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Reports have disclosed that athletes and their teams are growing more cautious about crypto endorsement deals.

According to a recent interview with Shelly Socol, a marketing executive at BTCC Exchange, sports stars now demand deeper checks on a crypto firm’s history, compliance record, and staying power before signing.

Past scandals such as the FTX collapse have left a mark. Deals that once moved fast are taking longer to clear.

Athletes Demand Stronger Vetting

Based on reports, a recent CoinGecko analysis shows a 38% drop in crypto sports sponsorships from 2021 Peaks, and that fall has changed how offers are handled.

Players are often consulting legal and financial advisers before they sign. Some are even choosing Bitcoin pay. For example, posts on X have highlighted USC recruit Matai Tagoa’i’s NIL deal paid entirely in Bitcoin, and lists like Bitbo.io’s roundup show several pro athletes leaning toward crypto as a hedge.

Market Data And Sponsorship Models

From industry outlets, sponsorships are becoming more layered. A 2023 report — updated with 2025 insights — found that crypto firms are adding NFTs and fan tools to deals so the contracts do more than put a logo on a jersey.

Euromonitor International research points to brand perception shifts when blockchain elements are added to sports marketing.

Regulatory moves are also in the mix; recent SEC fines and the passage of MiCA in Europe are pushing sponsors to show cleaner compliance paths. When laws tighten, partners want proof of proper behavior.

Exchanges Seek Credibility Through Stars

BTCC’s deal with NBA All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. is a case in point. Reports describe the exchange working to use the partnership to build trust, not just get attention.

The campaign reportedly includes a $500,000 USDT prize pool aimed at user engagement. Such moves are being watched closely.

Endorsements are now as much about reputation signals as they are about audience reach, the WPN report by Andrew Cain disclosed. In some deals, sponsorships are being structured to include education for fans and long-term incentives.

Risk Factors And Industry Forecasts

Analysts have warned that volatility can still hurt athlete income streams. Novatia Consulting’s December 2024 analysis warned that market crashes may reduce the value of crypto-based pay.

At the same time, a Vestinda blog post from December 2024 predicted wider use of tokenized assets for athlete compensation.

Brand Vision’s 2025 overview points out that some crypto-infused deals are beginning to rival classic sneaker contracts, and that stars like LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo command big premiums because they pick partners carefully.

The message from experts is simple: choose partners with clear rules and steady records.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Key takeaways:

• Bitcoin needs a weekly close above $114,000 to avoid a deeper correction and reaffirm bullish strength.

• Failure to hold $112,000 and a bear flag breakdown could trigger drop to $103,700.

Bitcoin (BTC) may avoid an “ugly” correction to lower levels if BTC/USD ends the week above $114,000, according to traders and analysts.

Why Bitcoin price must reclaim $114,000

Bitcoin price is heading for its third consecutive week of losses, 11% below its Aug. 14 all-time high of $124,500, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. 

Bitcoin dropped below the crucial level of $114,000, a level that has supported the price over the previous six weeks, as shown in the chart below. 

Related: Bitcoin megaphone pattern targets $260K as BTC price screams ‘oversold’

BTC price must flip this level into support to confirm the strength of the uptrend, according to trader and YouTuber Sam Price.

“Bitcoin bulls are defending $109K support nicely,” Price said in an X post on Thursday, adding:

“A weekly close above $114K would be big.”

The long wick below $109,000 signalled “solid buy pressure,“ suggesting that bulls are aggressively defending this support level.

Analyst Rekt Capital said that it was important for Bitcoin to reclaim $114,000 as support to avoid a prolonged correction period.

“Turning $114K into new resistance would prolong the pullback period,” the analyst said in a Thursday X post, adding:

 “This has been a cycle of downside deviation, so all it comes down to is Bitcoin Weekly Closing above $114K for bullish bias.”

Bitcoin bears want to pull price down to $103,000

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin’s price outlook hinged on holding above $112,000. 

Similar sentiments were shared by MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe, who spotted Bitcoin trading at $112,800 on Thursday and said that the support at $112,000 was “crucial” for BTC price. 

“If Bitcoin can’t hold above $112K, we’ll probably face a very ugly correction across the board.”

Bitcoin had dipped below this support as of Friday, validating a bear flag on the four-hour chart, as shown.

A bear flag suggests a continuation of the bearish momentum, with sellers taking control.

Note that the price was rejected from the upper boundary of the flag, which is around $114,000, and has dropped below the lower boundary, which coincides with $112,000.

The measured move target from the pattern suggests a potential decline toward $103,700, representing a 6% drop from the current level.

The relative strength index remains below the mid-line, confirming the bearish momentum.

Liquidation data shows bid clusters all the way down to $104,000, suggesting that BTC price is likely to sink deeper to grab liquidity around this level. 

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-traders-btc-must-close-week-above-114k-to-avoid-ugly-correction/feed/ 0 55711 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/top-traditional-ira-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/top-traditional-ira-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/#respond Sun, 03 Aug 2025 14:24:29 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/top-traditional-ira-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/ IRAs are one of the most popular ways to save for retirement, but simple mistakes can cost you.

