Prepare Yourself for Crypto to Come Back
This is not investment advice, but rather possible divestment guidance
Picture yourself: it’s 2021. You’re reeling from a year of isolation and despair. You’re perpetually online. Your feed is full of news about GameStop stocks, Robinhood, and NFTs. Your friend (probably not me?) told you to buy this one particularly promising crypto, you tediously set up your wallet, buy the damn thing, and then…you never looked at it again.
Most people in crypto might say “HODL! Crypto is the future! You should participate! Meow meow meow!”
However, I’m here to say: if you don’t believe in the future of crypto, or you don’t want to worry about it anymore, then 2024 may be your moment to sell.
If you feel irreparably hurt by the volatile cycles of crypto, then leave it.
If your blood boils at the thought of the NFT you bought, then get rid of it.
If you’re already angry about it, but have questions about how to sell your crypto, email me: sterlingschuyler[at]substack.com. I won’t try to convince you to keep it or anything—just want to help you be happy.
But if you’re on the fence, or you want to start learning about crypto again, I suggest refreshing yourself with a few tidbits of news and resources.
News to Note
Amidst all the noise—crypto and otherwise—there are a couple stories that you may have missed, or didn’t consider important.
Bitcoin ETFs Are Approved
The SEC is still deciding has approved Spot Bitcoin ETFs. As a result, the price of $BTC may be on the rise, along with most other major cryptocurrencies.
Over the past few days, there’s been a lot of hype, as well as ups and downs after the SEC’s Twitter account was hacked. Crypto is notoriously volatile, and this event yet again enforces that fact.
If you prefer investing with an investment manager or a brokerage account, it seems you may be able to benefit from bitcoin without having to trade/hold it yourself.
Ledger Got Hacked
Speaking of hacks, crypto wallet company Ledger was hacked in December. For a company that’s renown in crypto for its security and privacy, this was not great. Most major crypto companies work with Ledger, and as a result, faith was shaken.
Luckily the issue was addressed within hours. If you haven’t been using your Ledger wallet or accessing decentralized applications (dApps) like OpenSea and SushiSwap, then you should be fine.
Resources I Recommend
Like any other industry or interest, there are numerous crypto “news” websites, many of which just exist for the clicks. A few, however, are actually decent.
I would consider Decrypt and Coindesk to be good news sources that don’t feel terribly spammy or scammy. They’ve done some great investigative journalism, and tend to focus on news rather than hype.
But depending on what kind of crypto news you prefer to consume, I also have a few other recommendations.
The Defiant
Camila Russo started The Defiant in 2019, around the same time she helped launch Des Femmes Magazine. The news outlet prides itself on breaking news stories related to decentralized finance (DeFi), without crowding the feed with FOMO, fluff, or misinformation.
My favorite part of their daily newsletter is that, for every article they highlight, they include a TL;DR and a “So What?” summary. If you don’t want to give too much attention to crypto, but still want to know what’s going on, I highly recommend subscribing.
ACJR Newsletter
The Association of Crypto Journalists and Researchers is another great source of crypto news and information. They don’t publish regularly, but when they do, they often compile important stories and bodies of research.
The reads are much heavier because they’re in-depth explorations and explanations of what’s happening in crypto. If you want long, deeply informed reads about crypto (that aren’t manifestos), I recommend following them.
Folks on Twitter
I’m not as active on Twitter as I used to be, but it can still be a good source of information from really amazing people—if you know where to look.
I came across Nick (FanaticalHodler) in the Global Coin Research Discord, where he hosts bi-weekly deep-dive investigations. He monitors and researches all kinds of onchain activity, which (ideally) can be used to hold people accountable.
Justin Bons (Justin_Bons) is the founder of crypto hedge fund Cyber Capital, and also a friend of mine. His threads of crypto analyses can be brutal, but as an individual who is truly invested in decentralized currency, he says what needs to be said.
Make the Right Choice
I’m guessing a number of folks got into crypto because they saw the numbers go up. If you’re not sure whether you want to keep your crypto, I have a few suggestions as to why you should stay.
You want to have direct control over (some of) your money
You may’ve heard about Ukrainians not being able to withdraw money from banks at the start of the war. Or perhaps you know about people in Lebanon robbing banks to simply withdraw their own money. Or, if you remember anything about the Great Depression, you know banks in the US also prevented customers from withdrawing their own money.
I’m not trying to fearmonger or create panic. I am, however, trying to tell you that banks have custody of your money. By storing some of it in crypto (and a non-custodial wallet), you’ll always have unfettered access to it.
A non-custodial wallet is an app that holds your crypto, but doesn’t grant third parties access to it without your permission. Similar to your physical wallet, no one can legally prevent you from accessing the cash you store in it.
You want to help product designers and builders make better products
You know how it takes 75 steps to buy or spend crypto? There aren’t a lot of consumer-friendly crypto products, which means people don’t have a reason to adopt it, let alone enjoy using it. Plus, there isn’t nearly as much money in designing products for consumers as there is in business (ex: B2B SaaS tends to be more profitable than B2C SaaS).
But we need better consumer products, and we can’t properly improve them without consumer usage and feedback. For example, tons of people want to see cuter, more fun wallet designs. Something that’s fun to look at and use.
Personally, I’m launching a Girlfriend DAO experiment to test a few ideas as well as products. One of my goals is to document the experience in order to explain what, exactly, can be better about interacting with crypto and doing fun things with it.
We’ll spend the year testing governance structures and using crypto products, with the hopes of educating other women how to run their own Girlfriend DAOs. If you want updates on the experiment, you can read about it in a separate newsletter.
You have conviction in a particular protocol’s philosophy or goal
If you want to buy memecoins, go for it…but there’s a lot more you can do with crypto. For example, Solana has an environmental focus, while Zcash is all about privacy. Guapcoin aims to be the currency of choice for the Black community (I currently hold some Guap). Within the crypto ecosystem, I’ve seen more people be bullish on Optimism and MultiversX (previously Elrond).
By buying (and using) particular cryptocurrencies, you also express certain values with your transactions—even if aren’t using crypto on the daily. If anything, you’re showing support for an idea and helping the protocol grow by just purchasing it.
And as always, do your research before buying any crypto.
Final Thoughts
I want all my favorite people (like you) to be excited about crypto.
But if you’re not convinced that it’s worthwhile, or if it just makes you angry to think about, then get rid of it. No hard feelings.
I just hope we build something that you enjoy—and soon.