Is investing in crypto good or bad? Ask yourself this question if you think about generating an income in the future. Here’s a piece to read before you put your hopes in cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency investment

When talking about cryptocurrency investment, do not only think about returns that are potentially higher than the traditional stock market. While this could be true, there are a couple of things unique to crypto markets.

Value vs Ownership

Just as with the traditional markets where you look at the performance of the stock and base your investments on trends and the growth potential of a company, in crypto markets, you also follow general tendencies and check if there is room for a project’s improvement.

However, with crypto, you mostly invest in the value of the currency, which might be Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other coin. That contrasts with the investing in traditional stock markets where you purchase a share of a company, or, in other words, a part of it.

Pre-programmed Supply vs Natural Demand 

In crypto and in traditional markets, demand and supply defines the price of the asset. Bulls and bears try to steal the scene, taking care of liquidity, trading volume, volatility and trends. 

But in comparison to stocks that don’t have a cap imposed on them, crypto markets very often do, which could also affect the price significantly.

For example, one of the favourite topics for discussion on the web is if Bitcoin’s price will someday cross the$100K mark. How so? The coin’s supply is limited, and there will be only mined 21 million coins. 

Volatility Spikes vs Steady Income       

Volatility is the key characteristic of the cryptocurrency markets. If you’re an experienced trader, it opens the road to potentially high returns where you can go long and short within a day for example. 

However, to all the newbies out there, this market may lead you to the slaughter like a lamb if you don’t know what you’re doing.   

This contrasts with the traditional markets that tend to grow steadily in the long run. Of course, no one is protected from black swans like COVID, and traditional markets react to that, too. But this is rather an unusual situation whereas normally stocks tend to slowly grow over time.

The best cryptocurrency to invest in

First of all, let’s be reasonable. Is there a best share to invest in? There’s no such thing as the best cryptocurrency. However, while talking about cryptocoins that you should or shouldn’t put your money in, there are options that might fit you well. It all depends on your investment goals and horizon. When are you planning to make a profit on your investment? In a month, in a year, or in two years? 

With cryptocurrencies, remember that the longevity of the project might differ from those in the traditional markets. The niche is young, so don’t bank on decades. However, a couple of years in the crypto niche is reasonable. 

Let’s take a look at an example. Say, you want to put $1000 in Bitcoin (BTC) for a period of no more than six months. What return on investment do you expect? And which key factors support your expectations?

Normally, while evaluating fundamentals of a company’s share, you assess its business model, its competitive advantage, management and corporate governance. But while doing so with crypto, you will likely come across a few revelations. With cryptocoins, there is no such thing as a business model, corporate governance, and no CEO will ever be able to fully control them.

Together with Bitcoin, you buy into a libertarian idea pertaining to the future, a transparent mechanism for sending money and reasonable fees. However, from a legal point of view, crypto is still illegal in many countries. So, will this kind of model survive your investment period of months? Most likely, yes since Bitcoin has already won hearts of thousands. But you should be careful when it comes to less popular coins. So, you see, with crypto, there are specific risks and benefits you invest in.

We recommend you to read this guide from Invezz which gives you a great overview of the important choices to make when you want to invest in cryptocurrency.

In general, if you’ve been following crypto markets for quite some time now, you know that there are several popular coins, such as Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) or, say, stablecoins. There are also very volatile altcoins that are good for trading. However, if you want to invest in a project on a long-term basis, you should get familiar with the technical aspects of the coin, with the project team and with their competitors. You may sign up for some  newsletters like Bitcoin Black Friday that provide some insights right into your inbox.

Summary

Are you still wondering if you should invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin etc? Evaluate your risks and think of the differences and similarities between traditional and crypto markets. 

With crypto, you invest in the value of the coin; often, it’s very special with the technical characteristics that protect the asset from deflation, but exactly this technical newness still confuses regulators and leaves wiggle room for further discussions.

Just like with traditional markets, while investing in crypto, it’s hardly possible to come across the best strategy, but under different circumstances, this one or that one might work better or worse. 

The same train of thought applies to the best cryptocurrency – simply, there is no best asset, but Bitcoin is of course on everyone’s lips compared to such tokens as Dash or BNB. However, full-time crypto traders will buy and sell manifold altcoins because these assets meet their specific needs, particularly in the contest of trading. But keep in mind that trading and investing are different things.

So invest or not? Just make sure to research the project very well before making rash decisions in order to avoid scams, and go with automation tools once the strategy that works for you best is found.

FAQ

Which cryptocurrency is best to invest for beginners?

There’s no such thing as the best cryptocurrency to invest in. However, while talking about cryptocoins that you should or shouldn’t put your money in, there are options that might fit you well. It all depends on your investment goals and horizon. When are you planning to make a profit on your investment? In a month, in a year, or in two years? Remember that the longevity of the project might differ from those in the traditional markets. The niche is young, so don’t bank on decades. However, a couple of years in the crypto niche is reasonable.

How to trade crypto: what to know before you start?

  1. Just as with the traditional markets where you look at the performance of the stock and base your investments on trends and the growth potential of a company, in crypto markets, you also follow general tendencies and check if there is room for a project’s improvement.
  2. In comparison to stocks that don’t have a cap imposed on them, crypto markets very often do, which could also affect the price significantly.
  3. Volatility is the key characteristic of the cryptocurrency markets. If you’re an experienced trader, it opens the road to potentially high returns where you can go long and short within a day for example.