I sell t-shirts online through a few different programs, Merch, Red bubble, TeePublic, etc. I receive remittance payments monthly through PayPal. The money isn't life changing per se, but I call it my "fun money". Well, when I received my notifications that new money had been loaded, I noticed that PayPal was allowing me to "purchase" Crypto. Bitcoin was at approximately $27,000 when I decided it was time to jump into Crypto. Alas, I for the life of me couldn't get proper verification for days and days, as the price of Bitcoin steadily rose. Needless to say, it was irritating and heartbreaking. So, I had an old Robinhood account, I threw $300 into it and bought some DOGE at about $.0650000. I sold in a hurry at $.0820000 and felt like a king in the making with my $100ish dollar gain. I threw all-in into BCH at about $680, specifically because my brain could handle the calculations better than Bitcoin or ETH. I played, I mean literally played buying dips and selling high making dollars for a few days as it rode up to about $750. I sold at about $720. And then... it fell. I bought on the way down at $666, assuming that was a reasonable bottom as a Noob who's never experienced a severe swing. And... then... it... collapsed. And... it... collapsed... more. All the way down to below $500. And, I lost $100. And, I waited, and I waited and it is still there. Today, as I right this, it's up 10%, and that feels good.
But, I learned. This isn't get-rich-quick for me.
When you buy cryptocurrency through Robinhood, you DO NOT own Cryptocurrency. I can't transfer my crypto or trade it. It's not an exchange. It's the same I learned afterwards with PayPal. Robinhood gets a bad rap, and it took me a few weeks to see why as I my knowledge and confidence grew, and as the GME/AMC business played out. I'd flip back and forth between a live price tracker at cryptometer.io and see firsthand a large difference in pricing between Robinhood and the rest of the internet. At one point I remember seeing Robinhood have BCH going for $715, and cryptometer.io was reading $709 and heading downwards. So, there's proof in the pudding that your "free" trades at Robinhood aren't really free. I'm still sitting on that money, hoping for at least a swing towards breaking close to even. I'm capable of patience (at least that's what I keep telling myself).
The PayPal/Robinhood debacle led me to discover exchanges and proper wallets, faucets and an incredible Reddit community. But, that's all a story for another day.
Steer clear of Robinhood Crypto, and PayPal for that matter. It's slow, and although you'll feel like you're doing something interesting with crypto, you won't be. You'll be wasting valuable time, energy and resources. Take it from me, learn from my mistakes. Do more research before you put your money into the wrong investment tool. Remember, if it's sounds easy, or to good to be true, there's a very fair chance that's the actual case.
Thanks for the read!
Good article. Thanks for the advice.