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Sticky Crypto:
5 Cryptocurrencies That Will Be Around in 10 Years
5 Cryptocurrencies That Will Be Around in 10 Years
At the peak of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, there were internet-based companies with astronomical valuations in the hundreds of millions of dollars, companies that really didn’t really do anything or even offer a product. They were simply the focus and the benefactors of wild, excessive speculation, and sky-high expectations. When the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, many of these companies collapsed and shut down (anyone remember pets.com or boo.com?). However, some of these dot-com companies not only survived, but they also thrived. Amazon and Google are two of the best examples and are now some of the largest and most valuable companies in the world. Who knew which companies would implode and which companies would explode in value? If you did, you’d be a gazillionaire by now.
What played out then is playing out in the cryptocurrency market now. After an unprecedented boom in 2017 when everyone was jumping on the crypto bandwagon as its star coin, Bitcoin reached its peak of almost 20K, poof, the bubble burst. The value of almost every cryptocurrency crashed, with Bitcoin losing 65 percent of its value during the first two months of 2019. When the dust had settled, cryptocurrencies collapsed 80 percent from their peak, more drastic than the dot-com bubble’s loss of 79 percent.
It’s hard to predict which currency will become the next Amazon or Google of the crypto space, but we can take an educated guess at five we think are in it for the long haul. Each are dominant players in the four strategic needs of the cryptocurrency space: safety and security, transparency and privacy, utility, and finally, scalability. Here are the five that fit the bills for success and longevity.
Bitcoin: The original cryptocurrency is still the gold standard for safety and security. In fact, you can think of Bitcoin as digital gold. If you have $200,000 you want to park and don’t trust a bank, Bitcoin is your best bet. Its decentralized architecture and proof-of-work system still makes it the Fort Knox of the crypto market: governments can’t touch it, the private keys it uses can’t be hacked and it’s immune to counterfeiting. Bitcoin’s transaction time may be slow, but for stored value, you can’t beat it.
Monero: The bad guys of the world don’t use Bitcoin; if they did, they would be stupid bad guys. Bitcoin is a public ledger, so every transaction is tracked, documented and completely transparent. That leaves room in the market for cryptocurrencies that focus on privacy. These currencies are secure, private, and untraceable. They mask their transactions: not only do you not know what anybody has but you also don’t know who sends what to whom. One of the most popular coins for these types of untraceable transactions is Monero, our pick—for better or for worse—as a cryptocurrency that could weather any future drastic devaluations. There is a big risk with these privacy coins. Governments fear them because they are perfect for illegal activities! That said, we may see a tougher government stance on them going forward.
Ethereum: Cryptocurrencies were first created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. The second generation of cryptocurrencies brought multi-purpose, programmable blockchains to the table. Ethereum was created as part of that second wave and stands out for its versatility and utility. There’s also a lot of money behind Ethereum due to so many companies piggybacking and depending on its programmable blockchain. Its versatility is also responsible for its biggest challenge: the more companies and traffic using its blockchain, the slower it becomes, which also thwarts its scalability for day-to-day consumer transactions. Ethereum also hosts smart contracts that allow secure transaction of nearly any digital asset (music, property, art, services and currency) between parties without the need of a middleman. Its utility makes it our third cryptocurrency choice to stick around for the long run.
Ripple: Our fourth cryptocurrency pick to last at least 10 more years is another coin valued for its utility. Ripple has established its stronghold in the banking industry; banks use its unique distributed consensus mechanism to quickly and securely transfer money back and forth globally. It’s slowly replacing SWIFT, a legacy inter-bank messaging and transfer service that is slow, charges high fees and is susceptible to exchange rates that favor banks. With 100 billion coins—that’s 100 billion— and only 42 billion in circulation, that means more than half of it is sitting in the coffers of insiders. This is not a cryptocurrency that you or I will ever use on a day-to-day basis; Ripple’s value is in its transactional nature and the banking industry is rapidly adopting and embracing it.
EOS: The dream of the cryptocurrency market is a coin on par with Visa, one that consumers can use for fast and secure purchases. Visa processes 24,000 transactions on average every second; currently, there’s not a cryptocurrency out there that can even come close to that number. The first one to scale up to that magnitude will likely become a global powerhouse. One possible candidate is our fifth pick for cryptocurrency longevity: EOS. It was introduced in 2017, but it’s already processed as many as 87 million transactions in a single day. Compare that number to Bitcoin’s record of 1 million transactions in a day and you can see why EOS has the scalability to enter the mainstream. Like Ethereum, EOS also allows people to write applications and programs that attach to its blockchain but on a much bigger scale. Unlike Visa, EOS transactions carry zero fees. If EOS takes off and becomes widely accepted, it will pose a major threat to not only Visa but all the other credit cards that charge business owners a 3% fee.
