Discussions among neighbors about currency or crypto assets to this day have not stopped due to various different cases involving crypto assets, so many see crypto as the source of the problem. Even since its birth, cryptocurrencies have caused a lot of controversy. Both in terms of radically fluctuating values, as well as the cases of fraud that accompanied his journey. There are some people who think of crypto as an investment, but there are also those who think of crypto as gambling.
As the beginning of the discussion, please note that what is referred to as crypto currency is digital currency which is currently more referred to as crypto assets. Examples of crypto assets include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and many more. Besides Bitcoin, other crypto assets are often referred to as altcoins or alternative coins. There are so many of them that they reach 10,000 types globally, but only around 200 types of crypto assets are recognized by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti). Variations are also very much seen from the basis of the value that becomes the benchmark, how to obtain it, as well as the technology used.
Because there are laws in place, crypto assets are investment tools that can be traded in Indonesia with crypto asset trading companies that are registered and supervised by CoFTRA. Even though it is allowed to be an investment tool, crypto assets cannot be used as legal and official payment instruments in Indonesia. With this understanding, the characteristics of crypto assets above can be the basis for deciding whether to enter the crypto world or not.
At the beginning of crypto's existence, the profits were quite tempting, even the price of one crypto asset could reach $ 69 thousand or around 1 billion in November 2021. Currently, the price has decreased quite significantly, around $ 19 thousand or 280 million and is predicted to touch $ 13 thousand or around 180 million due to the continued strengthening of the US Dollar price. US Dollar Inflation will continue to raise interest rates to prevent inflation in the country. This is one of the reasons for the decline in crypto asset prices.
Like the nature of investment, there are times when crypto asset investments experience profits but there are times when they experience losses like now. This is what causes some people to think that investing in crypto assets is the same as gambling, you can make big profits but you can also lose big. Many people are frustrated because of big losses, some even commit suicide because the money used is money from bank loans. However, some have succeeded in seeing patterns of crypto asset price movements so that they can get big profits.
Then, can ordinary people enter the world of crypto investment?
As an investment, there are times when the value of crypto assets can go up or down based on the amount of supply, demand, viral news, or economic conditions. For example, one crypto asset on the market could become scarce due to reduced mining due to natural disasters, wars, energy constraints, reduced number of miners, or large purchases. Another case can be seen when Elon Musk announced that he accepts crypto as a means of payment for his products, the price of one of the crypto assets experienced a significant spike. However, because there are quite a lot of variations in crypto assets, their conditions can vary at the same time.
If ordinary people enter the world of crypto asset investment, it is better to learn first like studying stocks. Learn patterns of movement in crypto asset values from direct practice with investment values that are not too large and knowledge on the internet that is shared by several experts who have experienced it for a long time. Don't rush into making decisions even though there are crypto assets being viral by famous people. Most importantly, make sure the trading and crypto asset trading applications that are carried out are registered and supervised by Bappebti. Happy investing!
FX Hendra Prasetya, ST, MT