When is it a good time to buy and sell a particular Cryptocurrency? That is the million-dollar question. Surely, the person who could know the answer would be a multi billionaire by now. There are, however, certain trends and signs one can look out for that may give a good indication of whether or not it is a good time to buy or sell a specific Cryptocurrency. We use Vitalik Buterin’s Ethereum as example.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a very important crypto in the sense that competition is always good for business. Ethereum was introduced in 2013 by a crypto researcher and developer Vitalik Buterin. It is currently the second most popular Cryptocurrency, following Bitcoin and is said to be the next Bitcoin. Ethereum differs from Bitcoin in the sense that it introduced smart contracts to the industry. It has relatively the same qualities as Bitcoin – it is open-source and built on Blockchain, which defines its abilities and characteristics. Enabled by Ethereum, a smart contract is a computer algorithm that allows users to build or develop innovative tools and systems to perform various tasks. These smart contracts run on Blockchain and eliminate the need for third parties. It can save one a lot of time and money.
The market is very much split in two as the majority of investors put their money in both Bitcoin and Ethereum. Ethereum’s token that you can trade with on exchanges is called an “ether” and can be bought or sold not only for Bitcoin, but also for any popular fiat currency like USD or EUR. Some cryptocurrency exchanges even offer an option of converting ETH to GBP, which can now bring you around £340 per coin.
Ethereum was forked in 2016, and Ethereum Classic (ETC) was introduced to the market. There are currently talks of another fork for Ethereum Classic that is expected to happen sometime in December 2017.
The latest on Ethereum
In order to determine whether or not it is a good time to invest in a Cryptocurrency, one should keep an eye on the news. News greatly affects whether a coin’s price will spike or take a hike. Remember – buy the rumor, sell the news.
According to CryptoCoins News, Mike Novogratz, an investor, predicts that the price of Ether could skyrocket till the end of 2017. Currently, the price of Ether in USD is $437. This follows the Ethereum Foundation introducing new scaling solutions like Plasma and Casper. Ethereum can now allow for more transactions than the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is a bit slow at the moment. Ethereum is said to have had an upgrade recently, and it will do away with unnecessary information “clogging” the system. It will also allow Ethereum’s blockchain to perform even faster while the productivity will increase to 550,000 transactions per day.
If you want to stay on top of Ethereum and watch your investment grow, monitor market changes through sector-specific announcements, news sites, charts, etc.
Should I buy Ethereum now or wait?
Various crypto analysts and experts give their opinion regarding the question at hand.
Novogratz was quoted in Fortune in May 2017 that he would consider buying more Ethereum if the price drops to $150 or $200. This means Ethereum would have a market cap of more or less than $20 billion. Novogratz told the news site that he believes the crypto market “has much further to run.”
On another note, when a particular coin’s price spikes, a lot of people want to jump in and buy immediately. This is not the right thing to do. Buy low, sell high, and repeat. Normally, when a coin has spiked, the market will take back 60%. By making use of some analytical tools, you can determine where this point will be. This is generally a good entry point. Despite of these and other trading tools, there is no guarantee in this industry. Majority of the time it is better to invest in a coin for a long term rather than for a short term.
One can also opt for dollar-cost averaging. It is a clever investment strategy when one buys a particular coin every month on a specific date. You may buy $100 Ethereum every 15th of a month and, over the long run, you will see your investment grow. The truth is that no one can really predict what the market will do, and sometimes it is better to buy now. It may happen that the price will never go down again.
The one thing that is great about cryptos is that you can buy a part of an Ethereum. For example, you can have a fifth of a Bitcoin or Ethereum, and if you do some day trading, you can easily grow this into one or even two coins.
It is really up to you if you want to buy Ethereum today or wait for the price to get lower. Before you invest, ask yourself this question: How much are you ready to lose?
Ethereum price predictions for 2018
According to Coin Spectator, an automated news aggregation service, Ethereum could reach $1,000. This is due to its increasing popularity and innovative technology. It is interesting to see that Ethereum spiked with more than 3,995% during 2017 whilst Bitcoin increased by more than 377%.
According to the website Investing Haven, it agrees with the $1,000 price prediction, adding that if it does not reach this price in 2018, it will surely do so by 2020. The website gives the following three factors as the reason for this prediction:
- Considering the future supply of Ether, developers may want to ensure that the number of coins remains constant. It may increase now but will stabilize after a while.
- The increasing demand and use of Ethereum’s smart contracts. The need for decentralized systems is growing on a daily basis. Investing Haven predicts that 5 – 7 years from now there will be a 20 – 30-fold increase in the smart contract apps being used.
- If the price of Ether continues growing in the same way it is now, it will attract more investors.
Where do I buy Ethereum?
There are hundreds of exchanges where you can buy Ethereum. Here is a list of reputable exchanges for you to consider. Be sure to pick the one that perfectly suits your particular needs and offers a reliable and transparent service.
In conclusion, some are saying that there is a strong possibility that Ether could eventually be worth more than Bitcoin. Investors are constantly looking out for the next best investment – maybe this is one of those?
Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.