Despite its meteoric rise in 2020 and 2021, some investors may be interested in shorting the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Shorting is a strategy for profiting when the price of an asset decreases. Bitcoin, a highly volatile asset, might provide a plethora of trading chances for this method.
Short selling is a riskier strategy for more experienced traders than simply buying or selling something. There are a few different ways to short sell Bitcoin, and we’ll go through how to do it, where you can do it, and what the risks are.
Of course, it is important to remember that all crypto trades—short, long, and everything in between—are subject to taxation. While savvy crypto traders can likely handle taxes on their own and can even file a tax return completely free, it might be worth it to seek out the help of an expert. After all, the tax legislation surrounding cryptocurrency is new and changing constantly.
Read: Reasons Behind Investing Money In Bitcoin By Entrepreneur
Shorting Bitcoin: A Brief Discussion
Bitcoin can be shorted using a variety of means. Borrowing a certain number of bitcoins and then selling them at the current market value is known as shorting. If the price of bitcoin falls in the future, you’ll be able to repay the loan with bitcoins that are cheaper than the ones you borrowed.
Shorting Bitcoin in a collapsing market could help investors make money. Shorting an asset is more hazardous and involves simply buying or selling it. Trading platforms can help you keep track of market swings, but be sure it’s reliable before you use one. You may learn about the research done by completely committed virtual currency experts, like this one for Bitcoin Superstar, which shows that it is a customer-friendly and well-established network.
How Shorting Bitcoin Works on Exchanges
The simplest way too short bitcoin is to register an account on a platform that permits it. Thanks to these exchanges, users can borrow Bitcoin, sell it short, and then buy it back at a lower price. If a user’s favourite exchange does not offer short-selling, they may resort to other methods to short Bitcoin.
Use of Future Contracts
Futures contracts are when two people agree to buy or sell something at a specific price and date. They’ve been accessible since the CME Group began offering Bitcoin futures in 2017. A trader can short Bitcoin by buying a futures contract that predicts a lower price for Bitcoin in the future. Advanced trading strategies, such as futures, come with a high level of risk.
Using Options Contracts to Short Bitcoin
Options and futures are both financial products connected to an underlying asset; hence the two types of options are very similar.
Contract holders have the option, but not the duty, to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price and at a predetermined time. “Puts” are option contracts that bet on an asset’s price falling.
It is possible to short Bitcoin. When an investor purchases an option contract, all they have to do is pay the premium, which is usually a small amount. Even though options are complex and can result in large losses for new traders, they can still be a beneficial tool for those who know what they’re doing.
Use of Leveraged Bitcoin
Certain financial intermediaries offer leveraged trading tools, including spread betting and contracts for differences (CFDs). Shorting Bitcoin with leveraged bets could be the riskiest of all the options.
You bet with more money than you have when you employ leverage. This can lead to higher returns in positive-yielding transactions, but it can also lead to investors losing much more than they risked—and going into debt—when bets don’t go their way.
Read: Is Bitcoin Appropriate For Doing A Business?
Is It a Complex Case?
Shorting anything carries a significant level of risk. The first thing investors should understand about shorting is that it might result in indefinite losses. This is possible due to the lack of a price cap for Bitcoin. If the value of the underlying asset rises, short-term traders lose money. Cost increases are a direct effect of market price increases. If the price of Bitcoin does not decline, a short investor could go bankrupt quickly. This risk can be mitigated by using a stop-loss order, which automatically stops a trade at a predetermined price level. It’s always a good idea to have a strategy in place when using advanced trading methods like shorting. Gambling without a strategy or plan is similar to trading without a strategy or plan.
To avoid large losses when short selling, one must be as certain that prices will not rise in the near future. As a result, rather than concentrating solely on the negative aspects, it is vital to recognise when bullish ones are missing.