OG101

As an institutional trader, I learned not to borrow too much in leverage from the exchange I was trading on, and to be right more often than I was wrong.

It’s rare that a person has an opportunity to experience the financial markets through the lens of both an institutional market maker taking down hundreds of millions of dollars on block trades.
However, I’ve been in the cryptocurrency trading space since 2017 when I was a freshman in college. I played through the ICO bubble, when I traded altcoins instead of studying for finals. I went through the summer of decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2020 during Covid-19, when I first started learning about liquidity pools. I experienced the exuberant bull run of 2021 while landing my first internship on the institutional side of trading, and I went through the crash of FTX.
I’ve learned several things from these few years, but here are a few of the key takeaways I’ve experienced after trading as both a retail and institutional trader.
Institutions require more wins — and they can wait for them
As a retail trader, I often found myself drawn to microcap assets, chasing those elusive 100x gains. The strategy was straightforward: make numerous small bets, hoping that a few significant wins would offset the inevitable losses. This approach involved constant monitoring of DEX Screener, Telegram chat rooms, Discord and other social media. My attention was 100% focused on finding the next opportunities, because finding them first was more important than being 100% correct.
Related: Bitcoin bulls should steer clear of MicroStrategy's new leveraged ETF
The institutional perspective, however, was much different. When you’re dealing with substantial capital, the focus shifts to more researched, concentrated positions over longer timeframes. We looked at complex datasets and overall market liquidity. A 10% return on a $1 million position was more feasible and impactful than seeking a 100x return on a small, speculative bet — especially from a risk-management perspective. We couldn’t make 100 bets of $1 million each and hope that more than one of them resulted in a 100x return.
We didn’t exceed 5x leverage
When I traded as an individual using my personal funds, I used perpetual futures (perps) because they were accessible. Options trading felt out of reach without substantial capital.
Working as an institutional trader, options — not perps — were at the center of my trading strategy. This involved providing liquidity, pricing complex instruments, and managing a diverse risk portfolio. Perpetual futures became tools for hedging or components of broader strategies like basis trading rather than instruments for leveraged speculation.

Open interest in crypto perpetual trading from January 2023 through August 2024, charted with the price of Bitcoin. Source: CoinGlass

When we did use perps, I don’t think we ever exceeded 5x leverage. After all, If you want a position that’s worth $100 million, you can choose to leverage $1 million, or you can just put up the $100 million yourself, and the end result will be the same — but you aren’t forced to take on the same risk when you use your own capital.
The lesson here is that if you’re going to borrow money to trade, there are better ways to do it than using perps trading platforms.
Market environment matters
On the retail side, something that I was cognizant of in 2021 and 2022 specifically was how narratives were shifting and regimes were becoming clear. At certain times, it was obvious that capital had flowed into Ether ETH. A week later, Solana SOL, Luna LUNA and Avalanche AVAX would outperform, then coins in their ecosystem would outperform, then profits would flow out and back into the majors — and then the cycle would repeat. If you knew where capital was flowing, how the market was positioned, and what the current regime/narrative was, you could essentially get ahead of the capital and position yourself ahead of the curve.
Related: Ethereum gas fees: Too low or too high? No one can decide
On the institutional side, something we had to be more cognizant of was the broader market environment. Were we in a mean-reverting regime or a trend-following one? Was the regulatory landscape looking more favorable for digital assets or less favorable? I never really thought, “Will a certain layer-1 do well this week? And if it does, how will its ecosystem tokens perform?”
Instead, I always had to look at the bigger picture.
We didn’t trade candles or chart patterns
On the institutional side, we didn’t trade based on candles or chart patterns. For all of the time that some people spend obsessing over them, it usually amounts to speculation based on short-term pattern recognition. 
In sum: Stay adaptable. Market regimes change, and successful traders adjust their strategies accordingly.
Becoming an institutional trader changed how I approach every trade, big or small. Those who make it big are the ones who can think quickly, act accordingly, and manage risk appropriately.

