Noah Esper

Staff Writer

Nle5099@psu.edu

GME, Doge, Bitcoin, Hodl. Ever since the Gamestop short squeeze incident, it seems that investing terms like these get thrown more and more often. Even restaurants like Burger King have partnered with Robinhood to give out cryptocurrencies with every purchase of $5 or more. With more and more people hopping onto the investing bandwagon, it can be easy to get swept up in the hype of hopping onto the next Gamestop or Bitcoin trend. So, I’m here to help any new investors who are looking for their new ventures but don’t know where to start. First up, I just want to dispel one misconception about investing. Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. While stories of people making thousands of dollars overnight through the market are always in the headlines, cases like those are rare, and for most investors, you’ll never see huge gains like that in short periods. It’s also important to remember that investors who do get rich off the market take a lot of risks, and for every market success story, there are about a hundred cases of people taking huge losses on a bad investment. So, unless you’re an experienced stockbroker I would not look to take too many huge risks in the market. The best strategy for sustained long-term growth is to diversify your portfolio among a variety of different companies. As the saying goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” While having a greater share of a stock will reap greater returns if the value goes up, it will mean your portfolio is dependent on only one stock. If that company faces any issues leading to the value going down, you can kiss your savings goodbye. So, new investors should spread their investments out among a diverse portfolio of different companies in different industries. Some stocks I’m personally invested in include more well-known companies like Tesla, Apple, and Disney. Some more obscure companies that I like to invest in are Crowdstrike and Centrus Energy. It is also important to not be discouraged by early losses as the stock market is often in fluctuation, leading to price dips and rises regularly. It took a month before my stock portfolio started to see any positive gain, and even still, there are always days where a stock’s price will drop for a day and then come back up the next day. So, when investing in the stock market, buy low, and sell high. That’s pretty much the most basic advice any investor could give you when it comes to the stock market. But stocks aren’t the only hot investment right now. Cryptocurrencies have managed to break out of relative obscurity to become more and more mainstream. While I won’t go into too many specifics about the technology behind cryptos, it’s important to understand how investing in cryptos works and how to avoid crypto scams as more bad actors try to take advantage of the soaring interest in crypto. Cryptocurrencies were created as a decentralized alternative to fiat currency, which would be currencies currently distributed by nations like the US dollar or Euro. Cryptocurrency is not controlled by any government, and thus its value can’t be controlled by governing bodies like the Federal Reserve which is responsible for controlling the money supply of the US dollar. There are many different types of cryptocurrencies. For those looking to purchase crypto as an investment, you will want to avoid stable coins which are cryptos that are meant to keep value with the US dollar. This means the price doesn’t fluctuate as much as other cryptos like Bitcoin, Etherum, or Litecoin. While this does make transactions easier, it doesn’t work as an investment, as the price isn’t meant to surpass the US dollar. When it comes to nonstable coins, there are two paths you can go down for investing. You can choose to invest in an already established crypto like Bitcoin or Etherum. Both have a good history of growth, but you won’t see any huge gain unless you put a lot of money into it. A single Bitcoin is currently worth over $64,000, meaning that most of you probably won’t be able to afford a whole Bitcoin. While this price point may intimidate some new investors, it’s important to remember that you can purchase fractional bitcoins for smaller amounts. For example, I own thirty-two dollars worth of bitcoin which gets me 0.00050273 Bitcoin. This makes buying crypto much more affordable to the average consumer and allows for new investors to buy-in. However, for those who are willing to take more risks, you could invest in newer cryptos with much lower dollar equivalents. For example, one Dogecoin is worth 24 cents. This means you can buy a lot more Dogecoin for a lower price than more established currencies like Crypto. While it is rare, there is potential for massive returns on investment in cryptos like Dogecoin. For example, I own eighty-two Dogecoin, which is currently only worth $21. However, if Dogecoin rises to the value of one dollar, then my $20 investment will become worth eighty-two dollars. If it reaches the value of two dollars that amount will double. However, it’s also important to be aware of scam coins like the recent “Squid Game” coin. So, when investing in crypto make sure to do your research before making any large investments. Also, be cautious when it comes to any get-rich-quick schemes revolving around crypto. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.