One of the most popular questions I get is “What do you recommend that I buy besides Bitcoin?”
For those that have already opened an account with Coinbase, the next question is usually,
“How do I buy Ripple (or insert any other altcoin)?”
That’s a question in which my response is typically something to the effect of “Do you have about an hour to discuss this?”
The reason(s) for this is that it’s a loaded question and depends on numerous factors. The biggest would be how healthy of a risk tolerance do you have. If Bitcoin, which is relatively the most stable crypto, can drop 40% in the span of 12 hours, how would you react. For me personally, since I am long Bitcoin and a few other altcoins, I would buy more.
If your first reaction would be to ask me, “Why is this happening, did I make a mistake?” then I would say that you probably shouldn’t have invested at all.
The point is that the majority of the population believes Bitcoin to be way too risky for their tastes. To each his own. However, altcoins can sometimes change value by more than 200% in a day. That is why I don’t recommend buying anything other than Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin or Ethereum until you’ve been doing this for a few months.
If you’re shrugging your shoulders and thinking I’m still going for it then feel free to read on.
In the crypto space every time we see a “crash in price” we often joke about being old enough to remember the last time this happened 3 weeks ago. If you’ve been around long enough you’re laughing because you know it’s true!
With nearly 1,400 cryptocurrencies to choose from, there’s something for every taste ranging from PotCoin to DimonCoin (a satirical response to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon) to TrumpCoin. While a lot of these are funny, many of them are nearly worthless.
Having said all that, there are a few that I like quite a bit. Dash, which is known as digital cash, is a favorite of mine. I own it and I also mine it. The same goes for Zcash and Monero (XMR).
I know that Monero has a bad connotation due to people saying drug cartels use it. It’s one of the most anonymous cryptos and so while that may be true, the same can definitely be said for cold hard cash. When’s the last time someone told you they don’t use cash because drug dealers use it. I don’t use cash, but it’s only because it’s not convenient.
By the way, Jaxx is a great, secure mobile wallet to download from the app store for several currencies. You’ll also have access to your own private keys which you’ll need for the next Bitcoin fork that Coinbase decides not to support. Private keys are what allows you to claim your free Bitcoin Cash, Gold and Diamond.
A more complicated wallet, but also more secure, is myetherwallet. It’s what you’ll typically need in order to participate in ICOs.
I used to own Ripple (XRP) and it’s extremely popular. I really like what they’re doing in the banking industry but they might be the one coin that actually has more utilitarian value than a store of value. Bitstamp is a good wallet option for Ripple.
With nearly 1,400 cryptos to choose from I realize that there will be some big winners hidden in there somewhere. To me it’s like finding the right penny stock, but not really a risk in which I’m too keen taking. Sure, I’ll throw a small amount at some of them in the hopes of hitting a home run.
A couple that I own and that I’m rooting for their success are Monaco (MCO) and Wagerr (WGR). Monaco looks to be close to releasing their multiple levels of crypto cash back Visa debit cards. If that happens soon I would expect to see a big jump in price.
Wagerr is a decentralized online sports betting site. There’s a lot of people looking for trustworthy betting sites and if they can live up to their promises, then the value of their Wagerr tokens will definitely increase as that is the only way to place a wager(r).
In order to buy altcoins you’ll have to do so via slightly more complicated methods. You can start by opening accounts with exchanges like Bittrex and Waves. If you’ve already opened your Coinbase account then you can transfer your crypto to many other exchanges from there as well. Then you can use that crypto to exchange it for another altcoin.
As always, proceed with extreme caution.
Trading and investing in digital assets like Bitcoin and other altcoins is highly speculative and comes with many risks. This analysis is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.