These are the five cryptocurrencies currently leading the pack and meeting the strategic needs of the market space: Bitcoin for its safety and security; Monero for its privacy; Ethereum and Ripple for utility, and finally, EOS for its scalability. They’re the ones with the most active development, and—more importantly—receiving the most funding. Just like what happened after the dot-com bubble burst, the cryptocurrency space is rapidly changing and still sorting itself out. Still, we think these five will be around for the long haul.
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Four Ways to Sidestep the Bear Trap
and Profit from a Sell-Off
and Profit from a Sell-Off
Significant stock sell-offs have recently raised the noise-level of the market from a steady drumbeat of bear warnings to all-out screaming from TV pundits heralding the inevitable financial apocalypse. The big financial institutions and banks managing money, on the other hand, are keeping calm, laying low and telling everyone to relax and think about the long-term. Novice traders are just plain losing money by making irrational decisions based on fear. What should you really be doing? As a professional trader, now’s the time to sit back, take a deep breath, analyze the situation and determine not only how a sell-off would affect you, but how you capitalize on one.
Historically, the market move we’re in right now is one of the biggest ever, with no significant market pull-back. The 6.61 percent market slide in October 2018 still pales beside the 342 percent rally since 2009. However, the longer this market continues to extend itself, the higher the probability of a market correction. Even if the apocalypse may not be neigh, the recent moves could be an indication that markets are ripe for selling off. If you’re holding long right now, you run the risk of losing a lot of money. It’s not time to panic; it’s time to understand the tools available to you as traders that can help you profit when these markets drop, or at least protect the money you already have. Here are four key pro-active options you can take advantage of now to help mitigate any potential future losses and even make money when markets drop.
Short Stocks
Your first option is to short the market, the opposite of how most people invest. Institutions and advisors worldwide tell you to analyze companies, look for fundamentals and go long, or buy low and sell at a higher price. What they don’t tell you is that you can do the exact opposite: sell at a high price first and then buy back later at a lower price. In a market environment with downward moves of 3 to 4 percent daily, shorting might be one of the best tools you have in your trading arsenal.
Your first option is to short the market, the opposite of how most people invest. Institutions and advisors worldwide tell you to analyze companies, look for fundamentals and go long, or buy low and sell at a higher price. What they don’t tell you is that you can do the exact opposite: sell at a high price first and then buy back later at a lower price. In a market environment with downward moves of 3 to 4 percent daily, shorting might be one of the best tools you have in your trading arsenal.
Buy Inverse ETFs
The second option is to take advantage of inverse ETFs, financial instruments designed to profit from a decline in the value of an underlying benchmark—in other words, to do well when a market isn’t doing well. The SH is one, designed to replicate a 1:1 inverse of the S&P 500. That means if the S&P is down 3.6 percent, the SH should be up around 3.6 percent. The SDS is another, designed to replicate an even greater 2:1 inverse of the S&P; 3.6 down should mean around 7 percent up. There’s also the SPXU, with a whopping inverse of 3:1. Inverse ETFs are a great way to make money in the markets, but they also carry an extreme amount of risk, thanks to pesky hidden details. That makes it all the more crucial to educate yourself and make sure you understand how these instruments work before you start investing in them.
The second option is to take advantage of inverse ETFs, financial instruments designed to profit from a decline in the value of an underlying benchmark—in other words, to do well when a market isn’t doing well. The SH is one, designed to replicate a 1:1 inverse of the S&P 500. That means if the S&P is down 3.6 percent, the SH should be up around 3.6 percent. The SDS is another, designed to replicate an even greater 2:1 inverse of the S&P; 3.6 down should mean around 7 percent up. There’s also the SPXU, with a whopping inverse of 3:1. Inverse ETFs are a great way to make money in the markets, but they also carry an extreme amount of risk, thanks to pesky hidden details. That makes it all the more crucial to educate yourself and make sure you understand how these instruments work before you start investing in them.
Buy Put Options
The third option is exactly that, buying put options. Options are probably the most versatile assets available to investors; you can make money in an up market, a down market or even a sideways market. Put options allow you capitalize on downside moves in the market while protecting your portfolio.
The third option is exactly that, buying put options. Options are probably the most versatile assets available to investors; you can make money in an up market, a down market or even a sideways market. Put options allow you capitalize on downside moves in the market while protecting your portfolio.
Sell Futures
The fourth option to make money in a down market is by selling futures, specifically indexes. The S&P 500, the NASDAQ, the Russell, the Dow: all offer opportunities to sell futures contracts and make money when their markets slide.
