The Bitcoin hype is very real — everyone is trying to get a piece of the action.
It’s every investor’s dream to be a part of something with such astounding returns. Bitcoin started out 2017 with a price around $1,000, and right now, it’s sitting around $18,350. That’s roughly a 1,735% increase since the beginning of the year.
Everyone who invested in the cryptocurrency at the beginning of the year is probably pinching themselves right now.
Professional and first-time investors are going absolutely crazy about Bitcoin. And it has some people acting a little irrationally.
Amateur investors are risking everything to be a part of the craze. Some are even taking out mortgages on their homes, running up credit cards, or turning to equity lines just to get a piece of the action.
This is not what you should be doing, ever. I repeat: EVER…
This Isn’t Gambling
That’s investing 101: You never invest when you have everything to lose. If you’re mortgaging your house in order to buy Bitcoin, it might be time to reevaluate your life.
Joseph Borg, securities regulator and president of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), told CNBC that Bitcoin is in its “mania” phase. He also said even though the cryptocurrency just launched the first U.S. Bitcoin futures exchange by CBOE, it doesn’t mean that it’s everything everyone is making it out to be.
Borg said: “We’re looking at it from a money transmission point of view but that doesn’t cover the entire bitcoin space.”
However, what will be here to stay is the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin…
Accept It and Move On
I know, it’s hard to come to terms with that fact that you might have missed out on Bitcoin, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t invest in it through a more effective, safer way. I mean, it won’t be entirely safe (there are no guarantees in investing), but it’ll be safe in a way that won’t make you go into debt.
Borg told CNBC: “We’ve seen mortgages being taken out to buy bitcoin. … People do credit cards, equity lines. This is not something a guy who’s making $100,000 a year, who’s got a mortgage and two kids in college ought to be invested in.”
There’s no reason to risk the roof over your head because you see other people making money from investing in Bitcoin and you want to be a part of the opportunity…
Explore Your Options
In fact, there are other cryptocurrencies on the market that have been rallying ahead as Bitcoin is surging.
If you’re really adamant about being a part of the cryptocurrency market, there are other options out there that will suffice your desire to be a part it.
One example is Litecoin. Litecoin has often been compared to Bitcoin.
Earlier in the year, Charles Bovaird at CoinDesk called Bitcoin and Litecoin “birds of a feather,” insinuating that there is a direct relationship between positive growth in Bitcoin and Litecoin.
Currently, Litecoin is the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency. Last week, it reached a new high of $341.80 before it dipped to $251.22 on December 15th. However, this Monday, it picked back up and was trading above $300.
Litecoin is picking up. It’s getting some recognition that could definitely be mirroring Bitcoin in its earlier days.
It’s obvious that investors worldwide want to dip their toes into the crypto water. And no one wants to miss out on an opportunity that could bring them money they didn’t have before.
But this doesn’t mean that you’ll have to go to extreme measures to invest. You don’t have to mortgage your house or max out your credit cards. In fact, that’s the last thing you should do. You can’t make money if you’re risking your own financial stability.
Until next time,
Jennifer Clark
Pro Trader Today