I Bought Cryptocurrencies

I did it. I finally dipped my toe into the cryptocurrency world. After reading, learning, watching and chatting with others who have already bought into the space I decided it was my turn to buy and average into several of these digital currencies.

 

As with any new venture there was a learning curve and after a lot of reading about the value of cryptocurrencies and whether they are in a bubble, are a currency, have any real value, etc. I came to the conclusion that this is something that is here to stay. While I may not be an early adopter, buying into these currencies today is still akin to the early stages of email and the Internet. Just watch the first minute of the video below and you’ll better understand why I finally decided to invest/speculate.

 

 

I truly feel that the cryptocurrency world is finally coming out of shadows and ever so slowly into the mainstream. There is a long, long, long road ahead before any of these currencies really hits a critical mass. I believe in the coming years we’ll see more applications developed to make buying, selling, trading and using these currencies a lot more easier. Cryptocurrencies today remind me of when I first went online in the early 90s as there was no such thing as a browser (at least a mainstream one). All online activities were text based till the Mosaic browser was introduced as “the world’s first popular browser.” Mosaic made an archaic personal computer easier and more functional to use as did the graphic user interface which gave a face to operating systems and made ‘point and click’ the defacto method for interfacing with computers. I really believe it’s just a matter of time before we look back and reflect on a world before cryptocurrencies existed. Just like we look back at a time before email, before the mainstream Internet, before Amazon, Google, Facebook, iPhones and the like, we’ll wonder how we ever got along without these electronic mediums of exchange. In the meantime, I do not plan to be a cryptocurrency trader. As with my dividend paying stocks I plan to buy and hold a portfolio of these digital currencies and stick to the mainstream names exclusively. With that being said, I used Coinbase (referral link) to make my first $150 total worth of purchases in each of the big three cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. As I stated in the beginning, I dipped my toe. I wanted to see how the process works, the ease of funding and buying with these accounts.

 

The plan going forward it to buy in earnest and average into my holdings of BTC, ETH and LTC with Bitcoin being my largest stake among the three. Ideally, I’d like to own somewhere between two and four Bitcoin and cold store my currencies and forget about them for a few years. I may be very happy with the result or greatly disappointed but one thing I know for sure is that I want to be along for the ride wherever it takes me.

 

I am also looking into other cryptocurrencies such as Dash, Ripple, Monero and Zcash to further diversify my holdings but you know the saying, “One step at a time.” I realize this post may surprise some of you as my investing style has always skewed towards the conservative side and what would a dividend growth investor like myself want anything to do with digital currencies. However, as mentioned above, I truly believe that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and not some Internet fad. Of course, the question of which currency or currencies will reign supreme remains to be determined. Until then, I’m happy to be a part of the movement and go along for the ride.

 

What do you think about cryptocurrencies and their applications? Do you already own or plan to own any digital currencies? Please let me know below.

37 thoughts on “I Bought Cryptocurrencies”

  1. Awesome, congrats! I feel like my situation is very similar to your’s….I’ve been solely focused on dividend growth investing for the past decade, and devoted essentially all of my savings that way. But I also just started investing in crypto currencies, as, like you, I strongly believe this is going to be a great long term investment over the next decade. Right now, the majority of people still think this is a “bubble” or “fad”, and criticize it solely due to not understanding.

    I also started on Coinbase, and have branched out from there to open an account on Bittrex, where its easy to transfer Bitcoin from Coinbase to buy other alt coins. NEO, Dash, Waves, OMG, ARK….there are a LOT of really promising coins on there with bright futures.

    Others can laugh and criticize this space if they want, but its simply naive behavior imo. In 2020 I bet a lot of these people will wish they started investing in 2017 (just like I wish I had started in 2014).

    Good luck!

    Reply
    • Hi Tom,

      It’s nice to see others in the dividend world expanding into other speculative investments with caution. While many still laugh and do not fully understand what these cryptocurrencies can potentially achieve I, like you, believe they can be great long term investments. Sure, it will be a very volatile ride on the way up but I’ll use those inevitable dips to slowly build up my position. I do not plan to trade any currencies rather buy a basket of a few and just hold on and enjoy the ride wherever it takes me. I started with Coinbase to see how it works and now I buy fee free on GDAX by creating limit orders. Good luck to you as well. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi dividendgeek,

      To tell you the truth I don’t know that answer with any degree of certainty. For now, I think nothing is reported but I am sure that will change as Bitcoin and other currencies become more widely held. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  2. I think the direction of growth is UP for all the bit coin, at least in the next 5 years because the demand is super high.

    When people want to bring money from China to invest in US, Canada and Europe. The 100% way to do it is through cryptocurrencies. So the demand is like GOLD, always high.

    I think the crash is also imminent as the Chinese government will catch up with its people. The US will also jump on board with regulating or banning it altogether. That’s a HUGE risk.

