The biggest paper trading competition on Earth. Here is the top 10. What traders can learn

Paper trading mastery: TradingView’s “The Leap” and what many traders can aspire for

In a captivating display of virtual market mastery, TradingView’s paper trading contest “The Leap” wrapped up with striking outcomes. From the sea of approximately 100,000 contestants, the top echelons of paper traders have surfaced with impressive returns on their $250,000 virtual capital, all within the thrilling span of 30 days.

🏆 The elite top 10 paper trader: Profits beyond expectations

• Stellar success: The top trader achieved an astonishing +87.25% return.
• 17% return in a month – is the sign of trading excellence: Each top 10 trader exceeded +17% in profits.
• Profit spectrum: Returns ranged from a hefty +87.25% to a solid +17.02%. In case you are a trader that doubled your capital within a month, then you did better than the winner among apx 100,000 traders here. Good to know, ey? Now go get it… Perhaps you can do that. It is extremely difficult but probably not impossible.

💡 Lessons for the aspiring trader: Realistic trading expectations

For those embarking on their trading journey, these figures might seem like a fast track to wealth. However, reality paints a different picture: Most traders did not even make 0.1% return in a month, they lost money.

• Real vs. virtual: Remember, paper trading lacks the emotional roller coaster of real-world trading.
• Exception, not norm: Even a monthly profit of +10% would place you among the trading elite in real-world scenarios.
• Varied victories: The success variance among the top traders serves as a reminder of the diverse outcomes possible in trading. As a trader, start by not losing money! This is actually very difficult.

📉 The hard truth: The majority of traders struggle to profit

• Stark statistics: Various research and disclaimers show that over 80% of day traders struggle to consistently make profits. Some even show that over 90% struggle. However, in TradingView’s paper trading contest, traders did exceptionally better! A staggering 57% of traders were profitable!!

• 📊 Total participants: 92,045
• 💹 Total trades made: 2,709,870
• 💰 Total profit earned by participants: $119.1M
• Initial starting capital per trader: $250,000
• 📈 Average profit per participant: $5,659
• 🔻 Total loss: $37.2M
• 📉 Average loss per participant: $2,344
• 🤑 57% of accounts were profitable
• 🚫 43% of accounts were unprofitable
• 🏦 Most traded asset: Bitcoin with 1,889,457 trades
• 💵 Over $167.5B invested across symbols
• 💲 Most invested symbol: Bitcoin at $133.9B
• 🛑 Most common order type: Market orders with 2,354,090 counts

The average monthly return on the initial capital of $250,000, which generated $5,659, is approximately 2.26%. In terms of daily returns, this equates to an average of $188.63 per day, or about 0.075% of the initial capital. If we consider only the weekdays, assuming there are 21 trading days in a month, the average return per weekday is approximately $269.48, which is roughly 0.108% of the initial capital.

• Educational emphasis: Use paper trading as a risk-free educational tool, not a profit prediction platform. TradingView, in my humble opinion, is the best place to start paper trading. You can also set a long or short position with a take profit and stop loss, right click and set the orders. That teaches you discipline straight from their UI and functionality, go ahead and try it.

📈 From paper trading to practical trading portfolios: Bridging the gap

• Simulated skills: Paper trading can be a great way to build skills without financial risk. As mentioned, I do love and use TradingView. I honestly think it is the best charting software out there.
• Emotional equity: Real trading adds the challenge of emotional and psychological factors.
• Risk management in trading: Learning to manage risk in paper trading is crucial before jumping into actual markets.

🔍 The top 10 traders breakdown: An analysis of trading excellence (and mostly crypto in this case)

• From first to tenth: The gradual decline from +87.25% to +17.02% illustrates the range of success even among the best.
• The elite trio in the leaderboard of this paper trading contest: Comparing the top three, with +87.25%, +65.77%, and +25.00%, highlights the exceptional nature of the leading trader’s performance.

“The Leap” paper trading competition was a big success, IMHO, and illuminates the apex of paper trading achievements. But take heed:

• Admire with caution: Approach these outcomes with a mix of respect and realism.
• Pursue preparedness: Use the knowledge gained to prepare for the unpredictable tides of real-world trading.
• Aim for sustainable success: Strive for consistent, manageable gains over speculative windfalls.

🌟 Keep trading and keep developing: The journey of a trader is continuous, and each step, win or lose, is a valuable lesson. May your trading endeavors be as disciplined and strategic as they are successful! Visit ForexLive.com for additional views and opinions.

📈 The TradingView paper trading leaderboard

This article was written by Itai Levitan at www.forexlive.com.