How much should I put in bitcoin? This is a question that many people ask these days. They want to obtain exposure to bitcoin but want to do so in the way that makes the most sense for them and their financial lives.

It’s no wonder why people want to invest in bitcoin. It’s on the rise.

In recent years, crypto-monetary activities have acquired considerable traction and provoked quite a bit of enthusiasm and excitement, particularly among investors. In the first week of 2021, bitcoin’s price reached a new high record of $42,000. Right after that, though, bitcoin’s value plunged by more than 20% while others still declined. But many believe that this industry is here for the long term and are still investing in several cryptocurrencies, diversifying their portfolios, and sticking around for a while.

Now, it is in these times when individuals must learn the fundamentals of investing.

Making decisions based on excitement and commotion is highly hazardous. It is vital to maintain a more holistic perspective when making your bitcoin investments. Remember that discipline and the appropriate knowledge are necessary to create valuable gains.

Here is what you must know about allocating capital toward bitcoin.

Buying and Investing in Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s value was increased from $3,237 in December 2018, the world’s first and most popular cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, unlike other cryptocurrencies, is emerging as a clear store of value despite its far greater volatility than many tried-and-true assets such as equities, bonds, and mutual funds.

Purchasing bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies may be a fascinating way to discover more powerful returns with a new type of investment. But, like cigarettes, it should be labeled with caution: “This item may be detrimental to the health of your money and invest wisely.”

But the idea here is not to frighten you. Instead, it is to assist you in determining how to allocate to BTC. Here are clever strategies to invest in bitcoin that will lead you in the right direction.

Is Bitcoin Worth Investing In?

Essentially no investment is “good” or “bad.” It all depends on your risk tolerance, investing plan, and financial goals. Bitcoin is a volatile investment since it is still a fairly new asset.

It can provide significant gains but one must understand how to approach it in the right fashion. Indeed, there is a profit possibility.

You should evaluate your personal goals and establish what you want to do in your investing activities thoroughly before considering bitcoin as an investment. Would you like passive revenue to grow? Will you be an investor full-time? Do you seek to save for a type of pension? Responding to these questions will help you determine how much you should allocate to bitcoin.

Pros of Allocating to Bitcoin

The significant advantage of a bitcoin investment is that you may make enormous profits, potentially up to 200 percent or more. The core point here is that bitcoin is supposed to reach the status of gold. That means that bitcoin has quite a bit of potential ahead of it. It is known as a store of value and that means that bitcoin is likely to have staying power, durability, and longevity.

The positives of investing in bitcoin are that you obtain exposure to the future, to digital currency, and capturing energy in a new monetary asset.

Cons of Allocating Towards Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s extreme unpredictability makes it a risky commodity, and if you don’t take caution, you may lose money.

The danger of pumping and dumping strategies in bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency is considerable. The key point over here is to make sure that you are looking at allocating capital toward bitcoin in a more holistic way. This means that you will ensure to have more strategic ways of looking at it. As such, you can protect your downside and maximize your upside.

Innovative Ways to Allocate Capital to Bitcoin

One can see that there are many methods to, directly and indirectly, invest in bitcoin. You may invest in businesses that use bitcoin or take part in bitcoin mining. Moreover, some ETFs contain shares of firms that work with bitcoin and blockchain technology. Of course, you can invest in bitcoin directly by purchasing through different facilitators.

The following are intelligent strategies to study before BTC becomes a part of your portfolio.

1. Invest what you have the courage to risk

Financial risk-taking might make some individuals uncomfortable, while others take full advantage and take a chance. It is worth thinking carefully before investing in cryptography if pushing boundaries gets you uneasy as it is pretty unstable. However, if you’re a risk-taker, you can ensure to purchase satoshis, fractions of a bitcoin, or even a few whole bitcoin. It all depends on your net worth and what you can afford to lose.

You need to invest the money you can lose. The main objective of funding, whether traditional or digital, is to add value to and not lose your present money.

2. Lead a strong portfolio of cryptocurrencies

Investing in more than bitcoin is part of a suitable crypto portfolio. This technique reduces losses and maximizes profit. Yes, it’s complicated but better than just investing in one currency. Cryptocurrencies are very volatile in price, and the right ones have different value points and elements to offer to your portfolio.

By investing in several cryptocurrencies and diversifying your portfolio, you will enable you to cover any risks.

