As trading extends from traditional finance to on-chain markets, traders' choices are also changing. For Steve, the transition from A-shares and US stocks to on-chain assets is not just a change in trading targets but also a process of re-seeking market opportunities.

Today, we invite Bitget VIP trader Steve. He mainly engages in news-driven short-term trading; after a significant loss, he also began to reflect on another question in trading: what is actually between knowledge and action.

01 From US stocks to on-chain, he starts searching for new trading opportunities

Steve's trading experience has undergone several turns.

Initially, he traded A-shares. Around 2020, he began to engage with US stocks, mainly trading through IBKR.

By June of this year, with changes in the trading environment for mainland users participating in traditional markets such as Hong Kong stocks, he began to rethink how to participate in the market in a more direct manner. At the same time, the on-chain market came into his view.

For Steve, one obvious change brought by on-chain trading is that stock trading opportunities are no longer restricted by fixed market hours. The on-chain market operates 24/7; when an event occurs outside of traditional market trading hours, the market does not wait until the next day to respond. For Steve, who is accustomed to finding direction from information and events, this means that once information appears, he can directly observe market reactions and judge whether to participate accordingly.

Now, trading has become his main job. He spends about ten hours a day focusing on the market and has gradually established his own fixed sources of information, including overseas information channels and a small group of friends.

"I mainly engage in news-driven short-term trading," Steve summarized when discussing his trading style.

02 A storage market event showed him the value of direction judgment

For Steve, not every piece of information is worth trading.

When information arises, the first thing he needs to judge is whether this matter will actually affect the market and whether this impact can form a relatively clear direction. Only when the information itself has sufficient trading value and the market begins to show responses consistent with expectations will he truly enter a trade.

The storage market event in June this year is a typical opportunity.

Storage is also one of the directions he has been paying attention to this year. After relevant information and market changes appeared, he began to track this direction and judge whether the market trend was developing according to his expectations based on market reactions. After confirming the direction, he chose to participate in trading through contracts, with leverage usually controlled around 3–5 times.

This is what Steve referred to as "news-driven," but the news itself is not the answer to trading; the real decision point lies in the "direction" brought by the news.

Looking back at his trading performance, he summed up the source of his profits in a very straightforward way:

“Most of the time, it's still guided by news, judging market direction.”

03 “I know the right answer, but it’s not easy to truly execute it”

If the storage market event allowed Steve to see his ability to judge direction, then a significant loss in July this year made him re-evaluate himself.

That trade occurred on another exchange. After positions began to incur losses, he did not exit in time but held on until he could no longer bear it, ultimately having to choose to cut losses.

Looking back, he clearly understands what he should have done: the trend had already diverged from expectations, and he should have exited. But when faced with the losses that had already occurred, there emerged a psychological distance that is hard to overcome between knowing the rules and executing the rules. This is actually a common aspect of trading, known as “loss aversion,” where people often find it harder to accept losses that have already happened.

Steve has a very straightforward summary of this contradiction:

“The most common mistake is holding on when the trend is already diverging from expectations. The simplest principle is not to hold the position, but psychologically it's very hard to actually do it.”

After this experience, Steve began to re-examine his profits and losses.

He realized that most of his profits came from directional judgments while losses were more from his irrationality, especially holding positions. In other words, what truly affects trading results is not just whether he can make accurate judgments, but whether he can accept the results when the market proves him wrong and act according to the rules he knows.

“I know the right answer, but it’s not easy to truly execute it.”

This might be closer to his current understanding of trading than any trading technique.

04 When trading becomes routine, he starts to care about those "little details"

As trading becomes routine, Steve's requirements for the platform have also become increasingly specific.

Steve prefers contract trading, with one important influencing factor being liquidity. After information appears, he needs to quickly complete his judgment; once the judgment is established, he still needs to truly turn it into a trade. In his actual use, he believes Bitget has good liquidity performance, which allows him to complete trades more smoothly.

For short-term traders like Steve, information itself is also part of trading. The weekly industry updates, market information, and strategies provided to VIPs can provide him with additional references for judging market direction.

In addition, he pays attention to seemingly trivial issues that can directly affect the trading experience. For example, he hopes that the mobile version can directly show OI (Open Interest); he hopes the platform can update asset name changes more quickly, etc.

Steve's feedback is also very direct: he acknowledges the current trading experience but will still seek areas that can be improved from practical use.

05 Turning "knowing" into "doing"

After several trading experiences, Steve's understanding of trading has begun to shift from judging the market to understanding himself.

The psychology of “loss aversion” can genuinely affect a trader's decisions. Knowing that the trend has changed, knowing he should cut losses, but still potentially being led by emotions when facing real losses.

For Steve, the next step may not be to find a more complex trading method, but rather to continually practice detaching himself from current profits and losses, viewing each judgment from a more rational perspective.

This article is based on an interview with trader Steve. The views expressed in the article represent the interviewee's personal opinions and do not constitute any investment advice. Contract trading carries high risks and may result in a total loss of principal; please make decisions cautiously based on your own risk tolerance.