EP 251 | High School Dropout Turned Quant Trader, Entrepreneur (Pre & Post FTX Collapse) | Kasper Vandeloock
The FTX collapse, arrest of Sam Bankman Fried, and the subsequent collapse of the crypto market opened new opportunities for Kasper, while other players were forced to exit the market.
NOTE: There are two parts to this interview. The first part was recorded prior to the collapse of the crypto market due to the downfall of FTX. After the collapse, we had a shorter follow-up interview with Kasper to get his perspective on the impact of the collapse of FTX and how it impacted his strategies.
When he was just 16 years old, Kasper Vandeloock received his first Bitcoin as payment for his programming skills. Intrigued by the emerging opportunities in crypto currencies, Kasper dropped out of high school to dive deep into learning everything he could about this fast-paced new type of finance and medium of exchange. Spotting market inefficiencies in prices between the different exchanges inspired Kasper to write his own programs which took advantage of delta neutral arbitrage opportunities.
Topics & Timestamps:
Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads.
0:00 Background and goals
6:40 What makes crypto fascinating to Kasper
7:50 What types of crypto did he buy in the beginning
9:30 Perception of crypto
12:15 Why be a quantitative trader with crypto and strategies used
18:12 What is a perpetual contract and yield opportunities
27:30 Advantages of Defi
28:30 NFT’s and their perceived value
33:13 Reasons for prior market collapse
35:00 Motivation for starting a quant fund
37:45 Micro service architecture design and its advantages
40:20 Starting a Crypto fund
42:25 Long term goals
43:45 Regulation needed?
44:45 Mindset of an algo trader versus a discretionary trader
46:45 What Kasper struggles with most
48:40 How did Kasper learn—Mentors?
51:10 Sacrifices taken
53:10 Suggestions for those curious
54:20 How to reach Kasper
1:00:35 Recap update and reasons for collapse of FTX
1:03:49 FTX impacts on crypto’s, NFT’s and lending
1:05:33 How was Defi affected by the FTX collapse?
1:06:33 Impacts on Kasper’s strategies
1:08:53 Players leaving the crypto space increased opportunities?
1:10:35 Use of leverage
1:11:40 Central banks saying crypto is irrelevant. The end of crypto?
1:15:35 Regulation needed for Defi?
1:17:35 Very bearish sentiment. Contrarian indicator?
1:19:35 How to increase trust in the centralized exchanges
1:22:04 Need for algorithmic stable coins?
See more show notes here:
https://chatwithtraders.com/251
Links & Resources:
@KasperLoock [twitter]
https://kasper-vandeloock.medium.com/profiting-from-inefficiencies-in-the-crypto-markets-funding-rates-1d21e2cefac9
https://kasper-vandeloock.medium.com/building-quantitative-system-how-to-deal-with-system-failures-2fdf6c026f55
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DISCLAIMER:
Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice.
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