The speculation is that this can only be done by large participants because it is still very expensive for the average day trader to put
on a short position in futures.
If we are in a bear market and the investor is not opposed to short selling, we can look for stocks that will likely perform the worst, therefore making a nice
profit on the short positions as prices fall.
Indeed, insiders at Kynikos (greek for «cynic») say that the market rally is viewed within the firm as a terrific opportunity for
putting on short positions.
It is also possible to
take on a short position and speculate on the price of the underlying futures contract going down and offsetting the position by buying back the exact same contract on the same exchange with the hope of making a profit on the change in price.
When trading in a
downtrend on a short position, the approach is to set a stop loss just above the swing high since this could represent a potential resistance level.
If you close a short sale at a loss by delivering shares you held at the time you entered into the short sale, your loss was incurred on the long position,
not on the short position.
Similarly, when the market becomes bearish it is the time to sell and at this status, the trader must hold
resistance on short positions with stop - loss; these positions must be squared off again when the market reaches neutral state.
With no limits to potential losses
on short positions if Bitcoin continues to rise, Peterffy himself points out that betting against the cryptocurrency is especially risky, stating:
Although the turnaround in the stock's fortunes may only prove to be temporary, few short sellers can afford to risk runaway
losses on their short positions and may prefer to close them out even if it means taking a substantial loss.
For example, to hedge one's long positions with short sales, so that if the market declines the loss on long positions will be offset by
profit on the short positions.
Dwyer: Exactly, it's not easy to cash out bitcoin from an exchange and thus use to cover your unrealized losses
on your short position.
Although the turnaround in the stock's fortunes may only prove to be temporary, few short sellers can afford to risk runaway losses
on their short positions and may prefer to close them out even if it means taking a substantial loss.