The benefits associated with traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are numerous. There are tax advantages, and IRAs offer an impressive range of investment options. In addition, IRAs are flexible, and they allow you to make catch-up contributions once you reach the age of 50. Thanks to compounding returns, IRAs can grow dramatically in value given enough time.

As of mid-2024, 44% of households reported holding at least one IRA, making it one of the most popular ways to save for retirement.

Like other investment vehicles, however, IRAs require that investors follow specific rules, and mistakes can be costly. Here are five of the most common IRA mistakes and how to avoid them.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Failure to understand contribution limits

The most you can contribute to a traditional IRA in 2025 is $7,000. If you’re 50 or older, the catch-up contribution boosts that amount to $8,000. If your annual contribution exceeds that limit, you will incur a 6% penalty on the excess amount for each year it remains in the account.

So imagine you accidentally contributed $1,000 too much this year and failed to notice the mistake for two years. That means you’ll owe a 6% penalty this year and 6% on the extra $1,000 again next year.

Automating your contributions is one of the surest ways to prevent a penalty. For example, if you plan to contribute $7,000, you might automate a monthly transfer of $583.33 from your bank account to your IRA beginning in January and ending in December ($583.33 x 12 = $6,999.96).

2. Missing the contribution deadline

You have until your tax-filing deadline (typically April 15) to make any IRA contributions you want to count for the prior tax year. Waiting until the last minute to do so gives your contribution less time to generate returns, and it also makes it easier to miss the deadline.

Say you want to contribute $7,000 for 2025, but you wait until April 15, 2026, to complete it. Instead, you could break the $7,000 down into monthly installments (similar to above) or even make a single, lump-sum contribution early in the year. Approaches like these give your invested funds more time in the market while ensuring you don’t miss the deadline by accident.

3. Failure to follow IRA rollover rules

When leaving a job, rather than rolling your 401(k) over into another 401(k) with your new company, you decide to roll it over into an IRA. There are two ways this can be accomplished without having to pay income taxes or penalties:

1. Make a direct transfer: Ask your current plan provider to send the check directly to the new IRA plan provider.
2. Make an indirect rollover: With an indirect rollover, your current plan provider cuts you a check, and you’re responsible for depositing that check into the new IRA. You have 60 days to redeposit the entire amount to avoid taxes and penalties.

Rollover mistakes can be avoided by asking your current plan provider to send the money directly to the new account, or keeping a close eye on the calendar if you’d prefer to do it yourself.

4. Making ineligible early withdrawals

Any withdrawal from your traditional IRA before you reach age 59 1/2 is considered “early.” While exceptions exist (like experiencing a personal or family emergency, or having a child), most early withdrawals are subject to a 10% penalty, and you’ll immediately owe taxes on the money withdrawn.

Building an emergency savings account with enough money to cover three to six months’ worth of expenses is a good way to avoid having to make an early withdrawal.

5. Not being quite sure when to take required minimum distributions

Once you hit a specific age (depending on the year you were born), you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) by Dec. 31 of each year. Failure to do so could result in a penalty of 25% on the amount you were required to take. For example, if you were required to withdraw $20,000, the penalty could be up to $5,000.

The most straightforward way to avoid penalties is to set up automatic withdrawals. You decide how often you want to withdraw funds and can adjust the automation as needed. For example, if the best way for you to budget is by withdrawing a portion of your total RMD each month, you can set it up that way. If a quarterly or annual withdrawal works best for you, those are also options.

The good news regarding IRA mistakes is how simple they are to avoid, once you know what to look out for. The goal is to retain every penny you’ve worked so hard for by never having to pay unnecessary penalties.

Ryan Whitwam / Android Authority

A tale of two apps: Voice Recorder and Day One

Matt Horne / Android Authority

That left me with two imperfect solutions I could combine to meet my needs.

Am I in the wrong for not paying?

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Copgadget company Axon offers an AI service that transcribes bodycam audio and turns it into an automatic police report, which officers can edit and sign off on. There are two big problems with it: first, it doesn’t show who wrote what, and second, it doesn’t keep a version/edit history. An Axon executive admitted this is by design, to help police with their “disclosure headaches.” The EFF raises the alarm about Draft One’s killer feature: avoiding transparency.

“So we don’t store the original draft and that’s by design and that’s really because the last thing we want to do is create more disclosure headaches for our customers and our attorney’s offices—so basically the officer generates that draft, they make their edits, if they submit it into our Axon records system then that’s the only place we store it, if they copy and paste it into their third-party RMS [records management system] system as soon as they’re done with that and close their browser tab, it’s gone. It’s actually never stored in the cloud at all so you don’t have to worry about extra copies floating around.”

To reiterate: Axon deliberately does not store the original draft written by the Gen AI, because “the last thing” they want is for cops to have to provide that data to anyone (say, a judge, defense attorney or civil liberties non-profit). 

One of Axon’s first customers was Frederick Police Department in Colorado. Here’s what Krisy O’ Hayre, Executive Administrator at Frederick Police Department, had to say about it: “We love having new toys until the public gets wind of them.”

As the EFF puts it: “There is no meaningful way to audit Draft One usage, whether you’re a police chief or an independent researcher, because Axon designed it that way. “

You can read our full report, which details what we found in those documents, how we filed those public records requests, and how you can file your own, here. 