    I’ve already FI, I don’t need to jump into more high risk. I’d like something I can count on for the next 100 years or so. hihih… But you can make REAL GOOD money with this.
    Vivianne recently posted…Jessamyn West, A Librarian, Is Suing Equifax and You can Do It, Too!My Profile

    Reply
    • Hi Vivianne,

      I think the direction of Bitcoin and other alt currencies is only up for the foreseeable future. Sure, nothing rises in a straight line. There will be corrections and down days, weeks and months but for the long term I see it going significantly higher. For all the noise Bitcoin is making these days it still accounts for a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the potential worldwide usage and acceptance. I’ll keep buying, cold storing them and just hold on for the ride wherever it takes me. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
  3. Good to know about this. I have been looking into this for a while. I would like to know what is the spread between buy and sell price on Coinbase ?

    Thanks,
    Santy

    Reply
    • Hi Santy,

      Coinbase is a great, easy way to buy your first Bitcoin. It’s super easy to use and very intuitive. That being said, you pay for that ease of use. I started with Coinbase but now buy all my Bitcoin on GDAX. The spread and fees on Coinbase are way too high. On GDAX with a limit order you can buy Bitcoin at its current price with zero fees. Every Coinbase account automatically has a GDAX account. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  4. Welcom to the crypto currency world. I am still kicking myself for not sticking to it back in 2010 when I bought my first bitcoins (I could have been a millionaire by now) but I did get back in and now have about $1,000 in BTC, ETC, and LTC combined. Not much but enough to experiment with. Sonfar LTC seems to be growing the fastest.

    Reply
    • Hi JP,

      I’m happy to be a part of the crypto world. If nothing else, I just wanted to be a part of it all. I started with BTC, LTC and ETH and plan to stick to those three coins for now with Bitcoin being my largest stake. I plan to make incremental buys and own at minimum two Bitcoins and enjoy the ride for the next several years. It’s encouraging to see quite a few of our fellow dividend bloggers jumping into cryptocurrencies. We’re not all ‘boring’ dividend investors. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
    • Hi BHL,

      Sometimes it’s OK to take a risk on something that is not proven. I’m happy to have finally jumped into the Bitcoin mix. I really just want to be a part of the story and see where it goes. By having a stake I feel more involved than just sitting on the sidelines and watching. It won’t be a straight line up but long term I believe there is a lot more room to go. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  5. Bitcoin is really high at the moment and people are really greedy. That usually means it’s going to crash fairly soon. Who really knows though but it could be in store for a long drop back down to $1500. We’ve seen Bitcoin do a similar pattern like this in 2014 and we could be seeing it again. Personally I’m only in Bitconnect right now but I can convert my bitconnect tokens into bitcoin on the bitconnect site. I have an article about it on my site if you’re interested. I may use my earned bitcoin to buy some Genesis mining contracts once they resume bitcoin mining again. Thanks for the update.
    Captain Dividend recently posted…August 2017 Dividend UpdateMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi CD,

      One way or another it seems that more and more of us are jumping into the Bitcoin world. No doubt people are greedy but it doesn’t necessarily mean a drop is imminent. Sure, nothing rises in a straight line but I believe we’ll be seeing much, much higher levels in the coming years. The whole crypto world is still not ready for mass adoption but that will come as it did with PCs the Internet and mobile phones. It just takes time. When it does, watch out. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
    • Hi R2R,

      I love seeing that more and more of our fellow peers are jumping into the crypto world. I think many of us are more curious about this phenomenon than anything else and if we could profit a bit along the way, why not. Look forward to following your crypto journey and others online. I’ll be posting periodic updates about my holdings and what I plan to do over the long haul. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  6. Hi DH, welcome to the crypto club! I think its very wised to test the waters before expanding. With everything going on in China there has been a pull back so good for you on starting.

    Reply
    • Hi MR,

      Thank you. Looks like we have more than a handful of our fellow dividend investors dabbling in the crypto world. My plan is to keep buying slowly on the way up and down and build up a position of at least two Bitcoin with some LTC and ETH too. I am excited to be a part of it and see where this journey ends up. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  7. I have also thought about to invest in cryptocurrencies, but more i think about it more i want to stay from those. Maybe it is just me, but I don’t see any utility in it. I am just following one of my personal investing rules, don’t invest in things what you don’t understand.

    But, it is nice to see and follow up what you ended up doing with crypto money and what kind of profit you will make with it.

