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Crypto rewards independence, but it also punishes carelessness. The moment you take custody of your funds, you become your own bank. That is empowering, but it also means there is no customer support, no chargebacks, and no second chances. Most losses in crypto do not come from bad trades. They come from simple, preventable mistakes.
The first rule is understanding that you are always a target. If you hold crypto, you are already on a list somewhere. Scammers do not need to know who you are. They only need one moment of inattention. Assume every message, link, and offer is hostile until proven otherwise.
Security starts with wallets. Your long term holdings should live in a hardware wallet that is never connected to random sites. Use it only for sending and receiving. Do not chase yield with it. Do not sign transactions you do not fully understand. If a site requires you to connect your cold wallet, that alone should be a red flag. Keep a separate hot wallet for experimentation and never store serious funds there.
Seed phrases are sacred. No legitimate person, protocol, or support agent will ever ask for them. Not once. Not ever. If someone asks for your seed phrase, the conversation ends immediately. Write it down offline. Never store it in screenshots, notes apps, email drafts, or cloud storage. Digital convenience is the enemy of long term safety.
Most scams today are social, not technical. Fake urgency is the weapon of choice. Messages like act now, funds at risk, wallet compromised, last chance, or exclusive access are designed to shut down rational thinking. Slow down. Scammers win when you rush. If something truly matters, it will still matter tomorrow.
Phishing has become extremely sophisticated. Fake websites often look identical to real ones. One wrong letter in a URL is all it takes. Bookmark the official sites you use and only access them through those bookmarks. Never click links from Twitter replies, Discord messages, Telegram DMs, or emails. Even if they look legitimate. Especially if they look legitimate.
Assume all private messages are scams. It does not matter if the account looks verified, has followers, or claims to be a team member. Teams do not DM users for support. Admins do not ask you to validate wallets. Influencers do not share secret opportunities in private chats. Silence is your best defense.
Smart contracts are another major risk vector. Before interacting with any protocol, ask simple questions. Has it been live for a while. Has it been audited. Is there real usage or just marketing. New contracts can and do drain wallets instantly. Use tools that allow you to simulate transactions and revoke approvals regularly. Unlimited approvals are silent killers.
Be extremely careful with browser extensions. Malicious extensions can read and alter transactions without you noticing. Install only what you absolutely need and audit them regularly. If you do not recognize an extension, remove it. Convenience features are not worth losing everything.
Public behavior matters too. Do not brag about holdings. Do not post wallet screenshots. Do not flex balances. Attention attracts the wrong kind of people. The quieter you are, the safer you become.
Finally, accept this mindset. If you are hacked, it is almost always because a rule was broken. Not because you were unlucky. Harsh, but empowering. Because it means you can reduce your risk dramatically by being disciplined.
Crypto is not dangerous by default. Carelessness is. Move slowly. Question everything. Protect your keys like your future depends on them. Because in this space, it usually does.

I’ve spent thousands of hours staring at crypto charts thinking it would make me profitable. It took me nearly 2 years to realize that I had it all wrong and the antidote I needed wasn’t more time in front of the charts, but a system I could follow day in and day out.
The biggest mistake traders make isn't picking the wrong stocks or timing the market poorly, it's trading without a playbook. You don't have a psychology problem; you simply lack edge.

Without edge, you're essentially taking random trades and hoping for the best. A trading playbook is one of the most critical yet overlooked components of a successful trading career. This guide will walk you through building your own systematic approach to the markets.
Step 1: Identify Your Trading Setups
Before you can create a playbook, you need to know exactly what setups you're trading. Each setup requires its own dedicated playbook because the approach for each will vary significantly.
Common trading setups include:
Mean-reversionsTrend-continuation patternsRange extremes
The key is specificity. Don't just say "I trade breakouts" define exactly what type of breakout, under what conditions, and in what market environment. In my case, my higher conviction setups are Range Extremes trades as they don't happen as often but offer a greater R/R when they do.

Mean Reversion trades can be traded in both ranges bound environments and trending environments which mean they occur more frequently. However, I have a lower win/rate with these setups therefore I will risk less on those setups relative to my Range Extreme setups.
Step 2: Understand What Makes Your Setup Profitable
This is where many traders stumble. When asked about their edge, they can't provide a clear answer. Understanding the "why" behind your setup's profitability is vital.
Markets offer different types of inefficiencies that can be captured:
Behavioural inefficiencies: Patterns created by predictable human behaviour and emotional responsesInformational inefficiencies: Gaps in how quickly information is priced into the marketStructural inefficiencies: Opportunities created by order flow dynamics and market structure
If you can't articulate why your setup works, you won't be able to recognize when conditions change, and it stops working.
Step 3: Define Your Trading Tools
Create a comprehensive list of every tool you use from planning through execution. But listing them isn't enough you must be able to explain how you use each one and why it's part of your process.
Common tools include:
Trading View for charting and analysisTrading terminals for executionFootprint charts for order flow analysisTape reading toolsDepth of Market (DOM) displaysTime Price Opportunity (TPO) charts
For each tool, document its specific role in your decision-making process.
Step 4: Understand Market Context
Every trading setup has an optimal environment where it thrives. Your playbook should clearly define what market conditions favour your setups.
Market context dramatically affects the expectancy of your trades. For example, longing an uptrend has a fundamentally different risk-reward profile than longing a downtrend. You need to understand:
What market regime your setup works best in (trending, ranging, volatile, quiet)How your indicators behave in different market conditionsWhen to step aside because the context is wrong
Context awareness separates consistently profitable traders from those who experience wild swings in their equity curve.
Step 5: Screenshot and Annotate Your Charts
Visual documentation is essential for pattern recognition and learning. Create a comprehensive database by capturing the complete lifecycle of each trade:
Planning phase: What you saw before enteringExecution: The actual entry and your thought processClosure: How the trade played out and your exit
Build a large collection that includes multiple examples of the same setup, along with its variations. Annotation is particularly important for complex tools like footprint charts as it makes the review process much more effective and helps you spot patterns you might otherwise miss.

