Today, let's talk about the alpha trading competition. Perhaps it can give some advice to friends new to the circle so they can lose less money.
So far, I have received rewards from three competitions: SHADOW, MYX, and MERL. I initially went for the rewards but realized I was overthinking it. Once I got trapped, I became more cautious. I was trapped for about 10U at most; there are many cases of being trapped for dozens or hundreds at the plaza. Therefore, rewards are not that easy to obtain. I have summarized some of my experiences, hoping to help newcomers avoid pitfalls.
First, clarify the purpose of participation. At first, I went for the rewards, but after two rounds, my perspective changed because the wear from brushing can far exceed the rewards, and the rewards are not guaranteed. Now I just aim to complete my daily points task and brush for the competition. For example, in this MERL competition, if I brush ZKJ or KOGE, my daily wear is about 10U. If I brush MERL, for the same points, my wear is about 15U, which is 5U more. If calculated based on the reward amount, it can completely cover my wear.
How to choose the assets to participate in? First, look at the 24-hour trading volume. A high trading volume indicates that transactions are easier, and the probability of being trapped is relatively small. You can directly give up on those with low trading volume.
Second, look at how much the competition's qualifying amount increases in a day. If the increase is less than the points amount you need to brush daily, that's best. Overflow a little every day, and sprint a bit more in the last two days; you can basically secure it. This way, the rewards just cover the wear from brushing points. Give up on those with significant daily increases that do not match the brushing points.
Third, the timing of brushing volume. Firstly, during an upward trend, the wear is the lowest. It is very likely that not only will there be no wear, but you might also make a profit. Try to choose to brush during an upward trend. Personally, I don't want to make money through brushing; I just brush for points. Therefore, I won't let the coin stay in my hands for more than 3 seconds after I buy it. If it exceeds 3 seconds, my heartbeat will accelerate, just like holding a time bomb. After buying, I will sell immediately, so I usually complete my daily point brushing task in a few minutes. To achieve low wear in such a short time, it needs to be done when the coin price is not fluctuating significantly. Just look at ZKJ to understand; I usually brush when there is very little fluctuation, referring to 15 minutes or 5 minutes.
Fourth, look at the reward amount and the number of qualifiers. A low reward amount may not even cover the overflow costs of brushing more than ZKJ. In that case, there is no need to brush. The fewer the number of qualifiers, the more you have to compete with stronger opponents or the easier it is to be trapped with coins.
Fifth, if the coin has already been listed on the contract and there is a significant increase on the last day of the competition, and you are relatively satisfied with the calculated reward amount, you can lock in the reward amount in advance by shorting an equal amount of coins on the contract. This way, even if the coin price drops on the day the reward is distributed, your reward will not be affected. When I started brushing, the reward amount for SHADOW dropped from 100U to 50U, which is quite frustrating. If there was a contract, this situation could have been avoided. Yesterday, when I was confident about securing the MERL reward, I shorted at 0.137 on the contract, locking in the reward amount. I have already made 20 points, but this is just to prevent the reward amount from shrinking; I do not intend to profit from shorting.
The above are some of my experiences in brushing competitions, hoping they can help some friends. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a message. Lastly, regarding the coins in alpha, I haven't researched them much because my capital is small, so I rarely buy spot. I previously bought a little bit in installments and exited with a small loss. Recently, I bought the popular BOB before its launch for 50U, sold several times afterward, and still have 50U left. I experienced losses due to lack of funds and also bought some AICell and DONKEY, feeling they might yield small profits. Finally, I will mention CAKE again; I added to my position yesterday, not at a low level. Now CAKE is one of the few that allows me to hold with peace of mind.
