Wow, what an easy topic to choose, but difficult to discuss in the confines I have tried to set for this website and blog. Crypto – the ephemeral “thing” that no one can really define or explain to anyone’s satisfaction beyond those in the technical know-how to understand it. But to stay within the confines of this blog, what is there to say?
Crypto, and for the rest of this post I mean “mostly Bitcoin, but really all of the cryptocurrencies” have been around for several years, and have gained, lost, and again gained real momentum in the past couple of years. As I type this, it’s very close to $50,000 USD per BTC (one Bitcoin). And as it gains legitimacy, and reality, it does deserve attention and discussion.
As I write this, I harken back to the advice of market mavens such as Warren Buffet and Peter Lynch, who made billions (or billions for others) with the solid belief that you invest in what is real, what you can understand, what you can clearly describe in two sentences, etc. And I also think back to the last time I thought, “this time it’s really different.” That was during the Internet Bubble of the last 1990s, and it turned out that things weren’t different.
But eventually the different CAN become the norm, and more quietly than you would expect. The days of postal mail gave way to fax machines, which gave way to basic email, which gave way to texting and social media, all as ways for even the least tech-savvy to communicate. None of the old are gone, but the new are here to stay.
So, can crypto become a future standard? Sure. Never say never. Will it? I have absolutely no idea. All of that said, is there a place in your investment toolkit, or personal financial investments for crypto? Perhaps.
If you do decide to look into crypto, do your research. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. Start small – very small. Perhaps make it part of your “active” portfolio, which should be distinct from your “long-term base” portfolio, which I will get into in later blogs. Really, treat this as any new, unproven, risky investment.
And in regards to starting very small, that’s extremely easy with crypto. You can buy as little as USD $1 of four of the major cryptos in a PayPal account, which many people already have for things like eBay purchases and direct purchasing on many online retail websites. For a bit (pun – ha!) more options, especially with a larger choice of available cryptocurrencies to choose from, a very popular website/app is Coinbase. This website also has a lot of information to learn about crypto. I’ve also been watching a YouTube channel by 99Bitcoins, and they have many great, short videos explaining things – tutorials, reviews on websites and hardware wallets, etc. And some of their “investing” advice is spot-on and could be related to any investment.
My personal advice – buy $25 worth to give yourself a real stake, watch it, and learn. The worst that can happen is that you lose $25. Better things can happen.
DECADES to Wealth 