In its day and age, cryptocurrency turned out to be one of the hottest mechanisms that people attempt to turn into money. No matter what coin it is: Bitcoin, Ethereum, smaller projects such as Solana or PEPE, a lot of individuals now rush to the crypto market to win their luck. Not everyone will go to day trading where people purchase and sell crypto on the same day.
Some would rather make long-term investment in which one could invest in and hold a coin only after a month or years. However, between these two, there exists a third way that falls right in between swing trading. It is not as stressful as day trading and more exiting than long-term investment. It is quickly becoming the obsession of most Nigerians who desire to increase their wealth carefully and it takes time.
Swing trading merely involves how a person trades where a particular person buys a coin when the price is low and if after a few days or weeks the price rises, one can sell the coin at a higher price. The concept is to get a swing in the market i.e. when the price is either increasing or decreasing drastically. A swing trader observes the market and reaches out through price charts with patience before he or she decides to get in or get out of a trade.
However, as opposed to those who watch the screens all day (day traders) and those who do not bother at all (long-term investors), swing traders are in between. They are patient to select the optimal trades and to wait for the excellent moment to make a kinetic expression.
Swing trading is also very flexible and this is one of the reasons why it will be appealing to Nigerians. Not all of us have time to dedicate to school, work, family and other obligations. We do not have the time or energy to constantly glue ourselves to a computer to monitor the market as it does on day trading. We do not want to purchase a coin and wait indefinitely until it becomes a great coin like long term investors.
Swing trading gives a balancing act. You can study the market at night, do your trading in the morning and continue with your day. You do check up your trades but this would only be once or twice a day.
The other factor that makes swing trading popular is that one does not need to have millions to start swing trading. Starting as a swing trader can be launched with as little as 10,000 20,000 naira. The secret is to start at the top, learn the process and grow in stages.
Most Nigerian traders have moved to trading platforms such as Binance, KuCoin, and Bybit to conduct their transaction. The platforms also offer things like price alerts, stop-loss settings, and take-profit orders, thus enabling you to manage your trades like a boss does.
Other skills taught by swing trading include patience, discipline as well as emotional control skills, which are essential in life. With a lot of new traders in crypto, one of their main issues is that they panic. They sell in haste even when the price goes down slightly because they are fearful. When the price goes up at a rapid rate, they make rush purchases without planning the purchase.
Swing trade helps in reducing such emotional mistakes. It is not that you are in a hurry to buy or sell, thus you can hold on and see the right time to strike. You plan entry into and out of positions and you do it consistently. In this manner, you are not gambling, but make a trade with a plan.
Nevertheless, as with any other trading activity, swing trading is associated with its risks. The crypto market is characterized as a highly volatile one. A coin can increase by 30 per cent in time and decline by 50 per cent in the next time. You can easily lose money, if you are not careful. That is why one should do their own research at all times. Before you start buying a coin, you need to take your time to research the market trend, read the news, and know what is going on around the coin. One should not be a blind follower of rumors or hypes
Stop-loss and take-profit orders are one of the ways to herald risk in swing trading. A stop-loss order does exclude you against incurring a lot of losses. As an illustration, you purchase a coin that trades at a price of $100 and you do not want to lose anything more, say, than $10, then provided that you place a stop-loss at a position of $90. When the price falls, you will not struggle to sell it; this is because the system will automatically sell the coin once it reaches the price that you have set thus preventing bigger losses.
On the other hand, a take-profit order, allows you to know how much you have made. As an example, you may want to sell at the price of 120, and you can put a take-profit order, and the system will sell when that price is attainable. Such tools are quite useful especially when you are not online all the time.
The other factor to realise is that swing trading is not a get rich fast scheme. The second thing that is erroneous is the belief that crypto is the shortcut to riches. Although it is a fact that some individuals have earned a lot of money through crypto, a number of individuals have also lost their money. Swing trading is time and skills based, planned. You will not always come up victorious when you trade, but as time goes by, you will be able to make the right decisions as a result of your experiences. As a Nigerian, I should work and aim at improving gradually but not to hurry the process.
It is possible to become a better swing trader by utilizing certain skill sets. The former is called chart reading, or technical analysis. That is, you need to learn to read price charts, identify patterns, and apply instruments such as moving averages, Relative Strength Index (RSI), MACD oscillator, and support and resistance lines.
You are not required to become a professional immediately, but the sooner you learn, the more self-assured you will be in the trading decisions. On YouTube, Telegram, and even online, hundreds of free videos, followers, and courses are available to teach such things in a simple manner.
Another quality is the ability to read news. It may happen that crypto prices change due to some events. To take an example, when a famous coin shares the information about collaboration or expansion, the price is likely to increase. Conversely, should a coin be an investigational or legal problem, then the price can decline. You have to keep yourself updated as a swing trader. Follow reputable accounts on twitter like these accounts or x accounts or crypto news websites like coin desk or coin telegraph to find out the latest news.
Moreover, it is desirable to possess a trading plan. A trading plan is a written plan of action that directs you on when to get into a trade, the level on which to invest, give your losses the maximum you can part with and walk away with your profits. Lack of a plan will make you trade with emotions and this may make you lose. Another lesson you need to teach yourself is how to take the loss when it does occur. Not everyone is making it and the traders are not all making it well It is a secret to control your losses, and let your profit increase.
Swing trading is pleasant, particularly, when your plan takes action. Just think of purchasing a coin at 0.05 that will go up to 0.10 in just a week. You now have 100 percent profit and with not so much stress. It is to be mindful of, though, to be not avaricious. The common error of keeping your stocks and waiting to see the price continuing to go up to no avail is made by many people. It is better to pocket your profit and wait until the next one.
Swing trading can also be a decent side hustle in Nigeria where there is a difficult economy and a weak naira. Crypto has become a way the school fees are paid, or families are taken care of, or even future savings by many other young Nigerians. The beauty with swing trading is that one can trade swing trading anywhere, in room, in office, and even travelling. All that you require is your phone, internet and the proper orientation.
You can also be part of the communities where you can learn and develop. Most of the WhatsApp groups and Telegram chats in Nigeria are about sharing the trading tips, the market analysis, and supporting each other. Operating in a trading society would make you learn quicker and find out how to avoid making errors. You will be able to make enquiries, get feedback and get inspired.
A trading journal is also a good idea. A journal of trading is a piece of your trades. You record an answer to the question of why you got into a trade, the outcome of the trade and what you have learned. This enables you to determine your bad and good points in the long run. You start to observe which coins are the best ones that fit you and which strategy gives results, and what not to do.
Finally, the capital is always a factor to remember. You just place it back that you are willing to go away. The crypto is not an assurance. Even the most good traders in the world lose. However, when you control risk and continue to learn, and do it consistently, swing trading is a practice that can help you maintain steady growth of your wealth.
To sum it up, swing trading is the golden mean between the high speed of day trading and the investment strategy of long-term investing. It is wholesome, and it is progress, and it is not too much danger/too much gain. Swing trading represents one area that Nigerians desiring to ensure that they become intelligent when it comes to money in the crypto world can venture into. Small, low, knowing more and start building your career as a swing trader.