You will not be exposed to a concentrated single investment by doing so. It is better to win and lose some than to lose it all. Diversification is one of the best and most clever ways to diversify and stabilize your profits.

3. Do not buy into the hype

As with any other traditional investment, it will be essential to ignore the hype and filter the noise from the bitcoin chamber. When it comes to investment in bitcoin, your choices should not depend on what others say. A wise Bitcoin investor never makes hype- and noise-based judgments since they are very hazardous. Just depending on what the mob says about Bitcoin isn’t sensible. Remember to think about your investment from your own perspective.

The initial price may start dropping, resulting in an appalling waste. Patience and the appropriate knowledge are necessary to create valuable gains.

Instead, intelligent ways of investing in bitcoin would be to research the market extensively, use information obtained to take measured risks, and contact professionals for advice if need be. It is vital that people who have enough understanding of trade and investment strategies only seek guidance. That way, you may develop your techniques and filter undesirable hypothesized information successfully.

4. Instead of a significant start, begin modestly

Given its brief but extremely unpredictable history, it is typically advisable to maintain a relatively restricted initial investment of bitcoin when starting out. Bitcoin purchases are somehow much like the purchase of other types of investment. You must constantly be aware that its prices are rising and falling relative to other assets.

Remember that the most advanced investors started by dipping their toes into the market before allocating more capital to bitcoin over time. Despite the exaggeration and the projections, keep your discipline by not adding much more capital than you can afford to lose.

5. Work with entities that Trustworthy

Many digital exchanges arise and move on. It is of the utmost importance to pick a platform with periodic security assessments and effective security procedures and protocols.

Based on the physical absence of bitcoins, experienced bitcoin investors keep them in different types of digital wallets. One can either store it on digital or hardware wallets. A hardware wallet can be an offline portable device that secures the private key required for your bitcoin holdings to be transferred from one place to another. If you are looking for a bitcoin wallet, you can find many that are free and available.

6. Trade Bitcoin on Short-Term Volatility

Asset volatility is one of the most popular reasons why many people invest in bitcoin.

If they do not feel like sticking around for the long-term, they can trade the volatility regularly and make gains that way.

Indeed, bitcoin is synonymous with dramatic value fluctuations. Just looking at a one-year chart, you can see how unpredictable Bitcoin is, which is suitable for short-term traders. Not surprisingly, investors will ride it up and down, sell at the heights, and purchase at the bottoms. This is undoubtedly the most difficult of the techniques presented and puts the most significant risk on investors; yet, it might make the returns. It might bring in more returns if one is more active. If one is active in the markets, know how to read charts and loves to speculate, then this can be a valuable way to grow one’s assets.

The Simple Takeaway and Crypto Portfolio Allocation 2021

Bitcoin is a growing asset class that brings about a more trust-less world. Thanks to the blockchain and other innovations, one can see that it can have staying power. Further, it continues to show that it is a store of value as it has increased in value over the course of ten or more years.

But remember that bitcoin is a highly volatile asset prone to significant and rapid changes in value, offering a chance to achieve substantial profits while representing a considerable danger.

It is up to you to figure out how much capital you should allocate to bitcoin. Many experts note investing from one to ten percent of your total net worth into this emerging asset class. If you are able to take it slow and steady and approach bitcoin in a more reasonable way, you can find that you can increase your portfolio value while keeping your risk at a more bearable level.

You should look at your goals, your investment horizon, and your risk tolerance to invest the right amount into bitcoin.

In the last ten years, Bitcoin has experienced astronomical growth and increased interest in South Africa. A lot of South Africans are now interested in how to buy Bitcoin. With a market cap of USD 171 billion, bitcoin has become one of the most profitable assets in the world. Just as computers and the internet revolutionized the way we keep, exchange, and process data, BTC completely improves how we can store and exchange money.

Gold has played a principal part in the development of the world’s economy for so many decades. As our cash and remittance systems change, BTC has become an asset with a better store of value and an apparent alternative to gold.

There have been many comparisons and studies in recent years on Bitcoin being a kind of digitized gold. However, can BTC be compared to gold as a store of value? Can BTC guard against inflation risks like gold?

In this article, we will be comparing BTC and gold to see which is a better store of value.

