
Ask HN: What cryptocurrencies do you believe are going to 'blow up' next? - rblion
Sold a domain for $484, thinking I should invest it into cryptocurrency to cancel out my $1200 credit card debt. That&#x27;s the last of my debt, no student loan, mortgage, car, child support, alimony!
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itamarst
That's not investing, that's gambling.

Rate of return on paying down credit card debt is 19-30%, which is _really_
good rate of return. And zero risk! So just pay down your debt as much as you
can.

~~~
rblion
Here's where I'm stuck...

Half of me sees this cryptocurrency boom as the beginning of a bubble that
will pop in 2018 or 2019. The other half of me is like what if this is a new
era of global commerce and this is the investment of a lifetime?

It's hard to know which one will happen. The Internet was a mix of both from
the 90's to the 00's to now.

~~~
nxsynonym
I have trouble believing that Bitcoin will create any long term wealth for
such a large number of people for one reason, it's too easy.

When this thing pops (and it will eventually) there will be a number of
stories of "rags to riches" that will be in widespread media. What you wont
see is the vast majority of people who lost out.

Something with this much value involved and so little regulation is bound to
cater to a very small number of people.

If there is ever a possibility of a large-scale shift to a cryptocurrency as a
standard for any currency, I doubt it will be bitcoin. I also doubt that
anyone will reap the benefits simply by "being in early".

Someone somewhere is pulling strings. You may get lucky and ride the waves
that are created by those doing the behind the scenes manipulation, but
there's a much bigger risk of getting worked.

~~~
rblion
This gives me peace of mind. Thanks for the clear logic.

I was 10 when the dotcom bubble happened and 18 when the Great Recession
started. This is the first time in my adult life where I've had the money and
opportunity to 'be part of something big' but I think you're right and that I
should just use this money to pay down the last of my debt.

I read yesterday that some 40% of the Bitcoin market is controlled by a small
handful of hands. This is part of why I am hesitant to invest without asking
here first.

Glad I asked!

------
k-ian
Since no one's actually answering the question here:

\- Stellar Lumens has been doing well recently, IBM recently created a bunch
of Stellar full nodes and will be using it as part of a banking on blockchain
project

\- SALT Lending is a cool new project that has started, where people can lend
out their cryptocurrency in exchange for cash. If you default, the lender
keeps the coins; if you pay back, you get the coins back, even if the value
had gone up

\- Zclassic recently re-started active development and seems to be doing well.
The main devs are trying to get the community onboard with a hard fork, and I
think it could do well if it actually takes off

\- Metal Pay is a solid payment processor startup that I think could do well
over the next few months

It's hard to find the right thing to invest in. I'd say pick 2-3 projects and
buy some of their tokens, and don't sell at a loss unless the project is doing
really badly.

~~~
airbreather
Hard to understate the possibilities that IBM brings to Stellar, IBM has
relationships with big business and governments that have taken decades to
establish and no amount of money can buy.

Stellar just popped 25% today on the back of a Russian bank announcement of
tie up with IBM for blockchain tech.

------
Gargoyle
I'm far more positive-minded about cryptocurrency than the average HN'er, and
I have been since 2011.

And I think this is a terrible idea. If you don't have a sense of what ideas
you personally believe matter in the field, this is a terrible time to put
money into it. I've got money in coins I believe in long term, but that long
term may be years. It's certainly not months.

------
muzani
IMO, never invest in hopes of paying off debts.

The problem is that crypto is volatile. Today I'm looking at ETH going up 32%
a week. But next week it could be down 80%. Then it could go up again 184%.

In hindsight, it looks smart to invest in it. But when your $484 becomes $350,
then $210, then $90.. you are going to be under a lot of emotional distress.
You'll be kicking yourself, wishing you put it into your debt, or some other
crypto. It could go on to $1500 later, but only if you could hold on long
enough.

What's worse is that most cryptocurrencies will actually fail. If you go for a
high risk one, there's a good chance your investment will go to $0.

The key to investing well is faith. But you need a lot, lot more faith if you
really need the money and need it fast.

And making your investment decision based on some 5 minute comment on an
internet forum is not going to give you a lot of faith.

------
lastofus
Don't let "Fear of missing out" drive you to speculate (not invest) in what
every sane person knows to be a bubble.

~~~
rblion
you read my mind, that fear is why I think I should invest. My gut says 'this
is like 1999'. On my Facebook feed there is one kid who is a tech support
agent who has become a 'bitcoin daytrader' and a music video model who posts
screenshots of prices every every other day. It seems everyone and their mom
will be getting into it in 2018.

You never think we could both be wrong and are missing something? Just
curious.

~~~
lastofus
I'm often wrong, but overall I think I'm a happier person not having my
decisions be driven by other people, especially folks who paint a idyllic
distorted image of themselves on social media.

With that said I too have at least looked into buying some BTC, but only with
"fun money". At this point, I think cryptocurrency speculation is like going
to Vegas where you set aside some money you can afford to lose, and having fun
playing the game is the point. Because long term, if you keep playing the
games long enough, you will lose it all.

~~~
rblion
I normally don't let social media affect me, I barely even use it Facebook or
Instagram anymore (just a few minutes of scrolling a day before feeling
annoyed and logging out), check Twitter a few times a week at most, don't use
Snapchat at all. It's had a positive impact on my well-being for sure.

Fair point about only betting 'fun money', I feel that I should trust my gut
and accept that the best time to 'get in' was a year ago and best time to cash
out is probably in 2018.

We'll wait and see.

------
znt
Monero (XMR) has seen nice increases this year, its little brother AEON is
flying under the radar atm. I believe it's only available on Bittrex and
HitBTC. It may blow up if it gets added to Asian exchanges or Bitfinex.

------
sharemywin
I've lost quite a bit on bitcoin between nicehash and now having trouble
withdrawing my money from bittrex.

Also, have what's probably $1000 or more floating in the bitcoin and splits
void because I lost my private key.

~~~
sharemywin
golem looks interesting from a technology prospective. Lbry is minable if you
have a GPU.

if you want to get your feet wet just buy a GPU and start mining.

you can checkout whattomine.com it's pretty accurate.

~~~
sharemywin
my suggestion use a wallet with recovery options. may not be as safe but if
lose your "password" you can recover. for small amounts.

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explorigin
It's hard to think of "next" because the most prolific crypto-currency is
still the first one. Having said that, look at the ones that businesses are
pouring money into...BTC, ETH, FileCoin. For BTC and ETH, you could follow the
buzz for a while but now you have to be leery of market manipulation. If you
play them, play for the long game. FileCoin is new but had a massive
fundraising round. Expect it to go places.

------
hjjiehebebe
ETH would be my bet. Yes its blown up but lagging behind btc

