What Should You Know About Getting Involved With Cryptocurrency?

It's pretty crazy right now in our financial worlds. The stock market just hit an all time high (Jan. 2024), interest rates are starting to come down, and unemployment is very low.

Inflation is cooling, and a Recession seems to have been avoided. Just about everybody had that prediction wrong, and thank goodness they did. Gas prices are falling, but still have a ways to go to get back to where it was a few years ago. Of course, a big reason it was so low before was because we were in the middle of a pandemic. The supply was great, but the demand was very low. That combination always lowers prices...the old supply and demand game.

I saved for retirement, investing in Mutual Funds and Bonds through my workplace savings programs and other plans. Now those workplace savings allow you to invest in many more options including Stocks and Roths.

And then there was CRYPTOCURRENCY. Bitcoin, Ethereum and some of the bigger names had some terrific rallies and then went south pretty quickly.

They are beginning to gain back some of their losses. Bitcoin's all time high was around $65,000+ per coin, and now, in January '24 it's around $45,000. Soooo, should anybody be putting their money into crypto?

Because I was in good shape financially for retirement, I did try my hand in the crypto space. I learned a lot about it. AND, I got taken advantage of on a few occasion. I had some of my bitcoin stolen from me and so did some other friends of mine. Some of that was because I was too trusting and too inexperienced. I also participated in some LAUNCHES of 'never heard of coins', that didn't turn out very well.

***Please remember that crypto has very little regulations so when something goes wrong, you don't have the support you need to make things right. It's completely different than our banking industry.

You would think I would have totally shied away from it, but I haven't. I deal with it very differently, though. I am part of a group that I trust, I make small investments and I cash out when I am up. If it jumps way up I will never make a 'fortune' but I will make money. If it goes 'way' down again, I will take the loss and probably end my relationship with crypto.

Crypto used to be considered one of the options that was a pretty safe bet to help protect our money when other choices weren't working so well, (like the stock market or bank accounts). And, some folks still believe that to be the case, including some of the big players in crypto.

There are also some opportunities with the smaller, unheard of tokens that are being launched in projects that can be quite successful. But, you have to know what you are doing before you jump into these. I am currently participating in some of those, but very conservatively. Keep in mind, our age matters when investing in anything. The younger you are, the more time you have to recover any losses you may incur - in any endeavor you take part of.

When you first begin to research and learn about some of these options, it's very important that you do your homework, learn the language of crypto, and make sure you understand the risks. Don't become a victim of something just because you didn't understand it; be sure to educate yourself.

Here's a partial list of vocabulary words to become familiar with:

digital wallet

cold wallet

hard wallet

blockchain

crypto exchange

crypto token

crypto trading

crypto private sale

crypto pre-sale

crypto launch

crypto scammers

NFT

crypto demo account

Click Here For A More COMPLETE LIST with updated terms.

ALWAYS BE VERY CAREFUL when ever you are researching anything on the internet. Scams are prevalent , and can be hard to detect.

Getting involved with a crypto project can be fun and it can be profitable. There are some reputable places where you can learn a great deal about HOW TO GET STARTED in the Crypto Space. Always start your research with the attitude that you are learning a new skill, and you can do that without investing any money. Check out the demo accounts. When you feel experienced enough to dabble a little, just start slowly and stay in that mode until you feel confident with your knowledge. And then, have fun...

*I would never recommend that people depend on any ONE form of investment when saving for retirement. Retirement years can be the best years of your life. Plan accordingly so you will have the money to truly enjoy retirement, when it arrives.