It's always tough watching the value of your cryptocurrency holdings continue to decrease, but it also gives the unique opportunity to acquire stake for less than what it's 'worth'.
Numerous tokens and projects that have seen continual and steady support over the past several months have retreated to levels significantly below what they were during that period, but the retreat was likely caused by the overall downturn of the market rather than loss of support in the project directly. One cryptocurrency that I have been continually acquiring stake in over the past several months is BitShares, and the price level of Bitshares is currently down over 40% on the week. With all of the projects that are likely going to be integrating/utilizing Bitshares in the near future, such as Peerplays and EOS, I have a very strong feeling that Bitshares will regain and continue to gain more momentum over the following years. There is really no way to accurately predict when the market will start to gain support and momentum once again, but I believe that now is the prime time to acquire additional stake for the purpose of a long term position.
One of the most important rules that I abide by during these types of conditions is to consider the need for liquidity before entering into a position, because it's entirely possible that the retreat will continue over the following weeks. The stake that I am acquiring now is for the purpose of holding long term, so liquidity really isn't an issue for this type of position. While liquidity may not be a high priority for long term positions, it's also very important to be confident that you can truly afford to not have access to those funds for some time. In reality there is the possibility that the price will not reach its full potential for several years, and I have the intention of holding Bitshares for the long term. Bitshares has so many practical use cases and potential, and I believe that the following years will be the period when Bitshares' full potential is utilized.
The decrease in the price of Steem has some advantages as well..
While it's always tough seeing the estimated value of your posts decrease throughout the week, the situation also presents some potential advantages to investors as well as users. There were several months when the price level of Steem hovered around the 10 cent level, and many users and investors have already seen serious returns on their investment in just a few months. While the dollar value of the reward pool drops as the price of Steem falls, the amount of Steem distributed stays exactly the same. All of the support and momentum that Steem has been able to achieve in the past several months leads me to believe that the price of Steem and the use of the Steemit platform will be much greater in the upcoming future. If an individual is holding Steem for the long term, it really doesn't make any difference what the specific level of Steem is.
If the post count or activity decreases along with the price, then it may even be more beneficial to acquire stake through posting. I remember some of my posts several months ago with 4$ payouts actually gave me over 50 Steem/SP, but keep in mind that the post count, user amount, and price level were all much lower than they are currently. The same thing could likely happen if the price of Steem continues to decrease, which will enable those who continue to post to acquire a larger amount of stake, even if the price level of the stake is lower than it was. I see no reason that the price of Steem would continue to decrease to significantly lower levels, especially with all of the interest in Graphene blockchain systems and the rise in users and popularity that the platform has experienced over the past few months.
I am by no means a cryptocurrency trader anymore, but I do plan to play the price level of Steem a bit in the upcoming weeks. I have had success in my trading in the past, but it simply began to seem not worth it and I started taking additional long term positions. I see no reason that the price level of Steem wouldn't return to over the 2 dollar mark over the next months, and I imagine that we will see an even higher price level over the next year. While it is disappointing to see the value of your stake decrease, if we are able to maintain a long term outlook then it's clear that these types of fluctuation are bound to happen. The price of nearly all alt-coins is still heavily correlated to the price of Bitcoin, which is the main reason that I believe the prices of Steem and Bitshares have taken such a heavy hit. While it's never a good feeling watching the value of your stake increase, it also presents the unique ability to acquire stake at a price level that is much lower than the true value that the token will contain.
Why do I believe that Graphene based blockchain projects will be at he forefront of the blockchain and cryptocurrency space over the following years?
The advantages that Graphene based blockchain systems contain should not be taken lightly, and as practicality and efficiency become of a higher importance Graphene technology will likely have an opportunity to really show the advantages that it provides. Another thing that is unique to many Graphene based blockchains is that many were built with the ability to integrate with one another at some point. The Peerplays network utilizes the numerous aspects of Bitshares, and I believe that this would only lead to more interest in both projects. The upcoming EOS project's distribution is unlike anything that I have ever seen, and will likely be the most anticipated blockchain platform to date. The level of investment that the token distribution has already received already puts the EOS market capitalization among the 15 biggest of all cryptocurrencies, and less than 25% of the tokens have been distributed to date. It will be very interesting to see what EOS will look like when it launches, and I believe that it will live up to the hype.
While the EOS platform is likely to be one of the biggest and most active platforms when it launches, it will also enable networks such as Steemit and BitShares to integrate with the EOS network as well. There is still a lot of time before this integration would be implemented, it is still something that I believe that we should be talking about as a community. Steemit would likely be able to run the same and still maintain its native currency, and may even have the opportunity to present itself as one of the first DApps on the network, that already has a thriving and active community.
The success of any DApp or smart contract platform relies on its ability to present DApps with practical use cases, and Steemit has proven that it has the ability to present use cases for a wide range of individuals, regardless of their interests or experience. Being able to integrate a platform that has proven its successful concept would be great for users of the EOS platform by giving them access to an easy to use platform, as well increase the interest in the Steemit platform. Not only is the concept of integration great, but the EOS platform will likely have a realistic and reliable method of handling the level of activity that this would require. A smart contract platform is a revolutionary idea and one that will be successful in the near future, but the platform would require the technical ability to actually handle the level of activity that the platform would require, which EOS will likely be able to present.
All opinions expressed are my own personal opinions and should not be taken as trading or investment advice. Always conduct diligent research before opening any investment position.