Investing In Crypto in November is quite challenging for a lot of reasons. Bitcoin (BTC) lost some of its momentum this week, tumbling below $54,000 for the first time in 6 weeks. But while the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency is still struggling to find support at the $60k mark, it’s not all bad news across the blockchain universe.
Cryptocurrencies may be stressed, but it’s all good over in the Metaverse. Metaverse tokens have been surging, with Gala (GALA) gaining 160%, WAX (WAXP) up 78%, The Sandbox (SAND) climbing 62%, and Decentraland (MANA) posting an impressive 45% increase for the week.
The rise of the Metaverse has been a very hot topic over the last few months. Gaming protocols, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and buildable virtual worlds have been thrust into the spotlight on the heels of Facebook’s announcement that it was rebranding as Meta.
Believe in it or not, the Metaverse will be big, very big, and those who get in early will be the ones who benefit the most.
But aside from spending hours a day building a virtual theme park, how does one invest in the Metaverse?
According to the CEO and co-founder of crypto asset management platform Cobo, Shixing Mao (aka Discus Fish), “The best way to invest crypto in the metaverse is by buying NFTs.” For those that need a primer, NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets, like graphic arts, video game items, audio or video clips, and collectables that live on the blockchain. They can be bought, sold, and traded but never duplicated. And NFTs are very hot right now.
Take Decentraland, a marketplace where users can create and trade all forms of digital assets. Its native token MANA soared to new record highs in the days following Facebook’s announcement and continued its climb during the weeks that followed. Investors that got in on that one would have gained ten-fold on their investment.
Still not ready to invest directly in NFTs? There are other ways to get in on the Metaverse. Serious investors can buy the Grayscale Decentraland Trust, which is up over 1000% since launching in February. The only catch is this investment vehicle is only open to accredited investors, meaning you’ll need to put up a minimum investment of $25,000 to play.
But hold tight because expensive Trusts are not the only way to invest in crypto.
Fundamentally, investing in crypto isn’t all that different from investing in tech stocks or mining companies. There are marked differences between the actual investment vehicles that investors need to consider, but the process is very similar – with a few important distinctions.
Today, most equity investors use online brokerages or digital trading accounts to access financial markets. These platforms have been designed with simplicity and user experience in mind. Likewise, crypto exchanges have made buying and selling extremely straightforward. The key difference is where your assets are stored and how to access them.
Unlike a traditional investment account which simply requires you to login, crypto is stored in a wallet and accessed through a series of keys – a public key and a private one. Your public key is like your account number; it’s the one you use to send and receive your crypto. Your private key is like your password, it’s how you access your crypto, and it’s a crypto holder’s most valuable asset. Protecting your private key at all times is crucial; if someone were to get ahold of it, they would have access to all your crypto assets.
When you invest in crypto, you have the option of choosing a custodial wallet, where a third-party exchange manages your keys or a non-custodial wallet, where you retain control of both your public and private keys. Custodial wallets make trading on that platform convenient but could leave your assets vulnerable to security issues or hacks.
Some investors may choose to employ both custodial and non-custodial wallets, which requires them to manage multiple platforms and several keys to access their crypto assets.
Once you have chosen a platform and a wallet, you’ll need to fund your wallet to make your first crypto investment.
Technology-driven company Mobilum (CSE:MBLM) provides plug-and-play fiat-to-crypto digital payment infrastructure to exchanges, wallets, and businesses.
The company’s on-ramping solutions make it as easy to buy crypto with a credit card as it would be to buy an Amazon gift certificate. And now, Mobilum is offering crypto-off ramping to easily convert digital assets back into fiat via gift cards, credit, and debit cards.
In September, Mobilum announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Mobilum OÜ generated a Total Transaction Volume (TTV) of nearly CAD$7.7 million. That figure represents an impressive 44% month-over-month growth.
At the same time, Mobilum subsidiary XPort Digital Limited announced the release of BuyBitFast.com, one of the world’s fastest fiat-to-crypto on-ramp platforms. The platform makes buying crypto less of a hassle by eliminating the need to create an account, a requirement on most other crypto exchanges. Instead, all BuyBitFast.com users need to do to process payments is input their email address and public crypto key, pass KYC requirements and then get their crypto.
The entire process takes minutes, and the platform boasts highly competitive rates and no hidden fees or secondary exchanges.
Disclaimer: NAI is being compensated for this content. Materials contained in this content are for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute an offering of securities in any jurisdiction. Nothing on this content should be construed as an offer, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell products or securities.
