It’s in the news, it’s in politics, it’s everywhere. Crypto or crypto-currency is the modern day gold rush. Headlines scream of overnight millionaires, social media feeds are flooded with stories of fortunes made and lost. This extremely volatile market has captured the hearts and minds of the world.
- What is cryptocurrency?
- How does cryptocurrency work?
- Cryptocurrency Benefits:
- Cryptocurrency Cons:
- Storing your Cryptocurrency
- Is Crypto Worth Investing in?
- What Cryptocurrencies are Available?
- Conclusion
Everyday people are being made millionaires over the course of days, hours, minutes and seconds. How? Over the past decade Cryptocurrency has gone from being a mysterious and unknown phenomenon for tech geeks, to being a potential contender to replace modern currency. So what is it? Is it worth investing in? Is it worth trading?
These questions can be difficult to consider for the everyday investor. After all Crypto can be difficult to understand. So what really Crypto?
What is cryptocurrency?
Simply put crypto-currency is any form of currency that exists digitally. Where traditional currencies or “fiat money” like pounds sterling (GBP) or dollars (USD) exists physically. Crypto-currency only exists in the digital realm. Where fiat money is government issued currency, its value depends on the stability of the issuing government. The value of fiat money also depends on relationship between supply and demand. Frequently losing value due to more fiat money being printed, causing inflation. In contrast to this, the value of cryptocurrencies are based largely on market speculation.
Crypto-currency however is not controlled by any one centralized structure like governments or banks. Crypto operates on a “peer to peer” system, eliminating the need for banks and other financial service companies. This “peer to peer” system allows users to directly trade with one another rather than through a bank.
How does cryptocurrency work?
Cryptocurrencies have to be “mined”. A process through which computers solve difficult mathematical problems and validate transactions to create new coins.
Cryptocurrencies can also be bought from brokers such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. Here, fiat money can be exchanged for cryptocurrencies for a transaction fee. Without the hassle of having to mine them.
Due to the nature of cryptocurrencies, if you buy them, you are not buying anything physical. Their existence is purely digital. Many of the benefits and cons of cryptocurrencies come from this fact.
Cryptocurrency Benefits:
- Transaction Speeds: Transaction speed is much faster than other fiat currencies.
- Transaction Costs: Transaction costs can be low compared to many other financial services.
- Inflation Resistant: Many cryptocurrencies provide protection against inflation by having a “hard cap”. Meaning no more will ever be made.
- Improved Privacy: As you do not need to register with financial institutions, your information can be kept private.
- Security: Crypto wallets function from a “private key”. Unless someone gains access to this key your funds are safe.
- Accessibility: All you need to buy cryptocurrency is an internet connection. Anyone can do it, anywhere in the world.
Cryptocurrency Cons:
- Volatility: Prices can fluctuate wildly, making them risky investments.
- Lack of Legal Protection: Unlike fiat transactions, cryptocurrency payments are not legally protected.
- Criminals: The enhanced anonymity and privacy allows for criminal uses.
- Regulatory Uncertainty: Cryptocurrency is still lacking widespread adoption, meaning certain regulations could harm its growth.
- Environmental Concerns: Mining cryptocurrencies can use a large amount of energy which can be damaging to the environment.
Storing your Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency, like most currency, must be stored in a wallet. These wallets are largely provided by exchanges and can be set up quickly and easily. When making transactions you must reference another wallet compatible with the funds you are transferring. If your wallet, or the wallet you are transferring to is incompatible with the currencies you are transacting. Funds can be lost.
Cryptocurrency wallets are at risk of hacking and having your investments stolen. Personally I use a hardware wallet to store my crypto. Hardware wallets store your private keys offline to ensure security over your cryptocurrencies.
Also giving you complete control over your assets. Hardware wallets are relatively inexpensive and widely available. Definitely a worthwhile buy when considering investing large amounts of money into crypto. Personally I use the Ledger hardware wallet, but others are available.
Is Crypto Worth Investing in?
Historically, people have seen unheard of returns from investing in cryptocurrencies. Everyone has heard stories of people that bought bitcoin at its advent. At the start of 2011, 1 Bitcoin was worth $0.30. At the time of writing this, Bitcoin recently reached an all time high of $103,332.30. Meaning a small investment of $1 in 2011, would have been worth about $344,441 in 2025.
But what if you didn’t buy Bitcoin in 2011? Is there still any chance of becoming a cryptocurrency millionaire? Well it depends who you ask. Some people think after the “crypto hype” has died down it will go back to being near $0. Largely due to it not being tangible. But for other people, crypto is the future. It will replace fiat currency, becoming one of the most valuable assets available.
Personally, I sit somewhere in the mid-ground. I believe crypto has a future, and given a long span of time, could be the future. I acknowledge that there is a big possibility crypto will lose money over time. Many cryptocurrencies are being created. It is more than likely the majority will fizzle out and amount to nothing. I believe there will be a few which have a very good possibility to overtake fiat currency.
