By Nathan Ferguson
The legends serve as a source of motivation for many amateur investors and traders. Investment legends Ray Dalio and Warren Buffett are well-known for making steady profits from investments over an extended period of time.
Traders such as Paul Tudor Jones and George Soros focus on more regular buying and selling tactics, which is what distinguishes trading from other types of investing. These experts have made a living off of traditional equity markets. They have established standards that investors in other markets, such as cryptocurrency aspire to copy or surpass in the future.
Trading and investing are two strongly interwoven approaches, and the same person can even use that. The primary distinction between the two methods is the type of technique that each adopts. Both crypto trading and investing strive to raise the value of your investment, but they go about achieving that goal in different ways.
To assist you in determining which method is best for you, we’ll examine the fundamental differences between crypto investing and trading.
Crypto Investment
Making money from digital currencies by purchasing and retaining crypto assets in the belief that their value will increase in the future is the strategy of investing in cryptocurrencies. Known as HODLing (a misuse of the word “holding” that has subsequently gained popularity), cryptocurrency investment entails purchasing and holding holdings for extended periods, frequently regardless of short-term price and market swings.
Individuals who purchase cryptocurrencies in which they have a fundamental belief and firmly hold on to them are referred to as HODLers. They believe that the price of their holdings will increase in the long run, and they are less concerned with timing the market fluctuations.
The act of purchasing or selling a crypto investment in accordance with one’s prediction of the optimal entry or exit time is referred to as timing the market. In order to maintain that degree of confidence, you would just be willing to hold off on investing until lower entry levels or higher exit levels were reached.
The art of timing the markets is difficult in any financial asset class, especially for volatile markets like crypto, where price fluctuations can occur in a matter of seconds. The risk of waiting to time the market is that you may miss out on a profitable investment entirely.
On the other hand, Longer-term investors do not attempt to time the markets or profit from current trends. It is more crucial to catch the tide that elevates several boats rather than catching a specific surf that may carry a single ship higher.
Invest Slow And Steady
Trading appeals to many people since it can be quite similar to gambling. The fact is that trading is far more exciting than investing, and there is no doubt about that. Well-informed investing, on the other hand, is significantly less risky.
Investing typically entails examining the underlying characteristics of assets. If you’re looking at traditional stocks, this involves looking at the sales of the company, its position in the market, the price of its financial assets, and other indicators that could give you a sense of how much the stock is worth in the future.
Evaluating the basics of cryptocurrencies is significantly more complex than evaluating the basics of traditional assets. A large portion of the value of cryptos is predicated on conjecture about their potential adoption by the general public. Since there’s no central institution in charge of administering them, there is no financial information, income, or profits to examine.
Instead, investors in cryptocurrency assets will consider a variety of additional criteria, such as:
- An underlying technology under crypto, network or protocol.
- The educational and professional backgrounds of developers who are involved in a project.
- Models of crypto-economics (rewards, token emission, security incentives).
- The types of enterprises that make use of an application or network
- Integrations with third-party software.
- Support from the government or opposition.
- The number of people who use the service.
- Political considerations such as decentralization, privacy, and so on
When it comes to investing in the crypto markets, as with traditional investing, it is all about selecting quality investments that will rise in value over time.
Crypto Investment Strategies
When investing, it’s always better to have a plan in place, and this is certainly relevant for cryptocurrencies, which are notoriously volatile due to their decentralized structure. While no particular investing method is without flaws, a number of them have been shown to be extremely effective.
Here are three that may be of interest to you in terms of investing:
HODL: it is the most long-term technique available. HODL is an abbreviation that stands for “Hold on for Dear Life,” and it was created when a member of Bitcointalk forum made the mistake of writing “HODL” instead of “HOLD.” In essence, it is to purchase with the intention of holding onto it indefinitely. Long-term, this strategy is based on the assumption that cryptocurrency values would continue to rise considerably in the long term.
