How to invest in cryptocurrency without buying any
Cryptocurrencies are inherently cryptic — it’s right there in the name. And if you follow Warren Buffett’s advice to never invest in businesses you can’t understand, it may be hard to justify investing in a currency made of math instead of gold.
But it’s also hard to ignore some cryptocurrencies’ astounding performance : The price of one bitcoin jumped from just under $5,000 in March 2020 to over $60,000 as of this April.
The excitement surrounding digital currency may leave some investors feeling like the lonely kid at the pool party, wanting to join their friends having fun in the deep end, but too nervous to jump in.
For those investors who are cautiously curious, here are ways to gain exposure to cryptocurrency without buying it, and if you do decide to purchase, how to lower your risk.
INVEST IN COMPANIES WITH CRYPTOCURRENCY HOLDINGS
Think of this strategy as cryptocurrency investing once removed. Some publicly traded companies have cryptocurrency holdings. And because they are betting on its success, you can too, with those companies acting as a buffer.
“When you’re thinking about investing in a company because they have exposure to crypto, it really runs the gamut from how direct or indirect you are in terms of that exposure,” says Douglas Boneparth, a certified financial planner and president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York City. “It just depends on how much of their balance sheet is in crypto.”
Checking a company’s balance sheet can be revealing: As of June 30, 2021, Tesla held $1.31 billion in digital assets. And while the tech giant has received lots of media attention for its investment, that $1.31 billion currently equates to only about 2.4% of Tesla’s total assets . But if those assets balloon in value, as cryptocurrency is sometimes wont to do, Tesla’s...