The cryptocurrency world is abuzz with HBO’s upcoming documentary about the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. For years, the enigma surrounding Nakamoto’s identity has fascinated both crypto enthusiasts and mainstream audiences. But the burning question is: Does it even matter who Satoshi is, especially in 2024?
This is an opinion editorial published by a guest author.
The Legacy of Satoshi Nakamoto
Satoshi’s primary vision was to develop a peer-to-peer digital currency that would remove the reliance on centralized financial institutions. Through #bitcoin☀️ , he aimed to democratize finance, providing people across the world with a decentralized and transparent financial system. But over a decade later, have we really stayed true to this vision?
Centralized Giants Now Own the Majority of Bitcoin
A glance at the Bitcoin ownership landscape reveals a significant shift from decentralization to centralization. The top Bitcoin holders are dominated by large corporations, exchanges, and even governments. As seen in River Financial’s recent analysis, Coinbase, a centralized exchange, owns over 2 million $BTC , representing more than 10% of the total Bitcoin supply.
Does this centralization go against what Satoshi envisioned? Many would argue it does. Nakamoto’s creation was meant to empower individuals, not multinational corporations or governments. As these entities gain control over more of Bitcoin’s supply, the decentralized nature of the cryptocurrency is increasingly at risk.
Is This What Satoshi Wanted?
There’s a fundamental irony in the fact that Bitcoin, the world’s first decentralized digital currency, is now largely controlled by centralized entities. With big players like Coinbase, Binance, and even the U.S. government holding substantial amounts of Bitcoin, it seems like the decentralization Satoshi envisioned is slowly being eroded.
As the Bitcoin ecosystem matures, one can’t help but wonder if this centralization is an inevitable consequence of Bitcoin’s success. After all, Bitcoin needed mainstream adoption to reach its full potential, but that adoption has come at the cost of the very decentralization that once defined it.
The U.S. Falling Behind in Digital Payments
While Satoshi’s vision for decentralized finance (DeFi) and digital payments continues to flourish globally, the U.S. appears to be lagging behind. Countries like China have rapidly adopted QR code-based payment systems, making digital payments more accessible and efficient for their populations. Meanwhile, the U.S. is entangled in debates around regulation and control, delaying the broader implementation of decentralized financial systems.
Satoshi likely envisioned a future where countries would embrace digital payments to foster financial freedom. Yet, the U.S.’s reluctance to fully adopt cryptocurrency reflects a stark contrast to this vision, leaving Americans with fewer opportunities to benefit from decentralized solutions.
QR Codes: A Precursor to Bitcoin?
Ironically, while Bitcoin and blockchain technology offer revolutionary solutions for digital payments, many countries have already found simpler alternatives. QR code-based payment systems, like those used in China, solve many of the same problems Satoshi aimed to address. These systems are fast, reliable, and, most importantly, widely accepted by both businesses and consumers.
In a sense, digital payments—one of Satoshi’s key goals—have already been solved, albeit through centralized means. But does that mean Bitcoin’s mission has failed? Not necessarily. Bitcoin offers more than just a digital payment system; it offers an escape from centralized control. However, whether that is enough to drive global adoption remains a question for the future.
The Satoshi Obsession: A Distraction from Real Problems?
The continued search for Satoshi’s true identity feels like a misplaced effort. After all, Satoshi’s genius lies not in his persona but in the creation of Bitcoin itself. We may never know who Satoshi is, but does that really matter? The technology speaks for itself, and chasing after the person behind it seems to miss the point.
In 2024, the world faces more significant challenges than uncovering Satoshi’s identity. Instead, we should focus on addressing the obstacles that prevent wider adoption of decentralized technologies. From scalability issues to regulatory uncertainty, these are the real problems that demand attention.
Focus on the Future, Not the Past
As HBO gears up to release its documentary on Satoshi Nakamoto, it’s important to remember that the search for Satoshi is not as important as the future of decentralized technology. Instead of hunting for Satoshi, maybe it’s time to hunt for more use cases—ways that Bitcoin, blockchain, and decentralized finance can solve real-world problems.
In the end, Satoshi’s identity is irrelevant to the continued evolution of cryptocurrency. What matters is how we choose to build on the foundation he laid. Whether through decentralized finance, enhanced digital payment systems, or new applications of blockchain technology, the potential is vast. Let’s not lose sight of it by focusing too much on the past.
What do you think about the upcoming Satoshi reveal on HBO? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.