Previously:
• Axon makes false statements to town that bought its police bodycams, threatens to tase their credit-rating if they cancel the contract
• Juvenile criminal defense attorneys forced to agree to Taser’s terms of service to see the state’s evidence
• TJ Maxx and Marshalls workers wearing bodycams

Bitcoin is currently holding just above the $108,000 level and bulls are maintaining momentum after a volatile start to July. However, a closer look at on-chain data shows how fragile that position might be. 

Interestingly, two support levels, $106,738 and $98,566, are now the most important zones for bulls to defend. These levels represent clusters of addresses holding large amounts of Bitcoin, and losing them could trigger a deeper correction.

Related Reading

Bitcoin’s Support Clusters Around $106,000 And $98,000

Taking to the social media platform X, crypto analyst Ali Martinez pointed to two major support levels based on data showing Bitcoin’s purchase clusters. This data is based on Sentora’s (previously IntoTheBlock) In/Out of the Money Around Price metric among addresses that bought Bitcoin close to the current price. 

As shown by the metric, the most important current zones of purchase are at $106,738 and $98,566. These two zones are where massive buying activity has occurred in the past few weeks, and they could act as support in case of a Bitcoin price crash. 

The first zone, between $104,982 and $108,190, contains 1.68 million addresses with a total volume of 1.28 million BTC at an average price of $106,738. Below the first zone, a larger group of 1.71 million addresses holds a greater volume of 1.25 million BTC within the price range of $95,248 to $98,566, with an average price of $98,566.

As long as Bitcoin continues to trade above these levels, the ongoing rally could continue to push upward. However, if these pockets of demand are broken with enough selling pressure, the leading cryptocurrency could enter into an uncertain price zone with little buying interest to provide support.

Speaking of selling pressure, on-chain data shows a slowing sell pressure among large holders. According to data from on-chain analytics platform Sentora, Bitcoin recorded its fifth straight week of net outflows from centralized exchanges. The past week alone saw more than $920 million worth of BTC moved into self-custody or institutional products, mostly Spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Bitcoin Needs To Break Weekly Resistance For New Highs

Even with solid demand zones beneath, Bitcoin’s path to new highs is not yet confirmed. Analyst Rekt Capital weighed in with his analysis, noting that Bitcoin is currently facing a strong weekly resistance band just under $109,000. Particularly, Bitcoin is at risk of a lower high structure on the weekly candlestick timeframe chart.

Rekt Capital noted that a weekly close above the red horizontal resistance line must be achieved in order for Bitcoin to reclaim a more bullish stance. That resistance, which is currently around $108,890, is acting as a ceiling for Bitcoin’s upward rally.

Related Reading

As such, Bitcoin would need to make a weekly close above $108,890 to position itself for new all-time highs. Unless there is a convincing break of that level, the price action of Bitcoin could be erratic and susceptible to a retracement to $106,000.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $108,160.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio says the US could be headed to a financial crash because political leaders are cautious against taking aggressive actions to address America’s budget deficit.

In a post on the social media platform X, the billionaire says senior members of both the Democratic and Republican parties agree that the US needs to reduce its deficit to 3% of the GDP (gross domestic product).

But he says the so-called absolutist policies prevent the adoption of measures such as tax increases and cuts to benefits that can address the debt problem.

“They explained the absolutist policies that must exist and those are that you must make statements like I will absolutely pledge not to raise your taxes or I will absolutely pledge not to reduce your benefits.”

Dalio says it is clear that the US is unlikely to change its debt trajectory and could face painful consequences. He says political leaders may be thrown out by their constituents and face pressure from their parties, so they find it impossible to make compromising statements and actions that can balance the revenue and expenses to produce a good budget.

“That’s the equivalent of saying I will absolutely pledge not to change the trajectory we’re on in order to have a better set of circumstances than the likely financial crash that we’re going to have.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Technical analysis is a methodology to trade the markets.

It uses historical price (or volume) to help you make a trading decision.

There are hundreds of technical analysis tools available, but most of them fall into one of these categories…

• Volume
• Indicators
• Chart patterns
• Support & resistance

But here’s the thing…

Despite having an abundance of these tools (like RSI, MACD, Stochastic, Fibonacci, etc.), most traders lose money with technical analysis.

Why?

It’s often because they’re making one of these mistakes…

No trading plan (bringing “nasty surprises”)

Let me ask you…

Which is more important, entry or exit?

Most traders focus heavily on entry, believing a good entry guarantees profit.

As a result, they use technical analysis mainly to time their entries.

But perfect entries are impossible to find for every trade.

Without a plan, crucial questions remain: What if the market moves against you? What do you sell if it reverses after a gain? What if an accidental profitable trade happens?

Clearly, trading needs more than just the best entries.

To be a profitable trader, you must have a trading plan that tells you what to do, no matter what happens.

The next mistake is…

No edge (masking consistent losses)

What’s the true purpose of technical analysis, then?

It’s to help you develop a trading system to gain an edge in the markets.

So, what is an edge?

An edge (aka expectancy) means your trading activity, over time, yields a net positive result.

