I did something unexpected

 I did something unexpected based on my earlier posts, I bought Bitcoin and Ethereum, only to exit both and now only have a small position in Bitcoin of 5€ invested.

The idea I had was to use the hype around cryptocurrencies to get small gains out of it. I have so far made small gains, however only 10€ was initially transfered to the account. On 1th of May the account balance if fully converted to euros would be 12,56€ meaning a gain of 25,6% before tax. A small gain in euros yet big in precentage, yet nothing of major value and maybe more speculating for fun around cryptocurrencies.

Why invest in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency?

I cannot recommend doing any financial decisions unless spoken to somebody with experience in finance or taxation before making an investment in cryptocurrency. 

I bought and sold only to buy again as the major news was of Bitcoin falling and there I spotted an opportunity. A quick dip might follow with a small gain which I wanted to be a part of.I do not beleive this will make me a fortune nor increase my standards of living, the purpose is more to make small speculative gains with amounts I can lose at any time (even thought I hate losing). 

Personally I would not recommend anyone to invest in any cryptocurrency nor think about it unless it starts to be a more widely accepted payment method. Until then it is more of an speculative intangiable asset somewhere on the webb.

Crypto investment platforms

You can invest in cryptocurrencies via different third party suppliers, some seem really suspicious and other just brand themselfe everywhere yet when you look at the company and where it is registered you might be a bit suspicious about their ability to refund your account in case of solvency issues. 

I decided to go with Northcrypto, as they are registered with the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority. This gives them more credibility then many other suppliers as they have to have more structured processes and have more pressure in case of solvency issues. The company is also registered in Finland which makes me a bit more confident and I did check the Authorities page where it is stated that Northcrypto is accepted and under supervision.

Here is a referral sign up link to Northcrypto.com. If you sign up via the link within 14 hours of clicking on it, it would contribute to me with 0,5% of every trade you make. In other words of the 1% transaction costs half would be contributed to my account. The contribution is for a limited time. For normal sig up visit Norhtcryptos homepage at Northcrypto.com.

So far my limited experience with Northcrypto has been good without any issues. Cannot confirm if the prices seen and used for transactions are the real prices or are they taking an additional cut to the 1% transaction fee. Overall the service and app is ok and easy to use. 

For comparison I did look at coinbase, eToro and crypto.com. 

Coinbase fees are significantly higher than Northcryptos when it comes to small amounts. Still for transactions around $200 you pay around 1,5% transactionfee for the trade, much more then Northcrypto which charges 1%. This might be a reason why Coinbase was valued at over $100 billion in tis IPO.

 

 Below is Coinbase fees which clearly displays higher fees, even thought you have more options to choose from.

eToro does not charge any commisions, this is good for most investors who trade from time to time. eToro makes it possible to also buy stocks, ETFs and trade in currency markets. The positive thing with eToro is that you can buy fractions of shares, why is a fraction of a share a good thing? Easy, with less money you faster grow a portfolio when dividends from these fractions also come in. If you are more of a passive investor then eToro might not be the best option as they will charge you $10 per month if you have not loggen on during past 12 months. Not the long term investors friend.

crypto.com fees are volumebase, the more you trade the less you pay. This was not suitable for me as I am not out to trade, more to make short term speculative investmetns so volumes would be small. To be honest, you need to trade a lot on crypto.com before you get to the "Platinum" level.

What to do about crypto?

It is necessary to consider if this is a willing risk to take. As with all investments and assets you need to be ready to lose it all if you buy it. Unfortunately this is how our world works, we should not forget the housing bubble in USA back in 2008 and euro crisis in 2011. Different world events might trigger big value swings which makes us uneasy and can ruin our sleep. This is why cryptocurrencies should be considered more speculative then many other assets, a house if maintained and cared for will stand for a long time just as all other assets. The same will apply for all cryptocurrencies.

Remember, this post shall not be interpreted as an investment advice or of any saving example. The reader is fully responsible for own actions taken. This blog only dispalyes how the author is investing and allocating his capital.