A Holiday Season Primer on Digital Currencies

The crytpocurrency markets haven been getting a lot of publicity lately. An explosion of interest has driven the prices of most major coins up massively. The overall market breached the $200 Billion threshold in early November for the first time, as I post this on December 12th it has passed the $500 Billion dollar mark for the first time.

Bitcoin has absorbed the majority of this new money coming into the market. It crossed $5,000 in mid-October, it hit $10,000 a few short weeks ago around Thanksgiving, and now it's only slightly pulled back from it's highs of over $18,000. That's a huge run up in value over the past month. Crypto Currency does that.

The holiday season is a time of family coming together and sharing stories of their adventures from the year. You can bet that Bitcoin and the other Digital Assets that make up the Crytpo-Markets will be a major talking point, after all, legitimate fortunes have been made this year by those forward thinking enough and brave enough to jump on the Bitcoin boat early.

I was fortunate enough to dip my toes into this new ecosystem after BTC crashed from $1,200 to $200 in early 2015. I had looked into the theory and mechanics of BTC as well as several other tokens and couldn't find a reason not to get on board, at least a little bit. Early this year I finally felt comfortable enough with Ethereum to dip my toes into that market. Around $30.00 I purchased a dozen tokens. Within several months ETH price has nearly risen 4x and I sold 9 of the ETH tokens thinking I had made a killing and deciding it was time to take my profits. Luckily I kept a few of them for the big run up that was only just beginning.

At the time I didn't understand the concept enough to realize what I held or I never would have sold them back for bitcoin. Some of the most exciting projects, not to mention valuable ones, are available only for Eth tokens. Bitcoin has value as a type of digital gold while other digital tokens have value as the businesses that make use of this new type of accounting and contracting.

By no means have I amassed a fortune myself, but I have started building the foundations of what could become Generational Wealth. I've searched through many of the Alt-Coins and identified a handful I feel are worthy of the risk, I've started building small positions in the major currency tokens I expect to succeed. Over the course of the next 5-10 years there is a real possibility these speculative investments will become the sort of wealth that lasts generations beyond my own life. This sounds outrageous and absurd to many people, but not me. Nor do those who have studied this new economy and understand what it will do to our ways of life as it matures.

Remember, this whole new economy is under 10 years old. The initial companies that are growing out of it are still fledglings at this point. Most are still developing their products or infrastructure to service their future customers. Beta versions of just about everything about, as do the glitches and hiccups that accompany them.

That being said, very real value can be found in these tokenized businesses, many of them outside of the top 100 on Coinmarketcap. For people serious about building wealth in the new economy these businesses deserve a very serious look and the ones you find appealing should make up a decent percentage of your DA portfolio. 2018 will be a year that many of these tokenized businesses go from the drawing board into the real economy. Then they will be impossible to ignore or miss, just as Bitcoin is today.

I've mentioned the New Economy several times now, I can't stress enough how real that term is. The Blockchain, Smart Contracts, and Decentralized everything were conceived of to solve the problems our current economic system faces. The existing economy, financial markets, and business structures have become corrupt. There is a compelling argument to be made that these markets have been corrupt for centuries. Under the guise of a 'Free Market' and 'Capitalism' the groups that pull the real strings of power in the Western World have built an economic system that leeches wealth from the productive class that makes up the majority of adult Americans.

The money we use is constantly devalued, the public debt we're responsible for paying is growing exponentially. The cost of everything we need for high quality lives is increasing every year. The value of the money we work day in and day out to earn is constantly being devalued as .gov creates Trillions of new dollars every year. Of course, this new money is usually given away to those politically connected at the top of the power structure, the same people who bribe the politicians and pull the strings of influence in the financial world.

Those wealthy powerful few are handed this new money created from nothing and guaranteed by the sweat and blood the American people. This is the root of the inequality in our economic system, it's not about Capitalism vs. Communism, or any other label you care to use. It is about a privileged few who think they can control the economy of an entire Empire vs. the rest of us that have been forced to live and work in their corrupt system for our entire lives.

The New Economy being built by Bitcoin and it's descendants was created to fix this problem. Bitcoin itself is a form of money which can't be inflated by some asshole banker at the Federal Reserve at their whim. It is meant to be a form of money or a store of value which increases in value over time rather than decreases. This gives people incentive to save and wisely invest what they earn, this gives people a way to hold money without relying on 3rd party banking institutions to give you permission to use it.

Smart Contracts add another layer on top of the money fix BTC provides, this layer gives us the opportunity to work in a Trustless online financial environment. This sounds scary to people unfamiliar with digital assets, but in doesn't have to be. A trustless financial system doesn't require another human to get in the middle of a transaction. Just as you could pay with cash or coin directly to another human, the digital currencies allow for that to happen with anyone and anywhere in the world.

A trustless financial system uses computer software to ensure the buyer and seller are both protected and have assurance the transaction they enter into will be carried out fairly. The human element that was once between every non cash transaction you make can now be avoided. This means less expensive. In this New Economy you also have complete control over your assets. No government or bank can tell you how much of your own money you can access and move. It doesn't take days of time and burdensome fees to move your wealth, the markets never close, and if stored properly, your digital assets are safe from .gov confiscation or restriction.

Why would you save the products of your labor in a currency that becomes less valuable over time? Why would you store your wealth somewhere that doesn't allow you complete control over it whenever you choose to move or exchange it? These questions didn't have any working solution in the digital world until BTC was born. Now we do have solutions to these problems, we are witnessing the birth of a completely new system of human economy and exchange which cuts out the middle men from your financial decisions. It also cuts out a large portion of the barriers .gov and industry place on start ups and small business to restrict competition. The rules that make the software run are the same for everyone, no more tiered economy where the wealthy and connected play by different rules than you or I.

