Bitcoin is receiving attention from investors, techies, governments, and news agencies. Several friends and colleagues have asked me about investing in Bitcoin recently. For everyone looking to invest, I am providing this quick summary.
First, Bitcoin is one of many cryptocurrencies in the budding universe of digital currency. There are hundreds of other cryptocurrencies out there -- not just Bitcoin -- with values ranging from fractions of a penny per unit to billions of dollars of market capitalization.
Even at record high prices, I'm still very bullish on Bitcoin and Ethereum, and slightly bullish on Litecoin. I think Bitcoin and Litecoin will become stores of value, much like gold and silver, and Ethereum will eventually become a widely accepted international currency.
I believe there is also a great deal of money to be made in other cryptocurrencies. Monero is one I think has solid upside potential. But, keep in mind there is high risk as well. Some of the cryptocurrencies floating around today will be completely worthless a year from now, so do your homework before investing.
So, if you're new to all this, there's two ways for you to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies: Buy it or Mine it.
MINING CRYPTO: Most cryptocurrency can be "mined" by anyone with a computer -- or even a smartphone. Mining is essentially using your excess computer (hashing) power to create cryptocurrency out of nothing. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. Essentially, the only cost to mine cryptocurrency is the electricity your computer consumes.
Now, you're not going to make a fortune overnight by mining (unless you have some supercomputers sitting around), but it's a good way to slowly and steadily get into cryptocurrency investing. Depending on the currency you mine, and with a little luck, you can make a very good return on investment over a long period of time.
The easiest and most user-friendly mining software I've found is MinerGate. It's designed for a novice to be up and running in no time, but it's also a solid platform for experienced miners. It has a "smart mining" feature, which checks for what coin is the most profitable to mine based on current exchange rates. It has a simple graphical interface, and is great for beginners.
Here's the link to start mining: https://minergate.com/a/b734fedf0721f39868288614
Oh, and forget about mining Bitcoin. Profitable Bitcoin mining now requires special rigs that cost many thousands of dollars, and it's not even remotely cost-effective to do it on a PC or Mac. Mining currencies like Monero or Etherium offer a much better return on investment. You can then exchange them for Bitcoin if you choose.
BUYING CRYPTO WITH $: The other way to get started in cryptocurrency investing is to simply buy it. I've used several exchanges to buy and sell cryptocurrency, but probably the easiest for a beginner is CoinBase. Once you setup an account, you can purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC), which I consider the big three and the most stable.
Here's the link to start investing: https://www.coinbase.com/join/593345938331aa564f0cdacd
Full Disclosure: This is my 100% honest assessment, and I personally use these services. However, I also make a few bucks if you sign up for an account with either CoinBase or Minergate. So, if you're interested, do me a solid and use the links above, because we're all capitalists here.
Also, if you have any questions, post them in the comments below. I'm glad to help.
