A CRYPTOCURRENCY investor has revealed how he lost all of his money buying Bitcoin and Ethereum while drunk.
Despite his shaky start in the world of cryptocurrencies, Josh Ng from Sydney has since rehabilitated himself and now earned £ 27,000 trading.
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Josh Ng lost his money when he was drunk but made it back when he was sober
The 24-year-old first started investing in 2017 when he was with friends at an Airbnb in Tokyo.
When the drinks ran out, he and his pals started talking about Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“We heard a lot of hype about the cryptocurrency fad,” the construction worker told news.com.au’s “I’ve Got News For You” podcast.
“And that’s why we’re thinking about investing in it.
“My buddy was talking to one of his buddies, a financial advisor or something, and this guy said, ‘Oh, it can’t fail. Like it’s doing the next big thing. Invest now, you can get rich ”.
“So, without doing any research, one evening… we pumped in a lot of money, just leaned back and then went to bed.
“The next morning just a massive crash, like immediately 30 percent of the market, which was incredibly uncomfortable for us.”
In total, he lost around £ 1,700 to his failed crypto flutter.
When the price of Bitcoin fell to £ 53 there seemed no hope that he would get his money back.
But Josh saw speculation that crypto might bounce back and wondered if this was actually the time to buy at a cheaper price.
This time he decided to do some research and got into the market more cautiously.
“I was a little more careful when entering,” he admitted.
Josh said he was “more methodical and eventually got to a point where I could enter various coins I knew more about with a lot more confidence, rather than throwing everything into, say, Ethereum.”
His new approach seems to have paid off and his initial investment of £ 6,400 has now raised £ 27,000.
“I wasn’t really investing more money, just watching it grow and then taking profits and investing in other coins,” he added.
His top piece of advice for anyone looking to invest in crypto? “Don’t listen to your heart”.
Of course, experts have more specific advice, and crypto is a notoriously volatile asset to invest your money in.
Cryptocurrencies are not a regulated investment, so there is no safety net if something goes wrong and you lose money.
Many cryptocurrencies have a short track record, which makes them difficult to understand and predict.
Laith Khalaf, Head of Investment at AJ Bell, said, “Cryptocurrencies are incredibly volatile, and in many cases this is true of small new coins that come onto the market.
“If something can rise by several hundred percent in a few weeks, then it is not surprising that it can fall just as sharply in a short period of time.
“As always, the golden rule of crypto is never to invest an amount that you don’t want to lose completely, so don’t bet the house on it.”
5 Risks of Crypto Investing
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned people about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.
- Consumer protection: Some investments that advertise high returns on crypto assets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering requirements.
- Price volatility: The significant price volatility of crypto assets combined with the inherent difficulty of reliably valuing crypto assets puts consumers at high risk of loss.
- Product complexity: The complexity of some products and services related to crypto assets can make it difficult for consumers to understand the risks. There is no guarantee that crypto assets can be converted back to cash. Converting a crypto asset back into cash depends on the demand and supply in the market.
- Fees and Charges: Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment, which can be greater than that of regulated investment products.
- Promotional material: Firms can overestimate the return of products or underestimate the risks involved.
While Josh made a manageable amount trading crypto, others have been less fortunate.
A trader announced that he woke up to find that he had lost nearly $ 500,000 to a cryptocurrency scam.
And another said he claimed he convinced his aunt to invest £ 150,000 in Shiba Inu crypto – just because she was losing tens of thousands of dollars in 24 hours.
Buying a cryptocurrency is incredibly risky.
With any investment, there is a risk that the value of your money can go down as well as up. This means that you should only invest money that you can afford to lose.
Crypto can be riskier than other investments because they are volatile and speculative – their price often goes up and down very quickly, sometimes for seemingly no reason.
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