Trade Forex" Google ad changed my world forever! This was pre-GFC so the global forex broker landscape was a little different at the time, but I downloaded MT4 and was soon after trading on a USD denominated live account.

I'm the sort of guy that can figure out where I need to get to, and exert just the amount of effort required to get there. That is how I would describe my approach to academic study and the internship that led to a graduate position at a big 4 Australian bank. I did what I had to get done and I got where I needed to get.

The ability to trade forex during my nights was simply perfect for me. I was working my 9-5 during the day and just trying to read, learn and test every single forex trading system or piece of material that I could get my hands on. Forums like BabyPips and ForexFactory were an absolute wealth of information to a n00b like me and while I look back at the garbage I was playing with, it was all part of the learning process.

Going Full Time (First Try)

Trading forex absolutely consumed my life. I couldn't concentrate at work, I had my charts on my phone if I was out with friends. I let the markets completely consume me. I just wanted to be a full time trader so badly. I thought I was close and knew that by getting my degree and working for the bank, I had put myself in a low risk position to take the plunge.

In 2011, I remember sitting at my desk in the open plan office we were in at the time and building a USD/JPY long position. The Bank of Japan was constantly jawboning the market and threatening to intervene to weaken the Yen and with every short term re-test of resistance turned support at the bottom, I would buy.

I flicked to charts on my phone app and because the initial post-intervention move was so violent, the charts had zoomed out and it really didn't look like much of a move. But my PnL. Wow. Just wow. This was my opportunity to make the change I had been craving for so long and I took my chance with both hands.

(If you open up a USD/JPY daily chart, I basically bought the bottom. Oh the things I would do to still have some of that position running right now... Dirty things. Disgusting things.)

Trading has always been all about freedom. Not having to be somewhere each and every day. Work where you want, live where you want, do what you want. So on this premise, I quit my cushy grad job and booked a flight to the US with an open ended plan to stay as long as my tourist visa would allow me to live from Airbnb to Airbnb.

While the experiences I had in that three months that I was there were amazing, unfortunately my trading account wasn’t as big as the lifestyle I had planned would cost. With holiday lifestyle also in full swing, I chewed through what was meant to be my trading capital pretty quickly.

I leaned an absolute truckload about life as well as trading , but most importantly it showed to me just how much discipline it takes to trade without a second income. A lesson that only the experience of a reality check can teach you.

The World of Proprietary Trading

When I am asked by new traders about what book they should read, I never hesitate in recommending Mike Bellafiore's book called One Good Trade. The book speaks about the experiences and most importantly psychology behind trading in a stock trading prop firm in Manhattan.

Now with a positive trading record and an academic understanding of risk management and a need for trading funds, the world of proprietary trading was calling my name. The track record that I had built on my modest sized account saw me accepted into the training program of a Sydney based prop firm.

The program was focused around spread trading Australian and US 10 year bond futures. Spread trading involved a mathematical equation between the two markets and what we saw as the reason price would return to the mean and scalping ticks here and there using the market depth to supplement the overall spread position that you were building.

Trading futures markets with real market depth on the ladder was an amazing eye opener as the decentralised nature of the forex market make market depth impossible to track. The lessons that I learned while watching ladders feeling the market purely from a supply/demand point of view, was invaluable.

But being based in Sydney, Australia and the spread trading strategy only implemented during the Australian night session, the 3pm to sunrise shifts was tough from a lifestyle point of view. As I said before, trading has always been about freedom and the hours of screen time at an inconvenient social time just didn't feel like freedom in the end and I moved on after a year.

From here it was back to the comfort of the forex market where I feel a lot more at home. Thanks to a social media contact, I accepted the opportunity to join a retail trader funding program that essentially saw me remotely trading proprietary funds and a 70%-30% split to the firm.

While this split seems like a horrible deal on the surface, it did allow me to trade bigger size due to the greater margin on offer to me. Something that allowed me to build on my psych tolerance to bigger risk while I transitioned back into my own full account once again.

Forex Broker Market Analyst and the Emergence of the Forex Brokr Identity

A transition that saw me phase out the proprietary funds on offer and a new opportunity to use my writing and analytical skills working in a freelance capacity as a market analyst for a retail forex broker.

The role was exactly what I would do to blog my market analysis, then respond to forex trading related queries from other traders on the broker's behalf and ensured I was always immersed in what I was trading. It kept me honest in the sense that there was nowhere to hide if I was being a lazy prick and taking trades on a whim. Something even the most disciplined traders can relate to.

This side gig gave me a guaranteed side income to help keep my mindset level. No longer having to need that EUR/USD long to pay off so I can pay my dinner bill was the change that I needed and it has since allowed me to take my trading size to the next level because of the confidence that I have in not only my trading, but in my lifestyle as well.

It was out of this professional role, that my Forex Brokr identity was born. I wanted to completely free myself from the professional responsibility that using my real identity bought with it. By using this account, I am free. So I have developed the brand as a forex analysis, mentoring and introducing broker hub to share my trading thoughts and (hopefully) wisdoms with anyone who wants to listen. Check the main Forex Brokr accounts out using the links below:

Twitter: @forexbrokr
Website: www.forexbrokr.com

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology

The Appeal of Steemit

So now that you're up to date with my professional trading story, let's speak about why I'm here.

With my background being spread trading bond futures alongside a focus on trading the forex majors and loving the stability that they bring, crypto didn't exactly appeal to me from the start. But as a market analyst... And well a general human being, the gains that these markets have made in terms of price moves certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. Guess who's kicking themselves about being a risk averse softcock and not being on board from the start now!

But while the Bitcoin and possibly Etherium boats may well have sailed, this explosion of smaller cryptocurrencies with a specific edge or purpose in mind still offers what I see as an amazing opportunity. This is the reason that Steemit jumped out at me. The opportunity of being an early adopter of not only a cryptocurrency, but also a blockchain platform that could truly change the online blogging scene by encouraging the addition of content containing real value and then rewarding those that offer the most to the community!

As a social media and blogging entrepreneur, I see opportunity in the content that I create generating profit in a crypto currency that I see huge upside in. Hmm, lets see. So I can provide endless content to Facebook or LinkedIn and watch my hard work reward stock holders and owners that I have no desire to be a part of, or I could be rewarded by the community I am helping to add value to. Becoming a part of the Steemit community seems a pretty obvious choice to me!

So What's the Plan for my Steemit Blog?

Having sat on both the broker and trader sides of the fence, I have a wealth of information to share. I plan to use Steemit to write about forex, psychology and entrepreneurship. Not just the raw trades themselves, but the stories around them. Stories that make you think and actually feel something. A rare, unexplored niche in the online world of trader's blogs.

I’m always happy and looking to chat . Never feel too shy to leave a comment or send me a message. There is nothing too ridiculous or dumb. If you feel like you need to ask the question, then you know that there are plenty of others who are sitting quietly and thinking the same thing!

Best of probabilities to you!

Peace.