 |
| photo courtesy Daily Express |
This is the
article you won’t see anywhere else but here on Medium. The topic is, however,
worth writing about because owning Bitcoin can be a very lucrative venture,
however risky. On the other hand, you know what else is risky? Writing fiction
on spec. I’ve hit a bunch of the bestseller lists and even had three separate
titles hit either number one on the Overall Amazon Bestseller List or No. 2.
One book stayed there for weeks. I’ve won the major awards and sold hundreds of
thousands of books, and still, I can’t count on having a steady writing career
going forward, anymore than I could count on it back when I started in the
mid-1990s.
Maintaining
a successful writing career doesn’t only take talent, it takes a whole lot of
luck. This is another way of saying, being a success is never a sure thing,
even when you are a success (see what I did there?). I don’t know about you but
when I get on a plane, I don’t count on making it to my destination because the
pilot is currently going through a streak of good luck. I’m more comfortable
with a sure thing.
How do you guarantee
success as a fiction writer? How do you bypass luck by inventing a sure thing?
Creating and maintaining as many income streams as possible, that's how.
Enter
Bitcoin.
I’d first
heard about the cryptocurrency back in 2015 or so, around the time it was
starting to shoot up to great financial heights. Having started out at its
inception ten years ago at a net worth of pennies per coin, it shot up to
almost $20K in value in just seven short years. Of course, that high eventually
fell to around $3K last December/January. That’s precisely when I got in,
purchasing one full coin.
Since that
time, my coin(s) has more than doubled in value. Despite its volatility,
Bitcoin has most definitely proven its worth as an asset and not the Ponzi
scheme so many people believe it to be. I’m such a believer in the new, decentralized,
currency, I know in my bones that one day it will provide life changing wealth.
I can’t say the same thing about writing crime thrillers, sadly.
All that
said, here’s why I invest in Bitcoin. And remember, I’m no financial analyst
and this isn’t to be taken as financial advice. This is merely presented here
as an FYI and something to be discussed in the comments below if you are so
inclined.
1. Volatility. You might assume that
volatility is a bad thing for an investment. If it suddenly loses all its
value, you can find yourself flat broke. But not with Bitcoin. The old adage of
buy low, sell high has never been more applicable. I keep one account where I
hold or hodl Bitcoin by dollar cost
averaging a certain affordable amount once per week, and another where I sell
my highs and buy the dips. It’s this latter account that often pays my monthly
rent. It’s not unusual for me to make $100 per day on average, depending on the
asset’s mood swings.
2. Decentralization. Although it’s
important you pay your taxes on your gains, the government is slow on the draw
when it comes to regulating the block chain and crypto. It’s the perfect asset
if you wish to live off-grid since there’s no third party interference like
banks. Sure, this might make it attractive to crooks, but crooks like cash too.
3. Limited Supply. Did you know that the
dollar is worth 30% less than it was in the year 2000? That’s right. Since
Tricky Dicky removed the dollar from the gold standard back in the early
seventies, it has continually lost value on an annual basis. What this means
is, just keeping money in the bank for a rainy day is a sure way to eventually
go broke. Bitcoin on the other hand has no choice but to increase in value
since it’s only available in limited supply. In April/May of 2020, the existing
amount of the Bitcoin will be halved, and theoretically anyway, this should
create a price spike.
4. Access. Unlike traditional
stocks/bonds, Bitcoin is traded day and night, 365 days per year. It doesn’t
take Christmas off. If you’re in the mood to make a trade in the middle of the
night, go for it. It doesn’t keep bankers hours either. Should your car suddenly need
a $500 repair, you can sell some Bitcoin and, depending on your exchange, the asset can be converted into cash almost immediately. You can't say the same about selling stocks.
5. Wave of the future. In this author’s
humble opinion, Bitcoin and a select few other cryptos will be the currency of
the future while worthless fiat currencies gradually get phased out (see
comment no. 3). The banks will fight it of course, and so will the government
to a degree. But in my mind, at least, Bitcoin’s future is set in stone. Look
at this way: who would have guessed that we could do our banking, watch a
movie, read a book, take our blood pressure, find directions in a foreign
city, create our own online TV show, trade stocks, and so much more from palm-sized
device that fits in the pocket of our Levis just fifteen years ago.
Like I said,
I’m no financial analyst and what I offer up here could be all wrong by next
month. I still invest in gold, silver, and other more traditional assets. But
from a personal perspective, I see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like it,
exploding in popularity once mainstream brokerages begin adopting it. But that
will be a bit of a bummer too because it will mean that there will be less
volatility in the cryptosphere.
So, if
you’re an author who is always looking for ways to increase your bottom line
without taking away from your writing time, check out Bitcoin. Do the research,
and if it all looks good to you, dive right in. Think of it like the Internet
back in the mid-1990s. Some people saw the enormous life changing potential in
it, and yet many others thought of it as a fading fad.
“Who’s ever
going to read a book or an article on a computer screen?” they laughed.
Me, I’m
laughing, all the way to the bank (the digital banking app on my smartphone, that is).
No comments:
Post a Comment