Confidence in Bitcoin and Gold

If most people do not agree that an asset has value and can be used as a store of value, then such an asset cannot be used as a store of wealth. In this case, gold has an advantage over Bitcoin. In whatever form gold might be (jewelry, coins, etc), most people are likely to accept gold as a valuable asset.

With Bitcoin just arriving on the scene not too long, its recent emergence puts it at a disadvantage in this area as it has only been around for about ten years. It will take some time for people to grow more trust in Bitcoin before it can be generally accepted as a proven long-term tool for keeping wealth.

Portability

Bitcoin has a greater advantage over gold in terms of portability. BTC is not a physical asset, and it can be transferred and gotten from any location with internet access. It also works completely outside the banking protocol, therefore it is simple and quick to transfer and get remittances across the globe.

However, gold can only be stored physically, either in a vault or a personal safe. Gold cannot be accessed easily if you don’t own and hold one yourself, even if you do own gold, it is not easy to move around with it. This makes Bitcoin a better store of value over gold when it comes to portability.

Additionally, some government authorities have historically tried to prohibit the ownership of gold privately. For instance, it was not legal to own and hold gold privately for about forty-one years in the U.S.

There is a lesser likelihood that a government could successfully prohibit access to BTC since it will require shutting down the entire internet. The government of China has tried banning BTC many times in the last ten years, and even with China’s huge internet firewall, it has not been able to make a significant impact.

Entry Difficulty

As of the time of this writing, the value of gold is around $1,800 per ounce. Therefore, if you intend to buy a 1oz token, the least you can pay is $1,800.

One BTC is about $33,000 at the time of this writing, however, you don’t have to buy one Bitcoin at once. If you intend to buy bitcoin, you can begin with a few dollars.

This makes it easier for people to accumulate Bitcoin compared to gold.

Hedge Against Inflation

A major reason for purchasing gold is to guard against inflation. Some people are scared that the fiat currencies they hold will experience a decrease in value in the future. Therefore, they change the fiat currencies to gold to help guard against inflation.

Both gold and Bitcoin can be utilized for protection against inflation, although the volatile nature of Bitcoin price makes it an uncomfortable choice for people to protect their fortune against inflation.

The value of gold is quite stable as it increases steadily over the years, and this makes it a good asset to hedge against inflation.

Growth Potential

Gold is an asset that has consistently increased in price over the last decade and century. However, Bitcoin since its existence has exceeded expectations. Although BTC will always have unstable prices due to its volatile nature, it has, proved to be a good investment with a consistent increase in value even during economic breakdowns when Gold did not perform up to expectations.

Functionality

A major assertion in favor of gold is that it is a physical asset and can be used to make pieces of jewelry and other accessories. It has genuine and physical usefulness aside from money. The demand for gold is majorly based on speculative prices.

However, Bitcoin is digital and cannot be used for any other purpose other than being digital, and non-physical storage of value. It is also important to note that the demand for Bitcoin is majorly speculative also.

Risks Involved

Gold has an original stable system for buying, selling, tracking, and weighing. It is very difficult to steal gold, trade fake gold, or debase it. BTC wallets cannot be hacked due to their decentralized and encrypted protocol. However, some online exchanges have low security and this can be exploited by hackers resulting in loss of funds.

After carefully analyzing both assets, it is safe to say that both Bitcoin and Gold are really good stores of value. All you have to do is choose which of the two assets is best suited for you; Bitcoin or Gold.

What is the future of crypto trading in South Africa? Find out if crypto will gain more popularity or be subjected to stricter regulations by the South African government.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to any company, product, or service mentioned in this article. BitcoinAfrica.io is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, product, or service mentioned in this post. 

As a trader that is very conversant with the cryptocurrency market, you must have noticed the varying prices of assets on different exchanges. This variation is what brings about arbitrage opportunities.

The prices of these assets are set by the market on different exchanges so there is always a slight difference in the prices of these assets. This variation might be a result of a rapid increase in trading volumes within the trading platform. Although the difference might be minimal so it requires taking several trades to accumulate profit.

In South Africa, crypto arbitrage is an effective way of making some profit because of the varying prices across multiple exchanges, and also the difference in the price of BTC in the U.S. Dollars (USD) and ZAR. Buying BTC with the USD is slightly cheaper than buying with the Rand so crypto traders look to exploit this difference. If you are looking for how to buy bitcoin in South Africa at a low price, you can consider buying with dollars. The price of bitcoin in South African crypto platforms is always subject to supply and demand which is a major cause of varying prices across the local exchanges.

