Bot creator spotlight: RYFEN

Where would the BOTS app be without our amazing bot creators? These superheroes are the minds and creators behind the bots in the BOTS app. But who are they, where are they from, what's their relationship with trading, and what's their philosophy?

Let’s find out, shall we?

Today, the spotlight is on bot-creator Alexander van Hasselt, known in the BOTS app as RYFEN: responsible for several bots in the BOTS app, including a.o. Bitcoin vs Ethereum, Ethereum Max, Cardano Max and Polygon Max.

For three months in a row (July, August and September), one of the RYFEN bots was ranked as #1 in the BOTS app: having the highest return out of all 200+ bots on the platform! In July, the Ethereum Max bot won the first prize, and in August and September, it was Solana Max that had the highest return of all.

How RYFEN started

Alexander lived in Barcelona from 2008 to 2010 to obtain a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at IESE Business School. “One of the classes I loved the most was “Financial markets”, which teaches you exactly how the international financial markets work. The class was taught by a very inspiring professor that started his career as a commando with the special forces and then led the trading desk at Goldman Sachs. He told us that, despite academics claiming that it is impossible to beat the market, it could certainly be done. Unfortunately, he didn’t explain how :).”

“I have supported many global corporations taking tough decisions using complex financial models.“

Alexander is a former strategy consultant with over 15 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and cost reduction programs. “Throughout my career, I have supported many global corporations taking tough decisions using complex financial models. Since 2017 I have been actively trading crypto with my self-developed and extensively back-tested momentum strategy. In 2019, I had programmed this strategy in python and launched several trading bots. Currently, RYFEN has 25 active bots with more than 1,000 followers across different platforms!”

From a trading enthusiast to bot creator

In 2017, the time had finally come: Alexander found his way to crypto and quickly found out that this required a different trading style than the stock market: “In such a highly volatile market, ‘hodling’ can be a great strategy. However, as I love trading, I tried to develop a strategy that outperforms ‘hodling’ and beats the market in the long run. This strategy now forms the basis of all our bots. The bots look at the momentum in the market and enter a position when the price of an asset shows strength vs USD for a couple of days. The bot assumes that the trend will continue and stays in the position until it gets a confirmation that the trend is over, no matter how long that may be. Although this means the bot never buys the bottom and never sells the top, the strategy consistently outperforms the market over time. All bots are optimized to beat the market in the long run (years). During bull phases, the bot’s return is slightly lower than the market, but during bear phases, the bot’s return is significantly higher than the market.”

“After investing myself in a couple of bots, I realized that the BOTS app was a great way to get exposure to crypto for many people.”

It didn’t take him long to start programming his algorithms. “After successfully trading crypto with my momentum strategy for a couple of years, I decided to automate the strategy. Based on the experience with programming I gathered during my study in Delft, I developed my first trading bot end of 2019. This algorithm performed very well from the start. After several iterations and running the bot for months with private funds, it was time to offer it to the public and deployed it at several platforms.”

RYFEN and the BOTS app

“At the beginning of 2021, I was looking for ways to reach a broader audience. I discovered the BOTS app watching a TV show (‘Business Class’). After investing myself in a couple of bots, I realized that this was a great way to get exposure to crypto for many people. That’s when I reached out to the BOTS team to apply for becoming a bot creator on the platform.”

“I think the BOTS app is a great way for people to invest in crypto successfully. The crypto market is moving so fast and ferocious that you either need a 6th sense or a great bot. Otherwise, you will be eaten alive. There are so many great bots on the platform. If you diversify and stick to a long-term investment horizon, you have an excellent chance of making great returns — if you let the bots do their job. To ensure the users have confidence in the RYFEN bots, I’ve created a website where they can find more information and backtesting results of all the bots we have on the platform.”

When it comes to his experience with the bot creator team, Alexander is more than happy: “BOTS has a great team. Everybody I met has been very helpful and really nice to work with. I also really enjoy the startup spirit and can-do mentality that allows them to pull off great work in a short amount of time!”

Advice to new bot creators

At BOTS, we always say that you’re in it for the long run. And RYFEN agrees: “for me, it is about optimizing the bot for the long term: and with the long term, I mean at least four years (a complete market cycle driven by the BTC halvings). Many users say they have a long-term horizon, but get anxious when a bot doesn’t return a profit quickly. The problem is that a strategy that focuses on short-term returns might do very well for a while, but will likely get struck in a crash. A long-term strategy might underperform in the short term, but will outperform the market significantly in a bear market.”

His advice for BOTS app users? “Focus on the strategy of the algorithm. That is where you create value for the users. The technical development of a bot might seem challenging at first sight, but if you need help with programming, there are many great resources available within the BOTS community!”

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