Key facts
- Akshay Sapra lost over $250,000 (350,000 Canadian dollars) on SpaceX trades.
- Sapra's trading history includes significant gains and losses, with a total loss of over $1.7 million at one point.
- He plans to document his trades publicly on YouTube to foster discipline.
- Sapra views trading as a skill that can veer into gambling.
- He previously lost nearly $200,000 on Beyond Meat.
Akshay Sapra, a 31-year-old software engineer from the Toronto area, has experienced significant financial volatility through trading, recently losing over $250,000 (350,000 Canadian dollars) on investments in SpaceX. This loss follows a pattern of high-stakes trading, including a period where he lost nearly $200,000 on Beyond Meat and previously had accumulated over $1.7 million in gains before losing it all.
Sapra's trading journey began with an interest in marijuana stocks before college and evolved into a full-time pursuit, often involving trading for 16 hours a day. He has utilized income from various sources, including an Uber driving job, lines of credit, and loans, to fund his trades. Despite achieving substantial profits at times, Sapra found himself unable to stop trading, driven by a desire to overcome childhood scarcity mindsets and past traumas.
His recent substantial loss on SpaceX involved buying thousands of call options and shares around the company's inclusion in the Nasdaq 100, anticipating significant buying pressure. The stock's subsequent decline resulted in a loss of over $200,000. He then made further bets against the stock, leading to total losses exceeding $350,000 on SpaceX within a week. Although he briefly recouped some gains through other SpaceX trades, he quickly lost them again.
Looking ahead, Sapra plans to create a YouTube channel to publicly document his trades, hoping this accountability will curb emotional and impulsive decisions. He acknowledges the fine line between responsible trading and addiction, comparing it to responsible drinking versus alcoholism.