Portfolio of leading cryptocurrencies (Market-cap weighted): This technique is comparable to the one used in the equities markets. The S&P 500 index is the most well-known market-cap weighted index. An investor can avoid getting overweight in any virtual currency by building a market-cap-weighted portfolio and rebalancing the investment portfolio on a quarterly and annual basis, as long as the portfolio is not too large. In order to complete the rebalancing process, the assets that have grown in value are sold at a higher price, while the assets that have underperformed are purchased at a reduced price. Over the long term, this increases the total portfolio’s value.
Dollar-Cost Averaging: this strategy has been thoroughly tested and has been shown to be effective over the long term. Putting this into practice is also rather straightforward. Essentially, it entails making tiny investments in your selected digital asset at regular periods in order to grow your wealth. You will occasionally be able to purchase at a greater price, but you will also be able to purchase at a lower price at other times. Over time, the effect of the volatility of the market on your investment will become less noticeable, and this method is quite effective at lowering the impact of volatility on your investment.
There are other additional tactics for investing in crypto markets, but these three have been shown to be highly effective and quite simple to put into action.
Crypto Trading
As previously stated, trading and investing are interwoven, although the phrases are occasionally used casually and interchangeably in the same sentence. In the end, both traders and investors can make investments and enter transactions to buy & sell assets. Although there is a clear distinction between investing and trading, there are some subtle differences.
It is a strategy for the near term. Trading is a method of making money by taking advantage of the short-term market volatility of cryptocurrency price swings. The time frames used in most trading span from minutes to a few hours.
Trading cryptocurrency demands a significant effort, even though the returns are more immediate. Because of the significant uncertainty of the cryptocurrency market, crypto can be quite beneficial for those that put in the effort (and perhaps a little bit of luck).
Buy Low, Sell High
Let’s go straight to the point: the vast majority of traders lose money. According to some estimates, retail traders lose money in 95 percent of cases, whether they are investing in Bitcoin or traditional stock or currency markets.
Of course, among the small number of traders who make a profit, some are still extremely successful. So, what is it about trading that makes it so difficult? It entails, among other things, swimming with sharks. Millions of traders are sitting about waiting for one another to make mistakes so they may take advantage of the situation.
Traders are mostly concerned with price movements. Because these price swings are cyclical, their behavior has a degree of predictability. However, prices are also influenced by a variety of other factors, which might cause forecasts to be inaccurate.
A number of traders attempt to trade the news; for example, if someone interested in Bitcoin trading receives news that China is pursuing legislative action regarding Bitcoin, they may attempt to sell immediately, expecting that other crypto traders will do the same and push prices down. Then they can try to buy Bitcoin back at a low price before less-experienced traders discover that China is not genuinely capable of destroying Bitcoin.
In general, traders tend to concentrate their efforts on a relatively short time horizon. Traders may be concerned with the underlying worth of the crypto assets. Still, it makes little difference to them whether or not the crypto they are buying or selling will succeed or fail because trading may be successful regardless of whether or not an asset is prospering or floundering.
In some instances, it can be a significant advantage. Thus, traders can benefit in both bullish and bearish markets, while long-term investors must wait out bad markets; as an example,
Trading, especially in cryptocurrencies, is not for the faint of heart, and it is not for beginners. It needs steely nerves, meticulous planning, strict discipline, and a keen eye on the markets in order to succeed. As a result, many traders are professionals who devote the majority of their waking hours to the trading business.
To be clear, this does not imply that it is impossible for someone who works a full-time job to earn some extra money by trading on the side. Many people make good living trading cryptocurrencies or equities as a side hustle. Many, many more people, on the other hand, wind up losing money. A single misstep might completely wipe out the earnings generated by months of excellent trading.
Crypto Trading Strategies
Day Trading: Day traders close out their trades within a single day and rarely keep positions overnight. In order to profit from intraday price volatility, they keep a close eye on the market at all times. Each deal has a period ranging from minutes to hours, depending on its complexity.
