Considering dabbling in Bitcoin

Kiran

I'm looking to invest a small, speculative, amount in Bitcoin. I currently put towards investing £500/month. This is split £400 in a Vanguard global fund, £50 in company stocks and £50 which I class as my speculative pot. I'd like to dip into the Bitcoin market, I know there is a risk it can tank and I'm prepared for that risk and I'm treating it like buying £50 worth of lottery tickets.

I use Trading 212 for investing and you currently can't buy Bitcoin directly on there. I would hope they change this soon, but there aren't any announcements with timescales etc. I'm after some advice, should I invest in one of the Bitcoin related companies to get Bitcoin exposure, or open up an account with someone like e.toro and invest directly into Bitcoin?

Appreciate any thoughts you have.

Thanks 

Linton

I think you should avoid putting any money that really matters into bitcoin and you dont rely on it to make a significant difference to your life.

Kiran

Linton said:

I think you should avoid putting any money that really matters into bitcoin and you dont rely on it to make a significant difference to your life.

Thanks, and I agree. As I said, I'll equate it to buying £50/month of lottery tickets and consider the cost to be packed lunches over meal deals etc. It is speculative, has the potential to compound well, but understanding fully that it could turn to nothing, I won't be forced into a life of eating Tesco Value baked beans.

onomatopoeia99

Linton said:

I think you should avoid putting any money that really matters into bitcoin and you dont rely on it to make a significant difference to your life.

Strange you seem to have repeated the OP's acknowledgement of risks using a different formulation of words to advise them of the risks that they have already acknowledged.

Why would you (or anyone) do that?

MMMee

I did a while ago, and it was fun as I only used £50pm (like you) and had the same approach.

I actually made a couple of grand*** thru sheer luck and then bailed out.

Being sensible I then put it into Evraz, just before Russia went into Ukraine.

There are many kinds of risks, I guess

*** EDIT: Apologies - I made somewhere between a few hundred and a grand, managed to confuse myself there! 

Exodi

Or coinbase, the largest crypto exchange (crypto purists will of course proclaim "not your keys, not your coins").

Many on this forum are anti-bitcoin, but if you understand the risks (which you appear to) and aren't relying on it for your retirement (as you appear not to be!), I genuinely wish you the best of luck.

la531983

Exodi said:

Or coinbase, the largest crypto exchange (crypto purists will of course proclaim "not your keys, not your coins").
.

Exodus wallet be the way to go, can just buy £50pm via one of their approved partners (currently Blockchain or Moonpay). Wallet is yours, keys are yours

Albermarle

£50 in company stocks and £50 which I class as my speculative pot

Investing in individual company shares is also very risky and speculative. These can also fall dramatically.

So in fact of the £500, you will be investing £100 speculatively.

Vitor

I bought BTC using Paypal before they stopped offering that, now using Revolut. I more than doubled my money on the initial purchase (I bought the day after SBF was arrested, hoping that would be a dip)

Regular monthly purchases should mean you come out ahead, but BTC's volatility rewards buying on the dips.

Kiran

la531983 said:

Exodi said:

Or coinbase, the largest crypto exchange (crypto purists will of course proclaim "not your keys, not your coins").
.

Exodus wallet be the way to go, can just buy £50pm via one of their approved partners (currently Blockchain or Moonpay). Wallet is yours, keys are yours

Thanks both , I'll look into both Coinbase and Exodus.

Appreciate your input. 

Kiran

Albermarle said:

£50 in company stocks and £50 which I class as my speculative pot

Investing in individual company shares is also very risky and speculative. These can also fall dramatically.

So in fact of the £500, you will be investing £100 speculatively.

The £50 is stocks is invested in one of the pies, so I suppose it is a bit more like a fund as I'm not picking the stocks individually. I do take your point though, I'm happy with the stocks though, and I can see the trends, while being mindful that past performance doesn't guarantee future success! So would still keep my £50 in Bitcoin as the speculative funds