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Topic: Is day trading on Coinbase profitable? - page 4. (Read 8239 times)

hero member
Activity: 700
Merit: 500
I'd say the last place I'd day trade BTC on is Coinbase.

I seem to remember an article saying that they were running an algorithmic trading system to set their pricing.  I could be wrong on that, but you never beat the box.

That is not to say you can't buy low and sell high, it just seems they are more likely to carve into your margins than elsewhere as they'll be out in front of you 99.9% of the time.
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1000
I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.

Haha, a very nice plan. What happens when you buy at $225 and the price drops to $220?

Then I scored some more long-term BTC at the cheapest price I've had yet.
legendary
Activity: 1652
Merit: 1007
DMD Diamond Making Money 4+ years! Join us!
I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.

Haha, a very nice plan. What happens when you buy at $225 and the price drops to $220?
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1000
So if I open a long position in BTC and I don't close it, I'm left with some BTC.  If I open a short position in BTC and I don't close it, what am I left with?
legendary
Activity: 3248
Merit: 1070
Wait a sec.  Why would I use Coinbase for this?  I could just transfer BTC to any exchange that allows a USD balance and trade back and forth between BTC and USD with much lower fees.  Which exchange is best for that?  BTC-e?  Bitfinex?  I would think they all have fees lower than Coinbase's 1%.

before april coinbase was a good choice for trading, look here http://www.coindesk.com/bucks-to-bitcoin-top-exchange-platform-fees-compared/

now it isn't the case anymore, bitfinex and btc-e are leading the podium

but kraken is even better if you trade with a volume above 250, and it ends as low as 0.1 with 1k or more


Nice article but they don't include Kraken.  It looks like you would need to trade $250K/month before your fee is .2% at Kraken:

https://www.kraken.com/help/fees

But it starts at .1-.2% at Bitfinex:

https://www.bitfinex.com/pages/fees

Where is Bitfinex located?  Are they trustworthy?

bitfinex is usa based if i'm not mistaken, but i'm not sure they don't report it in their site and i can't find nothing on the web

on kraken you are right i missed some zero..., well then bitfinex seems one of the best
full member
Activity: 210
Merit: 100
the markets are a zero-sum game /cliche

But the fees are like a house edge at the casino; making your EV negative. So you can expect to lose, unless you're really lucky or really skillful.



If you are an "average" trader, your EV would be a loss of whatever the exchange fees are. In this case, it would be 1%. Also, don't forget that fees are charges entering and exiting a position. If you're a frequent trader, those fees really add up. That's why its best yo choose an exchange with low fees.
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1000
Wait a sec.  Why would I use Coinbase for this?  I could just transfer BTC to any exchange that allows a USD balance and trade back and forth between BTC and USD with much lower fees.  Which exchange is best for that?  BTC-e?  Bitfinex?  I would think they all have fees lower than Coinbase's 1%.

before april coinbase was a good choice for trading, look here http://www.coindesk.com/bucks-to-bitcoin-top-exchange-platform-fees-compared/

now it isn't the case anymore, bitfinex and btc-e are leading the podium

but kraken is even better if you trade with a volume above 250, and it ends as low as 0.1 with 1k or more


Nice article but they don't include Kraken.  It looks like you would need to trade $250K/month before your fee is .2% at Kraken:

https://www.kraken.com/help/fees

But it starts at .1-.2% at Bitfinex:

https://www.bitfinex.com/pages/fees

Where is Bitfinex located?  Are they trustworthy?
hero member
Activity: 770
Merit: 509
I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.


Trading doesnt sound very hard.  just increase your balance 1% a day and you're rich!

The catch is that its very hard to win consistently.  The days where you lose will
make it like taking 1 step forward 1 step back...add in the 1% fees and you
start to see its not so easy.


