Cryptos Through the Eyes of a Newb

Crypto currencies have been a hot topic lately with Bitcoin soaring to all time highs along with other altcoins. I have always been fascinated with financial markets, and even do some stock and options trading. Now that crypto's are in the spotlight, even the likes of CNBC has started to talk daily about Bitcoin as they ooh and ah at the increase in price. Instead of commending Bitcoin for its technology and future applications, they almost joke and laugh at its utility as if this is just another millennial phase that will soon pass. After hearing about the insane wealth creation Bitcoin created for early adopters, I decided to not just throw Bitcoin to the side anymore and really pull back the curtain to discover what I was missing.

I had heard of Bitcoin in the past but I thought this was some blackmarket type of currency that people used on the darkweb because I had never seen any use for it. I never shopped anywhere that accepted Bitcoin or had any friends that said, "Just send me some Bitcoin for your half of the bill." I knew of small communities that traded Bitcoin like stocks since I was active in the stock trading community, but whenever I thought about jumping in all I heard was that it was too volatile and very hard to get access to the exchanges. For this reason alone, I shut the book completely on Bitcoin and never even thought twice about it.

That brings us to where we are now, the beginning of the journey. After hearing about how $100 worth of Bitcoin in 2010 is now worth $75 million, I thought to myself, "How the hell did I miss this?" I decided to start looking into Bitcoin more and discovered that there is a whole universe of cryptocurrencies with endless uses and applications. I couldn't believe there was even a website that paid you in crypto for writing about stuff you are passionate about! I was instantly hooked not only on the technology, but the great community of people that share in this passion. I even started to think about crypto currencies as an investment instead of a short term trading vehicle which is all I had previously considered it. Being a newb and all, I did come across some things that excite me and some things that I believe are still hurdles to be overcome...

1. It is way to cumbersome and costly to convert fiat to crypto.

Initially I thought this would be a breeze, "Let me go and just trade my fiat for some Bitcoin and off we go!" Well it ended up being much more work than that. Sure there are places where you can instantly trade USD for Bitcoin, but the fees and markup are so high, you think twice about doing it at all. To get lower fee's you have to set up an account at an exchange and wait days for deposits and identity verifications to go through and still pay high fees to purchase cryptos! If we are truly to believe Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are the future this process has to become much easier and more cost efficient.

2. I am happy to be late than never.

I know I missed out on many years of potential life changing profits. I also know that many people also did not get in at the start of Apple or Amazon but even late investors have reaped great rewards. I don't have the fear of missing out like many people who have been recently drawn to cryptos by this bull market, at least not the same way they do. I have a feeling most people will be jumping in here thinking they will wake up a millionaire in the next couple of weeks. My fear of missing out is ten or twenty years out. I don't want to look back again and say, "wow if only I had invested in some crypto currency back then." I maybe late, but I still consider myself to be an early adopter with how far this technology can really go and you should too!

3. I am looking forward to not just being an investor but an active user of cryptos.

I recently set up my Exodus wallet and I don't know if it is the user interface or what, but you can really see the technology coming together in a meaningful way right in front of your eyes. You are able to switch back and forth between cryptos and send the funds to wherever you desire all with the click of a button. I am excited to see how these coins change for the better and how I will be an active part of this change. To me, this is the way cryptocurrency was meant to be and eventually will increase its utility with the average person.

There are going to be major swings in price and much volatility to come as the technology comes under increasing scrutiny from corporations, government, and altcoins that will challenge the likes of Bitcoin, but I do believe twenty years from now we will reminisce of the days when this technology was being pioneered the same way people think of the beginning of the internet.

I look forward to seeing where this journey takes us in the coming years!