When to NOT invest in Bitcoin

MrToads · 3 January 2018 at 1:42PM

Hi Everyone, fairly new here and been lurking around the last week or so. I thought I'd try and be (somewhat) useful and make my first post.

Though it's not directly boosting your income, I think it is sensible advice in the right place (if not sorry admin)

Of course Bitcoin is very topical, mysterious and generally mistrusted right now. Maybe quite rightly, maybe still more trustworthy than our banks ;-)

Anyway, this is not a post dropping links or telling you to invest anything.

In fact, being invested myself and doing ok, I would encourage you not to, especially IF you still have debt.

Please, for all that is holy and good, clear your debts before getting excited and doing anything you are not sure about. People love to jump on what's trendy and fasionable. But take a step back, have a nights sleep and be captain sensible in the morning.

Sensible plan like so many others advise on here, clear the debts first.

As its becoming slightly more mainstream now, I can just see people who really need that little extra, seeing the growth and thinking... oh this is easy ill put my money in that... like the whole house cannot burn down.

Please be sensible and careful.

All the best everyone in 2018.:beer:
Joseph

Browntoa · 3 January 2018 at 2:37PM

And it's basically gambling at the moment , not an investment

There's the possibility of losing huge amounts of money

MrToads · 4 January 2018 at 12:12PM

Like Pensions :-).

I'd like to know what isn't a gamble!

I think it comes down to realising the underlying tech, than anything else.

MKeynesMoneySaver · 5 January 2018 at 10:52AM

There is potential for great upside (greater than anything else currently in recent times). However, there is also potential to lose everything you put in.

I wouldn't advise against investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies but would definitely advise to not risk anything you can't afford to lose. More importantly, I wouldn't borrow to invest in cryptocurrencies or take a leveraged position.

zzzt · 6 January 2018 at 6:04PM

You would be better off investing in one of the other cryptocurrencies that has very strong tech and strong backing and is currently undervalued. People froth at the mouth at Bitcoin being worth £14k per coin, but you could have made more by investing in a coin worth £0.40 a month ago which is now worth £20 per coin and might rise even more with rebrands and when it hits major exchanges.

But if you have to ask these questions, then chances are you won't know what the good tech is, or where the partnerships are, or what news is on the horizon. So it would basically be gambling (even more so than it already is). Might as well go to a casino and put £10k on red, it would be no different than putting £10k on some altcoin in December.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Bitcoin reaches £20k this year, despite it being a broken technology that no longer does what was intended. It has the advantage of being the first and being the one that the media talks about and the layman has heard of, with huge adoption and usage on every exchange and other services.

There were people saying not to buy the record high when it was £3k. £12k is now the "new normal" for Bitcoin after its crash and it's now having another bull run.

Right now the market is still very Bitcoin dominant. It's difficult to buy any other cryptocurrency without Bitcoin, although that will (slowly) change as it gets replaced by better cryptocurrencies and the market shifts.

It is still very early days. In fifteen years when we might be making everyday transactions in cryptocurrency just by holding our tiny phone or watch near something, and who knows what currency it will be in? The only thing we know is it won't be Bitcoin.

In the future the top 20 cryptocurrencies will look very different. Cryptocurrencies will be integrated into banking and other industries, whilst other industries will be ruined (such as those that profit from sending money abroad), and new laws and regulations will be in place around the world (as is already happening).

Some people who got lucky and happened to invest in the Googles or Amazons of the crypto world will become rich, whereas others will lose everything in the bubble just as with the dot-com bubble.

cybermum · 7 January 2018 at 3:04PM

zzzt wrote: »

You would be better off investing in one of the other cryptocurrencies that has very strong tech and strong backing and is currently undervalued. People froth at the mouth at Bitcoin being worth £14k per coin, but you could have made more by investing in a coin worth £0.40 a month ago which is now worth £20 per coin and might rise even more with rebrands and when it hits major exchanges.

But if you have to ask these questions, then chances are you won't know what the good tech is, or where the partnerships are, or what news is on the horizon. So it would basically be gambling (even more so than it already is). Might as well go to a casino and put £10k on red, it would be no different than putting £10k on some altcoin in December.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Bitcoin reaches £20k this year, despite it being a broken technology that no longer does what was intended. It has the advantage of being the first and being the one that the media talks about and the layman has heard of, with huge adoption and usage on every exchange and other services.

There were people saying not to buy the record high when it was £3k. £12k is now the "new normal" for Bitcoin after its crash and it's now having another bull run.

Right now the market is still very Bitcoin dominant. It's difficult to buy any other cryptocurrency without Bitcoin, although that will (slowly) change as it gets replaced by better cryptocurrencies and the market shifts.

It is still very early days. In fifteen years when we might be making everyday transactions in cryptocurrency just by holding our tiny phone or watch near something, and who knows what currency it will be in? The only thing we know is it won't be Bitcoin.

In the future the top 20 cryptocurrencies will look very different. Cryptocurrencies will be integrated into banking and other industries, whilst other industries will be ruined (such as those that profit from sending money abroad), and new laws and regulations will be in place around the world (as is already happening).

Some people who got lucky and happened to invest in the Googles or Amazons of the crypto world will become rich, whereas others will lose everything in the bubble just as with the dot-com bubble.

+1 . I agree with this .
I think the moral is due diligence, research and not allowing emotion/greed to be the over riding factor in decisions.
I am invested in alt coins and a small small part in Bitcoin.
But I watch carefully and I have my no discussion exit point always. I am clinical with it . Many aren't and allow emotions to make rash choices.

popuppirate75 · 7 January 2018 at 10:15PM

If you have considerd the risk, and have decided to go for it, then...

Invest what you can afford to lose, cash out some gains from time to time, only buy the dips, do your own research, invest in coins that you understand and believe in, don't day trade, and don't confuse individual coin price with market cap.

pitkin2020 · 27 January 2018 at 2:16PM

Browntoa wrote: »

And it's basically gambling at the moment , not an investment

There's the possibility of losing huge amounts of money

All investments are a gamble no one can predict the exact future and even big safe companies you invest in can go down taking your investment with them

LittleLiz101 · 28 January 2018 at 7:05AM

I agree only put in what you can afford to lose! And with the volatility at the moment it is definitely a speculative market.

If you do decide to invest, one good piece of advice I heard was look at how long what you put in would take you to earn back if you lost it and pick a level you are comfortable with. For example, if you only have £10 leftover each month after outgoings, and put in £100 - it would take 10 months to make back that £100 so you are put back by 10 months. Most people only feel comfortable with risking around 6-12 months.

Also from looking at things - Bitcoin is the largest and the huge increases have been what has drawn people, however, look at the % increase overall not the money you put in. Don't think 'I need to put in £x to buy a coin'. One of the attractions is you can invest small amounts but the fees for transactions to get into and out of exchanges can be high - and I've heard it can be hard to extract fiat currency back out of exchanges to realise any profits.

I guess, as with any 'investment' you should do your due diligence and research first

When to NOT invest in Bitcoin

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