Master Market Manipulation: How to Spot & Profit from Trading Moves Others Miss
Accept the reality: the market is manipulated. But don't let this discourage you. Instead, use this knowledge to your advantage and strive to improve your trading skills.
It’s common to see traders blame their losses on “manipulation”, failing to take responsibility for their own decisions within the market.
Just because you didn’t see a move, missed a move, or got caught out by the move, it doesn’t mean it was manipulation. More often than not, you’re just not yet skilled enough to figure out how to see and capture these moves.
Why Market Manipulation Exists and How to Benefit From It
Every single financial market is manipulated. Without this high level of manipulation, the market wouldn’t be as beneficial for trade. Those volatile fundamental moves? Those sudden spikes seemingly out of nowhere? Every move in the market is predictable and is being predicted by a trader out there, without insider information. It’s not your most significant setback; it’s your biggest advantage to succeeding when you learn to develop the intuition and skillset that can help you anticipate and prepare for these moves. This is precisely what we teach our members inside our app.
Market Moves and the Newcomer’s Mindset
For instance, a sudden spike in the value of a currency pair or a cryptocurrency that comes out of nowhere could be a result of market manipulation. The biggest misconception when trading Forex and Crypto is that you’re constantly at risk of being stopped out or blowing your account due to a sudden and unexpected market move. This is a newcomer’s mindset, the fear of being out of control by forces far greater than ourselves. Whilst, indeed, we do not have control over what the market does, we possess the full capability to understand its devious tricks and how to leverage them. You won't make progress or see results if you enter the market with fear and a victim mentality. If the reality of trading is that the markets are manipulated, then you must learn to move with the manipulation. It’s like moaning that fish have a greater advantage in the sea over humans. You still go and swim to the best of your ability, regardless of your disadvantages in a foreign environment. Trading is no different.
Why Volatile, “Manipulated” Moves Are Actually What Traders Want
The moves associated with “manipulation” tend to be the biggest, most violent and volatile moves. Isn’t this precisely what we want from the markets? Would it be as beneficial to us if the markets remained tightly packed in a narrow range for weeks on end, moving just a few pips or Dollars up and down? The truth is, whether or not the move is genuinely manipulation, the moves associated with this stigma are where the most money lies. Your goal is not to steer clear of these moves; your objective is to identify how to be on the correct side of these moves.
Identifying Market Manipulation and Its Patterns
If you pay attention, these moves frequently emerge unexpectedly to most, at a time when most traders are doing the opposite, hence the classification of manipulation, because it seems so out of the blue that it couldn’t possibly have been predictable. This is the first step in identifying market manipulation, its characteristics, and behavioural patterns, all of which exhibit a particular pattern. If there’s a pattern behind these moves, that means these moves in the market are not coincidental, more so meticulously executed time and time again. This is the core of trading the markets successfully, identifying patterns and piggybacking off the moves that tend to repeat themselves.
Timing Is Everything: When Manipulation Happens
Let's take a step further and examine the reality that most so-called unexpected moves occur during a time when the majority of traders, including you, cannot see them and are doing the opposite. You then begin to understand another characteristic. It’s intentionally taking place at a time most cannot see it. This provides the blueprint to what is classified as market manipulation and what assists in making it a reality. Before the market generates the most profitable moves, market makers, entities, or individuals with significant influence and resources in the market, will intentionally set out to entice the majority of traders into believing they’re on the correct side of the profitable move. Luring you in, pip by pip, candle by candle, into a position that is quickly eradicated.
The Truth About News and Market Moves
The truth is, the news is bullshit. It’s nothing more than a justification to initiate market manipulation, whilst allowing those with limited beliefs to point the finger and place the blame elsewhere.
“The data came out better than expected!”
“The data came out worse than expected!”
First of all, do you have any physical proof that any of the data is actually correct, authentic and fact-checked?
Who provides the data? How do you know any of it is even real?
Bet that thought never crossed your mind.
If ‘they’ want to move the markets in a particular direction, they will do everything in their power to make it a reality, whilst convincing you to do the opposite. It’s physically impossible that, within microseconds of data being released, the market immediately explodes in one given direction. Whilst algorithmic trading has expanded significantly over the past few years, this has been happening for decades, prior to its heavier role within the financial markets, let alone the possibility of all these algorithms executing the same position and bias at the same split second.
Develop Critical Thinking: Question Everything
Uncover market manipulation by asking the right questions. Don't accept everything at face value. Your ability to question and analyse data can be a powerful tool in your trading arsenal.
Suppose you never question anything and look for easy justifications as to why things are happening in the world and on the markets. In that case, you’ll never unlock the doors to discovering what really lies behind what you see taking place. Nothing is coincidental.
The Ripple Effect: Excuses vs Reality
This is something we often see in crypto, especially with XRP. The Ripple v SEC case was often cited as an excuse for many years as to why XRP was unable to break higher, while most overlooked the fact that it had achieved an over 1,600% return in total from the collapse following the initial SEC court case coming to light. The crash was simply the birthing ground to launch it higher. Despite all of these so-called excuses, the coin grew significantly stronger. Now that the case is officially over, there are no excuses left if the coin ends up crashing again, opening the ground for a new excuse and justification as to why something didn’t work out. This is the unfortunate reality of most traders. They lose, point the finger, lose again and keep pointing the finger.
Own Your Trading, Stop Blaming Manipulation
The truth is that blaming the market on manipulation for your losses is the easy route. There’s no reason why you cannot be a part of the move instead of being on the wrong side of it. You need to learn how to read the market better. This involves studying market patterns, understanding the behaviour of market makers, and developing a keen sense of market dynamics. It also requires discipline and patience, as identifying and profiting from manipulated market moves is not always straightforward. But with the right knowledge and mindset, you can turn market manipulation from a threat into an opportunity.
Ready to start riding the manipulation and stop losing to it?
Ready to take control of market manipulation and turn it into your advantage?