𝐊𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐰ä𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐟ü𝐫 𝐁ö𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐣ü𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 / 𝐄𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫 (Part 3 - Money Money Money)

You invest in ETF, stocks, real estate, gold, savings or similar, recently heard about these "cryptocurrencies" and now want to join the cool kids discussion? Then please read on. This series of articles reveals the basics of the crypto world, touches on a variety of topics and remains superficial at beginner level - the perfect basis to delve deeper into individual areas on your own or to shine at the regulars' table with dangerous half-knowledge.

Part 1 was about what cryptocurrencies actually are and what added value they can generate. You can find part 1 here: https://app.getquin.com/activity/buTJFYxcSD

In the second part, I went into the technology and security of cryptocurrencies, here to read: https://app.getquin.com/activity/QHAzXeXlSO

This part is probably about the most important question for you: how can I make money with cryptocurrencies? This is purely my private experience without any claim to completeness and certainly no investment advice!

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻, 𝗘𝘀𝗲𝗹! 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝗴𝗶𝗯𝘁𝘀 ü𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗽𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼𝘄ä𝗵𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗻?

Cryptocurrencies may differ, for example, in how quickly coins can be sent from A to B, the fees for such a transaction, and how much power is consumed in the process. In addition, the range of functions and the "specialty" of cryptocurrencies may differ. For example, Bitcoin is mainly seen as a store of value and a means of payment, Ethereum made smart contracts and DApps socially acceptable, Iota was conceptualized for microtransactions in the Internet of Things (IoT), and Cosmos tries to be a link between different crypto networks.

However, the majority of cryptocurrencies exist only to make a profit. The overwhelming majority of all cryptocurrencies will disappear into insignificance in months or years and are worthwhile at most for short-term and highly speculative investments, which also like to fall to 0 sometimes.

𝗚𝗲𝗶𝗹, 𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗹! 𝗜𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗵𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗸𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝘂𝗿𝘇𝗳𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻. 𝗩𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝗻 𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗸𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗵𝗻𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗲. 𝗘𝗿𝘇ä𝗵𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗵𝗿!

Cryptocurrencies are generally highly speculative and very volatile. They are also unregulated, which, among other things, means that absolutely anyone can create a cryptocurrency. Often, these are tokens that do not have their own blockchain, but use an existing blockchain. For example, there are a large number of so-called ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain [1]. Such tokens / coins can generate brutal short-term price gains or losses due to wild promises, hype, a meme or people like Elon Musk. Those who want to multiply their stake or send it to 0 in the shortest possible time can look into such hype coins and try to identify favorable entry and exit points. For example, the meme coin Shiba Inu cost 0.000004 euros on 10/02/2021 - only to peak at 0.000104 euros by 10/28/2021. The coin has multiplied its price by a factor of 26 within less than a month. By February 2022, however, it had also fallen back to 0.000016 euros. [2]

Since there are so many cryptocurrencies, it is extremely difficult to find the right coin and the right entry and exit time. In addition, so-called exit scams and rug pulls [3], where developers of a coin simply make off with investors' deposits, pose another danger. The Squid game rug pull, in which investors were cheated out of USD 3.3 million at the end of 2021, is one of the most recent examples [4].

Therefore, I personally would only invest in established projects that, from my point of view, generate added value and have potential. Of course, it is tempting to gamble a bit with smaller sums. But: If I start an experiment with e.g. 100 Euro and make 100% profit, I still have only 200 Euro. Whether the thrill and the risk is worth it, everyone must decide for themselves. For example, I participated in an ICO (Initial Coin Offering, the equivalent of an IPO) in 2017 and invested 5 Ether worth 1,000 euros at the time. Unfortunately, the project never really got off the ground and my money is long gone. If I had just kept my 5 Ether and not participated in the ICO, I would have turned the 1,000 euros into over 10,000 euros today.

𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗷𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘁 ü𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗺 𝗔𝘂𝗳𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗞𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼𝘄ä𝗵𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴 / 𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻? 𝗜𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗹𝗱!

Yes, this is another way to make money with crypto. You can create your own currency - for example as a token on an existing blockchain. I've never done this myself, which is why I won't recommend any articles here. But feel free to google "create erc20 token" - you should find enough instructions and examples here. Maybe you'll do some proper advertising for your token and then your own little rug pull? With honest means and without added value / unique selling proposition it might be difficult to earn money with your own cryptocurrency.

NFTs are currently very trendy. With NFTs, you can create unique tokens that, for example, make your farts [5], your tweets [6] or pictures of monkeys [7] tradable on a blockchain. Maybe someone will auction off the rights to their GetQuin posts soon? So you can create "digital art" and sell it on appropriate platforms like https://opensea.io/ sell it. Now, if you can still find a buyer and you actually own the rights to your art, there's nothing standing in the way of immeasurable wealth. And unlike rug pulls with self-created cryptocurrencies, this isn't even illegal.

