Bitget Talks with Trader Steve: From US Stocks to On-Chain, Moving Toward "Unity of Knowledge and Action" in a 7×24 Hour Market

As trading extends from traditional finance to on-chain markets, traders' choices are also changing. For Steve, the shift from A-shares and US stocks to on-chain assets is not just a change in what he trades, but also a process of searching for new market opportunities.

Today, we've invited Bitget VIP trader Steve. He primarily does news-driven short-term trading; and after a significant loss, he also began to contemplate another question in trading: what exactly lies between knowing and doing.

01 From US Stocks to On-Chain, He Began Seeking New Trading Opportunities

Steve's trading experience has gone through several shifts.

At first, he traded A-shares. Around 2020, he began getting into US stocks, mainly trading through IBKR.

By around June of this year, as the environment for mainland users participating in traditional markets such as Hong Kong stocks changed, he also began rethinking how to participate in the market in a more direct way. At the same time, on-chain markets entered his field of vision.

For Steve, one notable change brought by on-chain trading is that stock trading opportunities are no longer restricted by fixed market hours. On-chain markets operate 24/7, and when an event occurs outside traditional market trading hours, the market won't wait until the next day's open to react. For Steve, who is accustomed to finding direction from information and events, this means that after information appears, he can directly observe market reactions and judge whether to participate accordingly.

Today, trading has become his main job. He spends about ten hours a day monitoring the market, and has gradually built up his own fixed sources of information, including overseas information channels and small friend groups.

"I mainly do news-driven short-term trading." When talking about his trading style, Steve summarized it this way.

02 One Storage Sector Rally Showed Him the Value of Directional Judgment

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

After information appears, the first thing he needs to judge is: whether this event will actually affect the market, and whether that impact can form a relatively clear direction. Only when the information itself has sufficient trading value and the market also begins to show a reaction consistent with expectations will he actually enter a trade.

The storage sector rally in June of this year was a fairly typical opportunity.

Storage is also one of the sectors he has been paying more attention to this year. After relevant information and market changes appeared, he began tracking this sector and, combined with market reactions, judged whether the trend was developing according to his expectations. After confirming the direction, he chose to participate in trading through futures, usually keeping leverage at around 3–5x.

This is what Steve calls "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 also summarized his source of profit in a very direct way:

"Most of the time, it's still combining news-driven factors to judge market direction."

03 "I Know the Right Answer, But Actually Doing It Is Not Easy"

If the storage sector rally showed Steve his ability to judge direction, then a severe loss in July of this year made him re-understand himself.

That trade happened on another exchange. After the position showed a loss, he didn't exit in time, but held on until he could no longer bear it, and could only choose to cut losses.

Looking back afterward, he was very clear about what he should have done at the time: the trend was no longer in line with expectations, so he should have exited. But when actually facing a loss that had already occurred, a psychological gap that was very hard to cross appeared between knowing the rule and executing the rule. This is actually the "loss aversion" commonly seen in trading — people often find it harder to accept a loss that has already occurred.

Steve has a very direct summary of this contradiction:

"The most common mistake is still holding on stubbornly when the trend is no longer in line with expectations. The simplest principle is not to hold losing positions, but psychologically it's very hard to actually do it."

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

He found that most of his profits came from directional judgment, while his losses came more from his own irrationality, especially holding losing positions. In other words, what truly affects trading results is not just "whether you see it accurately," but also whether, after the market proves you wrong, you can accept that result and act according to the rules you already know.

"I know the right answer, but actually doing it is not easy."

This may be closer to his current understanding of trading than any set of trading techniques.

04 When Trading Becomes Routine, He Starts Caring About Those "Small Details"

When trading becomes routine, Steve's requirements for platforms have also become increasingly specific.

Steve prefers futures trading, and one important factor influencing this is liquidity. After information appears, he needs to quickly complete his judgment; after the judgment holds, he also needs to actually turn it into a trade. In actual use, he believes Bitget's liquidity performance is relatively good, which also allows him to complete trades more smoothly.

For a short-term trader like Steve, information itself is also part of trading. The industry updates, market information, and strategy content provided weekly through VIP can provide additional reference for his judgment of market direction.

Beyond that, what he focuses on are issues that seem minor but directly affect the trading experience. For example, he hopes the mobile app can directly show OI (Open Interest); he hopes the platform can update changes in asset names more quickly, and so on.

Steve's feedback is also very direct: he recognizes the current trading experience, but still starts from actual use to look for places that can still be done better.

05 Turning "Knowing" Into "Doing"

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

The psychology of "loss aversion" can genuinely affect a trader's decisions. You clearly know the trend has changed, you clearly know you should cut losses, but when actually facing a loss, you may still be led by emotions.

For Steve, the next step may not be finding another more complex trading method, but continuously practicing detaching himself from the profits and losses of the moment and viewing each judgment from a more rational perspective.

This article is based on an interview with trader Steve. The views expressed are solely those of the interviewee and do not constitute any investment advice. Futures trading carries extremely high risks and may result in the total loss of your principal. Please make decisions cautiously based on your own risk tolerance.