Small crypto trading prodigy nets $1.5M using unorthodox strategy

A little-known crypto trader has turned $6,800 into $1.5 million in profits while accounting for over 3% of maker-side liquidity on a major crypto exchange. 

Market observer Adverse Selectee highlighted a small trading account holding less than $200,000 in equity on Thursday. Over the past two weeks, the account recorded a trading volume of $1.4 billion and has consistently ranked among the top contributors to the exchange’s total maker volume.

Trader bags regular profits using an unorthodox approach

The performance dashboard shows that the trader appears to quote only one side of the order book at a time — either bids or asks — rather than balancing both. 

This trading method can expose the trader to adverse selection, where more informed traders can exploit their quotes. Despite the risk, the small crypto trading prodigy managed to sustain consistent profits while maintaining a maximum drawdown of just 6.48%.

The crypto community on X unanimously appreciated the trader’s approach to trading. “This is pretty amazing to watch,” said Versace_Trader, noting that the trader’s net delta exposure rarely exceeds $100,000, hinting at a tightly risk-managed, possibly market-neutral strategy.

The secret behind the profitable crypto trades

The account benefits from maker rebates, as evidenced by a -0.0030% maker fee, a typical incentive for liquidity providers on centralized exchanges. Such rebates, combined with high-frequency execution and smart quoting logic, allow the trader to earn profits even before factoring in price movements.

The trading appears to be focused entirely on perpetual futures contracts, with no funds allocated to spot holdings or staking. This setup is consistent with automated market-making or high-frequency trading strategies, possibly using colocated servers or latency-optimized execution systems.

The trader is currently holding long positions worth $175,000 for the Solana /Tether perpetual futures trading pair, while simultaneously maintaining a $20,000 short position on Dogecoin .