Patience is Difficult With Cryptocurrencies
2017 has been an incredible year for Bitcoin! But not just Bitcoin--if you had invested in almost any of the coins in the top 100 at http://coinmarketcap.com you would have had a great year. The problem with a year like this is that it completely spoils you. 10% in a year for a good mutual fund? Why not in a week? Why not in a day? Why not in an hour? Bitcoin started the year around $1,000 and is now trading for more than $11,000!
Once I started trading, I was chasing the next opportunity and the next. At first I was content with the coins listed at Poloniex, but then I needed some that were only listed at Bitfinex. And then a few more from Binance. And then, and then, . . . it was like a smorgasborg buffet and I wanted to try a bit of everything! The result was that I was so spread out that I could hardly keep track of which coins I had put money into, and whether they were up or down from the time I bought them.
When it got too crazy and I was spending too much time chasing trades I decided to consolidate to 4: Iota, Dash, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, in that order. Iota has been my #1 pick for a couple of months, and this past week it really jumped forward! (>100% gains!) I think it will continue to go up for quite some time. [Edit: added this chart showing the IOTA train leaving the station!]
I feel like I should close with a big disclaimer: I am NOT a financial advisor, and investing in cryptocurrencies carries a lot of risks--do not invest more than you are comfortable losing, and be very, very careful! Having said that, I will admit that it has been an amazing ride on the cryptocurrency roller coaster, and it's something I will keep up with. This is a very big wave and it is not going away. Feel free to contact me if you have questions on how to proceed--I would be happy to offer you a hand.
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Definitely volatile, but I would not say "unreliable." You could have put money into bitcoin at any time in its history, held for 12 months, and done rather well. It is tricky to understand since it is not a company and is not delivering a product--it is more of a currency than a commodity. There is a lot of competition (>1,000 other cryptocurrencies) but Bitcoin remains the leader, by far. The main articles speaking out against it are written by banks--since banks would be obsolete if the world adopted cryptocurrencies.
If someone has enough money that they do any sort of investing, I would recommend taking a percentage of their investment portfolio and trying out cryptocurrency trading. There are definite hurdles to getting started, and it does require some active management on the part of the user but this feels like a very big wave. Waves do come crashing down, so perhaps I will be writing a sad tale of loss in the future!
I like your attitude of expecting to be disappointed in the future while maintaining your positive outlook. Your being objective in looking at things will allow you to learn beyond what normal people learn, and of course, leads you to levels of success not ordinary people usually reach. Keep it up, my friend! :)
I admire your being open-minded to these things. Not all people possess the same thinking as yours. Some even frown at these as if they're looking at a potential scam. Instead of letting their mind think, they are easy to judge, "It's a scam!"
I just have some cautions that I'd like to share with you. The growth that we have seen with these cryptos can be attributed to "Bitcoin's sudden acceptance by the public". So, with that, it is expected that it will boom in price given that the supply is only limited. The problem is, a lot of people forget that it is because of law of supply and demand that these things are happening, and not because they are becoming investing geniuses.
Yes, when the market is running everyone thinks they are a great investor! "Luckily" for me I had mainly lost money during my first two years of investing in cryptocurrencies and am 100% certain that my successes have been largely due to lucky timing. But, as you point out, there is the law of supply and demand. In a normal situation, if demand goes up, price goes up, then supply goes up. In this case demand goes up, price goes up, and there is no additional supply. Hence, prices continue to rise as long as there is demand.
I mainly thank Japan and South Korea for this year's gains--cryptocurrencies really became popular in those countries. Bitcoin's crazy rise in November I mainly attribute to the news that Chicago Mercantile Exchange will be offering futures contracts soon in bitcoin trading, so everyone is anticipating an influx of institutional money. I think 2018 may prove to be just as crazy as 2017!
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Thanks for taking the time to post another blog. I have been looking for something from you and was scared that I had missed one.
Congratulations on IOTA! I looked just now and it is $3.40. Which exchange do you trade it on and are you in it for the long term. I am still only invested in companies that provide services to the the Cryptocurrencies rather than in the cryptos themselves, but intend to get in this month.
Finally finished the "Introduction to Digital Currencies" from the University of Nicosia and wrote the final exam on Dec. 1, 2017. It was one of the hardest courses I have taken in university and was worried I failed but today I heard I got 87%. It means I can take another 8 courses at a cost of about $20,000 Canadian and get a M.Sc. in Digital Currencies.
At my age and with my other interests it is to much for me, but I might do 2 more courses and get a certificate.
For now I have to get back into my Affiliate Bootcamp course.
Congratulations! You are far ahead of most people in knowledge of cryptocurrencies, that's for sure!
In the U.S. the only option for getting IOTA is currently Binance, so I go from $USD to bitcoin or ethereum at coinbase (you can link a bank account, but a credit card payment is quicker), then transfer to Binance to buy IOTA. Outside of the U.S. Bitfinex is also an option. There are some complexities to these steps that keep a lot of people out, but I view that as a good thing right now. As it gets easier more people will join, driving prices even higher.
It's early days for cryptocurrencies, so any predictions should be viewed with skepticism. I have traded dozens of cryptocurrencies with the goal of catching quick movements and increasing my supply of bitcoin. When trading was taking too much time I reduced my portfolio to just Iota, Dash, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, but the other day I reduced it to just Iota and Bitcoin. My plan is to hold both until 2020 unless something drastically wrong happens. I do have a bit on the side I may still do day-trading with, but mostly I want to just hold and see. I will take a bit out for a nice family vacation if/when Iota hits $7, and I will be a happy camper if/when it reaches $15. That could happen soon at the current speed of things, but I anticipate it could also take a couple of years.