It’s Not Just Bitcoin: Four Great Ways to Crypto Invest

If the news channels and papers are your guide, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everything cryptocurrency-related was Bitcoin. When they talk of the emerging or growing trend of investing in virtual payment systems, Bitcoin is usually the only currency mentioned. And as, in serious tones, they ask soul-searching questions about whether we’re floating in a cryptocurrency bubble which is about to burst and shower investors in untold misery (the conclusion they reach is usually ‘no’, by the way), they all use Bitcoin as the benchmark and example. There’s a good reason for this: it was the first cryptocurrency to be created and is still the best known (largely due to the constant media attention), but there are other ways to benefit from the Crypto craze. So, what do you get, if you look beyond Bitcoin?

Crypto Mania — How It All Began

It was in 2009 that Bitcoin first emerged into a startled market: What? Someone just created a currency? But it didn’t take long to become both established and ignored.

Those within the tech community saw it for what it was meant to be: a convenient way to simplify online transactions.

Almost everyone else saw it for what it has turned out not to be: a novelty blip that would fade away unnoticed, leaving no marks on the economic ecosystem.

A few very clever — or, perhaps arguably, very lucky — investors saw it for what it has become: a genuine currency with a valuable future, which had (and has) the potential to change the face of money.

For the first few years, Bitcoin pootled along doing what it was intended to do. A few flaws were discovered and later rectified through enhancing the blockchain security protocols. It gained and lost value according to demand, fluctuating between US$50 and US$280 per coin, but nothing unexpected happened, until 28 November 2013, when Bitcoin surpassed the US$1,000 mark. By early 2015, prices had once again fallen to US$200, but then began a rapid climb. At the time of writing, Bitcoin has a value of in excess of US$8,000 per coin, but they are no longer alone in the market.

In 2011, Bitcoin’s open source code was used to generate other cryptocurrencies. First a trickle, and then a stream. Some have faded while others have found success, meaning that there are currently more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies on the market, and they are being used for all sorts of things; from paying for virtual services, through funding company startups via ICO, to ‘real world’ purchases.

Cryptocurrencies are no longer viewed as a passing techie phase which will fade away if nobody looks at them. They are now considered to be both an ostensible threat to the existing fiscal ecosystem, and a sound investment, and have been responsible for making more than one millionaire.

Bitcoin Millionaires

Everyone has heard stories about early crypto investors who have made it big; the high school drop-out with the multi-million-dollar fortune; the money launderer who began his crypto investment career at age 11 and is now the proud owner of US$45 million; oh, and not to mention the FBI (maybe it’s always best not to mention the FBI!): they sound apocryphal, but they’re actually entirely true.

Eric Finman bought his first Bitcoins when they were selling for just US$12. He made a few canny trades and when he first came to the media’s attention back in August 2017, he was in possession of 403 Bitcoins and nothing even approaching a high school certificate! At that point, Bitcoins were valued at US$2,700, putting his fortune at US$1.9million. Who knows if he kept hold of his stash, but if he did, it would now be worth US$3.2million.

Jered Kenna is probably most famous for losing his Bitcoin fortune through a phone hacking incident, but prior to that, he had racked up a Bitcoin fortune in excess of US$30million, having started buying the cryptocurrency when it was selling for 20 cents.

Or convicted money launderer, Charlie Shrem, began buying Bitcoins when he was very young, and established BitInstant when he was just 11 years old, slowly raking in a Bitcoin fortune of US$45 million.

Then you have the good guy, Roger Ver (AKA The Bitcoin Jesus), a guy who was already wealthy when he invested big in Bitcoin, and now claims a US$54million Bitcoin fortune, which he uses to ‘angel invest’ and assist charities.

These are just four examples of Bitcoiners who hit the big time, but if you Google ‘Bitcoin millionaires’ you’ll find hundreds of examples. And the one thing that they all have in common is that they bought their coins before they became popular, and it’s this that makes other cryptocurrencies so exciting.

Beyond Bitcoin

While Bitcoin could continue to rise — some analysts predict that it could peak at US$100,000 — unless you have a lot of capital to your name, the time for making a killing with Bitcoin is now over, but there are other currencies showing a high degree of potential.

Ethereum (ETH/Ether) was launched in 2015. While it is like Bitcoin in that it’s a cryptocurrency, it has different purposes and capabilities. While Bitcoin uses blockchain technology to track coin ownership, Ethereum uses ‘smart contracts’ to decentralise applications, so as well as being a tradeable currency, Ether is also used by app developers to pay for services and transaction fees on the Ethereum network. A crowd-sourced cryptocurrency, many people were dubious about Ethereum’s potential for success, and it had a bit of a slow start. However, although Ether started the year with a value of US$10, at the time of writing, it is valued at US$372, and most experts believe that this is just the beginning.

Litecoin models itself on Bitcoin, but has tailored its blockchain to enable a higher transaction volume. It was released in 2011, and so is one of the most enduring cryptocurrencies around, after Bitcoin, but is still an affordable option for investors, currently selling for US$70. In spite of this, Litecoin is still ranked fifth in the world’s cryptocurrencies, with a market cap of $2.56 billion, and the value has increased by more than 700% this year alone.

Zcash is another cryptocurrency with a rising value. In January, it was trading for US$30, at the time of writing it is trading for US$300. Again, this is a currency built upon a framework very similar to Bitcoin, but Zcash carries an additional feature in its blockchain: anonymity. With Bitcoin, if you know a holder’s address you can follow their transactions, with ZCash all the information is encrypted, so types, value, and parties to transactions are all anonymous, which understandably holds considerable appeal for high-volume investors and users. It is this element that makes some people think that Zcash could be the next big thing.

With more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies on the market, we’ve not the time, space or patience to talk you through them all, but this gives you the idea of the scale of potential out there, and that’s even before we’ve left the realm of direct currency investments and day trades.

Beyond Cryptocurrencies

Of course, directly trading in currency is just the start of the crypto investment potential, and it leads directly to the ICO.

ICOs, or initial coin offerings, are the stocks and shares of the digital world. If a tech startup is looking for funds, or an established tech firm is looking to expand, then rather than going through the gruelling process of traditional small business loan application (and probable rejection), they will launch an ICO, issuing tokens to interested parties in return for a crypto investment. With startups, the risks can be great, so it’s important to put in the hard yards of research before you commit, but if you invest well, the rewards can be correspondingly high. The best way to protect your investment, however, is to find a safer bet, in the form of a going concern.

FastInvest has been in operation since 2015 and now has more than 8,500 P2P (peer to peer) lending investors working through its platform. It’s FastInvest’s demonstrable track record and sound business plan which make this such a unique investment opportunity in the crypto ecosystem, but FastInvest doesn’t entirely stand alone in this, and with research it’s possible to get ahead of other investors and put your funds into crypto assets before they become popular.

For some, Bitcoin will be the beginning and end of their crypto investment knowledge. And that’s fair enough. If you’ve made a mint already, why bother dabbling in new markets? And if new markets — or anything remotely ‘tech’ — scare you, then there’s still fiat investments to attract your cash, albeit at a lower interest rate. Crypto investment is for future investors, and investors in the future, both. It’s for people who want to be part of something big, while enjoying the potential to get something big in return. Bitcoin, for the present, does seem to be the safest bet, but if you look at the history of investment through the ages, there have always been new Bitcoins, Apples, and Facebooks emerging, it’s just taken a bit of luck and a bit of sound judgement to get a stake at the optimum moment.