Inside the Mind of a Bull-Market Specialist: A Conversation with tanpang

In every cycle, certain traders stand out; not because they trade every environment equally well, but because they understand exactly where their edge is sharpest. Some are built for chop, some for microstructure, some for high-frequency volatility. tanpang thrives when liquidity is expanding, BTC and ETH are trending, and the market begins rewarding directional conviction again.

At his core, he is a long-term crypto advocate. His macro thesis is straightforward: global M2 keeps rising, inflation quietly compounds, and assets like BTC and ETH hold structural monetary value. That worldview drives how he invests professionally and how he trades futures on Flipster; leaning long, timing pullbacks, and capturing upside during bull phases without abandoning risk discipline.

On Flipster, tanpang trades as a swing specialist. He frames the cycle, waits for overreactions, and uses flexible long and short positioning to express a broader macro view. For users who want to follow a trader built for expansion seasons, and who want exposure to a style that aligns with crypto’s long-term trajectory, his framework now lives inside Flipster’s upcoming Copy Trading feature.

Below is our full conversation.

Q&A With tanpang

1. Introduce yourself. What kind of trader are you?

I’m tanpang, born in 1990. I manage portfolios at a crypto-focused venture capital firm, and I’ve been investing in the space since 2017. I originally worked as a developer in the blockchain industry, so my experience comes from both building and investing. That perspective eventually pulled me into asset management, which shaped the way I analyze cycles and value.

Professionally, I think about long-term positioning, fundamentals, and portfolio construction. On Flipster, I switch into a more active swing-trading mode using futures. I start with a directional macro view, usually long-biased, then wait for overshoots to enter positions. Flexibility is essential for me. If structure changes, I pivot rather than fight the tape. Flipster makes that easier because switching between long and short feels smoother and comes with less slippage compared to other exchanges I’ve traded on.

2. When did you start taking trading seriously?

I started investing in 2017 when the space was shifting from pure speculation into actual industry building. At first it was simple curiosity, crypto was new and exciting. But as I spent more time in the ecosystem, moving from development into asset management, I realized this would become my main field.

Major crashes changed everything. Events like Terra and the deep market drawdowns forced me to question whether I truly understood the landscape. Instead of walking away, those experiences pushed me to study liquidity, cycles, and risk in a more structured way. That was when trading became a discipline rather than a hobby.

3. How would you describe your trading style today?

I’m a swing trader with a macro, long-biased framework. I begin by identifying where BTC and ETH sit within the broader cycle: early trend, mid-trend, late trend, or distribution.

When I’m bullish, I don’t chase strength. I wait for countertrend moves (pullbacks, corrections, liquidations) and then position in the direction of the trend. I’m not purely a mean-reversion trader; I want to ride the primary trend with better timing. If structure shifts and the trend breaks, I adjust. Being stubborn is the fastest way to ruin capital in this market.

4. What markets do you mainly trade, and why?

For leveraged trading, I stick almost entirely to BTC and ETH. Smaller altcoins can be heavily influenced by a few concentrated players, which makes technical levels and chart structures less reliable.

BTC and ETH are different. They are deep, liquid markets where no single participant can easily dictate direction on higher timeframes. The price action reflects a real mix of institutional flows, retail behavior, macro catalysts, and derivatives positioning. That environment suits my approach and allows me to express macro views more cleanly.

5. How do you think about leverage and position size?

I usually keep leverage under 10x, and often less on ETH. My focus is timing and thesis clarity, not amplifying every move with extreme leverage. When macro, sentiment, and structure align, I’m comfortable sizing a position meaningfully, even with modest leverage. When conviction is lower, I size down and prioritize preservation over performance.

The goal is survival. A bull-market specialist only benefits from the big legs if he’s still standing when they arrive. Overleveraging right before the real move is the easiest way to miss the entire point of trading the cycle.

6. Have you experienced big drawdowns? How did you recover?

Yes, everyone who has been through multiple cycles has. Crashes like Terra were painful. Even if you’re long-term bullish on BTC and ETH, you can’t escape those phases untouched.

My recovery process starts with acknowledging that every bull season ends. You can’t treat every dip as a buy if the cycle has already flipped into a broader downtrend. I define “season exit” conditions (macro shifts, structural breaks, sentiment extremes) that tell me the uptrend is likely finished. And I avoid revenge trading. The desire to instantly recover losses is far more dangerous than the losses themselves.

Long-term conviction is important, but so is knowing when a chapter has closed.

7. What do you look at when generating trade ideas?

I’m macro-driven. I track global M2 trends, interest-rate direction, liquidity conditions, and market psychology. I look at where we are in the sentiment curve (disbelief, cautious optimism, greed, euphoria, denial) because cycle timing is often as important as technicals.

There’s no perfect formula. Markets are context-dependent. The same data point can mean different things in different phases. My goal is to understand the bigger backdrop and align with it, especially in bull environments where my edge is strongest.

8. What should Copy Trading users understand before following you?

Two things matter most.

First, I’m structurally long-biased on BTC and ETH. My framework assumes these assets retain long-term monetary value in a world of expanding money supply. When you follow me, you’re aligning with that thesis.

Second, I perform best in bull environments, when liquidity is improving and BTC/ETH are in clean uptrends. In sideways or bearish phases, my strategy can underperform if the long bias is early or mistimed. Copy traders should understand they’re following a crypto advocate optimized for expansion phases, not a market-neutral trader designed to perform identically across every regime.

9. What do you enjoy outside of trading?

I used to spend a lot of time gaming. Over the years, trading gradually took over that space. When markets move, I tend to be fully absorbed in them.

These days, I reset by enjoying wine and quieter downtime rather than grinding games. It’s a different way to decompress, and it helps balance the mental load of cycle-focused trading.

10. Is there something about your personality that fits trading well?

I’m naturally persistent. Even when I take losses, I don’t walk away as long as my medium- to long-term view still holds. Short-term setbacks push me to refine my approach, study the structure more deeply, and take the next opportunity with better timing. Over the years, that willingness to keep iterating, even after difficult patches, has helped me compound experience into a more reliable framework.

At the same time, I understand that this mindset isn’t universal. I’ve seen excellent traders who took one major loss, stepped away from futures entirely, and focused on spot investing instead, and they ended up doing extremely well because that suited their temperament. For me, the trait that fits trading best is the drive to keep learning and keep returning to the market until I build a durable edge.

Closing Thoughts

Where quant traders dissect microstructure and momentum players chase breakouts, tanpang’s edge sits in cycle awareness, macro structure, and long-term conviction in BTC and ETH. He’s a former developer turned portfolio manager, with a trading style built for the seasons when liquidity expands and directional trades dominate.

Flipster’s upcoming Copy Trading feature gives users a way to follow that approach directly. If your goal is to ride bull legs with a trader who understands the underlying macro and isn’t afraid to lean into conviction, tanpang offers a clear path to plug into. As always, understand the bias behind the strategy and match it to your own risk profile. Every cycle tells a different part of the story.

Disclaimer: This material is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Flipster makes no recommendations or guarantees in respect of any digital asset, product, or service. Trading digital assets and digital asset derivatives comes with a significant risk of loss due to its high price volatility, and is not suitable for all investors. Please refer to our Terms.