The mathematical formula is as follows:

E= (Winning % x Average Gain) – (Losing % x Average Loss)

Let me give you a few examples to show how this works…

Example 1

• Winning Rate: 70%
• Average Gain: $80
• Losing Rate: 30%
• Average Loss: $100

E = (0.7 × 80) – (0.3 × 100) = $26

This means you can expect to earn an average of $26 per trade. So after 100 trades, you can expect to earn around $26 × 100 = $2600.

You might be thinking…

“So I need to have a high winning rate to be a profitable trader?”

Nope.

Here’s another example with a high winning rate, but having a negative expectancy…

Example 2

• Winning Rate: 70%
• Average Gain: $10
• Losing Rate: 30%
• Average Loss: $100

E = (0.7 × 10) – (0.3 × 100) = -$23

This means you can expect to lose an average of $23 per trade.

What this shows is that on its own, your winning rate or risk-to-reward ratio is a useless number.

Both are needed to confirm an edge.

Technical analysis helps you develop a trading system that aims for this crucial edge.

So, be honest…

…does your trading system have an edge?

If you don’t know the answer, that’s because you have…

No data (leading to a lack of discipline)

Without data, defining your edge, verifying if your trading system works, or maintaining the discipline to follow the rules becomes impossible.

In fact, it usually leads to abandoning a system after only a few losses.

So, for starters, these are the data you must track…

• Annual return %
• Number of trades
• Maximum drawdown %
• Winning rate %
• Losing rate %
• Average gain $
• Average loss $

Now you’re probably thinking:

“How do I get access to such data?”

There are two approaches.

First, you can journal your trade and accumulate this data over time. However, it’s time-consuming, and you’ll need months or even years to get a decent sample size.

The other approach is backtesting (and it’s the one I prefer). I’ll go into more details later…

But for now, another reason why most traders fail is that they have…

No risk management (blowing up multiple accounts)

Imagine there are two traders, John and Sally.

• They have a $1,000 account
• They have a 50% winning rate
• They have an average of a 1 to 2 risk-reward ratio
• John risks $250 per trade
• Sally risks $20 per trade

The outcome of the next 8 trades is as follows…

Lose Lose Lose Lose Win Win Win Win.

Here’s the outcome of both traders…

John’s result: -$250 -$250 -$250 -$250 = BLOW UP

Sally’s result: -$20 -$20 – $20 -$20 +$40 +$40 +$40 +$40 = +$80

Can you see the importance of risk management?

As a trader, you’ll encounter losses regularly, guaranteed.

But proper risk management contains them, making them manageable.

Breaking it down…

Most traders lose money with technical analysis because they have…

• No trading plan
• No edge
• No data
• No risk management

These issues all point to the same root cause: a lack of a proven, quantifiable trading system backed by data.

But once you have it, all of these problems will go away.

Now you’re probably wondering:

“So, how do I develop a trading system that works?”

Here’s my answer to it…

The RETT Technique

This is the technique I’ve used to develop multiple trading systems so I can profit in bull & bear markets, even during a recession.

Here’s the proof…

As you can see, from 2019 to 2025, my trading account was up 179% (compared to 84% for the S&P 500).

So, how does The RETT Technique work?

It can be broken down into four parts…

• Read trading books with backtested results
• Extract the concepts
• Test the trading system
• Tweak the trading system

Let me explain…

Read trading books with backtested results

You want to read trading books that give you the rules of a trading system and the backtest results. Here are 3 reasons why…

1. You have a framework to start with, so you can save time
2. The backtest result gives it more credibility, and you can use it to compare it against your result
3. The author’s reputation is at stake, which means the trading systems are likely to work

Once you read a few of these books, you’ll notice most profitable trading systems have similar characteristics. That’s when you move on to the next step…

Extract the concepts

Concepts are the underlying principles driving a trading system’s performance.

For example…

The concept of breakout means you’ll buy after the price has moved in your favour.

The concept of counter-trend means you’ll buy in a downtrend (and go short in an uptrend).

The concept of a trailing stop loss means you’ll give your trade “breathing room” with the hopes of riding a trend.

Every profitable trading system combines a few core concepts. Understanding these allows you to develop multiple trading systems.

To extract the concepts of a trading system, ask yourself these questions…

1. What’s the characteristic of the trading system?
2. What type of market conditions does it work best in?
3. What type of market conditions does it underperform in?
4. What’s the trading setup?
5. What’s the exit signal?

From these questions, you’ll understand the concepts behind the trading system, how it works, why it works, and how to develop one for yourself.

Next…

Test the trading system

To test a trading system, you can run a backtest on it.

This means executing trades on past data so you can see how the trading system has performed over time.

For example, here’s the result of a Bollinger Band trading system…

If you saw these kinds of results, would you have the confidence to trade the system in live markets?

Possibly!

This is the power of backtesting. It tells you whether a trading system works or not, saving time and money, and builds confidence, especially during a drawdown.

Now you might be wondering:

“Why do I need to backtest the trading system if the result is provided in the book?”

That’s because you’ve no idea if the backtest result is accurate or not. You have to validate it yourself.

And finally…

Tweak the trading system

Now, if you’re happy with the backtest results, then you can test the system in the live markets (with a small account).

But if you want to improve things like…

• Reduce the maximum drawdown
• Improve the risk-adjusted returns
• Make it less correlated with your existing systems

Here are some things you can do to achieve it…

Reduce the maximum drawdown

Most stock trading systems go into a deep drawdown because they are going against the overall market trend. So by having a trend filter, you can reduce the maximum drawdown.

