Faces of Crypto: Anja Schuetz
The cryptocurrency world has sparked large online and offline communities of early adopters fascinated by the potential of blockchain technology. Many investors come from non-traditional backgrounds and have reinvented themselves, found friends, and even become household names within certain circles. Crypto enthusiasts come from all corners of the globe, from all walks of life.
Over the next few weeks, Stayawhile will give members of the community the opportunity to share their stories in their own words.
Today we spoke with Anja Schuetz, a German crypto investor who has lived in California, Ireland and the Netherlands and is currently based in Berlin. Anja became immersed in the cryptocurrency world last year and has since transitioned her personal business as a coach and consultant towards mentoring others interested in investing in crypto.
She also runs a German blog called “Follow Your Joy” aimed at people who want to live a self-directed life and explore their spirituality.
What turned you onto cryptocurrency in the first place?
In 2016 I was taking a (traditional) trading and investment course, because I wanted to learn alternative ways to grow my money (since we receive practically no interest from the banks anymore). One of the participants asked about Bitcoin one day, and the trainer warned him about it and told him not to touch it. Too volatile, too little history.
I thought, “Don’t we like volatility in trading??” And so I checked it out. I remembered I had heard about it two years earlier, but dismissed it as “online gambling money for nerds” then. Now, armed with a lot more knowledge about how our money system works, I finally understood the huge paradigm shift Bitcoin presents.
It still took me months to actually buy my first Bitcoin, because I literally knew no one else who had any experience with it, and the only trading experts I knew (my trainer and fellow participants), were totally against it.
But after months of studying it, I took the plunge, in early January 2017 and bought my first Bitcoin at around $900. A month later I had made $300 profit. I invested $125 of that in Dash, which turned into $600 within two weeks — all while I was sitting in a hammock in Thailand doing nothing!!!
I was so excited, that I shared my success with my trading group — the only people I knew, who I thought would understand. We had always been encouraged to share good investment opportunities. So I told them, “People, check out cryptocurrencies!! I just made more in 6 weeks, than in the whole past year with traditional assets!”
Instead of receiving a response, the trainer kicked me out immediately. I guess he really really didn’t like Bitcoin.
I, on the other hand, had so much confidence in it, that I took out all my investments that I had made during the course and sold them with a loss of around $300. I didn’t care because I knew I would make it back in no time if I put it all in cryptocurrencies. And indeed I did, very quickly.
Is this your day job or your side hustle?
Investing (and a tiny bit of trading) is a side hustle. However I am turning the subject of “crypto” into my day job now.
I have been self-employed for almost 10 years as a coach and online business management consultant, and I am in the process of shifting all my services to crypto related projects now.
I have started to teach women online entrepreneurs how to get started with crypto, both 1:1 and also in my Conscious Crypto Community. I have also written a Beginner’s Guide to Steemit, which is available on Fiverr and getting great reviews.
I am also focusing my consulting services on crypto now and hope to only work with crypto related companies/clients from now on. I thoroughly believe the blockchain will change the world, and I only want to do things that I am 100% aligned with anymore.
What is your favorite cryptocurrency?
Dash
How did you find out about it?
I came across Dash School on Youtube, which gave me my whole initial crypto education in less than an hour. It’s a series of 6 short videos which explain in very simple terms what the blockchain is, how it works, and of course also all the details about Dash and how it’s different from Bitcoin and others. Dash School is perfect for crypto newbies — I highly recommend it!
The fact that the host (or teacher) of Dash School was a woman, got me even more interested. This cryptocurrency seemed a little more inclusive to me than others, which are still made of 99% men. Since everything she explained resonated so deeply with me, I decided to join the Dashnation Slack community, which has become my crypto home ever since.
In the meantime I have even become an official “Dash ambassador”, which blends in really nicely with my business, as it allows me to reach out to women entrepreneurs and give free intro sessions and webinars, help them to install wallets and even send them some free Dash. Is there a better job than giving away free money?
Who do you respect most in the crypto world?
In general, people that give me the feeling they authentically and truly want to make the world a better place, instead of only getting rich themselves.
Evan Duffield, the founder of Dash wants to end corruption in the world. That is what drives him. He, as well as Ryan Taylor, the CEO of the Dash Core DAO — and pretty much every person in a visible position of the Dash organization — strike me as highly conscious and authentic human beings. This consciousness spreads throughout the whole community. Everyone is inherently motivated to spread Dash in the world, and it’s amazing to see the good work that is being done in Africa and especially Venezuela, where cryptocurrencies don’t just present a nice investment but are actually solving real current problems right now.
I am also following Dan Larimer (Bitshares, Steemit, EOS), who wants everyone on the planet to be free and able to do and earn an income from whatever they want.
And then there’s Andreas Antonopoulos who seems to tirelessly travel the world and educate, educate, educate.
Do you think cryptocurrencies are overhyped?
I’m not enough of an expert to have an educated answer to that. My gut, however, says No. I’m sure there are a number of individual cryptocurrencies that are overhyped, but the cryptospace as a whole — no. I really believe we are witnessing a paradigm shift of our society, and that “bubble” — if it is one — has not even properly begun. I think we will only see something resembling a bubble once the mainstream truly embraces it.
What do your friends think of your crypto investments?
They have rolled their eyes and shaken their heads about me for about a year, thinking I’m “going through a phase” or something. But now, one by one they are beginning to ask me about this “Bitcom” thing I keep talking about ;)
The phrase “First they ask you why you’re doing it, then they ask you how you did it” comes to mind.
Have you made friends through crypto?
Yes! I have made many new online-friends in the Dashnation Slack channel, as well as locally at Steemit- and Bitcoin meetups. I’m lucky enough to live in Berlin, where you can attend a different crypto meetup pretty much every day. It really feels like being part of a movement, and like I actually get to participate in creating a better world. It’s great to share this with other like-minded people.
On average, how much do you buy of any one crypto?
I don’t really have an average, but roughly three categories:
My highest investments are in the ones I believe in with my heart & soul, which are Dash and Bitcoin. I invested in Dash Masternode shares, which require a minimum of 25 Dash.
Then there are maybe 3 or 4, which I also believe in, but don’t have nearly as much knowledge about, so I’ve only invested $100-$300 in each.
And then, what I do for fun, is invest tiny amounts in any cheap coin that sounds interesting and gives me a 1,000 coins for under $10. I figure, if they flop I won’t care, because I only lost $10. But if they succeed, I will be very happy I own 1,000 of them one day.
Do you trade with a bot/program?
No. I consider myself an investor more than a trader. Of course I do buy and sell quickly, when I spot an opportunity, but that might only happen once every couple of weeks.
Do you read technical charts?
Yes, that’s the one thing I took away from that course I got kicked out of. All I do is draw support and resistance lines, though. Even though I do like the sound of magical words like “Fibonacci retracements”, I believe we can analyze ourselves to death — in the end the market will follow its own rules. My intuition and support lines are my best friends and I have literally “bought the dip” a number of times thanks to them.
How do you do your due diligence on ICOs?
I don’t. With the exception of EOS, I simply skip ICO’s because I can’t judge a coin at such an early stage and I believe most of them really are just hypes. I’m in this for the longterm, so I don’t mind if I miss out on some short term gains — there will be plenty of opportunities for me to multiply my money longterm. I made an exception in EOS’ case, because Dan Larimer already has quite a track record with his other projects, which gave me confidence in this new one.
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