Advent is about hope, and nothing says hope right now better than cryptocurrency. My fellow Christians might say that we should place our hope in Jesus, and I agree, but sometimes it’s fun to make money.

I’ve been wanting to write this for a while, so I’m taking a break from Adventine reflection to talk you into what looks like the next iteration of money.

Long ago, we traded solely in goods and services, then graduated to gold and silver coins, then to paper money, then plastic cards with a magnetic strip, transferring invisible money via the internet, etc.

Now, go figure, there’s crypto, a further foray into the digitization of money.

But most people don’t want to get into to it because they don’t understand what it is. If that’s you, I can’t help. I also can’t explain why that five-dollar piece of paper in your pocket is worth 5 dollars beyond the fact that a bunch of people think it’s worth 5 dollars.

The same phenomenon goes for crypto, and because of its current proliferation, you can bet that it’s here to stay.

The crypto market went bonkers (in a good way) last year. A growing number of financial institutions, major corporations, media influencers, movie stars, countries, et al. are adopting it. You have to wonder what it’s going to look like in 5 years.

Based on what we’ve seen, there’s much more to come.

Should you get some? Absolutely. When random, little-known bloggers take time away from their earth-shattering Advent series to talk you into it, it’s safe to assume that something big is afoot.

Below is my advice on how to move forward. Do so at your own risk 🙂

Pick a Number

I had a hard time selling crypto to my wife because it’s so hard to explain. When she got on board, we picked a dollar amount that wouldn’t leave us feeling like idiots if we lost it all.

Our initial $200.00 investment quickly grew to $50,000 on the eve of Elon Musk’s SNL appearance, then it tanked, hard, but we’re still up by ~ 5,000%. We’ve since invested more, but, again, not so much that we’ll feel cheated if this thing blows up.

Picking a number that you don’t mind losing is the first step. It’s not time to bet the farm, as so many have done, but getting a seat on the bus is a good idea.

Get On a Good Exchange

How do you get crypto?

Nowadays, that’s easy. There are a few trustworthy, time-tested cryptocurrency platforms – “exchanges” – to choose from.

My favorite is Voyager. They don’t charge exorbitant fees, and their transactions aren’t complicated. All you have to do is grab the Voyager app, verify your ID, fill out the application, and get rollin’.

You can learn more at investvoyager.com, or get the app.

The best thing about Voyager is that you get $25.00 in free Bitcoin if you use this code at sign up: C3D98A. Even better, if you use that code, I get $25.00 too, and getting free money during Christmas time is what Advent is all about.

Note: per US regulations, all crypto exchanges require driver’s license, social security #, etc. I wasn’t entirely comfortable passing sensitive data via the internet but haven’t experienced any issues in the year since I signed up.

Understand the Coins

Once you get on an exchange, you’ll notice that there are a bunch of different coins to choose from: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, etc.

Which one(s) should you get?

In whatever exchange you go with, you’ll notice that you can track a coin’s history over time. In Voyager, you can look at the past hour, week, month, or year to see how each coin is performing. A few have done well this past month while many others have struggled because of all the recent COVID news.

I chose Terra (LUNA) because it tends to go up when everything else is going down (up 14,000% since this time last year). I also have some riskier coins – DOGE, SHIBA, and MANA – because I think the market in general is going to take some big leaps in the next 5 years.

According to many, Bitcoin and Ethereum are safe bets too.

I’ll offer one prediction: once the markets recover from COVID bad news, things will change. Omicron has taken a huge bite out of the crypto market, and it’s going to be awhile before it recovers. But because everything’s so low, it’s a good time to get your foot in the door.

Understand the Taxes

There’s one simple thing you need to know about how Uncle Sam will charge you if you get into crypto.

Let’s say you invest $200 in Dogecoin at its current price of $0.17, then it grows to 0.20 and you decide to trade all of it for some Bitcoin. There is nothing to report if you either cash in or trade for another coin.  That’s considered a capital gain by the IRS, and you’ll have to report it.

Not so if your Dogecoin has lost value when you cash in/trade for something else, that’s recorded as a loss.

Some folks make their investments and stay put, ride out the volatility, etc., while others trade frequently throughout the month. If you’re in the latter group, don’t worry, your exchange will keep a record of your transactions, but it’s a good idea to track them yourself as you’ll need to report any gains on your tax returns.

There’s much more to all of this; which coins to buy, when to invest, where the train is heading etc. I wish I could offer more, but I’m no pro.

I’m happy to help if you need it. Please comment below, especially if you have anything to add to the basics of crypto.

Either way, go, adeste fidelis, and get you some crypto.

I’ll be back next week with some good ol’ fashioned Advent spiritual mumbo jumbo.