When measured in USD, the movement of alt coins is often a magnification of BTC movement. Alt coins are measured in satoshis, so when BTC dumps 10% in an a day, alts dump 10% in BTC value. That translates to 19% in USD value. Risks are higher in the alt game, compounded by the fact that most alt coins are backed by garbage fundamentals. With all that extra risk, why bother with alt coins?
One year ago, BTC was $1053, ETH was $11.44, and LTC was $3.98. Even after the bloodbath of the last 2 months, we have one year gains of 875%, 7557%, and 5501% respectively. At it's high, ETH was up over 12000% from Feb 2017. Those are damn respectable profits, but nothing compared to John McAfee's "Coin of the Day" on December 23rd 2017, Digibyte, which logged gains of 45000% during the same time period. If you had gone long $1000 in DGB, you'd have $118,446 today. If you had been prophetic and sold at its height, you would have made $450,000.
Promises of massive gains with no valuation justification, alt coins probably remind you of penny stocks, with a primary difference being market cap. We may not be at the birth of this game anymore, but we're still close to the beginning. The crypto market is tiny compared to it's potential, so there's plenty of room to grow. That doesn't mean you should go pouring your life savings into any crap coin just in the hopes that it'll rocket. The days of DGB style gains may be past, but that doesn't mean you can't make a bundle on a hidden gem. Minimize your risk by finding a coin with halfway decent fundamentals and a team made up of, at the very least, real people. Try to get in at a low. If the coin solves an actual problem with an idea you can believe in, your ability to ride the dips may translate into real profits.
One year ago, BTC was $1053, ETH was $11.44, and LTC was $3.98. Even after the bloodbath of the last 2 months, we have one year gains of 875%, 7557%, and 5501% respectively. At it's high, ETH was up over 12000% from Feb 2017. Those are damn respectable profits, but nothing compared to John McAfee's "Coin of the Day" on December 23rd 2017, Digibyte, which logged gains of 45000% during the same time period. If you had gone long $1000 in DGB, you'd have $118,446 today. If you had been prophetic and sold at its height, you would have made $450,000.
Promises of massive gains with no valuation justification, alt coins probably remind you of penny stocks, with a primary difference being market cap. We may not be at the birth of this game anymore, but we're still close to the beginning. The crypto market is tiny compared to it's potential, so there's plenty of room to grow. That doesn't mean you should go pouring your life savings into any crap coin just in the hopes that it'll rocket. The days of DGB style gains may be past, but that doesn't mean you can't make a bundle on a hidden gem. Minimize your risk by finding a coin with halfway decent fundamentals and a team made up of, at the very least, real people. Try to get in at a low. If the coin solves an actual problem with an idea you can believe in, your ability to ride the dips may translate into real profits.