This week was an emotional roller coaster for me. And all because of one investment: digital currency.
In the last five days, almost every digital currency saw its market cap increase. This sent each coin’s value skyrocketing.
And this was good news for me — and my dozens of coworkers who bet on a digital currency.
I’m still a novice digital currency investor. I took my first baby steps by putting $200 into Ethereum, the digital currency that many speculate will replace Bitcoin.
There are a lot of reasons that I chose Ethereum over other digital currencies. But one of the main reasons was the price. Bitcoin is well above $1,000 a coin. Ethereum, at the time I bought it, was hovering around $50.
And it has been making waves in the technology world for a while.
Over the weekend, I forgot about my investment.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that I logged into my Coinbase account and realized I had made close to $50 on my initial $200. And the good news didn’t stop there.
Ethereum continued to creep upward the entire week.
As a first-time digital currency investor, I was floored. I refreshed the page again and again — unwilling to believe my luck.
Before digital currency, I was strictly an early-stage investor. I dabbled in stocks here and there. But my mode of investing often meant dropping cash and then waiting for years.
It’s because of this that the fluctuations in Ethereum had me on an emotional roller coaster. I jumped out of bed every morning and checked the coin’s value like a child plundering the Christmas tree.
And when I say fluctuate, I mean fluctuate. On Thursday night, the coin reached an all-time high of $70. Now, as I write this, it’s back at $65.
But I’m here to assure other new digital currency investors that there’s no need to panic. Just take the fluctuations as they come.
Because this is the nature of the digital currency beast.
Digital Currency Is All About Waiting
I consulted with my coworkers over the course of the week. Many of them saw the promise behind Ethereum long before me, investing in it back when the price was $10 a coin.
They assured me not to worry — digital currencies are just going through a lot.
And it’s true. In a financial sense, digital currencies are fighting for their rights. Many consumers, and large retailers, have adopted digital currency. But the technology is still struggling to establish itself in the major financial realm.
That is why two months ago when the first Bitcoin ETF was rejected, digital currency investors panicked.
But there was no need for panic. It turns out that a rejection from the SEC did nothing to stop digital currency.
If anything, it fueled the gold rush. Because at the end of the day, one of the dozens of ETFs filed for digital currencies is going to be approved. And when this happens, the gates will be opened.
Currently, Ethereum is waiting on its own ETF. On Thursday, Grayscale Investments made the long-awaited Ethereum Classic Investment Trust available for investors. The firm offered a similar fund for Bitcoin back in 2013.
Such moves have been inspiring investor confidence, which would explain why Ethereum enjoyed a price surge this week. The coin also saw a price surge in 2016 when the initial announcement about the ETC trust was made.
What I have learned from my one week of digital currency investing is that a digital currency investor must brace themselves for fluctuations. I can only imagine how Bitcoin’s loyal followers felt when they watched their $1,000 coin plummet to $600. But they waited it out. And now, Bitcoin is sitting pretty at $1,300.
Digital currency is about patience and — to an extent — faith in this new, groundbreaking technology.
So, when it comes to my Ethereum, I’m holding steady. I’m waiting to see where it takes me.