E.g. Only buy stocks when the S&P 500 is above the 200-day moving average. Otherwise, remain in cash.

Improve the risk-adjusted returns

To improve the risk-adjusted returns of a trading system, you can test the parameters over a range of settings and see which works best.

E.g. A trading system goes long when the stock price makes a 5-day low. What if you test the 10, 20 or even 50-day low? What’s the impact of it? Are the risk-adjusted returns getting better when the duration is increased, or does it perform worse?

Make it less correlated with your existing systems

Here’s a little-known fact…

When you trade multiple trading systems that have little to no correlation, you will improve your risk-adjusted returns, reduce your maximum drawdown, and have a smoother equity curve.

So, how do you reduce the correlation between trading systems?

One way is to test the trading system on different markets. E.g., instead of the US stock market, you can test it on the Canadian or the Australian stock market.

Using the RETT formula, I’ve developed multiple trading systems over the years.

For example, a mean reversion trading system that has generated an average of 18.69% over the last 29 years…

If you want to learn more, you can grab a copy of Trading Systems That Work.

You’ll discover 3 proven trading systems that work so you can profit in a bull market, a bear market, or even during a recession.

Conclusion

So here’s what you’ve learned today:

• Most traders lose money with technical analysis because they have no trading plan, no edge, no data, or no risk management.
• To solve these issues, you need a trading system that works, something that’s quantifiable and backed by data.
• One way to develop a profitable trading system is to use the RETT technique: 1) read trading books with backtested results 2) Extract the concepts 3) Test the trading system 4) tweak the trading system

Now here’s what I’d like to know…

What’s your struggle when it comes to technical analysis?

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

Key takeaways

• Address poisoning involves sending small transactions from wallet addresses that closely resemble a legitimate one, tricking users into copying the wrong address when making future transactions. 

• Common techniques include phishing, fake QR codes, Sybil attacks, smart contract manipulation, and clipboard malware. 

• Address poisoning has led to over $83 million in confirmed losses. Victims include individual users and DeFi platforms.

• Users should rotate addresses, use hardware or multisig wallets, whitelist trusted contacts, and leverage blockchain analytics. 

Address poisoning attacks in crypto are scams where attackers trick users into sending funds to a fake address that looks almost identical to a legitimate one. These attacks exploit wallet address similarity, address reuse, or malware to mislead users into unintentionally transferring assets to the wrong party.

While the blockchain itself is secure, address poisoning targets human error and trust — often through clever deception or technical manipulation.

This article will explain what address poisoning attacks are, their types and consequences, and how to protect oneself against such attacks.

Address poisoning attacks in crypto, explained

In the world of cryptocurrencies, hostile actions where attackers influence or deceive consumers by tampering with cryptocurrency addresses are referred to as address poisoning attacks.

On a blockchain network, these addresses, which are made up of distinct alphanumeric strings, serve as the source or destination of transactions. These attacks use a variety of methods to undermine the integrity and security of cryptographic wallets and transactions.

Address poisoning attacks in the crypto space are mostly used to either illegally acquire digital assets or impair the smooth operation of blockchain networks. These attacks may encompass:

• Theft: Attackers may trick users into transmitting their funds to malicious addresses using strategies such as phishing, transaction interception or address manipulation.

• Disruption: Address poisoning can be used to disrupt the normal operations of blockchain networks by introducing congestion, delays or interruptions in transactions and smart contracts, reducing the effectiveness of the network.

• Deception: Attackers frequently attempt to mislead cryptocurrency users by posing as well-known figures. This undermines community trust in the network and might result in erroneous transactions or confusion among users.

To protect digital assets and the general integrity of blockchain technology, address poisoning attacks highlight the significance of strict security procedures and constant attention within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Related: How to mitigate the security risks associated with crypto payments

Types of address poisoning attacks

Address poisoning attacks in crypto include phishing, transaction interception, address reuse exploitation, Sybil attacks, fake QR codes, address spoofing and smart contract vulnerabilities, each posing unique risks to users’ assets and network integrity.

Phishing attacks

In the cryptocurrency realm, phishing attacks are a prevalent type of address poisoning, which involves criminal actors building phony websites, emails or communications that closely resemble reputable companies like cryptocurrency exchanges or wallet providers.

These fraudulent platforms try to trick unsuspecting users into disclosing their login information, private keys or mnemonic phrases (recovery/seed phrases). Once gained, attackers can carry out unlawful transactions and get unauthorized access to victims’ Bitcoin (BTC) assets, for example.

For instance, hackers might build a fake exchange website that looks exactly like the real thing and ask consumers to log in. Once they do so, the attackers can gain access to customer funds on the actual exchange, which would result in substantial financial losses.

Transaction interception

Another method of address poisoning is transaction interception, in which attackers intercept valid cryptocurrency transactions and change the destination address. Funds destined for the genuine receiver are diverted by changing the recipient address to one under the attacker’s control. This kind of attack frequently involves malware compromising a user’s device or network or both.

