Betting on Bitcoin
Betting on Bitcoin – a Sound Investment or a Short-Term Solution?
The Bitcoin madness has struck the world, and it’s high time to talk about it! Cryptocurrencies have been the hottest thing for well over a year, and the price levels are going crazy – but is it a good idea to invest real money in them? Well, yes… and no. Here’s my unbiased opinion on this viral market.
Before you decide to invest in cryptocurrencies, you should stop and ask yourself a simple question: Do I understand what cryptocurrencies are? If the answer is no, then there is something very wrong with your investment strategy. Even if you have your doubts about cryptocurrencies as a whole, you should still take some time to educate yourself about them, because they are steadily becoming a part of our lives. For instance, sports fans should be aware that they can now bet with Bitcoin – and it’s quite easy. Just take a look at the detailed guide I found at www.bestbettingsites.uk/bitcoin/. There are already a lot of betting sites that accept Bitcoin, and it seems likely that more and more will appear in the future.
But what does this mean about cryptocurrencies? Well – they are becoming more stable. To you, Bitcoin might simply look like a hot commodity, but if you are serious about investing in it, you must not forget its primary purpose – to serve as a currency. The more widespread and regulated Bitcoin becomes, the better the outlook for its long-term stability. The same goes for any other cryptocurrency: if you consider Bitcoin too mainstream and want to find the next big thing, you will stumble upon names like Ripple, Litecoin, and several hundred (perhaps even thousand!) more.
There are several things you need to consider if you are evaluating a cryptocurrency: is there a long-term niche for its use, and how secure it is. By secure I mean whether the blockchain behind it can be hacked. The word blockchain might be familiar to you. This is the ‘database’ that stands behind all cryptocurrencies you hear about. You can visualize it as an enormous shared document that instantly records any transaction that people across the world make. It may sound incredibly risky, but the possibilities it gives are enormous – we are talking about instant transactions, anytime, anywhere! Naturally, for this instant-transaction system to function, no third party should be able to mess with the records. Each cryptocurrency has a blockchain network behind it, but those blockchains have different levels of protection. This means that some of them can be hacked, and if something like that happens, an entire currency can collapse in a matter of hours.
A scary thought, isn’t it? Well, investing in cryptocurrencies isn’t scary – but it’s risky. The market is very volatile, because right now everyone and their grandmas want a piece of the pie. However, the recent drop in the Bitcoin value (and that of most other cryptos, as a matter of fact) reminded everyone that the prices are way overblown. The simple truth is that the best moment to start investing in cryptocurrencies was before they started hitting the news headlines. With the general public now turning their attention to it, the market is slowly spiraling out of control and becoming a little bit too volatile.
In the long term, some cryptocurrencies will surely come out good – but not all. Anyone willing to try and make a fortune should dampen his expectations – there’s potential for short-term gains if you do your research and act swiftly, but there are also severe risks. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrencies that look most stable – headed by Bitcoin, of course – will offer less and less profits as they are integrated into the international economy and stabilise.
To summarize, don’t jump on the bandwagon blindly and do your research. Investing in Bitcoin is not a bad idea, but you should be well aware of the risks before you decide on such a course of action.