The fourth option to make money in a down market is by selling futures, specifically indexes. The S&P 500, the NASDAQ, the Russell, the Dow: all offer opportunities to sell futures contracts and make money when their markets slide.
There are a lot of other ways you can use these tools to make money in downside markets, but it all comes back to having the right plan and the right education. A major sell-off is no reason to panic, but it should be a wake-up call. Are you prepared when the markets turn from a relatively mild 6 percent slide to a dramatic 20 percent fall? If you don’t have a plan, Online Trading Academy can help you formulate one, with a wide variety of different programs available to help you navigate any financial waters. We’ll show you how to stop wringing your hands and start looking for opportunity, even in the most difficult financial markets.
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Crushing the Ice Age
How Ralph Loberger Conquered Wisconsin’s 1,170-Mile Ice Age Trail
One Saturday at a Time
One Saturday at a Time
Although we can dream about it, hardly any of us can afford the time or spare the expense of a cross-country bicycle ride, a sail around the world or a 1,000-mile hike. We dream and fantasize, but the sheer magnitude of such a feat starts to put us off and back into our daily lives. Maybe one day, we think. One day…
But there are other ways to attain a goal that at first appears to be overwhelming or unachievable. Just ask Ralph Loberger. Our VP of Business Development recently conquered Wisconsin’s 1,000-mile-plus Ice Age National Scenic trail which meanders throughout the state and along glacial moraines from the last Ice Age. Ralph’s jaw-dropping accomplishment was just certified by the Ice Age Trail Authority; he’s only the 204th hiker to earn its Thousand-Miler patch.
The Winding Way to a Goal
How’d he do it? When Ralph set out on Saturday hikes along portions of the trail close to his home in Oconto, he had no idea that he would end up traversing its entire length. “When I started out, it was strictly to get a sense of what the trail was like,” he says. “It’s not like I saw the Ice Age trail online and thought, ‘Wow, there are people who have hiked the whole thing. I need to do that.” His weekend hikes quickly grew in number and turned into a passion and genuine love for the trail. It wasn’t until he had logged between 600 and 700 miles of the back country stretches that Ralph realized if he went back and completed the road portions of the trail that he had initially skipped, he could conquer the entire Ice Age Trail. From September 5, 2015 when he started out at the eastern terminus of the trail to September 5, 2019 when he completed a backtracked stretch of road walk, Ralph logged 121 hikes and 1,170 miles of often hilly, wet, yet always glorious Wisconsin wilderness and countryside.
How’d he do it? When Ralph set out on Saturday hikes along portions of the trail close to his home in Oconto, he had no idea that he would end up traversing its entire length. “When I started out, it was strictly to get a sense of what the trail was like,” he says. “It’s not like I saw the Ice Age trail online and thought, ‘Wow, there are people who have hiked the whole thing. I need to do that.” His weekend hikes quickly grew in number and turned into a passion and genuine love for the trail. It wasn’t until he had logged between 600 and 700 miles of the back country stretches that Ralph realized if he went back and completed the road portions of the trail that he had initially skipped, he could conquer the entire Ice Age Trail. From September 5, 2015 when he started out at the eastern terminus of the trail to September 5, 2019 when he completed a backtracked stretch of road walk, Ralph logged 121 hikes and 1,170 miles of often hilly, wet, yet always glorious Wisconsin wilderness and countryside.
Ralph says the logistics of setting up each weekend hike and the discipline and focus required to do it again and again were the hard part. That, along with some fast learning about wearing a head net when the deerflies were out and keeping his socks tucked in his pants to ward off ticks.
“I like when the trails aren’t built for everybody else,” Ralph says, “and by that, I mean bridges that cross every little creek and stream. I like to ford those things. Just bring the trail to the river and let me figure out how to get across,” he says. “I love that stuff”.
Not Your Typical Relaxing Saturday
A typical weekend for Ralph looked like this: he’d get up at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning so he could drive to a segment of the trail for a sunrise start. Later, when the sections of untraversed trail were more than a couple hours away from home, he would leave Friday evenings and spend the night in his kitted-out Ford Excursion. A trail section was an average of 10 very hilly miles, but that was only half of it, since he had to get back to his car. For the times he didn’t just hike back, he would first drive to the end of the trail, tuck his hiking gear into the brush and drive back to the beginning of the trail. From there, he would hop on a mountain bike, ride the trail, change into the gear he had hidden and knock the hike out by heading back to his car. “I learned I was a better hiker when I’m tired than I am a biker when I’m tired,” Ralph says. He’d fetch his bike on the drive home.
