03/09/2021
Golden rule of investing:
“Only invest what you can afford to lose” 💡
Elon Musk invested in Bitcoin. Should you do the same?
One of the most talked-about and controversial investment options today is Bitcoin. Recently, those in favor of Bitcoin felt validated when Elon Musk bought $1.5B worth of coins. Because of this, many are now rushing to invest also, kasi baka daw he knows something that we do not. So, yung iba umutang pa para lang makapaginvest. Do you know the value of one Bitcoin today? P2.2M!
I am not a financial person, and I am not an investor; instead, I am an entrepreneur. For my case, I believe the best way I can make money is by doing business. Though I am not into investing, I would like to help you understand what Elon Musk did from an entrepreneur’s perspective.
Did Elon Musk invest in Bitcoin because he expects his $1.5B to make him richer? Bitcoin is a very speculative instrument. Its value is based on what the next guy is willing to pay for the coin you own. Kaya it can go up very quickly but also drop in a blink of an eye. Do you know how much $1.5B is compared to the overall value of TESLA? TESLA is worth $800B today! So $1.5B is just 0.2% of the money they have! What does this mean?
If the value of Bitcoin goes up, it will add a little money to the coffer of Elon Musk. But if it crashes, even if its value goes to zero, it will not make Elon poor because P1.5B is loose change compared to the money he owns.
If I am as rich as Elon Musk, I will do what he just did. But I am not Elon Musk! And siguro the money that I can afford to lose in Bitcoin is P10,000 only. Pero that cannot even buy me one coin. Kaya I am afraid for some young entrepreneurs and investors who have bet all their savings on Bitcoin. I am concern because when they invested their expectation is for Bitcoin to make them rich. Eh paano pag nag crash?
Recently, I wrote about high-risk, high gain versus low-risk, low gain investments. Was the investment of Elon Musk high risk? I believe it is “low risk” para sa kanya because he invested money he does not need. He can make more money by building cars. Pero yung nag invests ng lahat ng saving nila sa Bitcoin, high-risk yun kasi they are hoping to get high gains in the future. In the blog I wrote, I said the problem with “high risk high gain” is that the chances of losing your money is also very high.
A month ago, I also wrote a blog that said, “Do not do what the rich do. Instead, do what the rich did!” Do you think Elon Musk would have invested $1.5B in Bitcoin when he was building TESLA? Of course not! He will invest that money in his company and in an area of his expertise.
I have nothing against Bitcoin. I believe it is a valid investment instrument that people can trade and make money from. But be careful! Please do not fall into the trap of thinking that it will make you extremely rich. If this is your expectation, then you may be gambling your money and your future away.