The only way to profit from rapidly changing market conditions – particularly in cryptocurrency, given the “double dog years” pace of its development – is to constantly modify one’s expectations, in response to evolving memes and market conditions.
In cryptocurrency, I have been a well known “Bitcoin Maximalist” for nearly three years – to the point that I have been an on-air personality on the World Crypto Network for the past year…perhaps, the most well-known of all Maximalist YouTube channels. However, I have made it crystal clear that my views on altcoins have been evolving, given increasingly strong confidence in a broad-based “DIGITAL AGE” – in which, only Bitcoin is money, but numerous cryptocurrencies carve out valuable, viable niches.
When I launched CGC a year ago, one of my first articles was “TRILLIONS will enter the crypto space – perhaps, half in Bitcoin.” The gist being, that amidst a CRYPTOCURRENCY REVOLUTION destined to dramatically alter the political, social, and monetary status quo, there’s no way ONLY Bitcoin will survive; as even Bitcoin isn’t good at EVERYTHING - including niches that undoubtedly, other cryptocurrencies will excel at.
The article was ironically timed – as a month earlier, I sold the only altcoin I had ever owned, Litecoin, for Bitcoin. The reason being, that once SegWit activated, I envisioned no scenario in which Litecoin outperformed Bitcoin over time…a view, I might add, that was DRAMATICALLY validated when Bitcoin hard forks and airdrops started paying crypto-dividends that Litecoin could never duplicate.
Once the crypto bear market commenced in January, my Bitcoin Maximalism ratcheted up dramatically. However, when I saw that, at its worst, the altcoin market bent, but did not break, my long-term altcoin outlook brightened. I still held only Bitcoin, but had less tolerance for hard-core Maximalists with narrow-minded views.
I still believed – and still do – that 95%-plus of altcoins are useless, with no hope for generating sustainable long-term use cases investors will find valuable. However, a handful do – some of which, I’m not yet aware of. One, for example, being BRhodium – which when it launches in the coming weeks, I will be proud to hold, given my confidence that it will be one of the most desirable altcoins in the cryptocurrency universe.
Then there’s Steem – which not only has a viable long-term use case; but arguably, more usage NOW than any altcoin. Sure, Ethereum is USED – but principally to create other altcoins…in a market that peaked in January, given how much abuse, and worthless altcoins, it fostered.
Conversely, Steem is backed by a highly useful platform, Steemit.com, that has enabled monetizable, uncensurable content for 2½ years. Moreover, it’s been one of the most successful cryptocurrencies – having launched in April 2016 at roughly $0.60, with a current price of $0.97…including an explosion to $7.50 in January 2018, at the height of the recent (and potentially, repeatable) crypto bubble. Furthermore, its “twin” cryptocurrency, Steem-Backed Dollars, rose as high as $14 in January, despite theoretically being a “stable coin” pegged at $1, where it trades today.
Thanks to…who else, but Adam Meister…I joined Steemit in June 2017, and have been collecting FREE Steem since – that I promptly convert to Bitcoin. In fact, the relationship has been so successful, I recently converted CGC from a paid subscription site to a free blog – given the higher upside potential I view in posting my content on Steemit, by becoming a more popular; and increasingly “upvoted” and “re-Steemed”; content provider.
For the past two years, social media censorship has steadily increased – to the point that in recent months, it has become a major political and social issue. Facebook and Google have been the highest profile offenders, and the economic damage is starting to become material - particularly for YouTube users, as Google (which owns it) has been increasingly aggressive in “demonetizing” users it doesn’t approve of.
In February, when Google suspended Alex Jones’ You Tube channel for violations of its arbitrary content code (it didn’t “approve” of what he was saying), I wrote of how Steemit was the perfect solution to Jones’ problems - as it would allow him to publish whatever he liked, and get paid for it. Sure, the payment would be in Steem and Steem-Backed Dollars – as opposed to U.S. dollars; but in a crypto bull market, STEEM and SBD would become more valuable…and oh yeah, it can be converted to Bitcoin at any time. Moreover, given that Jones would probably be the highest profile name in the entire Steemit community, it’s likely his content would receive more upvoting and re-Steeming than anyone else…let alone, now that DLive has brought additional “Steem Whales” to the Steemit community.
Given my evolving view on altcoins; and the heightened public focus on social media censorship; I have become increasingly bullish on Steem in recent months – per this Tweet after Google PERMANENTLY banned Jones August 6th…
https://twitter.com/Andy_Hoffman_CG/status/1026441266668625920
- Andy_Hoffman_CG
…and this discussion on my August 24th “1-on-1” interview with Ken Bosak…
https://steemit.com/dlive/@andyhoffman/3ed4d1cc-a7c3-11e8-bfaa-0242ac110003
Given the upswelling of my Steem outlook; and belief that Bitcoin is poised for a major bull run; I’ve been thinking about BUYING Steem with increasing frequency…that finally spurred me to action, when this morning, I purchased Steem for the first time. A very small position compared to my Bitcoin holdings, but material in fiat terms…and notably, the first altcoin purchase I have made since Litecoin more than a year ago – which as noted above, I sold for Bitcoin last summer.
This article is in no way a recommendation for YOU to purchase Steem – as given the risk inherent in the wildly volatile; at times, extremely illiquid cryptocurrency markets; I ONLY advice investors to purchase Bitcoin – and hold their private keys, of course. However, I have personally taken a small position in Steem due to my belief in its long-term fundamentals – and couldn’t be more excited about it!