Jônata Cavalcante

Jônata Dias Cavalcante came to financial markets through a credit cooperative. In 2016 he joined Cooperativa de Crédito Sicredi in Cotriguaçu as a Relationship Manager, and over five years began expanding his knowledge into derivatives, stocks and crypto alongside his work advising members on investments. When he left the cooperative and moved into union management, the trading continued.

His public profile grew in parallel. After distinguished work both at Sicredi and in the union, he ran for city council in Cotriguaçu and was elected the second most voted councillor. Today he holds the mandate full-time while trading B3, forex and crypto around his schedule — currently in simulator mode, building toward a capital base that allows him to stay in markets longer, including prop trading desks.

Cotriguaçu sits deep in Mato Grosso, far from São Paulo's trading culture. Jônata is essentially alone in his pursuit there — entirely self-taught through YouTube and social media, never having paid for a course or mentorship. The region's commodity heartbeat shapes his focus: he follows cattle (arroba do Boi Gordo), coffee and corn daily. The same risk-reading discipline, he says, makes him a sharper politician: he can sense the mood of his constituents the way a trader reads market sentiment.

He participated in Copa BTG Trader 2025 to test the operational approach he had built over years. His children, Nicollas (6) and Nadine (4), will inherit the story — once they are old enough to understand it.

---

Vitalii Kaminskyi · June 2026 · Portuguese, translated to English

Cotriguaçu is one of the most remote municipalities in Mato Grosso. How did you discover financial markets and Copa BTG Trader 2025 from there — what was the path?

I discovered financial markets in 2016 when I started working as a banker at Cooperativa de Crédito Sicredi. I worked there as a Relationship Manager for over five years, and during that time, while offering investments to cooperative members, I began expanding my knowledge into derivatives, stocks and crypto. When I left the cooperative I moved into union management and continued trading. After standing out in both roles, the opportunity arose to run for city council in my municipality — I was elected the second most voted. Today I serve as a councillor and, due to the flexible schedule, I trade alongside my mandate and participate in competitions like Copa BTG Trader 2025.

---

You are a city councillor and an active trader at the same time. How do you manage both, and does your political work change the way you think about economic decisions in the markets?

Today I dedicate myself exclusively to the council mandate, but I manage to fit in some operations — on B3 during market hours, or forex and crypto at other times. Right now I am focused on study and simulation, building capital to stay in markets longer, including looking at prop trading desks. Every day I follow news across derivatives, stocks and commodities — especially cattle, coffee and corn, which dominate my region. The risk analysis I do every day for trading makes me more sensitive to the political and economic landscape of my municipality. I can read the sentiment of the population more quickly and efficiently, and plan my work accordingly.

---

Most Brazilian traders come from São Paulo or large urban centres. What is it like to trade from a small town in the interior — what advantages and disadvantages does that bring?

Being a trader in an interior city is lonely. Almost no one here knows what a trader is — people confuse it with gambling, and those who tried and lost money don't like to talk about it. Living in the interior makes it harder to access information and to be close to people who actually live from the market. Everything I have learned I found myself on the internet — YouTube, social media. I never bought a course or paid for mentorship. I chose the path of learning through my own mistakes and victories. The advantage is operating in a quiet place, living a lighter life without the rush of a big city, which can positively influence decision-making. The disadvantage is having no access to other traders or environments that share the trading mindset. When I get the opportunity, I intend to seek out those environments to strengthen my trader mentality.

---

What was the single moment that convinced you to enter Copa BTG Trader 2025?

When I decided to enter, I felt I needed to put to the test the time I had dedicated to studying the market and to test the operational approach I had developed over the years. It was a major opportunity to compete in a large tournament for traders from all over the world and find out whether my method was financially viable. The prize of one million reais was also one of the main factors.

---

What do you want Nicollas and Nadine to learn from watching their father trade?

Because my children are still young — Nicollas is six and Nadine is four — they do not yet understand my trading. They know me mainly as the city councillor. But I plan to introduce them to this world soon. In the beginning, trading distanced me from them: I was so focused on study that on loss days, even in the simulator, my mood and behaviour with my family changed. Today, after studying trader psychology, I manage my emotions, anxiety and nerves much better. I see myself evolving every day toward making this a profession that will help me and my family. I will continue in politics trying to help the population, but I also have plans for financial markets.