Mediaboss Marketing

Should you invest in Bitcoin is a common question posed by many who have witnessed the cryptocurrencys rollercoaster ride over recent years.

Each Bitcoin is now worth about $30,000 after a year of gains for the cryptocurrency, but the last five years have seen it swing from $3,000 to $65,000, which shows the seesaw its been on. That has led not just to a surge in Bitcoin investing but also in Bitcoin mining.

I have tried my luck at it, albeit with rather small sums compared to some, but it taught me that seeing it as an investment is the wrong course of action for most. Unless you really, really know what you are doing, then its a gamble, akin to playing the tables in Vegas.

Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Save up to 74%

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

That means it really should be viewed as something only to dabble in if you can afford to lose that cash, so something to have fun with rather than truly invest in. Thats my view, and you may disagree, but heres why I think so.

When you invest in the stock market or in commodities you can at least do some research to help inform your decision. How has this fund manager performed? What is this companys growth plans? Or, what do experts think will happen to the price of gold?

These are all questions you can answer using research to help inform you of potential outcomes. You can also get financial advice from experts who know the markets and the system.

Of course, most investors know that there is always the risk of their investment tanking due to big world events such as COVID-19, or due to more localized or company-specific issues.

Yet few stocks or commodities have experienced the white-knuckle ride of Bitcoin, and that propensity for it to move suddenly, sometimes seemingly with no warning, is why it is so much harder to predict, and why it is closer to gambling than investing in my view.

One reason Bitcoin is hard to predict is because the mechanics behind it are so complex that most people dont understand them and therefore dont have the same knowledge they have of more traditional investments.

I suspect die-hard crypto experts who do nothing but study Bitcoin and other similar currencies such as Ethereum will disagree with me, but this article isnt aimed at them, but at the less-well-informed majority.

A few years ago when everyone seemed to be talking Bitcoin up during one of its highs, I bought $300 of it. I saw it rise to about $500, then drop suddenly, only to go back up again.

After a few months later, I withdrew it all at a loss of $50. I could swallow a $50 hit and I saw the experience as a bit of fun to see what would happen to the $300.

The problem is, I had no idea why it was going up or down and saw no way to even remotely forecast which way it would go. I didnt like the feeling that I had no control at all.

Bitcoin is having a good 2023, with its value up 75% year-to-date. That may encourage some people to try their luck.

I say go for it if you want to have some fun, but only with money you can afford to lose, unless you really consider yourself a cryptocurrency expert.

But please beware the many companies out there trying to sell you a Bitcoin investment as a sure-fire way to make money. You may get lucky but you may as easily get burnt.

Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to tweet me @guyanker.

Here is the original post:

Invest in Bitcoin? I'm a Bitcoin Loser and I Won't Be Going Near It ... - Kiplinger's Personal Finance