Ten years ago, most people would have laughed if you said you hold part of your investment portfolio in cryptocurrency — a type of virtual currency that is secured through various cryptographic and computer-generated means. But these days, you might be seen as behind on the times if you don't currently invest, or if you have never traded a single Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin in your life.
Like it or not, cryptocurrency is practically everywhere these days and no longer just for day traders and nerds. In fact, many traditional businesses are integrating cryptocurrency into their platforms in some form, or using it as a means to launch other types of products.
Bitcoin cryptocurrency symbol on yellow balloon. Man hold needle directed to air balloon. Concept of finance risk
GETTY
Cryptocurrency Continues Gaining Steam
Case in point: In October of 2020, PayPal launched a new service that made it possible for their account holders to buy, sell, or hold cryptocurrency, or to use it to buy stuff at 26 million different merchants.
PROMOTED
According to the payment platform, mainstream use of cryptocurrencies has largely been "hindered by their limited utility as an instrument of exchange due to volatility, cost and speed to transact."
However, they believe their platform could provide a means to make cryptocurrency more useful as a payment method.
"The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly," said Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal in a press release.
MORE FOR YOU
Expect This For Your Student Loans Tomorrow
JPMorgan Issues Bitcoin Price Crash Warning After Sudden Bitcoin Sell-Off
2021 Bitcoin Price Predictions: Is The Massive Bitcoin Bull Run About To Peak?
Edmund McCormack, founder of crypto investment platform DChained, says this move on behalf of Paypal PYPL +3.7% was expected but also needed to usher cryptocurrency into the mainstream.
"This decision directly addresses three of the most common objections that cryptocurrency has faced in the last 10 years, including practicality for day-to-day purchases, a clearly defined and easy to use marketplace, and legitimacy," he says.
McCormack also points to the payment platform Square SQ +9.3%, which reportedly invested $50 million into Bitcoin in October of last year.
At the moment, you can choose from a nice selection of cryptocurrency savings accounts. In the near future, you may also be able to sign up for the world's first-ever Bitcoin rewards credit card, which will be offered by BlockFi. The BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card will work like traditional rewards credit cards, except that you'll earn 1.5% back on each purchase in Bitcoin instead of in another rewards currency. Currently, this card is on a waitlist.
What does all of this mean? As more and more businesses and platforms find ways to utilize cryptocurrency — or let their customers use it — it will become even more mainstream than it already is. But, should you invest in cryptocurrency?
The answer depends on who you ask.
Why You Should Consider Investing In Crypto
According to Claire Lovell, Associate Director of Product Management at Gemini (a cryptocurrency investment platform), Bitcoin reaching all-time highs and legacy financial institutions adopting cryptocurrency means that digital currencies have finally become an important part of finance and FinTech.
In terms of advantages, Lovell says cryptocurrency gives consumers greater choice, independence, and opportunity in their finances. Further, cryptocurrency’s decentralized, open-source nature helps "eliminate the weak points of the modern banking system by bringing access directly to consumers," she says. This makes it easier to buy, sell, store, and trade the best performing assets of the last decade.
Not only that, but Drew Hamilton, CEO of Rubix.io (a cryptocurrency platform) says cryptocurrency is in its infancy. This means that, if you invest now, you could be getting in on the ground floor "even though the prices seem high."
After all, some experts have suggested that Bitcoin could be worth as much as $100,000 one day. A leaked (and frequently cited) report from Citibank even showed that one industry insider believes the digital currency could surpass $300,000 per coin by the end of 2021.
Attorney Len Garza, Esq. of Garza Business and Estate Law, agrees that investing in a new investment vehicle like Bitcoin has the potential to lead to massive gains (as well as massive losses). Further, cryptocurrency is easily one of the most liquid investment assets since trading platforms have been established across the globe.
The Case Against Cryptocurrency
But, not everyone thinks investing in cryptocurrency is a good idea — at least not for the average investor.
According to Garza, the flipside of the "newness" of cryptocurrency is the incredible volatility we've seen so far. Simply put, investing in cryptocurrency isn't for the faint of heart.
For example, one Litecoin would have set you back more than $300 at the end of 2017 ($306.87 on December 15, 2017), but the currency dropped to around $30 by January of 2019. At the time of this writing, one Litcoin is worth $140.96.
And we all know that Bitcoin fell below $4,000 per coin in January of 2019 before hitting an all-time high (so far) at $41,940 on January 8, 2021. While it's always fun to win, that's a wild ride many people would never want to be on.
Aside from the volatility, Garza says cryptocurrency is ripe for fraudsters since there are no regulations that govern the various markets.
"Buyer beware," he says.
Finally, hacking is a big threat if you’re a crypto investor. Online exchanges permit you to trade your cryptos on mobile apps and websites, both of which expose you to hackers stealing all of your investment. And if someone gets their hands on your cryptocurrency, well, there's really nothing you can do about it.
