Here is my first art piece inspired by Bitcoin traders: “Market Maker”

I chose the title “Market Maker” because this image takes on two meanings.

It symbolizes the role of market makers, hovering over the bids and asks in a pose that emits a sense of calm control. It pays homage to the creator of Bitcoin and the crypto market using Satoshi Nakamoto’s most remarked quotes in a sequence that tells a story about bitcoin in his words; from the Genesis block to the early days, fundamentals, and speculating on the future of adoption and crypto economics.

Anyone who’s been paying attention to news about Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market in general over the past year knows how bad of a year it’s been for the market — down well over 80% from December 2017’s highs of nearly $20K USD.

For many of us involved, we held fast to the HODL mentality in a market that, after violently plummeting from the 2017 highs, seemed to be in some sort of accumulation phase with solid support around the $6K USD price. We were comforted by positive news and focused on the long-term and the fundamentals for the market.

Then all of a sudden, in late November, a huge sell-off caught the market off guard and plummeted prices to lower lows, about 50% — all the way down to $3.1K USD. Many refer to this as capitulation. Alas — the geniuses in crypto twitter have enlightened us with a new vocabulary word. Capitulation — the act of surrendering or ceasing to resist.

Finally, all of the “perma-bulls” waiting for a winter rally on all the positive news and developments around the crypto markets began to question their stance on holding at any price. We began to think things like:

“Is HODL really a meme?”

“Do these FUD articles saying that bitcoin will bottom under $1K USD have any validity?”

“Should I sign up for Bitmex and short Bitcoin to protect what I have left?”

Many who entered a bit earlier in 2017 began to reach the levels they entered the market in, and went on alert to protect the little gains they had left. I was one of these people. I never ended up taking short positions on Bitcoin, but I did get pretty heavily involved in trading. It’s an interesting space — the trading world. It’s true that most people lose all their money. One look at the “REKT Bot” feed from Bitmex will give you a glimpse into the world of leveraged trading and all the pain these traders must suffer, getting liquidated on 5, 6, and 7-figure positions left and right when the market gets choppy.

As for me, I may dabble here and there but creating art is what I’m passionate about. There’s nothing like creating and sharing my ideas with the world and the response I get from people who connect with my art.

I’ve been playing with some trader-oriented art ideas since I ventured into the world of Bitmex. After a great deal of time spent chatting with traders, analyzing price charts, watching the oscillation of the order books (bids and asks), and seeing how the price reacts to the strength of each side at any given time, I gained a lot of perspective into the trader’s life. Their mentality — their calculated decisions — their wins and losses — their times of suffering and their times of celebration.

This has inspired a new series of Bitcoin trading art- of which “Market Maker” is the first in the collection and currently available for purchase at lynx art collection in a highly limited edition — 3 metal panels and 10 metallic prints, never to release again on any other medium.

Hope you enjoy the art and the message. And leave a comment below with your thoughts!

-Lucho