Mr Peanutbutter studied medicine at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, but these days, he makes up to ₦700,000 weekly trading gold in the forex market without ever owning a single ounce of the metal.
Here’s how he does it.
As Told To Aisha Bello
I’m called Mr Peanutbutter in the trading community — a name I got from my favourite TV show, BoJack Horseman. I’m 25, and I wrapped up my medical degree at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, in January.
I didn’t plan to become a forex trader. Before 2020, I barely knew what forex was. My best friend was my first point of contact; he’d tell me about his wins, losses and his approaches to figuring out the market. It sounded like an easy way to make money until I tried it myself and realised it was anything but.
The First Steps: Learning the Hard Way
During the lockdown, I was researching how to make money online when I found a YouTube video about a guy who went from washing cars to making a fortune trading forex. It was the push I needed to start learning.
I opened a demo trading account and practised for 12 weeks to get a feel of the market. I wasn’t making real money, but I was obsessed. I’d study charts, look for patterns, and test different strategies.
That’s when I discovered Prop firms:
Prop firms (proprietary trading firms) let traders access large accounts in exchange for a share of the profits.
You pay a fee to take a challenge and prove you can trade profitably before they fund you. The cost varies depending on the account size.
When I started, I paid $80 for a $10,000 account, but fees can go as high as $500 for a $100,000 account. If you pass, you get to trade a $10,000, $30,000, or even $100,000 account, keeping 70–90% of your profits while following strict risk limits.
I worked as a freelance copywriter on Upwork at the time, so I used my small earnings to pay for these challenges. However, I kept failing, which was frustrating, and I eventually gave up.
Forex Trading Distractions
After a series of losses in 2021, I focused on freelancing, and my copywriting income on Upwork grew significantly. I made $2,000 to $3,000 in a good month and became a Top Rated Plus freelancer after a while. With steady earnings coming in, I completely abandoned forex.
I sent out 10 proposals daily and secured at least three gigs each week. As my workload grew, I started outsourcing and delegating projects to balance it with medical school, only handling the technical aspects. It evolved into a large-scale operation, and seven people worked for me. Towards the end of 2022, my account was worth $50,000.
In two years, I had earned more than a Nigerian medical consultant with 15 years of experience would make in nine years on a ₦700,000 monthly salary. That completely reshaped how I saw the financial prospects of a medical career in Nigeria.
A Dead End
Everything went smoothly until one morning in December 2022. I woke up to find that Upwork had closed my account—along with all my savings. Just like that, I was back to square one.
Although I created a new Upwork account, it didn’t take off the same way. In the first six months of 2023, I barely made $1,000. I had gone from being extremely comfortable to completely broke.
On top of that, I’d rented a new apartment and spent ₦5 million on a Lexus. Now, I couldn’t afford my car expenses and was four months behind on rent.
With no other option, I had to find another way to make money, which meant taking forex seriously again. My friends were making money from it, and I figured if they could do it, so could I.
The Breakthrough: My First Real Forex Money
In 2023, a friend gave me a $10,000 forex course for free, and it shifted my luck. I studied it obsessively as though my life depended on it, breaking down every concept until trading started making sense.
Then, things took an unexpected turn. I had been practising on a demo account and posting my trades on my Instagram story when someone reached out. They were impressed with my precision and offered me a deal to manage their $10k prop firm account, pass the challenge, and split the profits. I jumped on it, passed the challenge in one week, and started making real money.
My first withdrawal was $500, followed by another $500 the following week. I cleared my school fees and rent backlog, handled my car expenses, and paid off small debts. For the rest of 2023, I kept trading, splitting profits and finally saw forex pay off.
I mostly focused on trading GBP/USD, strictly following everything in the course I was handed.
In forex trading, the GBP/USD currency pair represents the exchange rate between the British Pound (GBP) and the U.S. dollar (USD).
This rate indicates how much 1 British pound is worth in U.S. dollars. As of Feb 26, 2025, the exchange rate is approximately 1 GBP = $1.2673.
So, I’d speculate whether the British pound would rise or fall against the US dollar for a profit.