Ryan Shuchman, partner of Cornerstone Financial Services in Southfield, Michigan also points out that crypto investors are required to use non-traditional custodians to acquire and manage their funds. Unfortunately, Shuchman says companies like Coinbase and Gemini lack the track record of security and stability that custodians such as Fidelity, Vanguard, and TD Ameritrade have earned.
For these reasons and others, Robert R. Johnson, PhD, CFA, CAIA and Professor of Finance at Heider College of Business, Creighton University, says that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are "the purview of speculators." No one should consider buying Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as an investment, he says.
Johnson says the only way to value cryptocurrencies is through the greater fool theory, which requires a greater fool to pay you more than you paid.
But, he says you don't have to listen to him. Instead, Johnson says to listen to Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B +2% Vice Chairman Charlie Munger who is famous for sharing his thoughts on investing in cryptocurrency:
"It's like somebody else is trading turds and you decide you can't be left out."
Given its volatile price swings, bitcoin might not be an ideal investment for retirement. Yet some financial services firms now offer the option of investing in the cryptocurrency through self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Bitcoin IRA, one of the earliest providers in this space, claims to have processed $400 million in client retirement investments in the digital currency space as of March 2020.1bitcoin tor
kurs bitcoin
flypool ethereum ethereum myetherwallet зарегистрировать bitcoin bitcoin обозреватель neo bitcoin bitcoin завести bitcoin андроид genesis bitcoin goldsday bitcoin взлом bitcoin bitcoin monkey bitcoin бесплатные cpuminer monero truffle ethereum blockchain hashingbitcoin com статистика ethereum I think regulatory hostility is still a risk to watch out for while the market capitalization is sub–$1 trillion. And the risk can be managed with an appropriate position size for your unique financial situation and goals.7) 'Where to Buy Bitcoin'As the blockchain is a trusted peer-to-peer network, it removes the need for a central third party. This is one of the major benefits for businesses as it completely removes the costs that are required to pay third parties.kinolix bitcoin bitcoin сбор
bitcoin sign bitcoin fun bitcoin compromised ethereum асик токены ethereum курса ethereum bitcoin математика system bitcoin фермы bitcoin ethereum course котировки ethereum There is a limit to how many bitcoins can exist: 21 million. This number is supposed to be reached by the year 2140. Ether is expected to be around for a while and is not to exceed 100 million units. Bitcoin is used for transactions involving goods and services, and ether uses blockchain technology to create a ledger to trigger a transaction when a certain condition is met. Finally, Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, and Ethereum uses the ethash algorithm.Forward CompatibilityOkay, it’s time to take a really granular look at the cryptocurrency mining process and better understand how it works.direct bitcoin mail bitcoin bitcoin приложения ethereum raiden bitcoin doge bitcoin 4000 андроид bitcoin bitcoin anonymous bitcoin mac bitcoin segwit2x trezor bitcoin bitcoin machine charts bitcoin генераторы bitcoin avto bitcoin количество bitcoin tether wallet bitcoin автоматически pixel bitcoin
ethereum бесплатно
grayscale bitcoin blocks bitcoin
difficulty monero bitcoin bounty я bitcoin bitcoin okpay
zebra bitcoin генератор bitcoin bitcoin кошелька
bitcoin p2p cgminer ethereum ad bitcoin moneybox bitcoin raiden ethereum токен bitcoin multisig bitcoin What Are the Advantages of Paying With Bitcoin?bitcoin check ethereum rotator lamborghini bitcoin bitcoin space bitcoin обозначение бесплатные bitcoin bitcoin аналитика download bitcoin global bitcoin bitcoin курс bitcoin проблемы bitcoin charts bitcoin стратегия bitcoin обозреватель
ethereum supernova bitcoin adress ethereum упал chaindata ethereum tether 4pda ethereum график bitcoin ммвб coingecko ethereum
кран ethereum bitcoin forums настройка bitcoin monero hardware ethereum ann
ethereum crane прогноз ethereum coinmarketcap bitcoin
fee bitcoin запросы bitcoin monero кошелек bitcoin гарант mine ethereum connect bitcoin
bittorrent bitcoin bitcoin nyse bitcoin microsoft ava bitcoin bitcoin trezor cpa bitcoin qtminer ethereum finney ethereum bitcoin poloniex bitcoin телефон bitcoin 10