Conversely, you can of course also buy NFTs and speculate on a higher sale value. The whole thing becomes more exciting in the context of computer games, where you can acquire unique items as NFTs, for example. With https://sorare.com there is even a soccer manager and trading card game in which you can buy player cards as NFTs, form your team from them and, ideally, sell them later at a profit.

𝗗𝗮𝘀 𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁 𝗷𝗲𝘁𝘇𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘇𝗶𝗲𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝘆𝗹𝗱. 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗯𝘄𝗲𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶ö𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗞𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼𝘄ä𝗵𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗻?

Absolutely! You can analyze cryptocharts and buy / sell based on them or follow a buy & hold strategy (or hodl, as the crypto community says). When hodln cryptocurrencies, you should pay attention to the fundamentals - just like when buying stocks. You can pay attention to market capitalization, trading volume, the age of the cryptocurrency, security, decentralization, energy consumption, transaction speed, developers (individual(s) vs. company vs. large community), projects / use cases, usage and / or the specialty of the cryptocurrency, among others.

In general, many cryptocurrencies are trying to solve similar problems. Analyze what makes the cryptocurrency of your choice different and better than the other cryptocurrencies and what added value it generates. What is its unique selling point? Why should someone use exactly this cryptocurrency and not another or even a centralized solution in the future? It definitely takes work to find suitable cryptocurrencies for investment. And when you have found them, you will probably find other cryptocurrencies with similar fundamentals shortly after.

So-called Proof of Stake (PoS) [8] cryptocurrencies like Ada can also be staked. By staking you support the network and get paid interest in the respective cryptocurrency. The amount differs from cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency and is approximately 5% per year for Ada [9]. Note, however, that the additional coins have to come from somewhere and imply a corresponding inflation of the respective cryptocurrency. Since staking is a native function of PoS cryptos, you don't need a central entity like a crypto exchange for this either. The investment and withdrawal is done directly within and through the crypto network. If you do not want to deal with the manual staking process, you can often stake via central crypto exchanges. This is convenient, of course, but it doesn't support the network and you lose control over your coins (see Part 2 https://app.getquin.com/activity/QHAzXeXlSO ). Unless you are invested in a PoS cryptocurrency, I would therefore recommend native staking on the network without a central instance.

If you have a Proof of Work (PoW) cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, it cannot be multiplied by staking for the time being. PoW coins are instead created by solving computational operations, known as mining [10]. To obtain new PoW coins, you can equip yourself with special hardware, install software, and thus mine new coins from home. Nowadays, however, for many cryptocurrencies this requires enormous initial investments in corresponding hardware. In addition, there is an extreme consumption of electricity and highly volatile prices of cryptocurrencies. From my point of view, mining is usually not worthwhile for private individuals in Germany.

𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆. 𝗞𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁 𝗷𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴. 𝗚𝗶𝗯𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘇𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗹𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗴 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹?

Definitely! On platforms like. https://crypto.com you can also generate "interest" on your PoW crypto deposits. However, this is then done by the respective platform and independent of the network. For example, by lending your coins to other market participants. On many platforms, this also works for so-called stablecoins [11], whose value is tied to another asset such as the dollar. This way, you do not have to endure the price fluctuations of "ordinary" cryptocurrencies when investing in such stablecoins.

In addition, some platforms like Binance offer other investment products for your cryptocurrencies. These include, for example, futures or the provision of liquidity for certain crypto trading pairs. If you want to avoid centralized platforms - in line with the crypto idea - you can use DeFi (Decentralized Finance) [12]. DeFi allows you to trade cryptocurrencies in a decentralized manner and to invest your coins, for example, in lending products.

One request: Study the matter in detail before you invest money in cryptocurrencies or increase (or decrease) your cryptocurrencies with a corresponding product. Especially if you want to generate interest income with your cryptocurrencies, you should take a close look at how the respective product works and the associated risks. The market is not regulated. If you make a mistake or don't understand an investment product and your money is gone because of it, no one will replace it for you! Also the operator of a product can in principle go bankrupt at any time.

𝗞𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘇𝘂𝗺 𝗞𝗮𝘂𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗸𝗮𝘂𝗳. 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼𝘄ä𝗵𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝘇𝘆𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗵? 𝗚𝗶𝗯𝘁 𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗸𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘂ß𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗯 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀?

Generally, a distinction is made between Bitcoin, as the first of all cryptocurrencies, and the cryptocurrencies that followed it, known as altcoins. It can often be observed that altcoins, a short time after bitcoin has risen or fallen significantly, also react accordingly and swing in the same direction [13]. This can be observed for the great mass of altcoins, but of course not always for all of them. If altcoins rise after a bitcoin rise, this is called an altcoin season [14].

