Introducing Myself to the Steemit Community with My Crypto Recap for the day!

Hello Steemit!

My name is Kevin Bui and this is my first introductory post. I have been inactive from social media since Instagram and the growing steem community has caught my attention.

I am from Southern California but currently reside in Northern California while finishing up my bachelor's degree.
My passion or hobbies include fitness and cryptocurrency.

I have been in the crypto space since September of last year.
Come follow me and my future posts on the journey I have experienced with crypto thus far.

Please note this is not financial advice. I am not held responsible or accountable for any investment you make.
In two words, I got involved with cryptocurrency by learning about "Blockchain Technology"
Bitcoin is decentralized. There is no central authority that can control it, you do not have to go through a banking system or third party, you can send money across the world instantaneously, you are your own bank.

My number one cryptocurrency advice that I will provide you is simply "knowledge"
Knowledge is power. Like any subject one learned at school, cryptocurrency is also a subject you must be educated on.
Cryptocurrency is the subject , but we can break it down into sub-categories such as bitcoin, alternative coins, mining, blockchain, exchanges, wallets, etc.
Once the subject is mastered, you can then apply the knowledge toward your goals.

Do not enter the market and buy/trade blindly. Doing that is like taking a test without going to class or studying. Sure, you can get lucky with multiple choice or common sense questions, but the more educated student who took out the time to learn and master the subject will more likely succeed.
Some may argue investing is like gambling but it is not. One that is educated put themselves in a better situation in the market. In this cryptocurrency market, just by looking at the website, reading the whitepaper, reading through forums, or even interacting with the trollbox on exchanges will give you an advantage over someone who has not.

Should you trade? This is entirely up to you and your finances. Only risk what you can afford to lose. Trading is perfectly okay as some day you will profit while other days you will lose. The trades become learning experiences.
I personally have stopped trading. I am not an expert or feel like I can trade better than any of you out there. It is not wise to risk your investments you have worked hard for by playing against trading bots that buy low and sell high. It has happened to me along with all of us where we will probably never be able to buy that currency for that low of a price ever again.

I provided a chart with the top 10 cryptocurrency ranked as of today according to coinmarketcap.com
I listed the Prices and Change of: one year ago today, from when I entered the crypto space, and today.

As you can see, all of these currencies have at least tripled in the past year with NEM standing out.
You can see how much I would have gained if I were to invest at the time I started.
You can also see how much any of you would have gained if you entered the market a year ago.

Last year, many focused on obtaining more bitcoin. 2017 is the year of alternative currencies with bitcoin as the foundation.
Since January 1, the market cap has increased from $18 billion to $54 billion. It has tripled in 5 months.
Is it too late too invest? It is definitely not. You can see the value increasing over time.
Let us just say this! Consider yourselves lucky as being early adopters of cryptocurrency. We are still in the early stages.
What blockchain technology can do for our future is surely exciting.