Benzinga - Gareth Soloway, a self-described "Master Trader" with a 140,000-strong YouTube following, drew derision from the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) community for entering a short position at $50,000.
What Happened: "Not going to be popular with the maxis," Soloway announced as he revealed his trade.
Today @GarethSoloway announced he's entered another new short position on #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/VtRAm9IAAoEven though Soloway entered only "a quarter position," it is off to a poor start, with Bitcoin racing past $52,000 on strong ETF inflows.— Pledditor (@Pledditor) February 12, 2024
The trade was unpopular with "the maxis" indeed, as Ryan McGinnis, a Bitcoin researcher, dubbed it the "absolute worst trade I've ever seen in my life."
Stephen Livera, head of education at Swan Bitcoin, said "hilarious to watch" and called TA (technical analysis) "astrology for men."
Fred Krueger, a Bitcoin trader, echoed his take: "technical analysis is for idiots," he wrote, adding Soloway's full YouTube clip as a link with the description "proof of idiocy."
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Why It Matters: Soloway has earned a bit of a reputation as a "permabear" - someone who is consistently bearish - in the Bitcoin community.
His most popular tweet from Aug. 13, 2023, speculated about a Bitcoin flash crash at $28,000. Previous tweets contain speculation about Bitcoin hitting $12,000, although Soloway also entered a "tiny HODL position" in June 2022.
James van Straten, lead analyst at CryptoSlate, said he genuinely did not understand shorting Bitcoin when there is an entire industry where "99.9% of the coins are vaporware."
Van Straten points out that analysts have previously called crypto assets "grotesquely overvalued" and many are aware that most cryptocurrencies do not have any fundamental value. "Financial nihilism" is taking over as a driving force behind investment decisions.
However, shorting the biggest cryptocurrency, which now enjoys backing from financial behemoths such as BlackRock, may be a rather daring contrarian position. Bigger names, such as Paul Krugman, have tried - and failed - to dunk on Bitcoin.
With the market entering "greed" territory and Bitcoin's all-time highs in other currencies like the Japanese Yen taken out, Soloway may or may not be stepping in front of the proverbial speeding train.
What's Next: Bitcoin sits at $52,300 in early Thursday morning trading, fuelled by $180 million in short positions liquidated.
Read Next: Jim Cramer Left With 'Mixed Emotions' After Q4 Robinhood Numbers: Young People Are 'Trading Crypto And Options Instead Of Investing In Stocks'
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