Savings Account vs Crypto Investments: What’s More Profitable?
Some of my friends have invested in crypto and are waiting patiently for their future fortunes. Others are still not convinced. Yet the skeptics keep asking me about crypto investments and whether they can be profitable.
Is it really worth it?
Do you have proof?
Wouldn’t it be more reasonable if I just open a savings account?
So I decided it’s about time we count the expenses and compare these two investment methods. The risks, however, are still on you.
Savings Accounts
The current state of affairs with savings accounts not only in the US, but also in the rest of the world, is getting worse. Right now when the economy is not in its best state, interest rates are dropping.
Let’s say you have $150 to invest per month and you’ll be doing it for a year.
In the US, most bank deposits are situated in banks with 0.10% rates on savings accounts. Or even lower. The same goes for national banks, their standard rate is also 0.10%. This would make you just $1.8 at the end of a year on a $1,800 balance.
A high-yield savings account at Citibank with a 1.55% annual percentage yield will land you $15 if you deposit $150 per month in the course of one year.
As for the CD rates, they also aren’t impressive and usually, the minimum amount of the initial deposit should be no less than $500. So our little plan to start investing small is doomed to failure.
No matter which way you cut it, with only $150 monthly investments, you won’t get far in your money-making journey, at least in the US.
Some of the most economically stable countries in Europe are even worse. In Germany, your interest rate will be 0%, and in Switzerland, you might even have to pay the bank for your savings account.
Crypto Investment
The situation with crypto is, as ever, tricky. If you’d started implementing the same scheme with $150 monthly investments and had been buying Bitcoin for a year, starting from May 2019, you’d have ended up down 13.7%. That being said, we’ve taken into consideration the commission fee while buying BTC.
The total amount of BTC bought (0.1585048774) x Price of BTC today (9800) / USD spent (1800) = ~ 0.863
But that’s why everyone tells you to hold on to your crypto savings and do not panic sell, you won’t profit anyway. If we do the same trick with the two years’ numbers, we’d yield 22.55%.
The total amount of BTC bought (0.4501933698) x Price of BTC today (9800) / USD spent (3600) = ~ 1.2255
This means that the longer you hold, the better the odds. Unless something unexpected happens.
Conclusion
Many governments around the world encourage people to invest in the economy and that’s why you won’t make millions by keeping your money in a savings account.
One year of holdings is still too short a period of time to make a conclusion and determine the value, and with crypto, it has proven to be loss-making. Two years of Bitcoin holding, in turn, would have yielded you 22% in profits, not to mention five years. In case you’re interested, five-year-long monthly Bitcoin purchases would make you a mind-blowing 644.11% profit.
Just don’t get carried away, use this information to plan and reflect. Cryptocurrency is not your average investment tool, it is a risk asset.
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Originally published at https://blog.lumiwallet.com on May 21, 2020.
