Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 22 degrees, hot, sunny with blue skies.
This Friday has been my crypto day.
I have bought the most Bitcoin I have ever bought in a single day. Compared to those with a sizable amount of money or a substantial investment portfolio, it would seem like small change, but for me, it was quite a lot.
Why did I do it? I do not know!
The money was in my account, Bitcoin was relatively low, and I recognised the opportunity. I am not a day trader who buys and sells daily; I lack the mental resilience or infrastructure for that. I believe in buying and holding. Keep buying, keep holding, never selling, and hopefully one day I will have accumulated something.
If I were younger and time were on my side, but as I am already 57, many trains have passed, and I wish I could get a bit of a lift on this train that has just passed with Bitcoin’s halving.
My portfolio consists only of Bitcoin and some Tesla shares. Six months ago, Tesla was about to explode in the market with new models and new driverless technology that would shift the company more towards a tech company than a car manufacturer.
Since I bought those shares, I have only been in negative territory, sometimes down as much as 40% from what I paid. They have recovered a little of their market price, but nothing to be proud of. Tesla is facing heavy competition from China, internal political problems, including Elon Musk’s fight with management, and reliability issues with some of its cars, which are taking a toll on the company’s overall value.
This shows that nothing is certain; the company that was once the top car manufacturer is no longer in that position after a short period. I hope they sort out their issues, and while I do not want to make a loss, it is difficult to know where to invest in something with the potential to build a nest egg for later life.
In England, building societies offer savings accounts that utilise deposited funds to provide mortgages for those looking to buy a house or property. The interest rates are very low —almost negligible — for their account holders as an investment return. Additionally, each time you use extra services, such as calling the bank or printing a bank statement, you incur a fee that can diminish — or even negate — any profits from the interest on your savings.
Shares are complicated, savings accounts are a joke — what about managed investment funds? I don’t know much about funds, almost nothing. All I know — or think I know — is that the funds use money to invest and, hopefully, make money for all of us.
However, the return from a fund is not guaranteed; it depends on the integrity and transparency of the institutions, as well as the skill and talent of their fund managers. Ultimately, you can only earn a little more than in a savings account.
I also believe that funds utilise other people’s money to generate significant profits, more for themselves than for the investors, the contributors, and their money.
Returning to cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and some others like Ethereum and Solana, but primarily Bitcoin. I favour Bitcoin because it is part of a fundamental structure—a blockchain—that records every transaction throughout its lifetime.
You can store your bitcoins physically, electronically in a digital wallet and carry them anywhere. Governments do not control them, although some wish to, and others are trying to; some governments are also beginning to invest in Bitcoin as a reserve asset, as it will be in shorter supply than gold in the future.
Bitcoin operates in a captive market where everyone wants to buy, but with a limited supply. It is more transparent than other investments because of blockchain technology, and it is straightforward to understand. It is simply a matter of purchasing and waiting, much like any other investment mentioned.
Since Bitcoin is inherently borderless, you can go anywhere to buy and sell it. People fear cryptocurrencies because they are seen as high-risk investments, yet many do not fully understand them and remain cautious.
There are instances where people lost significant amounts of money through crypto investments, but in nearly all cases, they couldn’t wait and sold too early. Later, when the market recovered, they lost even more due to impatience, immaturity, and lack of vision.
So, when I buy my little bits, fractions of Bitcoin, I hope that one day they will be worth something. I am confident in what I am doing and what I am investing in.
My last class was at 10:00 p.m. on a Friday evening. Marcelo was late, so we started at 10:30, and it continued until just after 11.
I was in bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
