Quote from: Goomboo on June 04, 2013, 01:47:06 AM

To bring us back full-circle to the question which has relentlessly haunted this journal: should I systematically trade or buy and hold? Examine the chart below and then let's discuss.

http://www.thetradequest.com/bitcoin/TradeorHold.png

By all metrics, trading the crossover has outperformed buy and hold since the day the crash began. Trading has returned 134% and buy and hold has lost 37%. Traders experienced a 68% drawdown in value, investors watched 82% erode away.

Even though the metrics seem to say that trading has "worked" better than buy and hold, it's still pointless to make the comparison. After all, when you're asking a question of "what works", you by definition must select a timeframe to make a judgement. The last two months have been favorable for traders but the last 6 months have rewarded investors. No matter which side of the aisle you stand, investor or trader, you can find supporting figures for your viewpoint. There are only two ways to "settle" the debate: price instantly rises to $1,000,000 per coin and stays there forever or price slowly and indefinitely falls to $0.00. In the meantime, it will remain impossible to definitively state which mentality is "better".

This remains an ideological question. Are you "voting with your fiat" and supporting an idea, or are you here to earn a profit? It is my viewpoint that disciplined trading is the most logical method of approaching the markets. The purpose of this journal is to convey what it takes to profitably trade.

Goomboo is your graph implementing the fee's aplied by Mt. Gox or others when you do a transaction? I agree with you and your trading system but seeing you can lose 1.2% just by Buying/selling/buying at the same price make me a bit suspicious. Not about the trading method but about the profit you expose Wink