Address reuse exploitation

Attackers monitor the blockchain for instances of address repetition before using such occurrences to their advantage. Reusing addresses can be risky for security because it might reveal the address’s transaction history and vulnerabilities. These weaknesses are used by malicious actors to access user wallets and steal funds.

For instance, if a user consistently gets funds from the same Ethereum address, an attacker might notice this pattern and take advantage of a flaw in the user’s wallet software to access the user’s funds without authorization.

Sybil attacks

To exert disproportionate control over a cryptocurrency network’s functioning, Sybil attacks entail the creation of several false identities or nodes. With this control, attackers are able to modify data, trick users, and maybe jeopardize the security of the network.

Attackers may use a large number of fraudulent nodes in the context of proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain networks to significantly affect the consensus mechanism, giving them the ability to modify transactions and potentially double-spend cryptocurrencies.

Fake QR codes or payment addresses

Address poisoning can also happen when fake payment addresses or QR codes are distributed. Attackers often deliver these bogus codes in physical form to unwary users in an effort to trick them into sending cryptocurrency to a location they did not plan.

For example, a hacker might disseminate QR codes for cryptocurrency wallets that look real but actually include minor changes to the encoded address. Users who scan these codes unintentionally send money to the attacker’s address rather than that of the intended receiver, which causes financial losses.

Address spoofing

Attackers who use address spoofing create cryptocurrency addresses that closely resemble real ones. The idea is to trick users into transferring money to the attacker’s address rather than the one belonging to the intended recipient. The visual resemblance between the fake address and the real one is used in this method of address poisoning.

An attacker might, for instance, create a Bitcoin address that closely mimics the donation address of a reputable charity. Unaware donors may unintentionally transfer money to the attacker’s address while sending donations to the organization, diverting the funds from their intended use.

Smart contract vulnerabilities

Attackers take advantage of flaws or vulnerabilities in decentralized applications (DApps) or smart contracts on blockchain systems to carry out address poisoning. Attackers can reroute money or cause the contract to behave inadvertently by fiddling with how transactions are carried out. Users may suffer money losses as a result, and decentralized finance (DeFi) services may experience disruptions.

Did you know? Chainalysis uncovered over 82,000 wallets linked to a widespread campaign specifically targeting users with high crypto balances, underscoring how dangerous and far-reaching these scams can be.

Real-world examples of address poisoning attacks

Here are some examples of address poisoning attacks in crypto:

• $2.6 million USDT loss (May 2025): In May 2025, a crypto trader lost $2.6 million in two back-to-back address poisoning scams using a technique called zero-value transfers. This advanced phishing method exploits how token transfers appear in a user’s transaction history, tricking victims into trusting spoofed addresses. Zero-value transfers don’t require private key signatures, making them stealthy and effective. Over 270 million such attempts have occurred across Ethereum and BNB Chain, with $83 million in confirmed losses, highlighting a growing cross-chain threat.

• EOS blockchain attack (March 2025): Following its rebranding to Vaulta, the EOS blockchain experienced an address poisoning attack. Malicious actors sent small amounts of EOS from addresses mimicking major exchanges like Binance and OKX, aiming to trick users into sending funds to fraudulent addresses. This attack exploited the similarity in address names to deceive users.

• $68M loss in WBTC (May 2024): An unknown trader lost $68 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) in a single address-poisoning scam. The attacker tricked the victim’s wallet into sending 1,155 WBTC to a spoofed address that closely resembled a legitimate one. The incident, flagged by Cyvers, wiped out over 97% of the victim’s holdings, highlighting the high stakes of address-based scams.

Did you know? Trugard and Webacy have launched an AI-powered tool to detect crypto wallet address poisoning. The system uses supervised machine learning trained on real and synthetic transaction data, achieving a 97% detection rate. 

Consequences of address poisoning attacks

Address poisoning attacks can have devastating effects on both individual users and the stability of blockchain networks. Because attackers may steal crypto holdings or alter transactions to reroute money to their own wallets, these assaults frequently cause large financial losses for their victims.

Beyond monetary losses, these attacks may also result in a decline in confidence among cryptocurrency users. Users’ trust in the security and dependability of blockchain networks and related services may be damaged if they fall for fraudulent schemes or have their valuables stolen.

Additionally, some address poisoning assaults, such as Sybil attacks or the abuse of smart contract flaws, can prevent blockchain networks from operating normally, leading to delays, congestion or unforeseen consequences that have an effect on the entire ecosystem. These effects highlight the need for strong security controls and user awareness in the crypto ecosystem to reduce the risks of address poisoning attacks.

Related: How to put words into a Bitcoin address? Here’s how vanity addresses work

How to avoid address poisoning attacks

To protect users’ digital assets and keep blockchain networks secure, it is crucial to avoid address poisoning assaults in the cryptocurrency world. 

The following ways may help prevent being a target of such attacks:

• Use fresh addresses: Using a new crypto wallet address for each transaction reduces the risk of attackers linking addresses to a user’s identity or transaction history. Hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets help prevent address poisoning by automatically generating a fresh address every time, making it harder for attackers to manipulate or mimic previous transactions and redirect funds.

• Utilize hardware wallets: When compared to software wallets, hardware wallets are a more secure alternative. They minimize exposure by keeping private keys offline.

