I just rewatched the story of BNF, and honestly, it's still mind-blowing. This guy went from a broke college kid to someone with $153M in his account. The most insane part? He did it in roughly 2 years. For context, BNF is Takashi Kotegawa, and if you're into trading, his name should definitely ring a bell.

Let me break down what makes this trader so legendary. At 20, he was literally saving money from multiple jobs just to have capital to trade. For two years he was grinding, learning the markets, understanding how things work. Then 2005 hit. There was this incident with J-Com Holdings where a Mizuho Securities trader fat-fingered a massive order—sold 610,000 shares at 1 yen instead of 1 share at 610,000 yen. Most people would panic or miss it. BNF saw it differently. He jumped on 7,100 shares at that absurd price, rode the bounce, and walked away with $17 million from a single trade.

Here's what gets me about BNF trader mentality: he didn't just get lucky once. He turned $13,600 into $17M within those first two years through discipline and system adherence. By 2008, his account was sitting at $153M. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. He took a massive L once when he deviated from his own rules investing heavily in US stocks during the housing crash, losing over $10M. That's the kind of lesson that either breaks you or teaches you something real.

What I've learned from studying this BNF trader's approach:

First, emotions will destroy your account faster than anything else. 90% of traders fail because they can't keep their cool when volatility hits. BNF stayed mechanical, stuck to his system, didn't let fear or greed override his logic.

Second, he had an interesting philosophy about money itself. He said something like a $100k loss on a good trade feels better than a $6k win on a bad trade. He treated it like a game, not like his life depended on every position. That mental detachment is rare and powerful.

Third, having someone who knows the game to guide you matters. In crypto especially, the risks are different, but the psychology is the same. You need people around you who've been through it.

The reason I'm bringing up BNF trader again is because his principles still apply to crypto trading today. Sure, the instruments are different, but discipline, staying calm, and following your own rules—those are timeless. If you're serious about trading, studying how someone like BNF approached the markets is worth your time.