Exactly, running a exchange is a business just like a casino, based on the fat the casino always wins statistically.
The best is to hold long term, day trading is too hard to predict to perform well.
Benefit from shitcoin pumps sometimes if you are feeling lucky, thats that.
legendary
Activity: 3248
Merit: 1070
Wait a sec.  Why would I use Coinbase for this?  I could just transfer BTC to any exchange that allows a USD balance and trade back and forth between BTC and USD with much lower fees.  Which exchange is best for that?  BTC-e?  Bitfinex?  I would think they all have fees lower than Coinbase's 1%.

before april coinbase was a good choice for trading, look here http://www.coindesk.com/bucks-to-bitcoin-top-exchange-platform-fees-compared/

now it isn't the case anymore, bitfinex and btc-e are leading the podium

but kraken is even better if you trade with a volume above 250, and it ends as low as 0.1 with 1k or more
legendary
Activity: 2870
Merit: 7490
Crypto Swap Exchange
I better try BTC-e or BitFinex since both of them have lower fees & better trading support
Also, coinbase see your activity especially if you often trading
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
Basically you're asking if it's possible to profit from a sideways market, and it is.

However, other than a few exceptions such as Bitfinex, most Bitcoin exchanges don't offer leverage or the ability to short. Bitcoin is also in a long term bear market, so it's quite possible that you could buy coins at $225 and not have the price increase above that for a long time. It's probably not a big deal if you're a hodler but for a day trader, that's obviously not ideal.

I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.

As far as I know, the exchanges now are full of trading bots.
And that is not so good for trading in my opinion.
They tend to mess with the price, and that is why there hasn't been any price improvement for a while.

unclear what you're saying? bots lead to higher volatility? or lower?
I would say neither is really true.  Bots have little net effect on price action or long term rates.

Bots do tend to increase volatility in some situations. For example, when there is a breakout in a long term sideways market, the cumulative effect of bots responding to the breakout can have a cascade effect which amplifies the price increase/decrease and pushes the price lower/higher than it would have been otherwise.
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1000
Wait a sec.  Why would I use Coinbase for this?  I could just transfer BTC to any exchange that allows a USD balance and trade back and forth between BTC and USD with much lower fees.  Which exchange is best for that?  BTC-e?  Bitfinex?  I would think they all have fees lower than Coinbase's 1%.
legendary
Activity: 3598
Merit: 2386
Viva Ut Vivas
So you're buying at $225 selling at $228...you make a few trades maybe get back a few percent on your investment. Then the price drops to $190 and you think...oh shit, this is it, Bitcoins is done for...better sell! It goes to $180 and rebounds going up to $250..oh shit, can't miss out on it going to $1000 again better buy...price drops back down to $225. You now have half of what you started with and are wondering wtf just happened.

I could set aside some money and buy at any particular point and wait for it to go up 5% and sell, then wait for it to go down 5% and buy, etc.  If the price goes way up and I don't get a chance to re-buy, it's OK because I still have my separate long-term holdings.  If the price goes down for a long time and I don't get a chance to sell soon, it's OK because that's basically what I've already been doing all this time anyway.  I could call that previous buy more long-term holdings and re-buy for more trading with fresh fiat.  So worst-case scenario I convert more fiat to BTC for long-term holding, and that's OK because I believe the price is going up long-term.

BTW, am I right about the credit card thing with Coinbase?  If I put my credit card on file there I get my BTC instantly?  Is there an "instant limit" that is lower than your daily limit?

If the credit card thing works the way that it works for my bank account I buy bitcoins at a set price and it takes a few days for the money to transfer over. But the price is locked in when you buy.
legendary
Activity: 1302
Merit: 1008
Core dev leaves me neg feedback #abuse #political
@louise: yeah but there's other activity besides the bots.  so if price isn't moving it's just that the market is flat right now.
legendary
Activity: 1372
Merit: 1000
So you're buying at $225 selling at $228...you make a few trades maybe get back a few percent on your investment. Then the price drops to $190 and you think...oh shit, this is it, Bitcoins is done for...better sell! It goes to $180 and rebounds going up to $250..oh shit, can't miss out on it going to $1000 again better buy...price drops back down to $225. You now have half of what you started with and are wondering wtf just happened.

I could set aside some money and buy at any particular point and wait for it to go up 5% and sell, then wait for it to go down 5% and buy, etc.  If the price goes way up and I don't get a chance to re-buy, it's OK because I still have my separate long-term holdings.  If the price goes down for a long time and I don't get a chance to sell soon, it's OK because that's basically what I've already been doing all this time anyway.  I could call that previous buy more long-term holdings and re-buy for more trading with fresh fiat.  So worst-case scenario I convert more fiat to BTC for long-term holding, and that's OK because I believe the price is going up long-term.

