Lost $1000 in Crypto Currencies

[Sandra]

I invested $1000 in Crypto Currencies at the starting of the year, and now my portfolio is at just $160 What should I do? Should I wait for the market to go up?
I've invested in:
Ethereum
Litecoin
Qtum
Icon

 

[jukung11]

Spend them. They were always supposed to function as currency (hence the name) not investments. Then again, if $160 isn't a lot of money to you, you could hold them and just treat the whole thing as a loss. It is known as limited downside risk. I knew someone that threw $500 into Bank of America stock when it was $2 a share. $500 was nothing to their portfolio, but BOA was one of the largest banks in the world.


I mean you sunk money into one of the most price volatile things that doesn't exist. I can't imagine the money meant anything to your net worth.

One of the problems with virtual currencies is the same as all technology. A new one can (and usually does) come along tomorrow and replaces it making it worthless.

 

[El_Goretto]

Since you've already lost so much, you may as well hold it. Just forget about it and come back to it in 2 years.

 

[Chiron]

Depending on whether you have more cash to invest, some traders might create a hedge or double-down on the original investment. Basically, both of these ideas require putting more cash (and risk) into the market, with the hopes that the second investment brings you back to even, or hopefully better.

The double-down idea, means buying more of the now much discounted cryptos. You could buy the same coins, or others that may have a greater possibility of a comeback. Personally I consider this to be quite risky at the moment, and more or less - not advisable. However, I do know people who are doing this very thing. They believe in these cryptos, and are convinced they will bounce back. I wish them all the best of luck...

A hedge, is doing something very different or even opposite of the original investment. I know of a few crypto traders that are also investing in the so-called crypto rigs (the computers that generate new coins). That could be a bit pricey, but might pay out over time - as long as you can afford the electric bill. I even know of one person who gone into business selling computer graphics cards (the most important part of a crypto rig) - besides building his own rig. Another hedge idea is to look at something that has been beat up pretty hard recently, and may stage a comeback. This might be things like precious metals, or electronic instruments representing PMs. If the original $1000 represented most of what you had to invest, then hedging may not be an option.

The most simple thing to do is taking El Goretto's advice and hold on for some extended period. Just be patient, and save as much as you can during this time. At some point, another opportunity may arise and you can take advantage of that. Just remember the old saying: "luck is where preparation meets opportunity".

 

[Bad_azz]

Thanks for the reminder to have a look.
In the year since I bought into CCs, BTC is up around $2000, from $4000+ to $6000+, so for me it is showing a decent rise.
The advice for "investing" is to buy in cheap & sell on a high.
So although there was that frenzy in the latter half of last year , which was quite a fun rollercoaster ride for those of us who bought in cheap(er), obviously a lot of people bought in on a FOMO (fear of missing out) at high prices & now are showing big losses.
I would certainly never advise people to buy in more than they can afford to lose- think of it as a bit of a gamble.

 

[cestpasmyjob]

Spend them on goods & services as and when merchants will accept them, as jukung11 says,

 

[R Cameron]

Spend them on goods & services as and when merchants will accept them, as jukung11 says,

Why spend them at the few merchants that accept them, rather than cashing them out and spending traditional currency? Will merchants accepting give better rates than selling on one of the exchanges?

 

[cestpasmyjob]

Good question. Which does beg the question what use are crypto-currencies. Well, apart from launching an ICO and hoping to cash in.

 

[jukung11]

Depending on the currency or exchange, you may get a better return for goods and services because the buy/sell margin or transaction fee may be high. You have hit on another downside to them as a medium for exchange. If it is cheaper and easier to use cash, they have little value as anything functional. Their only intrinsic value is as a medium for exchange.

 

[Sandra]

Ok so I've decided to hold. I'm not an active trader so might as well wait for the market to go up.

 

[Bad_azz]

Ok so I've decided to hold. I'm not an active trader so might as well wait for the market to go up.

Good idea, as you have hardly anything (in comparison to initial investment) to loose just now

 

[waarmstrong]

If you have other securities that have appreciated, you could sell both the crypto (to realize the loss) and the other (to realize the gain) so the net effect is zero taxable income.

 

[Bad_azz]

But there is no fun in that Waarmie

 

[jstar]

Average down.

 

[Bikerbule]

Move them to a safe wallet or offline storage and keep them for a few years.