Happy Friday, Lark Traders. This is Lark Digest, the trading newsletter that’s so good you’re already getting excited for Monday.

Today, we’re bringing the goods by sharing some secret (not so secret anymore) data on Funded Traders and what the heck happened with Bitcoin’s ETF.

Let’s do it:

• Why do 50% of Funded Traders fail? ❌ 

• The Bitcoin ETF was approved. So, why didn’t it skyrocket? 📉 

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? 🤔

This tweet recently picked up some steam on Twitter and started an interesting discussion:

Almost every day, we see traders with tons of potential get in their own way as soon as they receive their Funded Account.

You would be shocked to see how often we send out a Funded Account and within 15 minutes, the trader has 50+ positions open.

No, we’re not joking.

Whether it’s overexcitement, thinking you won the lottery or somewhere in between, it happens all the time. It’s very emotionally tough to keep your cool and continue doing what’s been working.

That’s why for me (Matt writing here), I never risked more than 0.5% once I earned a Funded Account.

I would always ask myself the following:

Do I want to try and earn one large payout? Or do I want to receive a lot of smaller payouts?

For me, it was always the latter. I’ve got bills to pay. Responsibility. You know, I’m trying to be an adult.

So, while that big payout is sweet, I would much rather have the security of having something come in each and every month.

And beyond that, risking less is going to allow you to keep your Funded Account even after a few losses.

If just 3-5 consecutive losses are going to blow the account, you’re risking too much.

But if that’s not enough to chew on, consider some of the following stats:

• In 2023, the most profitable country was the UK 🇬🇧. However, traders from Canada 🇨🇦 currently have the largest available withdraws.

• The program with the fastest purchase-to-payout rate is our 3-Step program at 30.36 days.

• The average payout on our 3-Stage Program is $6,649.

• 43% of breaches on our 2-Stage Program come from hitting the daily loss limit. Where’s the risk management, folks?

• Less than 1% of traders will receive 3 or more payouts on their account before breaching it. Will you be that 1%?

BITCOIN JUST BROKE HEARTS 💔

Yesterday, the first Bitcoin ETF began trading, and that means for Bitcoin enthusiasts around the world, it was bigger than the release of Avengers Endgame.

But just like Iron Man dying (sorry, spoiler), Bitcoin broke some hearts.

By 9 am EST, everything was looking juicy.

Bitcoin had quickly spiked all the way up to $49,000, and the legendary level of $50K was right around the corner.

But then, just as everyone was starting to shop online for their new car, it crashed.

And it crashed, big.

This was supposed to be a huge day for Bitcoin. So, what happened?

1/ ALREADY PRICED IN?

The market isn’t very present-focused. In fact, most of the time, the market is always thinking ahead. It’s always trying to figure out what’s going to happen in the future.

And that’s where the concept of “what’s priced in?” comes into play.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “Buy the rumour, sell the fact,” or vice versa, and that’s likely what happened yesterday.

At least partially.

For months, we’ve been waiting for the Bitcoin ETF approval. We knew it was going to come.

So rather than waiting, the market priced Bitcoin like it had already been approved.

And so once it went live yesterday, there was no more hype to drive it higher.

2/ SOME WEIRD THINGS HAPPENED.

There were some rumblings throughout the day on Twitter that Vanguard had blocked their clients from purchasing the ETF.

Yup, we’ll be making sure a Vanguard employee doesn’t win our next giveaway.

So it turns out that the real winner on the day wasn’t Bitcoin or the long-term holder but Fidelity.

Yup, unlike Vanguard, they didn’t drop the ball, and people noticed.

3/ STILL A MASSIVE SUCCESS

You can’t tell by Bitcoin’s price action, but overall, the day was actually a massive success.

In fact, so many investors were as excited as us that it broke records. Yup, a record-breaking $4.6 billion flowed into the asset in just 24 hours.

For context, it took GLD almost 2 years to hit that.

Take that, Peter Schiff.

Where does that leave us?

• The increased volatility is great for traders.

• Watching what happens over the next few weeks will be super interesting.

• The Lark Team is still super bullish long-term.

• All Vanguard employees should unsubscribe from our list.

Have a great weekend!
Matt | CEO

PS: These two promos are still active if you’re ready to get funded.