Momentum Trading: Trading based on recent market patterns is the primary strategy used by momentum traders. Their strategy is to ride the wave of a price movement, buying short in an upward trend and selling when the price loses momentum, and vice versa. They hope to profit from broader up-trends and down-trends in the asset’s direction in the hope that the asset’s momentum will continue. Momentum traders must have an excellent sense of timing as well as learn to comprehend the market to be successful. It takes to initiate and exit a momentum trade from one hour to many weeks.
Swing Trading: This approach takes benefit of a coin’s short-term price volatility, with trade generally lasting anywhere from a day to a few weeks. To predict substantial fluctuations in the price of coins in a specific direction over a short period of time, swing traders employ technical analysis. The transaction’s time frame is typically a little longer or more intermediate in nature than the time frame for a momentum trade.
Scalping: Scalping is the practice of trading coins when the price of the coin changes by a little amount. In the forex market, scalpers are the most active traders, executing multiple deals to earn a modest profit from every transaction, which can add up to a significant profit at the end of the day. Scalping trades are very short-lived, lasting only a few minutes or maybe a few seconds. Scalpers engage in a large number of trades each day in an attempt to generate a profit while not holding positions for an extended period of time.
What Crypto Analysis Do Investors And Traders Use?
In trading, trade analysis is a method that traders use to evaluate investments and identify profitable trading opportunities. It is frequently performed by taking into account a variety of criteria or evaluating historical trends. It is essential to make solid investment decisions and select the most appropriate bitcoin assets.
There are two major types of trade analysis:
· Fundamental Analysis
Fundamental research is important for cryptocurrency investors since they are betting on long-term health. The fundamental study of a coin is largely concerned with evaluating the coin’s long-term potential through establishing an asset’s intrinsic value or worth. Various indicators, such as examining the project and team or bitcoin usage and adoption rates, can be used to measure success.
· Technical Analysis
Identifying the direction of the price and the position of the market. As a result, they rely on technical analysis regularly. Technical analysis is the process of predicting future prices based on historical price data and the use of charting tools and price indicators to make these predictions.
Cryptocurrency price swings can be extremely unpredictable in the short term. As a result, in order to attempt to time the market, a trader must have a thorough understanding of technical analysis. It is a significant distinction from bitcoin investing, and it is one of the reasons that experienced traders are more satisfied with frequent trading than novice traders are.
Traders frequently use technical analysis to make buying and selling choices, and it is a system that can be replicated.
Aversion To Taking Risks
Cryptocurrencies are intrinsically volatile and, as a result, pose a significant level of risk. In order to make bitcoin investments, you must be aware of the risks involved in the process. The degree to which an investor is prepared to accept risk is referred to as risk tolerance.
Take into consideration the fact that more risk may be associated with greater profit. Because of their extreme volatility, cryptocurrencies. Whether you’re trading or investing in them, they are notoriously risky investments. However, traders and investors can be distinguished by their willingness to take risks.
As a general rule, bitcoin investors may have a lower risk tolerance than other types of investors as they’re more happy leaving their money alone. Essentially, the notion is that the highs and lows of a coin’s price gradually level out over time while maintaining an upward trajectory.
On the other hand, traders tend to flourish under pressure, owing to the fact that trading can entail taking regular risks. By hedging their bets, traders can profit from the extreme volatility of short-term cryptocurrency values. It is also possible that they will lose heavily if they choose the wrong coin.
Summing Up
The bitcoin market is both thrilling and volatile, so use caution when participating. Understand the key distinctions between investing in and trading cryptocurrency before selecting which option is right for you.
Last but not least, intelligent investors seek to identify the various phases of market cycles in order to benefit from the market situation and HODL in the expectation of seeing the asset’s price increase.
On the other hand, traders are more likely to earn from a bullish or bearish market based on short-term price changes. Nonetheless, both traders and investors must implement a suitable risk management strategy or contingency plan to exit the market if the market moves in the opposite direction of their expectations.