In what is the first of a new series of interviews, I will be chatting to eToro’s most successful Popular Investors to find out what makes them tick. Over the weekend I spoke to Elite Popular Investor Jay Smith about his outlook for the cryptoasset sector, what he’s looking forward to and what got him into investing.
What got you into investing in cryptoassets?
Like most people, I heard about Bitcoin from the price appreciation. But it was the efficiency as a medium of exchange and the idea that we can have a currency controlled by the community that drew me deeper. I read the whitepaper a few times and what struck me was that it’s like an extension of “the cloud”. Tokens are stored on a ledger on the internet that nobody controls. There really was nothing else like that.
Since then, the development of smart contracts got me even more excited – the potential for fully decentralized, permissionless services.
Where do you get your insights from?
These days I tend to stick with the major cryptos, but I found some great books by well-known figures in the space. Generally, I get most of my information from Twitter and Reddit these days. Those are the places the community spends most of their time. Any interesting news finds its way there very quickly, usually.
What is your outlook for cryptoassets? Which are you most excited about? Which are overhyped?
I’m very bullish on “currency coins” like Bitcoin and Litecoin, but also privacy coins like Monero and Dash. My favorite altcoin is BAT – Basic Attention Token.
There is a middle ground between those with good potential and those that are overhyped. For me, Ethereum, Cosmos, Tezos, Cardano and IOTA – all big smart contract platforms sit in this category. To have no exposure here could mean missing out on something huge, but there is still a lot of work required for these projects to reach their potential, and inevitably some never will.
The most overhyped coins for me are mainly the ICO projects. Most of them are now dead. Some other projects I think remain overhyped are projects like EOS, NEO and the Bitcoin fakes like Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Satoshis Vision. The first two have shifted the goalposts and failed to deliver on their original promises. The last two are quite simply pointless. They do not differentiate enough from Bitcoin, and use misleading marketing to remain relevant.
This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.
All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.
Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.
This content is sponsored and should be regarded as promotional material. Opinions and statements expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of The Daily Hodl. The Daily Hodl is not a subsidiary of or owned by any ICOs, blockchain startups or companies that advertise on our platform. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in any ICOs, blockchain startups or cryptocurrencies. Please be advised that your investments are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility.
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