• Exercise caution when disclosing public addresses: People should exercise caution when disclosing their crypto addresses in the public sphere, especially on social media sites, and should opt for using pseudonyms.

• Choose reputable wallets: It is important to use well-known wallet providers that are known for their security features and regular software updates to protect oneself from address poisoning and other attacks.

• Regular updates: To stay protected against address poisoning attacks, it is essential to update the wallet software consistently with the newest security fixes.

• Implement whitelisting: Use whitelisting to limit transactions to reputable sources. Some wallets or services allow users to whitelist particular addresses that can send funds to their wallets.

• Consider multisig wallets: Wallets that require multiple private keys to approve a transaction are known as multisignature (multisig) wallets. These wallets can provide an additional degree of protection by requiring multiple signatures to approve a transaction.

• Utilize blockchain analysis tools: Blockchain analysis tools help detect address poisoning by identifying dusting patterns — small, seemingly insignificant crypto transfers (UTXOs) sent to multiple wallets. These tiny transactions can signal malicious attempts to poison address histories and trick users.

• Report suspected attacks: If an address poisoning attack is suspected, individuals should immediately contact their crypto wallet provider via official support channels and report the incident in detail. They should also notify relevant law enforcement or regulatory bodies, especially if significant financial loss or malicious intent is involved. Prompt reporting helps mitigate risks and protect the broader crypto community.

If you’ve been learning to trade for a while, I’m sure you’ve come across the term ‘overtrading’.

What does it mean exactly?

Well, unsurprisingly, overtrading means being excessive!

But how can you detect when you’re overtrading?

And what about under-trading?

In reality, the reasons behind both are numerous and extremely common to all traders.

So, is there anything you can do about it?

Luckily, these are precisely the topics I’m going to cover for you in today’s guide!

I’ll share some crucial, practical tips on recognising when you’re overtrading…

…and show you how to improve your trading plan to help you eliminate it altogether!

Specifically, you’ll learn:

• What exactly overtrading is, and the starting solution to prevent it
• How having a market selection puts you in a position to profit more and overtrade less
• A risk management technique that keeps losses from overtrading to a minimum so that you can get back in the game as soon as possible

Sound good?

Then let’s get started…

What Is Overtrading and How You Can Avoid It

Overtrading occurs when you enter more trades than you can reasonably handle.

Now, a common situation where overtrading can occur is when you start “revenge trading”. 

Everyone’s been there…

You experience a couple of losses, lose composure, and start going berserk on the markets…

Before you know it, you enter trades entirely outside your trading strategy!

Well, that is just one of many situations where overtrading can occur.

To put it simply, overtrading is often a mix or a combination of the following:

1. Not having a well-defined strategy
2. Trading at random times of the day
3. Hopping from one timeframe to another
4. Revenge trading

So, in summary…

Overtrading mostly stems from not knowing what you’re doing!

In other words, it occurs when you treat trading as a game or gambling instead of a business.

At this point, the start of the solution should be clear by now:

Develop a well-defined trading plan

I know it’s easier said than done, as there are many ways to trade the markets.

But keeping this template in mind will always put you ahead…

Of course, there are many ways to approach the markets, so the type of trading plans will vary from one trader to another.

You can even check out an in-depth guide on some examples here.

Basically, maintaining a well-established trading plan will help you solve 50% of the symptoms that cause overtrading.

So now you may ask…

“What’s the other 50% to help prevent overtrading?”

Simple…

Develop a well-defined trading routine.

This part is just as important as developing a trading plan.

Why?

It separates traders into those who treat trading as gambling and those who treat it as a business!

Having a well-defined trading routine helps you understand the right time to trade.

Say you’re someone who trades off a higher timeframe, such as the daily timeframe…

…well, you only need to check the charts once a day at a specific time.

But if you’re someone who trades a lower timeframe, such as the 15-minute timeframe or less…

…how often do you think it’s best to check the charts?

Surprisingly… the worst thing you can do is to trade all day!

That’s right!

Just because you scalp the markets doesn’t mean you should trade all the time.

(The key in your case is to only trade when there’s liquidity.)

One good example is only trading the London-New York session overlap…

Source: Forex Factory

This means that if I trade the lower timeframes, I only trade between 8 pm and 1 am (at least in my time zone)

And you might be wondering…

“Why this specific session?”

“Why not Sydney and Tokyo overlap?”

Well, it’s the volatility, as you can see below…

Source: Babypips

The market moves the most during the London and New York session.

Take GBPJPY, for example, which had a large-pip movement of around 150 pips during the London session!

To sum this part up, here’s a cheat sheet you can refer to depending on what timeframe you trade:

• Daily timeframe = Check once a day at a consistent time
• 1-hour to 4-hour timeframe = Check once every four hours
• 30-minute timeframe and below = Actively trade only during high-volatile market sessions

Remember, the lower the timeframe you choose to trade, the more important market selection will be.

Knowing when and when not to trade puts your head on an objective level, and this will help you avoid overtrading in the markets.

Now, let’s go deeper, shall we?

Because even though I have shared some broad concepts with you, the question remains…

“How exactly can you tell when you’re overtrading?”

Let me give you more context in the next section…

Market Selection Techniques That Almost Eliminate Overtrading

Here’s the thing…

Shifting the definition of overtrading to only having too many open trades can exclude a lot of edge cases.