A typical weekend for Ralph looked like this: he’d get up at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning so he could drive to a segment of the trail for a sunrise start. Later, when the sections of untraversed trail were more than a couple hours away from home, he would leave Friday evenings and spend the night in his kitted-out Ford Excursion. A trail section was an average of 10 very hilly miles, but that was only half of it, since he had to get back to his car. For the times he didn’t just hike back, he would first drive to the end of the trail, tuck his hiking gear into the brush and drive back to the beginning of the trail. From there, he would hop on a mountain bike, ride the trail, change into the gear he had hidden and knock the hike out by heading back to his car. “I learned I was a better hiker when I’m tired than I am a biker when I’m tired,” Ralph says. He’d fetch his bike on the drive home.
People ask Ralph how he could he consistently stick to his schedule of getting up so early and putting himself through such a rigorous routine for 121 Saturdays. “I tell them that that’s exactly what I wanted to be doing”, Ralph says. “I enjoyed it so much that the trail grew on me and I fell in love with it. As long as you’re following your passion and doing what you truly want to be doing, then it’s not hard to get up every Saturday and do it.”
By the Numbers
You want numbers? Ralph’s trek produced some eye-popping ones:
You want numbers? Ralph’s trek produced some eye-popping ones:
40,563—total miles driven to get to and from each hike, including setting up bike shuttles
2,212—total miles hiked and biked, including backtracking
2,149—total comparison miles of the distance between his home and Online Trading Academy’s Irvine Center
2,212—total miles hiked and biked, including backtracking
2,149—total comparison miles of the distance between his home and Online Trading Academy’s Irvine Center
Ralph accomplished a staggering achievement, especially considering he almost lost his leg as a result of a serious hiking accident in 2003 and still suffers pain and loss of range motion in his left knee. “I think the most important thing in accomplishing something like this is making sure that it falls within your passion and the things you want to be doing,” Ralph says.
Achieving the Unachievable
Ralph figured out what it takes to achieve a goal that at first seems overwhelming, unachievable or even unforeseeable. “If we sit back and truly try to figure out where our passions really lie and where we’d like to be down the road, I think there’s a risk sometimes that those goals might appear to be unachievable if you look at them as a single step from where you are to where you’d like to be.” he says. “But that un-achievability goes away very quickly when you lay a map down, set a course and determine a strategy. You can turn that huge leap into a whole bunch of smaller steps that are absolutely do-able and achieve what Mike Richardson likes to call a BHAG.”
Ralph figured out what it takes to achieve a goal that at first seems overwhelming, unachievable or even unforeseeable. “If we sit back and truly try to figure out where our passions really lie and where we’d like to be down the road, I think there’s a risk sometimes that those goals might appear to be unachievable if you look at them as a single step from where you are to where you’d like to be.” he says. “But that un-achievability goes away very quickly when you lay a map down, set a course and determine a strategy. You can turn that huge leap into a whole bunch of smaller steps that are absolutely do-able and achieve what Mike Richardson likes to call a BHAG.”
Since passion is never in short supply at OTA, Ralph’s wise words and trail technique can be applied to just about any challenge or problem that at first look seems impossible.
“It’s all about planning appropriately, parceling out the needed work into levels you know you can manage and just keep doing it and doing it—which is not difficult since you should love to be doing it anyway—and all of a sudden you’ll realize, ‘Holy cow! I’ve just accomplished my goal. I’m at the other end of the trail!’”
On the Trail Again
As for Ralph, his sights are now set on the North Country Trail. At 4,600 miles, it’s the longest National Scenic Trail in the country, stretching from eastern New York to central North Dakota. The challenge for Ralph is that much of the trail is more than just a morning’s drive from his home, and the wilderness it encompasses prevents the kind of hiking technique he diligently followed to melt The Ice Age Trail. But he’s already brainstorming how to parcel up the miles so he can get started hiking the sections.
As for Ralph, his sights are now set on the North Country Trail. At 4,600 miles, it’s the longest National Scenic Trail in the country, stretching from eastern New York to central North Dakota. The challenge for Ralph is that much of the trail is more than just a morning’s drive from his home, and the wilderness it encompasses prevents the kind of hiking technique he diligently followed to melt The Ice Age Trail. But he’s already brainstorming how to parcel up the miles so he can get started hiking the sections.
“Well, not the whole trail,” he says, a statement you could almost count on Ralph to backtrack on. “The operational planning is going to be really, really challenging and I’m still trying to crack the code on how I can do that.”
As for that code, Ralph’s hiking boots are just the thing to crack it.
You can follow along and relive much of Ralph’s Ice Age Trail adventure via his blog. Visit the site for a hike-by-hike synopses and hundreds of beautiful, inspiring photos.
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