Insilico Terminal Podcast Episode 9 - Nikalgo

In this episode, Nick shares his journey from discovering markets to mastering DOM scalping and developing a unique order book–driven style. He dives into breakout and knife-catching setups, lessons from the Russian scalping scene, and his transition into algorithmic trading with Spreadfighter. The conversation explores building an algo fund through volatile markets, adapting as edges decay, managing risk, and lessons from major drawdowns - ending with insights on protecting capital, holding winners, and embracing positive tails.

00:00 Intro, Nick’s background, early exposure to markets and discovering crypto

06:05 Discovering DOM scalping, order book focus, and early trading habits

12:16 Developing skill with DOM tools, breakout vs knife-catching setups, Russian scalping scene

18:26 Joining Spreadfighter, learning pairs trading, and transition toward algorithmic strategies

29:18 Building Spreadfighter into an algo fund, adapting through the 2021–22 bear market

39:16 Current trading today - decayed edges, intuition, risk management, surviving October 10th

54:27 Protecting capital, lessons from dumps, holding winners, positive tails, and closing thoughts