Guys, I've been thinking, what would the end of 2021 have looked like for me had I invested $1,000 in a crypto coin in January of that year and HODLed and stayed true to that investment. Let's see.
AXS
AXS is the Ethereum token that powers the blockchain game, Axie Infinity, where players collect, breed, and battle with their digital pets.
In 2021, Axies were all the craze, beginning with players in the Phillipines who had found a way to earn a legitimate income playing in the metaverse during the COVID 19 pandemic, so much so that some people were even quitting their day jobs to play. It became so popular in that country that the government even considered taxing Axie Infinity players.
In January 2021, I could have copped an AXS coin for $0.59. A $1,000 investment would have bought me just about 1,694 AXS coins. The world woke up to the play to earn concept in the metaverse in 2021, YouTubers began to shill the concept, and the price of AXS soared. At its peak in November 2021, one AXS coin would have cost approximately $158. Had I invested in AXS with $1,000 in January 2021, when the coin peaked in November, my $1,000 would have earned me $267,652. Of course, AXS has since lost two thirds of its value, but even at today's price of approximately $53, my $1,000 investment of just over 12 months past would be worth $89,782.
GALA
GALA is another token, available both as an Ethereum token and on Binance Smart Chain. It powers Gala Games and is built with a similar pay to play concept as Axie Infinity. The Gala Games ecosystem hosts numerous games and players can take ownership of the NFTs used in the games.
At the start of 2021, one GALA coin cost $0.001. Had I invested in GALA with $1,000 in January 2021, I would have purchased 1,000,000 (1 million) GALA tokens. At its peak in November 2021, a GALA coin cost $0.71. My $1,000 investment would have been worth $710,000 had I held on to my investment through the year, and sold at peak. Again, not bad. Today, while the price of GALA has fallen, my $1,000 would still be worth $200,000.
SHIB
Shiba Inu, the dog-faced meme token which bit off of Dogecoin, some may even say stole its shine, and made multi-millionaires in 2021. Now this could have been a rags to riches story to tell the grand kids. At the end of January 2021, SHIB was worth $0.00000003. Had I bet $1,000 despite on SHIB, I would have held an average 33,333,333,333 tokens. At its peak in October, SHIB was worth $0.00008. My $1,000 bet, in less than ten months, would have been worth $2,666,666. I'd have been a millionaire. In fact, even after SHIB lost value, my $1,000 investment would still be worth $666,666 today.
Finding the needle in the haystack
Of course, a lot can be said for the wild swings that comes from investing in alt coins which are far more volatile than Bitcoin and Ethereum. The stakes are higher and there is a significant risk of ruinous loss. So, finding the right coin, getting in on the right trend at the right time seems to be the trick. But that, as simple as it sounds, is like the proverbial search for needle in a hay stack.
According to Investopedia, as of January 2022, there are more than 8,000 cryptocurrencies in existence. That's quite a lot to sift through if you have limited funds.
Last year's craze was decentralized finance (DEFI) and non fungible tokens (NFTs). We ended the year with a lot of focus on the metaverse, particularly after Mark Zuckerberg and team rebranded his Facebook enterprise as Meta. There's also a lot of talk about web 3 coins. Are these the projects to focus on? Or should one just remain conservative (as far as crypto conservative investments go, that is) and invest in the big two: Bitcoin and Ethereum?
I mean, guys, I'm keeping it real with y'all, I have things to do in 2022, and so, I am poring through these coins, sifting through projects, reading up, doing my research, and I am hoping that I make it this year. Last year, I didn't invest $1,000, I'll be honest, so I didn't get in on these super gains. Maybe some of you guys have, and maybe you hit jackpot, good on you, I'm motivated! There have been a lot of market challenges lately, and attempts, it appears, to restrict or contain, perhaps, the runaway growth of the cryptocurrency industry.
Even so, I told you guys, I'm the glass half full type, and I truly believe that there is long term potential for this industry. Will some projects fail? I expect so. And optimist though I may be, I am not blind to the inherent risks this industry presents. But as far as my investments go, I'm gonna keep hoping for growth and for some decent returns on my investments this year. I'll confess, I may be cautious, I mightn't jump on to every new project with the risk of getting rug pulled from shady developers. And I might not have $1,000 to throw on any project right off the bat, but I'm sold on the concept of dollar cost averaging, and I'm thinking this is the route I'm taking this year.
What are about you guys? How was 2021 for you? And do you think 2022 would bring a fraction of the gains realized last year? And where do you think attention will be focused in the coming months? Are meme coins going to hold sway again this year? Will it be the gaming industry, virtual real estate, the creatives with NFTs, or something new altogether? I'd love to hear your thoughts, guys.
Meanwhile, I'm off to scout for crypto treasures, and if I find one, you'd better believe I'd share it with you. Until the next one, guys, please be safe, arriverderci!
