Introduction - Why Crypro?
As a 60yr old man I have been into computers and technology since the late 1970's, owning nearly all the popular home computers over the years.
I first heard of Bitcoin in 2010 and like many other people, completely ignored it as a fad.
In July 2017 my brother alerted me to Bitcoin and I started looking at it but I was still not convinced as I had no idea how to get any nor what to do with it.
By late November 2017, as many of you will recall, Bitcoin went mainstream in the media and shot up in value. My research had led me to believe that there was something to this 'internet money' after all and not just price. At that time it seemed purely speculative but to me it opened my eyes to the corrupt world of Central Banking. What I was really enchanted by was the actual technology behind it all. Yes, if it went up in value I would be very pleased, but in reality I could see the tremendous potential of Bitcoin, and other coins, as the 'future of money'. To be your own bank was very appealing to me. I decided to dive in!
Of course, in hindsight, this was almost a mistake but I was learning all the time.
Firstly I missed the massive rise to nearly $20,000. This was a fortunate moment. I had been trying for a couple of weeks to open a Binance account (a cryptocurrency exchange where many crypto coins and tokens can be traded). At the time, due to overwhelming demand, Binance was restricting opening any new accounts. Once accepted you had to then complete 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) to verify your identify. This also took a long time.
By the time my account was live and I was able to deposit from my bank to Binance, Bitcoin had fallen to $12,000.
This is where my naivety started. Having deposited a reasonable sum, I started buying random tokens and coins thinking I was some sort of trader and that this would be 'easy money'. To this day I am well down on many of these trades.
Into 2018 and, as most in this space remember, crypto entered a very long bear market ie prices going down. And I mean DOWN! However, looking deeper, I could see that the overall trend was UP! Bitcoin has suffered many ups and downs over it's 10 year life, sometimes swinging from $500 up and then £1000 down in a matter of days and sometimes even hours. This is one very volatile market. But remember, it is still in it's infancy, even now.
I watched the bear market play out until February 2019 when at around $3100 Bitcoin seemed to have bottomed out. Once the bull market started again, ie prices rising, I started buying here and there rather than in one go. This is a strategy known as Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA). Buying weekly or monthly in small amounts which evens out your average buy in price, and over time is more likely to be profitable.
I now have a reasonable amount of Bitcoin, using DCA, and as of writing still in profit. But I am a long term holder, or hodler as the crypto space likes to call it. The term comes from a misspelling of holder. My eyes are firmly focused on 5-10 years away. Even if I don't see it to fruition my daughters and grandchildren will.
Anyway, that's an abridged version of my crypto story to date.
In future posts I hope to help the older generation, like me, understand what Bitcoin is, what it does and doesn't do, how to buy it and where to securely store it. My posts are not aimed at experienced crypto followers but the mainstream who haven't yet embraced the wonderful world of crytpo and all that it promises.