Before discussing how you can make money by implementing the arbitrage strategy, let’s give an insight into what arbitrage is.

Read about the African countries leading the race of crypto adoption.

Crypto Arbitrage

As explained earlier, crypto arbitrage simply means taking advantage of the price variation of crypto assets across exchanges. A trader implementing this strategy will buy BTC or any altcoin at an exchange with a low price and sell the asset at another exchange with a higher price. Selling the asset should be done immediately in order not to miss the opportunity. Delay in selling the asset will lead to a reduced profit or even loss because of the high volatility of the crypto market. The variation in price doesn’t last long, so proper timing is a major factor. Some traders even use trading bots for this purpose.

How to make money from crypto arbitrating: There are two ways you can make money from crypto arbitrage; arbitrage between exchanges and arbitrage within an exchange.

Arbitrage Between Exchanges

It involves taking advantage of the price variation between two exchanges. It is the major strategy arbitrage traders implement to make some profit. To implement the strategy, you have to buy bitcoin or any altcoin at an exchange with a lesser price and sell at another with a higher price.

Steps in carrying out arbitrage between exchanges:

Select your exchanges

As an arbitrage trader, you need to register with the different exchanges you want to use in trading. When deciding on the exchanges you want to use for trading arbitrage you have to consider the fees, location, reputation, and security of such exchanges.

Look out for the best opportunity

To capture the best trading opportunity, you have to monitor the market closely as opportunities could be available at any moment, and they do not last. Examine the spread of the asset between the two exchanges and try to spot the best arbitrage opportunity.

Buy the cryptocurrency on the platform at a low price

Once you spot an opportunity, you have to spring into action immediately and take the chance. You buy on the trading platform with a low ask price and send it to the other with a high bid price.

Sell on the other exchange

Once you buy the asset at the exchange with a low ask price, send it to the exchange with a high bid price and sell. This should be done immediately to get the desired profit from the trade. After completing the trade, you can decide to transfer your profit to another wallet.

In South Africa, you can also take advantage of the difference in the price of Bitcoin in U.S. Dollars (USD) and South African Rands (ZAR). So you can buy bitcoin with USD on a foreign trading platform and sell to ZAR in a local exchange. Buying bitcoin with USD is always cheaper than buying with the Rand.

Arbitrage within exchange

This is not a common strategy for trading arbitrage. Unlike the other, the process is carried out on only one exchange and it involves three different currencies. So using BTC, ETH, and USD as an example, you buy BTC with USD, sell the bitcoin to ETH and then convert the ETH back to USD. However, just like the first method, you have to carefully study the market to know when to buy, swap and sell.

Pros of Crypto Arbitrage

Quick profit

Crypto arbitrage allows you to potentially make some profit in no time. Although the profits might be very minimal, making a series of small profitable trades accumulates to a bigger one. Arbitrage trading yields faster profit compared to some other trading strategies, although, proper timing is key.

Wide Options

To engage in crypto arbitrage, there are a lot of exchanges you can choose from. You have a wide range of trading platforms with the best arbitrage opportunity.

Cons of Crypto Arbitrage

The risk of being hacked on unsecure exchanges

Arbitraging requires the trader to have accounts with different exchanges to broaden the chance of getting an arbitrage opportunity. However, this could be a disadvantage as you will have to keep funds on the different exchanges. Some online wallets are prone to hacks so having funds across multiple online wallets increases your susceptibility to hacking attempts.

Fees

The fees exchanges charge varies, ranging from deposit fee, transaction fee, and withdrawal fee. These fees however reduce the profit made from crypto arbitrage.

Timing

As explained earlier, timing is a very important factor in crypto arbitraging. Cryptocurrency transactions could however take some minutes before completion which is a major hindrance for arbitrage traders as the variation in prices might last only for a few minutes. Longer transaction time could lead to a loss.

Before you start crypto arbitraging, there are various things to consider. We recommend you plan how much you want to spend on every trade. Consider the percentage of profit you will make and the fees that will reduce your profit. Having a clear strategy can help you make maximum profit from arbitrage trading.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to any company, product, or service mentioned in this article. BitcoinAfrica.io is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, product, or service mentioned in this post.