Sicarious Q+A: What it’s like to be a crypto trader
Sicarious is a highly successful cryptocurrency trader from the Midwestern US. Real name Jack Carver, he is now 26 and semi-retired, focusing on his young family. Jack was an early contributor in the Luckbox sale and he was kind enough to share his story with us…
Moving to the country
I grew up in a small farming town in the Midwestern US. After college, my wife and I moved to the city for a few years before moving back to a rural location in the Midwest.
My wife and I have one amazing daughter. She’s just three months old and is absolutely perfect. It’s definitely been an adjustment, balancing my trading career with fatherhood of a newborn, but at least crypto had already conditioned me to exist on a lack of sleep.
How did it all start for you and crypto?
I stumbled across Bitcoin in late 2013, and bought my first bitcoin at $1000 in December of that year. The market instantly dropped 50% on news that China was banning Bitcoin, and I spent the next year or so fiddling with altcoins and margin trading, while learning most things the hard way.
I had zero financial or trading experience when I fell across Bitcoin
After watching several friends become full-time crypto traders in 2016, I decided this was a goal I wanted to work towards and life pushed me head-first into that when I lost my day job in January 2017.
I’ve been full-time ever since, though, with the new arrival of my daughter, I have begun to change my style with more passive/long-term investing and swing trading, as this leaves me more time to spend with her.
I don’t have any desire to go “billionaire mode”, or build an empire, I’m just here to provide for my family and have fun doing it, while supporting good crypto projects and making friends along the way.
What did you do before you began crypto trading?
Prior to trading crypto I did administrative work for a non-profit. Aside from a lucky 2x on $TSLA and then burning away all those profits trying to flip pharmaceutical stocks on ETrade, I had zero financial or trading experience when I fell across Bitcoin.
What is the best decision you’ve made relating to crypto?
I’ve made a lot of good trades and investments over the years (and a lot not so great) but, rather than focusing on any of those specifically, my best move was back in 2014 when I cultivated friendships with a number of like-minded fellow traders.
Over the past four years we’ve traded together every day, learning together, earning together, and sometimes getting rekt together. That support system has been really important over the years, though.
Risk management is the single greatest tool in a trader’s workbag
An organically grown group of trusted trading mates doesn’t just allow the ability to share research (though this is important, with thousands of altcoins out there), but also voices of reason to keep you in check, and people who have your back when you’re down and need a helping hand.
I have no doubt in my mind that I would’ve washed out of crypto and trading back in 2015 if it wasn’t for my mates.
And what about your worst moves?
My worst moves have always stemmed from using poor (or most generally, no) risk management. I can think of three specific occasions early on where I basically gambled my future in the space on going all-in on one position, one of which was even a 20x leveraged position on Okcoin, which is even more terrifying.
That latter one actually worked out, while the former two all-in situations with various altcoins resulted in me losing 70%+ of my trading stash.
These were obviously really dumb positions to put myself in, but I was young and a trading novice, and the allure of averaging down into a losing position (multiple times) was too strong.
Risk management is the single greatest tool in a trader’s workbag and how it is used is the biggest element that separates novice traders from those with sticking power.
In your opinion, what are the key issues surrounding the crypto space now?
Currently a lot of time, effort, and money is being wasted on scammy projects and money-grabs. A similar situation happened back in 2015 and it ended up sucking the life out of the cryptocurrency ecosystem for a season.
This is a natural occurrence in a free and open market, though, and in the long run (as seen in 2015) it just amounts to growing pains that end up working themselves out.
The team behind a project is one of the biggest factors I consider
The challenge for investors and developers is to avoid getting swept up in their hype and thusly swept out with the trash when the ecosystem purges itself.
Investors need to guard their capital and developers need to guard their time and reputations, directing it towards efforts that create value and will stand the test of time.
There are so many blockchain-based projects now, what do you believe sets apart the successful ones?
For me as an investor, the team behind a project is one of the biggest factors I consider. I’ve invested in some projects with nothing more laid out than a general concept and vision for the project — but the team had the sort of background, skills, values, and character that I trusted to get the job done.
Then I’ve also seen some really good and fleshed out ideas for projects, but the implementation was attempted by the wrong sort of team.
Do you think the crypto space needs tighter regulation?
Tighter regulation? I would say not. Coincenter, in fact, has a good article combatting the frequently parroted comment by the mainstream media that “Bitcoin is completely unregulated.”
That said, due to the nature of decentralised networks, regulatory bodies have their work cut out for them to uphold existing regulations, or evolve existing regulations to better address challenges unique to the space.
An important piece of the puzzle that I feel is often overlooked, is self-regulation by the cryptocurrency community. Nobody is better equipped to address crypto regulation than people within the space who understand the intricacies of the technology, the economics, and the community.
Because of this I have the highest respect for the work Coincenter and certain US-based exchanges put towards working alongside regulators to educate them about these intricacies. Their efforts are exceedingly important and are paying off dividends that will foster continued unfettered growth and innovation in the space.
What would be your advice to new crypto traders or those people looking to get into it?
I recently had a family friend ask me this question, and posted my response in a tweet.
Ultimately, it boils down to opening one’s eyes to the challenges and risks of trading, and the toll it can have on a person’s mental and physical health. Cost Averaging into Bitcoin, and/or choice altcoins, is probably a better route and more effective strategy for nine out of 10 people.