How do I account for this in my investing? I use the traditional stock market for my large sum investing. Continuing my strategy that will lead me to financial freedom.
I do however, invest small sums into cryptocurrencies. I am planning on holding them in a secure wallet for a long amount of time. Enough time for the cryptocurrencies I am holding to hopefully grow massively. Do not invest money that would harm you financially to lose into cryptocurrencies. It is an extremely risky investment, and there is a likelihood you will lose your entire investment.
But if the age of cryptocurrency is yet to come. If crypto really will go to the moon. If crypto really will replace currencies as we know it. Are you really willing to pass up that chance? The potential for a small dollar to turn into a life changing sum is all too real.
It can be a gamble but cryptocurrencies with massive growth potential still exist. Remember back in 2011 when bitcoin was just $0.3? 14 years later at the start of 2025 it was worth over $103,000. What will it be worth 14 years from now in 2039? We will have to wait and see.
Of course Bitcoin is not the only available cryptocurrency we can invest in to. In fact, many people, including myself choose to invest largely in other currencies. But what currencies are available?
What Cryptocurrencies are Available?
Bitcoin:
As we have already discussed at length, Bitcoin is one of the best known cryptocurrencies available. It was invented in 2008 by famously anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Becoming the worlds first decentralized cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is first and foremost a currency, for trading. Mainly used as an investment due to its history of rapid growth. As with most of the cryptocurrencies we will mention, you can buy fractional parts of Bitcoins. This is particularly useful with Bitcoin, as at the time of writing. Buying an entire Bitcoin will cost you over $100,000.
Ethereum:
Ethereum is the second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Buying a whole Ethereum coin at the time of writing will cost you over $3200. Ethereum is an open-source blockchain platform. Ethereum allows users to create smart contracts, allowing users to transact each other without a central authority. Create applications to deploy on to the blockchain known as dApps. Create NFT’s and allowing users to borrow against or lend their cryptocurrency holdings.
Ethereum tokens can be “staked”. Committing Ethereum tokens to help validate other transactions on the network. In return for this service, people with staked Ethereum earn more Ethereum tokens as interest. This interest rate can vary depending on how your Ethereum is staked, but tends to vary between 4%-10%. While these coins are staked they are “locked”, meaning they can not be exchanged until they are “unstaked”.
USD Coin (USDC):
The USDC token is a centralized cryptocurrency that is backed by cash. USDC is known as a “stablecoin”. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a relatively stable price. They achieve this by being pegged to a commodity or currency. As you may have guessed the currency USDC is pegged to is the US dollar. Aiming to keep its value constant to that of the dollar.
Stablecoins can be used to store money in cryptocurrencies. Helping to avoid hefty fees when converting crypto back to fiat money. USDC can also be used to send funds across borders for low fees. Safe to do so without using a bank account or being concerned about price volatility.
Solana:
Solana, like Ethereum is a blockchain platform with a native cryptocurrency of the same name. Solana is frequently used for smart contracts and now NFT’s also. Solana has gained the nickname “Ethereum Killer” due to being Ethereums closest rival. Solana can process many more transactions per second and charges lower transaction fees than Ethereum. Showing it has earned its nickname.
Solana is a good choice of cryptocurrency for staking, often earning interest up to 10% interest. The value of a Solana token at the time of writing is $250, an over 200% increase in the past year. Personally I believe that Solana has the potential to grow in price much more. Making it a personal favorite investment of mine.
Shiba Inu:
The Shiba Inu token is what is known as a “meme coin”. A cryptocurrency inspired by an internet meme or trend. Shiba Inu is based on the Ethereum network. While the price for a singular Shib is extremely low, it is an extremely volatile cryptocurrency. It has limited uses and is often outpaced by the speed of other blockchains. The limited uses for the token include NFT trading and gaming.
Its lack of use is reflected in the price of the token. At the time of writing, one token is worth $0.00001974. Meaning that for $100 you could purchase over 5 million Shiba Inu tokens. The token is definitely a gamble. Although, in the extremely unlikely case the token rises to just $1. Your investment of $100 would be worth over $5 million. A worthy gamble? I’ll let you decide.
Conclusion
In summary, cryptocurrencies are definitely a risky investment. But there is also the potential for a massive payoff. The payoff is far more likely if you do your research before jumping into purchasing cryptocurrencies. There are a lot of currencies available on the market. You have to be vigilant when choosing to invest in one.
Ensure you do not invest money you can not afford to lose into cryptocurrencies as they are HIGH risk investments. If they do overtake traditional currencies with banks, there is a limitless upside in their future.
I hope you’ve enjoyed taking the first steps into crypto investing. Happy investing!
Effortless Investing 
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