I personally like to spend my time annotating my Footprint charts during trader execution as it helps me practice my pattern recognition. The more charts I annotate the more reps I am gathering under my belt.
Step 6: Gather Data and Record Observations
Quantify your setups by tracking key metrics:
Average percentage moveTypical trade durationWin rate and expectancyRisk-reward ratios
Data reveals what's normal for your setups, helping you recognize when something is off. Equally important are qualitative observations. As you review your trades, you'll begin to notice recurring patterns and nuances that statistics alone won't capture. These insights refine your execution over time.
Step 7: Create Your Step-by-Step Process
This is the culmination of your playbook the repeatable process you follow for each setup. Every trader must be able to clearly articulate their approach in writing.
Your process should include:
How you identify key levels on the chartWhat specific signals you look for as price approaches your levelPre-trade checklist itemsExact entry criteria and rulesPosition sizing methodologyStop loss placement logicProfit target guidelinesExit rules for both winning and losing scenarios
Trade execution itself deserves its own detailed playbook. The difference between seeing a setup and executing it profitably often comes down to precise entry and exit techniques.
Building Your Trading Foundation
A trading playbook transforms you from a gambler into a systematic trader. It provides structure, eliminates emotional decision-making, and creates a feedback loop for continuous improvement. Without it, you're navigating the markets blindfolded.
Start building your playbook today. Document one setup completely before moving to the next. Over time, you'll create a comprehensive guide that's uniquely tailored to your style, your edge, and your path to consistent profitability.

Things are about to get really hard.

This might be the most important post you read this year.

- The #1 skill to possess in 2026 and beyond is being high agency. Information is no longer a moat (you can now prompt AI and find out anything at any time). Your biggest moat is your mental agility and speed. How fast can you spot an opportunity, act, fail, learn, get up, and repeat again? This is how I define high agency (essentially acting instead of waiting).

- Stay curious. Read, explore, go down new rabbit holes, try new products, speak to new people. The last point is critical because society has become too isolationist. People WANT to work with other good people. So many good ideas come from collaborating, thinking, and brainstorming. Don't rob yourself of that.

- Avoid bullsh*t at all costs. Things I define as bullsh*t: Video games, social media (unless you're researching/posting for a reason), junk food, chasing women, basically anything that isn't essential to your mission. Yeah, there's a time for fun - but I've found it's better to operate in absolutes than in the middle (i.e., either lock in for 3 months, then do a week of full switch-off - don't mix the two)

- Prioritise health. Diet/exercise/sleep are the 90% variables here. And of that 90%, sleep is half of it. If you're going to optimise one single thing in life, it's sleep. I've found the work sorts itself out if you're firing on all cylinders mentally.

- Prioritise real work. Identify the top 3 needle-movers the night before, and attack those tasks upon waking. Nothing else matters until they're done. The work needs doing. No one else will do it for you. How many days can you stack in a row of doing this? Momentum snowballs. Make being a hard worker your identity, not a fad. I work 14-hour days every day, 7 days a week. I burn out occasionally, then I pick myself up and do it again. The world is changing fast; you can't afford to be slow.

- Simplify your life to "anchor" habits. You only need a few high-impact habits to compound into huge results. 2 examples:
1. Bedtime alarm (you'll sleep better > feel better > get more work done).
2. Identify your main
3. priorities done each day (this way, even if you slack for the rest of the day, you've moved the needle)

- Arbitrage. The second you can afford it, get an EA. They're cheap (global arbitrage). The second you can get a 2nd employee, do it. And keep going. Invest in more staff and not on watches/designer/lifestyle

- AI. AI. AI. You need to dedicate a minimum of 10 hours a week to just learning about AI. And another 1-2 hours a day using it. As we speak, I have ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini open - all with custom prompts/skills (i'm not using them to write - tip: Using AI to write is a sh*t way to build a brand, + writing is fun as it's a mental challenge - don't rob yourself of cognition for the sake of expediency).

- Emotional intelligence > IQ. So many people are dumb. Not in a book-smart sense, but in an emotional sense. In business, put yourself in others' shoes, don't be a jerk, think about your actions, if you mess up - reflect on it and be honest with yourself. Stop deflecting blame. Stop blaming the world. Yeah, sucky stuff happens in life, many things are out of our control. But you CAN control how you act.

- Build a personal brand. The reality is, everyone has a personal brand. Some people have a "brand" that only their friends/family see, some people have a brand that millions see online. I'm not saying become a cringy "influencer" - but accept you have a brand. And then make a decision as to whether you want to take that brand public. Building in public is the best way, this is how I grew my account. I was just sharing my thoughts/trades.

- Put most of your energy into high-upside vehicles. Obviously, to acquire the necessary capital to pull this off (not just $ capital, also knowledge and resources), you may need to start with a lower upside vehicle (i.e. a lot of SAAS founders started with agency/info models before scaling).

- Don't follow your passion. I know this sounds controversial, but by limiting yourself to a single passion, you may be limiting your ability to discover another passion. Personal example: As a teenager, I was super into music - I wanted to be singer. I started researching finance/crypto, it wasn't my passion but I found it mildly interesting. Little wins compounded into bigger wins, I got addicted, ended up loving it, and now I couldn't imagine music holding a candle to the thrills of being an entrepreneur. It wasn't my passion but now it is. Just stay curious, try stuff, and you may stumble into a career you never expected. This open-mindedness will be more than needed heading into an era of rapid change.