If I expected the pound’s value to increase, I’d buy it at a lower price and sell it higher for a profit. If I expected it to decrease in value, I’d sell it at a higher price and buy again when it’s lower.
By following a clear strategy and managing my risk, I made consistent profits.
But one day, I decided to try trading gold against the US dollar (gold/USD). It clicked, and my success rate shot up. That’s when I developed what I now call the Peanut Butter (PNB) gold trading strategy.
The Setback: Anxiety and Losing a $50,000 Account
Even after I started making steady profits, I still faced setbacks.
2024 was one of the toughest years of my life. I battled severe anxiety, chronic stress, and panic attacks, which took a toll on my trading. At the time, I was managing a $50k prop firm account, but my anxiety had me overthinking, hesitating, and second-guessing every trade. Eventually, I lost the account.
This situation forced me to step back and focus on my mental health before returning to trading with a clearer mind and a better strategy. Towards the end of 2024, I secured my own $10k prop firm account and started making consistent profits trading gold.
My Preferred Trading Platform & Prop Firms
I currently trade with prop firms like FundingPips and Maven, making between $200 and $500 weekly from trading gold. Some weeks, I take losses; others, I break even or make nothing at all. My long-term goal is to accumulate $300k in prop firm funding before the end of 2025.
It’s not easy, but once you master risk management and strategy, it’s one of the best ways to trade forex without needing much money upfront.
I execute all my trades using MetaTrader 5 (MT5), one of the most popular forex trading platforms. It allows me to analyse charts, place trades, and manage risk effectively.
My Peanutbutter Gold Trading Strategy
When I started forex, I was all over the place, trading different currency pairs and losing money. But once I focused on trading gold/USD, everything changed.
Gold/USD (XAU/USD) represents the price of gold in US dollars. In forex trading, this pair shows how much 1 ounce of gold is worth in USD.
For example, if XAU/USD is $2,050, it means 1 ounce of gold costs $2,050.
If I buy XAU/USD, I’m betting that gold’s price will increase against the US dollar. For instance, if I buy at $2,050 and the price rises to $2,100, I can sell at a higher price and make a profit.
If I sell XAU/USD, I’m betting that gold’s price will decrease against the US dollar. If I sell at $2,050 and the price drops to $2,000, I can buy it back at a lower price and profit from the difference.
But I don’t trade per ounce—I use something called lot size, which determines how much gold I’m actually trading. A mini lot equals 10 ounces, so I trade in multiples of 10 ounces and earn my profits accordingly.
Why I Only Trade Gold/USD
Gold/USD (XAU/USD) moves in clear trends, making it easier to analyse compared to volatile currency pairs. It’s also a safe-haven asset; investors flock to buy gold when the global economy is unstable, driving its price up. This predictability allows me to make more calculated trades without worrying about constant shifts in different countries’ economic policies.
How I trade gold and stay profitable:
- I trade between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the market is most active.
- I avoid trading on Mondays because the market is still deciding its direction for the week.
- I analyse gold’s price movement before trading, studying charts and patterns to predict price trends.
- I enter a trade only when I see a clear signal. I look at price charts and analyse how gold’s price has been moving over time.
- I buy if the price is steadily increasing and signals suggest it’ll continue to rise. I sell if the price is falling, and it looks like it’ll keep dropping.
- I control my risk. I never risk more than 0.5% of my account per trade, which is $50 on a $10,000 prop firm account.
- I aim for a 1:4 risk-reward ratio, meaning for every $50 I risk, I aim for a $200 profit before closing a trade.
- I don’t overtrade. No matter what, I take a maximum of three trades daily. No emotional decisions, just strategy and discipline.
- I avoid trading during big news events: major economic, political, or financial announcements that can trigger sudden and unpredictable market swings.
Bottom Line
By following this structured approach, I’ve stayed consistently profitable. But trading isn’t just about making money. It’s about managing risk, controlling emotions, and staying consistent. That’s what separates the winning traders from those who blow their accounts.
This is not financial advice.
