When I look at the market these days, I really feel that it has changed. Just buying and holding like before makes it easy to miss opportunities. In a market like today, where sideways movement and sudden surges and drops repeat again and again, I think day trading—taking a small but certain profit every day—might be a wiser choice. Especially in the cryptocurrency market, which is open 24 hours a day, being able to do it during the gaps while you’re working is a big advantage.

To start day trading, you first need to choose the right exchange properly. Domestic exchanges are essential for deposits and withdrawals in KRW (원화) and for spot trading, while overseas exchanges are used when you need futures or leverage trading. Charts are also important, and using professional tools like TradingView can make analysis much easier. But above all, the most important thing is to get rid of emotions. Watching a coin surge and getting caught up in FOMO to blindly buy is a surefire way to ruin your account.

If I had to pick 3 day trading strategies that actually work in real life, the first is the RSI oversold rebound strategy. In a range-bound market, when the RSI drops to 30 or below, you enter; when it rises to 70 or above, you exit. The key is to quickly secure profits in a short time. The second is the moving average “golden cross” method—spotting the moment when the 5-day moving average breaks through and rises above the 20-day moving average. If trading volume rises along with it, the signal becomes even more reliable. The third is Bollinger Band breakout trading, where you aim to catch the moment when volatility suddenly increases and the price breaks up through the upper band. However, since breakouts tend to revert again, you should exit immediately if the upward momentum starts to fade.

More important than making money with day trading is not losing money. It’s essential to set your stop-loss in advance and follow it mechanically. For example, if you incur a 2–3% loss from your entry price, you sell right away. And don’t put all of your assets into a single trade—operate by dividing your seed capital into at least 10 parts. That way, even if you fail, you can recover sufficiently, and you’ll also feel more stable psychologically.

It’s also good to know the characteristics unique to the Korean market. If the Kimchi premium is 5% or more, you should be careful. That’s a sign that the domestic market is overheated. Conversely, if an “anti-premium” (역프리미엄) appears, you can view it as a relatively safer buying range. And 9:00 a.m. is really an important time. The daily candle on domestic exchanges resets, and the stock market also opens, causing trading volume to explode. If you’re working, focusing only between 8:50 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. is enough to reach your target profit.

In reality, when beginners set their goals for day trading, it’s right to aim for stable gains of about 1–2% per day. It may seem small, but when you accumulate it over a month, it becomes a substantial profit. Don’t wait for perfect study—what matters is building real-world experience with small amounts. If you do experience losses, don’t get overly discouraged; if you touch your stop-loss line, stopping for the day helps with mental management. Currently, Bitcoin is around 76.79K, Ethereum is 2.11K, Ripple is 1.37, and Solana is around 84.65—use these as references and look for day trading opportunities. Since the cryptocurrency market has high volatility, always approach it cautiously and remember not to forget that you must decide based on your own judgment and responsibility.