Cryptocurrencies are inherently cryptic – it’s right there in the name. And if you follow Warren Buffett’s advice to never invest in businesses you can’t understand, it may be hard to justify investing in a currency made of maths instead of gold.
But it’s also hard to ignore some cryptocurrencies’ astounding performance: The price of one Bitcoin jumped from just under $5,000 in March 2020 to more than $60,000 as of this April.
The excitement surrounding digital currencies may leave some investors feeling like the lonely kid at a pool party, wanting to join their friends having fun in the deep end, but too nervous to jump in.
For those investors who are cautiously curious, here are ways to gain exposure to cryptocurrency without buying it, and if you do decide to purchase, how to lower your risk.
Invest in companies with cryptocurrency holdings
Think of this strategy as cryptocurrency investing once removed. Some publicly traded companies have cryptocurrency holdings. And because they are betting on its success, you can too, with those companies acting as a buffer.
“When you’re thinking about investing in a company because they have exposure to crypto, it really runs the gamut from how direct or indirect you are in terms of that exposure,” says Douglas Boneparth, a certified financial planner and president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York City. “It just depends on how much of their balance sheet is in crypto.”
Checking a company’s balance sheet can be revealing: As of June 30, 2021, Tesla held $1.31 billion in digital assets. And while the tech giant received plenty of media attention for its investment, that $1.31bn currently equates to only about 2.4 per cent of Tesla’s total assets. But if those assets balloon in value, as cryptocurrency is sometimes wont to do, Tesla’s stock value could follow suit.
Invest in cryptocurrency infrastructure
Another way to gain exposure is to invest in companies that have a stake in the cryptocurrency industry. Coinbase is a platform where investors can buy and sell cryptocurrency – and it’s publicly traded.
“Just like you have with gold, you can either invest in the commodity itself or the infrastructure around it, the miners, the materials needed for mining, same with energy and oil,” Mr Boneparth says. “And there are public companies that are specifically operating in the blockchain space, but there’s not many of them.”
Riot Blockchain is one of those few publicly traded companies that focuses on cryptocurrency mining. Among others, it helps to build cryptocurrency infrastructure and provides another cryptocurrency adjacent investment opportunity.
Get ready for a cryptocurrency ETF
While there are currently no cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds in the US that have been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, there is demand for them.
A cryptocurrency ETF operates much like any other ETF, but instead of tracking a market exchange such as the S&P500, it tracks a cryptocurrency. For instance, a Bitcoin ETF would track the price of Bitcoin.
There are ETFs in other countries for Bitcoin that have been permitted, and I think it’s just a thing that will happen in time [in the US]
Tristan Yver,
head of strategy, FTX.US
“There’s been many different attempts at ETFs and many of these have been rejected. There are ETFs in other countries for Bitcoin that have been permitted, and I think it’s just a thing that will happen in time [in the US],” says Tristan Yver, the head of strategy at FTX.US, a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange.
“I don’t have an estimate of when this will occur, but I do think it’s something that will happen, and I think it’s something that will allow people who aren’t comfortable with investing directly in digital assets to get exposure to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”
There have been numerous applications for cryptocurrency ETFs, and the SEC is expected to decide whether to approve investment manager VanEck’s bid for a Bitcoin ETF, which could be the first such US fund, on November 14, 2021.
Use caution if investing directly
If you’re willing to invest in cryptocurrency directly, there are a few ways you can mitigate your risk.
One way to do this is to reduce the amount of money you invest. Some credit cards offer cryptocurrency rewards in a similar way as cash back or miles. If you decide to add cryptocurrency to your portfolio by way of rewards, you don’t even have to use your own dollars to do so.
Another way to reduce your risk is to invest in stablecoins, which are similar to traditional cryptocurrencies but are backed by real-world assets, making them less prone to significant drops in value.
AP
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Company%20profile
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Premier League results
Saturday
Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2
Leicester City 3 Fulham 1
Newcastle United 3 Everton 2
Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Manchester City 3 Watford 1
Sunday
Liverpool 4 Burnley 2
Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Scoreline
Germany 2
Werner 9', Sane 19'
Netherlands 2
Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
HWJN
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPIDER-MAN%3A%20ACROSS%20THE%20SPIDER-VERSE
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PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