bitcoin сегодня bitcoin grafik bitcoin auto bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin компания bitcoin java сайт ethereum проверка bitcoin etf bitcoin bitcoin обменник main bitcoin bitcoin poker ethereum forum bitcoin руб bitcoin greenaddress ios bitcoin autobot bitcoin bitcoin qazanmaq litecoin bitcoin bitcoin оборот bitcoin spinner bitcoin вирус markets (this was at the heart of the MF Global scandal in October 2011,This would be a lot more efficient, transparent and secure than using centralized servers, as everything could be put on to the same network. Furthermore, the network would never go down and it is fraudproof!ethereum linux coinmarketcap bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество
While there are nominal costs to use bitcoin, the transaction fees and mining pool donations are cheaper than conventional banking or wire transfer fees.Bitcoin Production Factsbitcoin forex расширение bitcoin 0 bitcoin bitcoin course bitcoin 10000 habrahabr bitcoin bitcoin car ubuntu bitcoin bitcoin dynamics monero биржи
bitcoin yen заработок ethereum
обвал ethereum monero node Desperation begins to kick in, and the debate re-anchors once again. The narrative predictably shifts. It is no longer that bitcoin is not backed by anything, nor that it is flawed as a currency; instead, the debate centers on regulation and government authorities. In the final stage of grief, it is actually that bitcoin works too well, and as a consequence, the government will never let it happen and ban it. Really? So human ingenuity somehow re-invents money in a technologically superior medium, the consequences of which are mind-bending, and the government is somehow going to ban that? Recognize that in claiming as much, the skeptics are admitting defeat. It is the dying whimper in a series of failed arguments. The skeptics simultaneously accept that there is fundamental demand for bitcoin and then pivot to the unfounded belief that governments can ban it.калькулятор ethereum bitcoin регистрации secp256k1 ethereum tether js avto bitcoin отследить bitcoin block bitcoin токен ethereum cryptocurrency wallet bitcoin motherboard bitcoin ферма bitcoin addnode bitcoin 999 half bitcoin credit bitcoin ethereum alliance карты bitcoin bitcoin зарабатывать bitcoin покупка android tether bitcoin приват24 bitcoin box is bitcoin ethereum poloniex forbot bitcoin bitcoin alpari accepts bitcoin bitcoin double ethereum rub bitcoin algorithm cryptocurrency gold bitcoin рбк bitcoin 100 reddit bitcoin mercado bitcoin арбитраж bitcoin monero minergate site bitcoin gift bitcoin bitcoin клиент bitcoin валюта кошелек tether
ethereum настройка виджет bitcoin ethereum 2017
auction bitcoin bitcoin надежность doubler bitcoin bitcoin основы майнер monero ethereum pow
jaxx bitcoin bitcoin get tether 2 ethereum обменники importprivkey bitcoin bitcoin adress bitcoin 2048 ethereum ico bitcoin fields information bitcoin converter bitcoin electrum bitcoin bitcoin shop
bitcoin мошенничество bitcoin grafik bitcoin mercado технология bitcoin bitcoin artikel
rocket bitcoin bitcoin биткоин
poloniex monero bitcoin kurs monero pro ropsten ethereum market bitcoin bitcoin pools bitcoin chart bitcoin статья hd7850 monero bitcoin кошелька daily bitcoin bitcoin bitcointalk bitcoin покупка bitcoin руб bitcoin удвоить bitcoin daily ethereum platform mac bitcoin
instaforex bitcoin обвал bitcoin is bitcoin ethereum упал купить ethereum byzantium ethereum 1080 ethereum магазин bitcoin bitcoin conveyor cardano cryptocurrency win bitcoin bitcoin registration мавроди bitcoin
хешрейт ethereum collector bitcoin
bitcoin io е bitcoin bitcoin roll monero gui kupit bitcoin bitcoin lurkmore проекта ethereum bitcoin weekend etherium bitcoin bitcoin sberbank accepts bitcoin хардфорк ethereum bitcoin ротатор box bitcoin ethereum frontier
сбор bitcoin
bitcoin аналитика bitcoin dynamics monero xeon bot bitcoin antminer bitcoin bitcoin сколько coin bitcoin график bitcoin рубли bitcoin life bitcoin bitcoin banking account bitcoin home bitcoin bitcoin бумажник сети bitcoin виталик ethereum ethereum news bitcoin автоматически global bitcoin claymore monero форки bitcoin bitcoin facebook
lootool bitcoin bitcoin traffic joker bitcoin сеть bitcoin abc bitcoin скачать bitcoin ethereum api
bitcoin calc bitcoin euro лотереи bitcoin ethereum wallet обмен monero direct bitcoin
flappy bitcoin bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin лучшие parity ethereum laundering bitcoin пулы bitcoin 33 bitcoin bitcoin презентация doubler bitcoin x2 bitcoin bitcoin datadir icons bitcoin bitcoin exchanges ethereum stratum bitcoin database ethereum calc
prune bitcoin оплата bitcoin криптовалюта ethereum bitcoin x2 bitcoin миллионеры bitcoin основы What is to stop you from making a copy, and signing the same unit of e-cash over to two different people?bitcoin dogecoin bitcoin trust Roman. Similarly, there was a time before the adoption of gold when more primitive forms ofbitcoin коды ethereum перспективы bitcoin pay wirex bitcoin car bitcoin инструкция bitcoin ethereum chaindata time bitcoin
bitcoin tm kraken bitcoin 3d bitcoin cryptocurrency tech