Should we Invest in Crypto? — Beginners Story
Cyptocurrency is new to me, I got into it recently while planning a campaign for one of the Crypto platforms — CoinDCX. If you wish to start trading, check out CoinDCX app — https://bit.ly/3ii1NAu and use code 20EK100 to get free Bitcoins worth Rs 100 to begin with!
Coming back to Crypto, simply put as a lay man — it is a digital asset or a digital medium of exchange. There is a lot of talk about this everywhere as people buy Crypto today with a hope that it becomes a legal tender (like in countries like El Salvador) and the value might just be a lot more than what is invested today. A more technical definition taken from Wikipedia says -
A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership.
If we check facts, Bitcoin (claimed as the first crypto) was trading at $1 in 2011. Its value today, in 2021, is $36,036 — wow that’s huge! Isn’t it? Well yes, super high returns have caught eyes of many investors from students to professionals who are investing pocket money to bigger sum in Crypto.
While it gives second thoughts on keeping money in our bank accounts, but this is just one part of the story. Crypto comes in with lots of risk and constant changes in market rates. In fact in last 2 months, Crypto market has crashed twice. Few weeks ago, $500 Bn was wiped off the Crypto market within a span of 2 hours.
Keeping money in bank account is safer, right? Well, yes, but if you want to grow it, you will have to invest it. I have previously talked about how important is it to have a passive source of income — read here. Share market, SIPs, other traditional opportunities are known to us but Crypto is new. Lot of people refrain from getting into it due to the fluctuations but some of it also comes from the following myths:
- It is not safe — Yes, but remember, even mutual funds are subject to market risk, please read the documents before investing. Similarly, while Crypto might not be a secured investment, it is a high risk high return one. If you really want to get into it — read more about it, talk to people, get expert ideas, analyze and then take calls.
- RBI has banned Crypto in India — No. This is a grey area. RBI has nor banned, neither accepted it yet. In fact, recently few banks issued warning to their customers for Crypto trading. RBI issued a clarification around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading, informing banks that they cannot warn customers against trading, using an old order. This boosted the confidence of Crypto traders. Read more about this, here.
- It is illegal in India — No. Cryptocurrencies are not illegal in India yet. India does not have a regulatory framework to govern cryptocurrencies as of now. The government had constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on November 2, 2017, to study virtual currencies. A conclusion is not yet made, but till it’s not illegal, we can consider it to be legal and hence it shouldn’t stop us from trading.
So, with multiple crashes, many people seek an opportunity to buy Crypto at much lower cost and make an immediate return. Is it advised to do so? What is the right time to invest? I am not an expert to answer this but it is true that returns are instant. What I personally apply is to invest lower amount till the time I am exploring all of this and once my knowledge is built regarding Crypto, I might take higher risks, given the market conditions later then. I would advice something similar to the readers — it is not easy, you need to devote a lot of time, study the trend, maybe follow Elon Musk’s Twitter handle (yes he makes frequent comments, and lot of people feel that he ends up controlling the trend too) and last in depth knowledge before you put your money.
If you want to explore more and start trading, I recommend CoinDCX as a platform to begin with. You just need to sign up here -https://bit.ly/3ii1NAu, download the app and apply code 20EK100 to get free Bitcoins worth Rs 100.
PS: Off topic — I also run a Telegram group where you get real time updates on top online deals which you can buy or recommend to others. Please join here.
