My story with a trader “partner”

I met him in a crypto group chat.

I’d just been liquidated when I started ranting in the group chat about the exchange causing a flash crash. He DM’d me and sent a message saying, “That’s not how this game works. You don’t even understand liquidity, yet you’re trading with leverage. Who else are you expecting to lose money for you?”

To my surprise, I wasn’t angry. Because every word he said was spot-on.

After that, we talked every day. He explained how market makers think, the arbitrage opportunities in funding rates, and why most retail traders are destined to be fuel. There was something very steady about the way he spoke—never rushed or flustered, like someone who had really survived in the market.

He said he'd once worked with a team in Shenzhen, managing eight figures' worth of capital. The team eventually fell apart, so he went solo.

I asked him where he was based.

He said it didn't matter, as long as he had internet access.

We talked a lot about the future. He said once this cycle took off and we'd saved enough capital, we could go to Hong Kong or Singapore, find somewhere with clear regulations, and set up a proper small fund. I said I'd go with him. He said, “Sure. First learn risk management, and don't fucking go all in every time you get carried away.”

I trusted him. He never made grand promises, and he could be blunt. Somehow, that bluntness made him feel more trustworthy.

Later, he told me about an opportunity—an OTC deal that needed some money to bridge a gap for a few days. He said he'd give me 20% when it came back. I didn't think much of it and transferred him 5,000 USDT.

After that, the story took a familiar turn.

His replies got slower and slower. His profile picture disappeared from the group chat, and in the end, I couldn't even find his account. Some old-timers in the crypto groups said he'd pulled something similar before—just changed his name and done it all over again.

I didn't try to find him. There was no way I could.

I've gone over it again and again—not the money, but the things he taught me. I realized something absurd: every lesson he gave me was true. The market-making logic was real. Funding rates were real. Retail traders being the fuel was real, too.

The only thing he lied to me about was himself.

He taught me how to spot scammers, then sharpened a sickle of his own and came for me.

I eventually figured something out.

When he talked to me about those markets, I thought he meant candlestick charts and order books.

The market he talked to me about had just one asset from beginning to end: trust. He turned trust into an order book, waiting for someone to place an order. I did.

I'm still trading today. My positions are much smaller, and my risk management is stricter than anyone's. Before every order, I ask myself: Is this decision based on logic, or because I trusted someone?

Five thousand USDT for this lesson? Honestly, not a bad price.

It's just that sometimes, late at night, when I'm watching the charts and see BTC shoot up with another huge green candle, I still think of him. I think of the guy who told me, “You don't even understand liquidity.”

He's probably somewhere else by now, using another name, telling the same things to other people.

And I'm still in this market.

It's just that from now on, whenever someone talks to me about their vision, the big picture, or moving to Hong Kong together, I'll probably just say:

Send me your live trading record first—with timestamps.

After all, I learned for myself the lesson he never taught me.

#btc #trader #cryptocurrency #cryptotrading