    Regards,
    Matt
    Matti Vuori recently posted…Personal Finance – Why Rich Are Getting Richer?My Profile

    Reply
    • Hi MV,

      As with any investing/speculating endeavor you must be the one to feel comfortable with your decision. I am comfortable jumping into this world and seeing where it takes me. I don’t plan to drop a huge sum of cash that would derail any of my long term dividend investing objectives rather slowly build up a position over time and just sit on my investment. It will be very interesting to see where we are down the road as cryptocurrencies become more widely used. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
    • Hi Jay,

      No one knows the future with any accuracy and I can accept that fact. Jumping into the Bitcoin world allows me to take part in something potentially huge and it’s exciting to finally be an active part of this phenomena. I really believe that cryptocurrencies will follow the exact same path of adoption as PCs, the Internet and mobile phones. It will take time and need to be much more user friendly before mass adoption takes place. I’ll be updating my holdings every so often so check back. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
  8. I really like seeing the updates from people who have purchased crypto currencies. Interesting to see what will happen with it. Doesn’t hurt to get the knowledge and see what it is all about. Not sure if it is for me just yet. Also don’t really have the capital to test it out. But we will see I guess. Good luck. Looking forward to the updates.
    Dividend Daze recently posted…New Additions/ Updates Made To The SiteMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Read and learn from others and you’ll arrive at your own decision about whether or not the crypto world is for you. No rush. I have been reading and looking into this space for a while before I finally decided to dip my toe in the water. The beauty of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is that you can buy them fee free and in such small increments that you’ll only need a few dollars to start. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  9. Great to see you on board Keith. Nice work grabbing the big three coins. I’m very long Litecoin and Etherium. You’ll be rewarded for getting in early and exercising patience. I’d suggest looking at NEO. There’s a lot to like about NEO and the price is down right now due to Chinese government pressures. The best part about NEO is that owners of the coin who hold the coins in a NEO wallet get free money. GAS coins are a byproduct of NEO transactions. Best of luck.
    Investment Hunting recently posted…My Cryptocurrency Portfolio Update – Etherium and Litecoin SellsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi IH,

      I’m quite happy and excited to have finally taken the plunge into this space. I have been following and reading and learning about cryptocurrencies long enough and felt ready to dip my toe into the mix. For now I am sticking with the big three, BTC, LTC and ETH with an eye on XRP one day. I make all my buys using GDAX limit orders which are fee free and I can set my exact price. Coinbase was great to start but the fees and spreads are ridiculous. I don’t plan to trade my currencies rather keep making incremental buys on the way up and down till I build up a nice position for myself and cold store my currencies on a Keepkey or Trezor. Thanks for the NEO heads up. Too many alt coins to keep track of these days. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi R2R,

      For all the noise and media coverage Bitcoin and others are getting it’s nothing compared to where it can head. I don’t know if $1M is in the cards but I do think five and six figures is possible. Bitcoin is still in the very early stages in terms of mass adoption and usage. Think of PC usage in the 80s, the Internet in the early to mid 90s and cel phones in the early 00s. There is a lot more runway for cryptocurrencies. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
  10. Thanks for the comment. I bought some about a year ago or so and sold roughly $2500 worth (cost basis of $800). It is always hard to get back into something after it is already up so much. But, it might be worth exploring as part of my “venture” portfolio account. I like using Gemini for my bitcoin and ethereum. It is a regulated US exchange.

    Scott
    Two Investing recently posted…Latest purchases bring me about $9000/year! — AT&T, GE, NAVIMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi TI,

      Always happy to read about another fellow jumping aboard the cryptocurrency wave. Even though you bought and sold at a nice profit I think the crypto wave has a lot more room to grow. It’s still nowhere close to being massively adopted and used. While it’s not in the fringe anymore most people still have no clue how to buy, store or spend this new medium of exchange. I still plan to buy more and more incrementally and just cold store my holding and wait for several years to see where we are. My buddy uses Gemini for his trades. I now only buy on GDAX with limit orders. No spread and no fees 🙂 Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  11. Hi DH,

    Also learning after crypto currencies, fascinating. I also want to have a few coins to be part of the crypto adventure!
    I just bought a couple of litecoin in coinbase to start. A bit disappointed as I cannot use GDAX for cheaper fees (3 US states are not authorized – including mine)… 🙁 .
    I am interested in buying a few Ripple and NEO now… will I be able to use bittrex for this? I guess I’ll have to pay the fees from coinbase to get bitcoin first and transfer to bittrex… is that how that works?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Fab,

      That’s part of the reason I jumped on this bandwagon… I just want to be a part of it for better or worse. That sucks about not being able to use GDAX in your state. I wonder why it is restricted. I bought on Coinbase to start, test out and see how it works for buying and transferring coins between an exchange and a wallet. Now I only use GDAX limit orders and buy at the exact price I want (no spread) and with zero fees. It’s the only way to go. In your case it looks like you’ll have to go to another exchange with your BTC and use it to buy other currencies. Ripple and NEO are both pretty popular too these days. For now, I just hold the BTC, ETH and LTC. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply

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