In recent years, bitcoin seems to correlate with stocks. This was not always the case, but could be observed in 2020 to 2021 [15]. Thus, an investment in cryptocurrencies currently diversifies you insufficiently from the stock market. At the same time, of course, you can try to use this knowledge for your investments. However, keep in mind that this correlation does not have to exist forever.

In the past, one recurring event in particular caused enormous price increases of Bitcoin: the so-called halving. Halving occurs about every four years, the next time in 2024, when the number of Bitcoin that miners receive as a reward for providing computing power is halved. The miners currently receive 6.25 Bitcoin per block and from 2024 only 3.125 Bitcoin. That is, they will receive only half the dollar equivalent for consistent performance. As a result of such halving, enormous price increases could be observed in the past. After the first halving in 2012, the bitcoin price rose from $12 to over $1,000 at the end of 2013. Before the second halving in 2016, the price stood at $650, only to rise to almost $20,000 within 1.5 years. Prior to the last halving in May 2020, the bitcoin price was below 10,000 USD and has so far peaked above 60,000 USD. So in the past, a halving was followed by a rapid rise in the price, followed by a huge drop in value, but never below the price level before the halving. If we look at the price trends in the past on this basis, the last ATH could not be broken again until 2024 / 2025. In addition, there could be further price declines, but never below the USD 10,000 level. [16] [17]

𝗜𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗶ß, 𝗸𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗴. 𝗔𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗹: 𝗔𝘂𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘇𝘁 𝗱𝘂?

I hold Bitcoin and Ether as they are the largest and most important cryptocurrencies and I consider the risk with the two to be significantly lower than any other altcoins. I also hold Iota and Hbar. The two rely on DAGs (decentralized directed graphs) instead of a blockchain. In theory, DAGs are superior to blockchains and could become something like Blockchain 2.0. In practice, however, that remains to be proven. So this is a bet on highly speculative coins. Otherwise, I believe that the top 3-100 cryptocurrencies differ very little (exceptions like Iota and Hbar prove the rule) and pretty much any of them can go to 0 or 100. However, I would like to diversify my portfolio a bit, which is why I put Ada into my hardware wallet as a relatively arbitrary fifth currency.

I store my Ada and Iota in the respective network. BTC, ETH and Hbar lie quite useless in their wallets and wait for price increases. In addition, I still have a few stablecoins that I have invested in Binance to generate a little return.

𝗛𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝗽 𝗳ü𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵?

Deal with the taxation of your crypto earnings (sale, staking, DeFi, ...) in time. In Germany, for example, there is a free contribution. In addition, cryptocurrencies can be sold tax-free after a one-year holding period.

𝗜𝗰𝗵 𝗳ü𝗵𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗷𝗲𝘁𝘇𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗞𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗱ä𝗿 𝘇𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻! 𝗪𝗼 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗸𝗮𝘂𝗳𝗲𝗻?

A comparison of the most popular crypto exchanges has the good @Europoor already created. I recommend you to stop by his site: https://app.getquin.com/activity/PfAxjKLYpc

I personally use Binance, Kraken and Bison. If you liked this series of posts and want to sign up with Binance or Bison, feel free to use any of my ref links.

Binance (refund 10% of your transaction fees to you and me): https://accounts.binance.com/en/register?ref=YQXHXPWS

Bison (€15 in BTC to you and me if you trade more than €50): https://join.bisonapp.com/pd2u9c

Alternatively, of course, feel free to leave a Lambo at my doorstep once you become a billionaire.

Sources

[1] https://www.bitpanda.com/academy/de/lektionen/was-ist-der-erc20-token-standard/

[2] https://coindaten.at/kurs/shiba-inu/

[3] https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/rug-pull

[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/02/squid-game-crypto-rug-pull/

[5] https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/nfts-ein-furz-auf-der-blockchain-bringt-75-euro-a-48a46f66-e63a-470f-b4d2-e45e14465e26

[6] https://v.cent.co/tweet/20

[7] https://boredapeyachtclub.com/

[8] https://www.btc-echo.de/academy/bibliothek/proof-of-stake/

[9] https://www.adatainment.com/index.php?page=staking_calculator

[10] https://www.bitpanda.com/academy/de/lektionen/was-ist-bitcoin-mining-und-wie-funktioniert-es/

[11] https://www.coinbase.com/de/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-a-stablecoin

[12] https://www.coinbase.com/de/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-defi

[13] https://www.commpro.biz/why-does-bitcoin-have-such-a-big-influence-on-other-cryptocurrencies/

[14] https://zipmex.com/learn/what-is-altcoin-season/

[15] https://blogs.imf.org/2022/01/11/crypto-prices-move-more-in-sync-with-stocks-posing-new-risks/

[16] https://bitcoin-2go.de/bitcoin-halving/

[17] https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD/history

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