My journey in Hummingbot Botcamp Cohort #2 by student Makir

Our Hummingbot Botcamp User Makir talks about his experience learning to build a custom algo trading bot in Hummingbot Botcamp.

Cryptocurrency trading is a dynamically evolving industry, where opportunities emerge through the convergence of innovation and technology. Market Making in the crypto space involves various players who employ strategic approaches to capitalize on this emerging market. Successful traders distinguish themselves by leveraging the best available tools for their work and analysis, and this is why I joined Hummingbot's Botcamp.

My name is Makir, I’m an experienced cryptocurrency trader. I got started in crypto around 2016 when I finally got my head around bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as the next big innovation in fintech. Before then, I had built an ecommerce business with the help of some friends and learned global commerce through this endeavor. I also learned trading through the FX market and found it to be very interesting which led me to Bitcoin and crypto trading as it was a nascent developing market.  

Fast forward to late 2017, I experienced my very first bull market trading directional trending strategies. Soon after my very first bear market where I engaged in trading and made a lot of money running risky trading strategies before losing it all in 2018. This taught me a very expensive lesson which I told myself I would build back from with more understanding and experience. I worked hard by learning the ins and outs of crypto trading, even went on and trading OTC for clients/firms in Toronto and eventually landed my first crypto trading Job at a Market Making firm based in Brussel, Belgium. This was my first international consulting experience.

One thing I lacked was the technical knowledge required to make algorithmic crypto trading a successful undertaking. I vowed to learn python and grow my technical skills to manage trading bots more efficiently. Hummingbot was the perfect opportunity to help me develop this new skillset and I have nothing but great feedback on the overall program.

For individuals new to cryptocurrency trading, Botcamp is a great  ideal starting point. It offers comprehensive education on topics including order books, API connectivity, strategy development, and script writing. Regardless of prior experience, the program caters to a broad range of skill levels, providing clear and concise explanations of complex concepts. The use of Python, a user-friendly programming language, and its focus on trading-specific functions and methods, further simplifies the learning process.

The way the Botcamp is structured allows you to follow your daily routine normally without taking too much of your time if you have a job or other responsibilities. I found it very doable to allocate 4-5 hours every week for a month. This program allows you to self pace and meet deadlines every week according to your own schedule. Just make sure to set the right expectation from the beginning and complete the course work and you’ll be cruising to your first trading script in no time.

The program is administered by the hummingbot team, along with the mentors and program director to help each trader according to their knowledge level of crypto trading and software development. As you start your Botcamp Journey, you’ll be placed with a mentor that caters to your specific needs whether it’s help with developing a strategy, help with the codebase, trading terminology, or any other specific needs, Botcamp has a dedicated mentor for your needs and it helps a lot during the program as you can direct your questions to them and book 1 on 1 video calls with them for 30 minutes. All of which is included in Botcamp.

As a beginner- level python developer, the task of coding my own trading strategy seemed like a big challenge at first. Like wow what are these codes and lines of texts on the screen, what do they even represent ?  I had little to no experience in this area, and I wasn't sure where to start. However, thanks to the resources provided in Botcamp, I began to feel more confident in my ability to tackle this project. I was able to track my progress every step of the way and the structure of the program allowed me to easily keep up.

The video courses of hummingbot developers explaining code were particularly helpful. By watching these professionals break down their code line by line, I was able to understand the basics of how to start coding my own script. I began to experiment with different snippets of code, adding, correcting, and deleting as I went along.

Of course, I encountered plenty of roadblocks along the way but I was determined to solve these problems and plow ahead. There were times when I wasn't sure how to fix a particular bug or improve a certain aspect of my strategy. That's where my mentor came in. He was assigned to me specifically to help me overcome these challenges, and he did an excellent job of guiding me through the debugging process. With his help, I was able to identify and fix problems, and eventually, I was able to significantly improve  my strategy.

In the end, coding my own trading strategy was an incredibly rewarding experience. I learned so much about Python development and trading strategies in general, and I feel confident that I have the skills and knowledge to continue improving and refining my strategy in the future.

Moving forward I am now able to build trading bots with different strategies and goals using hummingbot’s open source codebase. My goal is to improve and create opportunities for self development in a decentralized trading environment.

Thanks to Botcamp and Hummingbot I am now on the path of greater discoveries in the cryptocurrency market.