BTW, am I right about the credit card thing with Coinbase?  If I put my credit card on file there I get my BTC instantly?  Is there an "instant limit" that is lower than your daily limit?
sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 250
I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.

As far as I know, the exchanges now are full of trading bots.
And that is not so good for trading in my opinion.
They tend to mess with the price, and that is why there hasn't been any price improvement for a while.

unclear what you're saying? bots lead to higher volatility? or lower?
I would say neither is really true.  Bots have little net effect on price action or long term rates.

Neither.
Bots are set to buy low, sell high.
The only difference nowadays is that there are too many bots,
so the ones running them kind of ask for smaller profit in order to compete with the other bots and have any profit at all.
Which means that the price is not really going anywhere, at the moment.


that doesn't make sense...because if we price were to be 'going somewhere' without the bots, then for price to stay the same, the bots would all have to be buying or selling in such a way to nearly exactly offset the current trend, which is unlikely.

Erm, actually what you just wrote doesn't make sense.

It's simple:
Once upon a time, one would add a command for the bot to buy let's say at $120 and sell it at $130+
Now they buy at $120 and sell at $123 - $125

In all do fairness I haven't traded in a while, so maybe most of the bots are dead now.
I kind of doubt it though.
legendary
Activity: 3598
Merit: 2386
Viva Ut Vivas
So you're buying at $225 selling at $228...you make a few trades maybe get back a few percent on your investment. Then the price drops to $190 and you think...oh shit, this is it, Bitcoins is done for...better sell! It goes to $180 and rebounds going up to $250..oh shit, can't miss out on it going to $1000 again better buy...price drops back down to $225. You now have half of what you started with and are wondering wtf just happened.

In poker if you sit down at the table you can usually tell who the fish is. The guy that everyone else is there to take money from.
If you sit down and don't see the fish. You're the fish.





Convert and spend.
legendary
Activity: 1302
Merit: 1008
Core dev leaves me neg feedback #abuse #political
I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.

As far as I know, the exchanges now are full of trading bots.
And that is not so good for trading in my opinion.
They tend to mess with the price, and that is why there hasn't been any price improvement for a while.

unclear what you're saying? bots lead to higher volatility? or lower?
I would say neither is really true.  Bots have little net effect on price action or long term rates.

Neither.
Bots are set to buy low, sell high.
The only difference nowadays is that there are too many bots,
so the ones running them kind of ask for smaller profit in order to compete with the other bots and have any profit at all.
Which means that the price is not really going anywhere, at the moment.


that doesn't make sense...because if we price were to be 'going somewhere' without the bots, then for price to stay the same, the bots would all have to be buying or selling in such a way to nearly exactly offset the current trend, which is unlikely.
sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 250
I've been watching the BTC price for what seems like forever.  Coinbase charges 1% in fees.  I figure if I can (for example) buy at $225 and sell at $228, then I've made over 1%.  It doesn't sound very hard.  I will have my coins instantly if I register my credit card on Coinbase, right?

EDIT: Plus then I get to spend more time reading the hilarity scrolling up the BTC-e trollbox.

As far as I know, the exchanges now are full of trading bots.
And that is not so good for trading in my opinion.
They tend to mess with the price, and that is why there hasn't been any price improvement for a while.

unclear what you're saying? bots lead to higher volatility? or lower?
I would say neither is really true.  Bots have little net effect on price action or long term rates.

Neither.
Bots are set to buy low, sell high.
The only difference nowadays is that there are too many bots,
so the ones running them kind of ask for smaller profit in order to compete with the other bots and have any profit at all.
Which means that the price is not really going anywhere, at the moment.
sr. member
Activity: 274
Merit: 250
Of course it is still profitable, though of course the opposite is true and you can end up losing alot if you're not careful but you can say the same with anything. You can make money buying stocks and trading them, but you can also lose. Start off small and give it a go and see if you can make money. If you're good at it you can invest more and see where you get to but it's never easy work and can be quite stressful so take that into consideration.
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