Next Investing Step: Cryptocurrencies

Updated January 3, 2022

If you’ve been here for a while you know Investing is one of my favorite topics. I did a mini series of blog posts a while back and many found them quite beneficial. If you missed them here they are:

Investing 101: Invest In Yourself

Setting Up Your First Investment Account

How To Start Investing In The Stock Market

6 Questions To Ask Before Investing

6 Tips on Getting Into Real Estate Investing

5 Ways To Invest in Real Estate

Before diving in, I want to preface by saying that I am by no means a cryptocurrency expert or any kind of investment advisor. I will try to keep this short and sweet with some actionable steps I used to get started with investing in crypto. The information shared are my thoughts and based on my personal experience on the topic. I’m only sharing these because I feel that if you’re not on board with crypto at this point i.e if it’s not part of your investment portfolio, you’re seriously missing out on an opportunity to build wealth.

What is Cryptocurrency?

According to nerdwallet, cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions. They work using a technology called blockchain, which is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manages and records transactions. Part of the appeal of this technology is its security. The most popular cryptocurrency at the moment is, you guessed it, Bitcoin.

I will admit that several years ago when cryptocurrency was being introduced I was, like many, quite skeptical. It sounded highly volatile, very risky (aka scammy) and sometimes the returns sounded too good to be true. Fast forward several years later after spending quite a bit of time educating myself on the topic and speaking in depth with my financial advisor, crypto educators and other professionals, my only regret is that I didn’t invest in them a lot sooner.

Bitcoin is the world’s first digital asset, is slated to be the currency of the future and as as such, supporters are racing to buy them now in hopes that it will be more valuable later. Just like the internet changed the world many years ago, Bitcoin is expected to usher in a similar change.

My first real introduction to Bitcoin was at the beginning of the pandemic when there was a lot of time to devote to learning something new (the good old days). My husband and I dabbled in a bit of investing and trading during those times with some really good returns. During that time Bitcoin was under $10K. Today (at the time this post is being written) bitcoin sits at around $65K and is predicted to get to upwards of $80K by end of November and north of $100K by December.

There has been a lot of developments lately in the crypto space - major banks around the world and some politicians have sent out pro-bitcoin sentiments. The SEC has approved a Bitcoin ETF, New York’s mayor will be receiving his first 3 paychecks in bitcoin, so are athletes like Aaron Rogers and podcaster Joe Rogan, and El Salvador has made Bitcoin its currency (with more countries to follow suit). It sounds like Bitcoin is here to stay. In my opinion, it would be unwise to not invest, if even a small portion, in cryptocurrency.

How To Invest in Crypto

At the time of writing this, Bitcoin sits at about $65K. If you have that kind of cash to spare you can go ahead and purchase an entire bitcoin. However, you do not need to. You can purchase fractions of bitcoin, whatever dollar amount you can afford. One of the most popular platforms (and what I use) to purchase bitcoin (and other crypto) is Coinbase. However, there are other places where you can purchase bitcoin such as Paypal, Cash app, Venmo and if you use Robinhood for investing you can purchase there too. If you’re a Paypal user, grab my referral link to buy your first $5 of crypto and we can both get $10 (use it to buy even more crypto).

What is Coinbase?

Coinbase is a secure cryptocurrency trading and investing platform that offers users the ability to buy, sell, and exchange over 100 tradable cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more. It is very user friendly and an account is easy to set up. By using my referral link you will receive your first $10 in Bitcoin after buying or selling $100 of any cryptocurrency you want.

If I were you, I would start investing ASAP as Bitcoin is predicted to get to upwards of $80K by end of November 2021 and north of $100K by December 2021.

*This prediction has changed as the markets changed due to the new COVID-19 strain, Omicron*

If you are very risk averse or still think putting your money in crypto is scary you can earn crypto in other ways. I no longer use my regular debit card for purchases. I now use the Fold debit card where I earn satoshis (a small portion of bitcoin) with my everyday purchases.

What is Fold?

Fold is a bitcoin app and debit card that gives you free bitcoin for qualifying purchases.

Fold lets you earn free bitcoin while you shop. It works just like a regular debit card from any major bank where you would earn rewards (like cash back) on purchases but instead earn free crypto. The average purchase provides 25% cash back in bitcoin. Downloading the app and signing up for a Fold debit card is really easy and there’s benefit in getting both. The app is available in the App Store and if you use my referral link to sign up you can earn 5000 satoshis or sats for short. Satoshis, what’s that? The name is a moniker for bitcoin’s founder Satoshi Nakamoto and is a fraction of bitcoin. In the app, you will also have the opportunity to win additional bitcoin daily with the spinwheel. They have a range of prizes with the ultimate being an entire bitcoin. Read more about that here. There are two different types of debit cards, the Spin or the Spin+. The spin has no annual fee but has a $21 activation fee, while the spin+ has an annual fee of $150 but no activation. With the latter, you are able to earn more rewards and up to 100% cash back. Personally, I have the spin card - I get the benefit of getting fractions of bitcoin (which over time will add up to a large sum) with all my purchases without paying an annual fee. Plus, I am already investing in Bitcoin elsewhere so I don’t feel the need to try to get 100% cash back. After you’ve accumulated at least 50,000 satoshis you can transfer your crypto to a wallet, such as the coinbase wallet (there are others but this is what I use). Ultimately, if you’re looking for a relatively easy way to join the world of cryptocurrencies without investing your own money this is a great option.

There you have it! I have touched on my experience with investing in crypto and hopefully it gives a little insight on making it a part of your investing portfolio. It is very easy to get started, but as with any investment vehicle, do your due diligence, speak with your financial advisor, take caution and be aware that any form of investing is risky.

Next Investing topic will be on NFTs. Be on the look out for that.