Consider these risks and benefits before investing in cryptocurrency as a retirement plan

PrivacySwap
4 min readMar 26, 2022

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We are working hard to have a brighter tomorrow. Everyone looks for investments, such as stocks, businesses, or gold, as part of their retirement plan. With the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and NFT, some think that this could also be a good investment for their future. But how? Is cryptocurrency a viable investment?

If you were looking for an investment fifteen years ago, cryptocurrency could have been out of the options. This is due to its uncertainty to grow and the lack of public recognition. In addition, people were still unaware of where to store these assets as e-wallets did not exist yet.

Despite the uncertainty, cryptocurrency remains resilient today and even boasted an amazing price increase. Though there are still doubts about cryptocurrency, many are already investing in digital assets. Various branches of government from all over the world are already showing interest in such an investment. Some are even seeing cryptocurrency as their retirement plan. To this end, is it feasible considering its fluctuating price?

Crypto’s viability as a long term investment

If you’re planning to retire soon, diversifying your retirement portfolio with Bitcoin or other crypto investments could provide you with significantly better returns. However, it is worth noting the risks associated with it, such as price volatility.

The US Department of Labor recently warned 401(k) investors to have extreme care when choosing cryptocurrency as a retirement plan. Aside from fraud, their reasons are the price volatility and the threat to the retirement savings of America’s workers. Despite these risks, some are still pursuing crypto as a long-term investment. Why? What are the advantages of cryptocurrency as a retirement plan that makes these people invest in crypto?

Diversification

Cryptocurrency is an asset unrelated to equities and bonds, the most commonly held assets in retirement accounts in the United States. So even while cryptocurrency is risky in its own right, this may help secure one’s retirement savings.

Possibility to earn more

Cryptocurrency became popular due to its impressive charts. For example, a Bitcoin token is at $44,000 at the moment of writing. Its price never started high when it was first released back in 2009. Bitcoin’s price way back in 2010 was only $0.09. Eight years later, BTC’s price went around $17,000, and now it’s sitting at around $44,000.

Considering these prices, cryptocurrency could give you a greater return in the future. However, everyone should also rely on their skills and DYOR first, as investors’ knowledge still plays an essential role in this factor.

Taxation

More people invest in cryptocurrency because most governments do not yet regulate it. Therefore, taxation is not yet imposed. However, as mass adoption continues, the government has also started to step in and control the currency to reduce illegal activities in space. While this leads to possible taxation, it also creates a safer space for everybody.

Why is crypto potentially not a good retirement plan?

Crypto as a retirement plan also possesses a few disadvantages despite these advantages mentioned.

Fees

Cryptocurrency runs on the blockchain with the help of smart contracts. These smart contracts require gas to execute. Thus, the transaction fee is applied to every transaction on the space. Every movement needs a transaction fee, from simply linking your wallet to a DApp to depositing until withdrawing. These transaction fees depend on how much of your assets are transacted in the space.

Some platforms are already addressing this issue, such as ETH2.0 and the birth of web 3.0. However, crypto transaction fees remain expensive. However, once scalability in the blockchain is solved, transaction fees could go lower in the future.

Volatility

This remains one of the unresolved issues in the blockchain. Crypto’s price is volatile. It could go from 100 to zero despite the price hike. If this happened close to your retirement, this wouldn’t be good.

Losing Capital

Volatility could also potentially lead to capital losses. If you lose all your investment, you need to either wait for the price to go up or look for another type of investment. But, again, this won’t be good if this happens near your retirement.

Complexity

Investing in crypto is complex. Therefore, you need proper knowledge in order to find the proper token that will fit your profile. In addition, the software and the technology behind digital assets are also confusing to some.

However, developers are also working on simplifying transactions in the crypto space. As to when it will happen, we don’t know yet.

Conclusion

Though it is still too early to determine whether crypto would be a good retirement plan, it is not bad to do your own research. Early adoption could be risky, but the risk will depend on you. Remember only to invest the amount you are not afraid to lose.

As PrivacySwap always envisions a better DeFi space, we always aim to offer something that will help everybody for both long-term and short-term investing. In addition, everyone has power over their assets. For example, everyone can choose where they can stake from various farms and pools on our DEX. They also have the power to store their assets on our PrivacyCards. We also have NFT assets that you can hodl, giving you more earning possibilities.

The earning possibility in the crypto space is unimaginable; we want that. However, at the end of the day, you are still the one who will decide where and when to invest as it is still your money. So we are always here with you whenever you are ready to take your first step as a crypto investor.

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