The wild ride in crypto-currencies continues as Bitcoin looks poised to hit a new all-time high of $7,500+, and the questions continue to co...
The wild ride in crypto-currencies continues as Bitcoin looks poised to hit a new all-time high of $7,500+, and the questions continue to come into my support team after I posted the SelfMadeMan podcast episode with Teeka Tiwari earlier this month. (It's been downloaded over 20,000 times).
"Is Bitcoin safe?"
"Is it too late to buy?"
"How much should I invest?"
"What will the US government do?"
"What do you think about ICO's and alt-coins?"
Well here's my 2-cents on the subject based on some of my biggest lessons-learned when it comes to investing in all kinds of businesses/assets over the past ten years...
Entrepreneurs are opportunistic risk-takers by nature. It's what allows us to see opportunities others don't, and then take the risks needed to capitalize on them.
This is a dangerous combination when it comes to investing, especially with an asset class that's in a massive hype-cycle.
So here's my personal opinion about the industry...
1: I think it's still VERY EARLY...
Here's why...
Blockchain is a completely new technology invention, which is giving rise to a completely new industry. The invention of Bitcoin in 2009 is similar to the invention of the world's first personal computer. It is something completely new that most people do not understand.
Today, eight years later, the potential of Bitcoin and blockchain tech is becoming more understood, and we're starting to see the technology applied in new ways on a weekly basis.
I compare this to the early days of the PC industry. It started with the Apple II in 1977, and then the IBM PC in 1981. Within a few years, dozens of companies started creating "clones" of the IBM PC and the industry took off.
The PC became a "platform" that developers start to create applications for.
In many ways, Ethereum and EOS are two of the first versions of blockchain platforms that developers can use to create their own crypto-applications, tokens, currencies, etc.
Right now it's as if the first PC computers have started to hit the market, but most people still don't get it. There were only a handful programs you could run on a PC at that time, so unless you were fascinated by the technology itself, you ignored it.
In the decade to follow, PC's would become an essential tool and a part of the world's infrastructure. Blockchain technology will do the same in the coming decade.
So as far as timing and the maturity of this industry goes, we're still in the early adopters phase, and I think we'll start to move into the beginning of the mass adoption/application phase within the next three years.
I think it's worth noting that two of the biggest merchant providers in the world are in the process of supporting Bitcoin right now...
Stripe.com, (merchant provider to companies like Slack, Instacart, Lyft, Kickstarter, and Shopify), has recently integrated Bitcoin payments into their platform. (Here's a screenshot from my Stripe account back office...)
And Square allows merchants to accept Bitcoin payments as well.
2: The invention of an entirely new class of technology represents an incredible investment opportunity.
Imagine if you could go back to the early 80's and invest in IBM, Apple, or Microsoft...
Well that's the opportunity that exists to day in the crypto/blockchain world, which is why there's such a frenzy around it.
As of today, the market-cap for the entire global crypto-currency industry is just $220 Billion. Total.
To put that into perspective, Apple's market cap alone is $870 Billion, and Amazon's is $542 Billion. These are singular companies. Blockchain tech is an entirely new global market.
With that being said, 99% of the money being put into the crypto-currency space right now is pure speculation.
Speculative bubbles always create the biggest opportunities for incredible returns, but carry with them an equally large amount of risk.
Without a doubt this is an opportunity to create life-changing wealth... IF... You're smart about it.
In addition to the legit startups out there, the industry is filled with scams you have to be aware of.
I see people promoting them daily on my Facebook feed... Companies that will promise you a 1-2% return per day if you send them Bitcoin.
These are total scams, and I watched one of them disappear overnight with everyone's Bitcoin just last week. The website, Facebook Group, and everything else... POOF! Gone.
3: So how can you be smart?
Well the key to winning in any investment is to reduce your risk as much as possible, and the most effective way to reduce your risk is with knowledge and expertise.
Without these two assets at your side, you aren't investing, you're gambling. And when it comes to gambling, the house always wins.
This means you have two options...
You can become the expert, or you can hire the expert.
For example...
I like investing in real estate, but I don't know anything about the industry, nor do I have an interest in spending the next 5-10 years becoming an expert.
If I were to invest in an apartment complex on my own, I would certainly lose my money.
That's why I choose to hire experts who have done nothing but invest in real estate their entire lives. They have the knowledge and experience required to invest in that market successfully. As a result, my average real estate return with them has been over 25% per year.
I'm taking the same approach to investing in crypto-currencies.
As much as I pay attention to the industry, I am not an expert when it comes to investing in speculative opportunities. Choosing the right companies and currencies to invest in, at the right time, and at the right price out of the 1,000+ options available today requires an incredible amount of research, diligence, and experience that you and I simply don't have.
So once I again I have chosen to reduce my risk by hiring the expert who does.
Teeka Tiwari is the best I've found when it comes to navigating this space. If you heard my podcast with him here two weeks ago, you know that Teeka has had an extremely successful career as a hedge-fund manager, and a few years ago he turned his attention and skill-set toward the crypto industry full time.
I purchased access to his publication and portfolio at the start of 2017, and it's been the highest quality research I've found in the space.
It's easy to understand, his approach and methodology is conservative and clear, and he's got inside access to these startups that you and I will never have.
If you are currently invested in crypto-currencies, or plan to put money into the space, I HIGHLY recommend that you reduce your risks and increase your chances for success with Teeka's knowledge.
If you want to learn more about his approach or the industry in general, he's holding a LIVE Q&A session tonight at 8:00 PM EST that you can sign-up for here.
You should also be aware that he's closing down his newsletter to new subscribers this Friday, and it won't be available again until mid 2018. That means you have about 72 hours if you want to arm yourself with his research.
(By the way, his average portfolio return is currently sitting at 1,371%).
If you want to learn more, just register for tonight's Q&A session and they'll send you the details and a link to signup.
- Mike Dillard
www.MikeDillard.com
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