This desire to build a system that is fair to everyone is what gave birth to Bitcoin. This same desire is behind many of the projects and tokens you'll see me talking in the future. It is something I see a desperate need for in our modern world. Our social and economic systems are crumbling in slow motion, and this New Economy is what needs to replace it if we are to have a better tomorrow, if we are to make a better future for our own children. This desire for something better is what drives me as well, the Old Ways have failed us, many believe they were never meant to help us in the first place. Those Old Ways are a thing of the past as soon as you want them to be.

This New Economy being built around BTC takes some acclimation, especially for those who are more financially conservative and risk adverse. Moves can accurately be described as 'Violent' at times. 20%/day moves up or down are not uncommon in the Top 5 coins. Moves over 50%/day are seen on a daily basis in the Top 200.

This is the new Wild West and Gold Rush powered by the Information Age and we're just wrapping up the National Anthem and getting ready to start the game.

That may seem like an outrageous statement to make, but I feel it's accurate. Bitcoin and Ethereum have shown us the rules of the game, the first rush of ICO's over the summer of 2017 were the Warm-Ups, BTC hitting $10,000 to start the holiday season and gaining national exposure in recent weeks was the Anthem. Now it's on, the New Economy vs. Old Ways has begun. This game will last for years, possibly decades. It will transform many aspects of our lives, probably even more than the Internet has. Really.

So you know all that, or at least you're willing to believe it enough to risk a bit of your own skin in the game. Bravo I say. Don't be reckless, start small with money you can afford to gamble with. Dropping prices aren't the only reason you should start small. This new form of money is unforgiving to those who don't follow the rules. If you take your money off the exchanges you are now 100% responsible for it. This is the way it should be, you are responsible for your other actions and property, you should be responsible for your own money as well. Don't lose your keys (passwords) and don't leave your keys lying around where people can find them. A little practice makes it much less daunting than it seems at first.

Remember, in this game a little bit can go a long ways if you're patient. Several hundred dollars into a handful of well selected coins will provide an Investment Seed which may change your life. That is the possibility and opportunity we have right now. Those who understood and adopted BTC in the beginning have been in this boat for several years. Those who took the risk and invested into projects like Ethereum or Litecoin in the early days are in this boat now.

These boats may have already set sail, but it's not like they will be the last ones to leave. Literally thousands of projects have already been started. Many of which are being built by solid teams and on solid fundamentals. Many more will be coming online in the future for those who pay attention and are brave enough to seize opportunity when they think they see it.

As the mainstream crowd begins to join the Crypto world a new type of investment strategy will need to be created. One to use the full potential of these new assets. Many of the media personalities around the Cyrpto markets are coming from the perspective of short term traders and gamblers. Lots of hype and pumping can be found as the curious and greedy try to make a quick profit in the Free Market. Expect all of this when you begin your research. Don't go running to put your money into the latest hot tip or hot coin. Look into the projects that are backing these tokens and giving them their value and find the ones you resonate with.

Many of the projects can also be valued in more traditional ways. Projects like Rialto (XRL) where the digital currency backing the value of the token is known can be loosely valued in this way and you can be confident in your holding even when prices are plummeting. It's earnings are updated on a regular basis and you can use some actual figures to estimate how much a token should be worth.

When I am making my own 5-10 year investment strategy with Digital Assets I start by looking at the different categories of coins available. To keep it simple I make a 'Money' category, an 'Infrastructure' category, and a 'Business' category. These are fundamentally different types of assets all disguised as Tokens or Cryptocurrency and they all have different roles in a portfolio.


Types of Money: Bitcoin (BTC) / Bitcoin Cash (BCH) / Litecoin (LTC) / Dash / Monero (XMR)


Types of Infrastructure: Ethereum (ETH) / NEO / Ripple (XRP) / EOS / Maidsafe (MAID)


Types of Business: SALT / POPULOUS / TenX / Veritaseum (VERI) / Rialto (XRL)


The various forms of digital money that are common and available all deserve consideration. They all have their own unique attributes and qualities. To start out I wanted to build a position in at least three different versions of this new form of money.

What I describe as Infrastructure are really specialized software that allow business to use Smart Contracts, which will be drastically increasing efficiency in many different areas of the business world. Adding 2-3 of these tokens to my portfolio gives me a critical piece of exposure to this exciting new field of business. There's no telling how valuable these technologies will become in our lives.

Where the investment decisions get really interesting are the Businesses that are starting to spring up. Several options inside the Top 50 and a couple of the smaller options to get some really explosive potential is my route of choice here.

My own Digital Assest portfolio, for the sake of transparency and as an example of what I consider a diversified and aggressive portfolio;

Monies: Bitcoin (and BCH/BCG), Litecoin, Steem Dollars, & Monero.
Bitcoin and Litecoin are the only two I have purchased, Bitcoin Cash & Gold I have via the hard forks, Steem Dollars were earned via writings like this article you're reading now, and Monero was earned via mining through Minergate.

Software Infrastructure: Ethereum, EOS, and MaidSAFE.





Blockchain Businesses: Veritaseum, Rialto, SafeExchange, Steem, Pillar, Hedge Token





I have a majority of my assets in Top 50 tokens while also holding several carefully selected small cap tokens. All of the tokens I currently own are ones I've spent considerable time researching prior to purchasing them. This is critical if you are wanting to build serious wealth. Without the confidence that comes from knowing your asset it's hard to make the right choices in turbulent markets.

All of these tokens have been volatile both upwards and downwards, that will continue to be a reality until the markets are more mature and have overtaken the legacy markets they are replacing in total value. Dollar cost averaging your way into more significant positions would be a prudent choice, personally I will add money to whichever token(s) I feel are most undervalued whenever I have a few extra dollars to save.

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