Can Cryptocurrency Set You Up for Life? 
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Did you know that in 2010 one Bitcoin was worth just three cents? Had you invested a measly US$5 then, you would have had 166.667 Bitcoins. Today, even with the current market slump, your total profit from the original investment of five dollars would be over half a million dollars! Sounds like a good investment, right?
Well, it’s not just us mere mortals getting our interest piqued by this cyber currency, many well known celebrities have invested too. But, Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency out there, plenty more are popping up regularly with over 2000 alternative coins to choose from. While investing in a cryptocurrency can be risky, it can also be extremely profiting. Some of these alternative coins can languish for months and then explode out of nowhere for massive gains. If you’re successful with investing in it, you will likely set yourself up for life.
But what is cryptocurrency? Basically, it’s a digital currency that is open source and has no central authority. It’s decentralised, which means it can be used anywhere in the world, and retains anonymity when spent, creating a culture of privacy and choice. Here we look at some celebs who are captivated by crypto.
Bill Gates
Technology pioneer and the Microsoft co-founder himself, Bill Gates, has backed cryptocurrency, more specifically Bitcoin because of the ease it creates for geographically challenged transactions, making the incredulous claim that cyber currency is more valuable than real money.
“Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be. Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient,” he told Bloomberg in 2014.
50 Cent
In 2014, rapper 50 Cent – an already self-made millionaire – accepted Bitcoin as payment for his album Animal Ambition in his online store, amounting to a total of 700 coins. With the value of Bitcoin’s worth about US$660 per coin that means he collected a payday of about US$462,000, not a small sum by any means. However, with Bitcoin showing massive gains since 2014 his portfolio has sky rocketed.
He’s not the only musician who is accepting Bitcoin. In the last 4 to 5 years, increasingly more and more musicians have started accepting Bitcoin as an alternative method of payment.
This all adds to the credibility of Bitcoin and is the reason why many investors are still confident that it will be able to cross the previous highs quite soon and create new highs.
Ashton Kutcher
Hollywood A-lister, Ashton Kutcher is vocal about his interest in cryptocurrency. “I think Bitcoins are obviously becoming more and more relevant,” he was quoted saying in 2013 at a TechCrunch Disrupt conference. And in recent years the stars interest obviously translated to him investing in cryptocurrency himself. Earlier this year the award winning actor donated 4 million dollars in crypto to Ellen DeGeneres charity, The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. His virtual currency of choice? Ripple’s XRP token, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin.
Donald Glover
Starring actor in the hit comedy Community, and internationally renown rapper by the name of Childish Gambino, Donald Glover’s opinion definitely has major influence across the globe. Glover was one of the first celebrities to invest in Bitcoin and expressed his interest in the global change cryptocurrency can create to Time Magazine.
“I know a lot of people are skeptical, but I feel like if everything’s going to live online, why not Bitcoins? Being backed by gold seems very old and nostalgic to me. Being backed by Bitcoin, which takes time to actually make and there’s this equation that has to be done, that feels realer to me and makes more sense.”
A cautionary tale
Success stories with cryptocurrency can make it hugely inspiring to invest in it. You may be thinking it’s the perfect retirement plan and can set you up for life. However, like gambling, investing in cryptocurrency involves a risk of capital with hopes of future profit. In layman’s terms, that basically means you’re taking a risk and could lose everything. As the tried and tested saying goes, only invest money that you can afford to lose. While the rewards of investing in cryptocurrency can be drastically life changing, and indeed set you up for life, it’s important to consider the worst case scenario and how much you can actually afford to lose.
