Investing in cryptocurrencies has made some people obscenely wealthy, but it’s important to know how extremely realistic it is that you might to lose all of your money in crypto with no return at all.
Although investing in cryptocurrency is risky, it can well be profitable if done correctly and as a part of a balanced portfolio.
Cryptocurrency: What Is It?
Let’s first cover the basics. They are key if you choose to invest for the long run, not just for a quick profit.
- Cryptocurrency presents a blockchain-based form of digital currency.
- One-way cryptography is what underpins it.
- All users share the same blockchain technology on which cryptocurrency is distributed.
Blockchain is considered trusted and permanent as it’s almost impossible to hack into it or fake it.
Why was cryptocurrency invented?
Here’s when the narrative starts changing based on who you talk to. Is blockchain a necessary evil to distribute ape NFTs? Or is it a supercomputer to power apps? Or is its main value in enabling the existence of money that is independent on state?
Cryptocurrency was created to let online payments be conducted using a direct process from one person to another, also called peer-to-peer. With crypto, banks or other financial institutions don’t need to serve as a third party during any transaction.
Only after some years of this basic functionality of cryptocurrencies came the extra capabilities. All those use-cases have been quickly developing as the non-fungible tokens, smart contracts, stablecoins.
How are cryptocurrencies evaluated?
The fiat valuation of a cryptocurrency is the most important point for a profit-hungry investor.
The value of a cryptocurrency comes from a combination of deficiency and understanding that it may be a store of value, a hedge against inflation, or a digital type of fuel asset.
If you become a crypto investor, you will be able to make investments using all sorts of investment products, direct and derivative.
Are you searching for guaranteed approval credit cards with $10,000 limits for bad credit no deposit for receiving quick money? If you invest in digital currency, you may get enough profits to avoid the vicious debt cycle while increasing your savings and emergency fund.
Are Cryptocurrencies Technically Safe?
Although it can be a great investment opportunity, several factors demonstrate that digital currency isn’t always secure. There are frauds of various levels, a lot of them in the NFT space.
Yet, it is obvious that cryptocurrency is not dying any time soon, so it might not be such a good choice simply ignoring it. Instead, try to take into account the possible risks to prepare and minimize them.
Minimizing Your Risks
First of all, digital currency exchanges might become targets of hackers or scams.
Most often though, the issue is with the individual investor. Some investors suffered from hacks and security breaches. As a result, some may lose sufficient funds as their cryptocurrency was stolen from them.
If you visit the Investor.gov platform, you will find out useful information on how to spot digital assets and crypto investment scams.
There are some investment schemes used by scams that you should watch out for as fraudsters keep on exploiting the increasing popularity of digital currency to lure investors into scams and losses.
Different financial institutions and banks offer certain protection against scams and hacks so you may want to turn to such third parties for assistance.
It’s easier to own bonds and stocks that store your digital currency safely. Many investors choose Coinbase as a digital currency exchange to sell and purchase digital assets including Ethereum and Bitcoin easily.
On the other hand, any venture can gain control over your digital assets so many investors prefer not to keep their cryptocurrency on exchanges.
Getting into Cryptocurrencies
- The first part of the word “crypto” means different cryptographic systems and encryption algorithms that protect these currencies. These algorithms include public-private key pairs, elliptical curve encryption, as well as hashing options.
- When you become an investor, you purchase or mine digital currencies with the help of crypto exchanges. Keep in mind that purchases are not allowed in all locations of the world.
- Bitcoin and other big digital currencies are now barely ever used for retail transactions. But on the whole, digital currencies increased in value which made them common trading assets. Specialists believe that numerous industries can be developed with the aid of blockchain technology - a belief that has long become a meme.
Types of Cryptocurrencies and Their Features
Generally, the most widespread and traded digital currency is still Bitcoin. That is one reason that makes Bitcoin the safest and most conservative crypto-asset to invest in. Another reason is that the amount of bitcoins is finite and there will exist just 21 million of them, so there is no possibility of inflation in Bitcoin.
Throughout the years, thousands of alternative cryptos were developed. These days there are plenty more digital currencies available in the market. It can be challenging to choose the one you would like to invest in as each digital currency has different specifications and functions.
For instance, some banking institutions experiment with Ripple’s XRP, while Ethereum’s ether is used in many smart contract platforms.
Differences between Investing
Digital currencies like Bitcoin haven’t had significant correlations with the American stock market.
It means that you may want to boost the diversification of your investment portfolio if you have several digital currencies.
Those who consider that cryptocurrencies will remain popular in the nearest future may invest in them as part of their portfolio. The preferred method of trading cryptocurrencies across the globe was presented by Statista.
Preferred ways of trading cryptocurrencies worldwide in 2018, by age
The data shows that 32.8 percent of traders worldwide aged from 15 to 25 years old preferred to trade digital currency with the help of mobile apps in 2018.
You need to consider an investment reason why this currency will remain stable for each digital currency you invest in.
Take some time to do some research on each cryptocurrency you are willing to invest in to eliminate risks.
Some people find investing in digital currency risky and unstable. If you are one of them, you may look for alternative ways to make a prospective profit from the increasing popularity of digital currencies.
For instance, you may decide to invest in an exchange like CME Group, or purchase stocks of Block, Coinbase, or PayPal.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, digital currency is a relatively new technology so nobody can predict how popular and secure it will be in the future.
This type of technology is rather speculative, so you should think twice and consider your options before you accept the risks and start investing in cryptocurrency.
It’s worth investing to maximize your savings rather than keep on living from paycheck to paycheck but you may need to const a qualified specialist to help you make the right decision.