I mean, there are trading methods where having 20 open trades at a time can be beneficial!

On the other hand, there are some trading methods with a maximum open trade count of 5 or even less…

So, what are these trading methodologies, you may ask?

They’re right here:

1. Trend Following (H4 – D1)
2. Intraday Trading (M5 – M30)

There are more trading methods out there, but for now, let’s explore these two in more depth…

Trend Following (H4 – D1)

At this point, you may already be familiar with trend following, where you try to capture the trend as long as you can…

And as you can see, if the trend goes in your favor, your trade can last for months!

(even on just one trade!)

Yet, limiting your max open trades to around 3 or 5 will bottleneck your portfolio.

Since following a trend can potentially last for weeks or even months, more diversification makes sense for this trading methodology.

In fact, it could potentially mean 10-20 open trades at a time!

As a trend follower, this means that it pays for you to not only look at the Forex markets…

…but also look into commodities, indices, agriculture, and bonds.

This will give you access to a wide array of uncorrelated markets to trade.

On the other hand, what about intraday trading? 

Intraday Trading (M5 – M30)

With this trading methodology, you must be an active market sniper.

What do I mean?

Market selection

The more active your trading portfolio is on the forex market, the more important it is for you to select your markets carefully.

But… where do you even begin, right?

How do you select markets to trade?

Well, it can be a combination of a couple of tools, but one method that I often use is to trade after high-impact news…

I’m sure you’ve heard a couple of times that you should try to “avoid” trading high-impact news.

In a way, that is true!

You don’t want to gamble which way the news will go and trade before the news release…

…the key is to trade the “reaction” to that news.

Do you get me?

When the news comes out, you don’t want to be in the trade.

Here’s an example of EURUSD in the 5-minute timeframe…

As you can see, you’d only want to take advantage of the setup after the news.

It’s all about waiting for the reaction.

Of course, there are times when the market barely budges on news releases, but it’s worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.

P.S. Credits to Nachodog’s Forex News with Alerts indicator on TradingView

Overall, the principle is this…

• The lower the frequency of your trade, the more open trades you must have (diversification)
• The higher the frequency of your trade, the fewer open trades you must have (concentration)

Make sense?

Great!

Knowing when to trade and how many open trades you should have…

…will go a long way to eliminating the chances of you overtrading the market.

Just keep in mind the reasoning behind your market selection.

Still, mistakes are always going to get made.

Both you and I are humans – and it’s in our nature!

So what if, despite all this, you still find yourself overtrading?

When your emotions run high, and you wake up in the middle of revenge trading?

By applying what you’ve learned so far, the chances of this happening are lower…

…but how can you reduce the damage?

Let me share with you in the next section…

A Risk Management Technique to Reduce The Damage of Overtrading

This section is the most important part: submitting to the “human factor” in trading.

Honestly, the best way to deal with it is to bring on the risk management!

And no…

…not the risk management you already know, limiting yourself to 1% of your account per trade…

Instead, I’m talking about the emergency brake settings!

This cheatsheet is a hidden gem…

Source: Dummy series, Trend Trading

However, you only need to use one that is most relevant to you.

For example…

If you’re an intraday trader, then you’d want to add the following parameters:

• 5% Max risk per trade (trade stop)
• 5% Max risk per day (daily stop)
• 10% Max risk per week (weekly stop)

Again, this is a worst-case scenario, and those values are only a recommendation…

…you alone know what your personality is like!

But in this case, if you’ve hit that 5% loss for the day as an intraday trader, stop trading, re-assess your trading journal, and return the next day.

If you risk 0.5% per trade, then this gives you a ton of breathing room, as it would take 10 losing trades in a row before you hit that 5%.

On the other hand, if you’re trend-following on the higher timeframe:

• 1% Max risk per trade
• 10% Max risk per quarter (quarterly stop)
• 25% Max risk per year (yearly stop)

As you can see, a daily or weekly stop is unnecessary as your trade frequency is lower.

That’s why having a quarterly or yearly stop makes more sense.

Remember, the premise of this section is the fact that there’s a chance that you might still overtrade.

The key is to minimize that impact.

It gives you more breathing room and a chance to stay in this business to hopefully improve.

Sound good?

So, let’s have a quick recap of what you’ve learned today…

Conclusion

Overtrading can occur for many different reasons!

It might be a lack of a trading plan, all the way to poor trading psychology or risk management.

But what I want you to take away from this trading guide is an effort to balance all three.

Create sound risk management, consider your trading psychology, and have a well-defined trading plan.

Breaking it down, here’s what you’ve learned in today’s guide:

• Overtrading can happen when you don’t have a well-defined trading plan or a proper trading routine
• Creating a market selection rule dependent on your trading methodology helps determine when you should and shouldn’t trade, helping to eliminate
• Having a relevant maximum risk cut-off helps reduce the damage of overtrading, making even a “worst-case scenario” simpler to deal with in the overall picture.

Well, that’s pretty much it!

But now, I want to hear your side.

What are some overtrading stories that you have?

Was it after experiencing five trading losses in a row and deciding to throw your strategy out of the window? (who hasn’t?)

Or was it more of a gamble into trading high-impact news before it was released?

Let me know your story in the comments below!