We are all used to trading in BTC or in USDT most of the time, but there are different pairings to trade in as well that can actually offer some benefits to trading in good ol' BTC.
Lately I've been making most of my trades in Ethereum instead of Bitcoin. I converted a fair deal of BTC into ETH at the wrong time and got stuck holding the bags, which I initially didn't like much. So I don't want to sacrifice any more of my BTC to invest in other things. However it turns out there are some benefits to trading in Ethereum.
The main benefit is that Ethereum offers a more stable base to trade out of than BTC. Everytime I try to beat BTC in growth by investing in some alt, I end up doing it at the wrong time and will see my BTC value go down quick due to the volatility and quick rises. It's nearly impossible to turn a profit in BTC by trading during BTC bull runs.
Ethereum however has been on par with the altcoin rises and dips. Usually it dips less than many other alts, so it is a relatively safe haven to return to. I'm happy to return to it at any time, because I know in the future Ethereum will be up big time. For the time being it is only growing slowly - many alts can outperform it. While trading in BTC is uncertain either way: You may miss out because BTC goes up right after you invested, but BTC is also so high that it may also enter in a bear market. Ethereum, by comparison, seems like it has not really even started growing (odd to say about a $70-80 billion crypto, but still it feels like this to me).
So lately my trading has been focused on accumulating more Ethereum by trading altcoins, instead of accumulating more BTC. I see it as a double edged sword: First I get to increase my ETH stack, and my ETH stack itself will of course grow over time as well. This way I can still take advantage of beneficial trades, without the high risk of doing it during the insane Bitcoin volatility. The risk of becoming a bagholder is significantly less, as Ethereum goes down with the other alts so the ETH/altcoin pairings are far less affected and I don't need to risk my remaining BTC stack.
I've been able to make some nice trades with small amounts to test this out these past weeks. I basically look for a coin that is likely to go up faster than ETH because of the lower market cap, then put some money in it and then sell it off when it does outperform ETH. While ETH will grow 10-15%, the minor alts will usually do 20-30%, so this is real easy to do a lot of the times. Much moreso than trying to swim upstream against Bitcoin. I try to stick with alts that I wouldn't mind holding either way. So wether I end up with more of that altcoin, or with more ETH, I don't care because I want more of both!
Come battle me through @STEEMPUNKNET!
Nice strategy. Sounds smart. When BTC is moving up, you can definitely expect alts to bleed red pretty heavily. I may have to look into this strategy.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
What you can also do is write down both the BTC and ETH values of your investment. If you're down in BTC, but still ahead in ETH, you can still turn it into a profit that way and stay in crypto without going to fiat. Then later when ETH goes up comparitive to Bitcoin you make up the rest of the loss which you had in BTC. i see it as two ways to attack the problem of BTC losses in one!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Sweet idea bro!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
that's a really good explanation. Etherium also costs less per coin so you less 0's to deal with
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
And also, the minimal trade amount value is less in ETH than it is in BTC valuewise :)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
prices have changed a lot.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I prefer ETH trading as well. It's become my go-to since I stopped using Litecoin. I still don't like the concept of gas, and it usually costs more than Litecoin trades, but besides that, things are fine. It's still a better option than Bitcoin trading.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Definitely! I was trading on Etherdelta a lot, but then CryptoKitties came and ruined it all because the gas cost is so high now. So now I am back on a normal exchange, Binance in this case. Don't have to deal with gas, but there is of course withdrawal fees. Hopefully the ETH blockchain gets unclogged soon, it was working so well!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thanks for the tips. I have been using litecoin alot as it has been only taking about 10 - 15 minutes for the trades to be confirmed. I might start trying ETH. Just built a tool last night to help when trading steem because I seen some of the same things you are seeing. https://steemthat.com/steem-ether-calculator/
I have considered allowing the sale of our merchandise via Steem or SBD or Other Crypto but it is so volatile that it isn't really good for buying and selling real world items yet. How are traditional currency markets fairly stable? The bigger challenge really is the delays on conversions from crypto to fiat also.
If everyone hopped on board with accepting say Litecoin or Ethereum or some other crypto and the prices could stay somewhat stable that would be sweet for retail sales trades. I'm not seeing anyone building a crypto like this with razor thin margins per transaction and speed and backed to the usd that is pushing for retail sales transactions. I would love to pay for real world goods and services fast with a digital currency or pay online even with one currency and with out having to exchange it.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Yes it is understood by many experts that a 'stablecoin' would be actually game changing and a benefit to all, but unfortunately it is hard to make something that is stable through algorithm alone. I think we will have our stablecoin one day though. It will be worth 1 stablecoin each. How much each is, is of no concern because they are the default currency which we all use. Just like the dollar, you don't ask 'how much is 1 dollar'?
Maybe they're right... it has to do with adoption.
But yes pricing something in crypto probably requires some adapting algorithm that changes the price constantly and builds in some kind of buffer in case of volatility.. :-/
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I've been losing that BTC race too. It's gotten ridiculous to the point that I've nearly stopped trading in it. I have been wondering if ETH would be better in this regard, so, good to see some data points from you on this. A timely post that should benefit many people. Thank you.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I think you'll find that the ETH markets are a little less bumpy! And it doesn't matter if you build BTC or ETH.. they're both great to hold!
I may look into Kucoin or some other exchanges soon.. I believe they offer even more trading pairs, like trading in NEO or GAS. That may be interesting too.. NEO seems to be solidly locked in a channel that is headed upward too, and is even more tied with the flow of alts so BTC price volatility matches up. Hmmm... I need to think on this some more, I may be on to something here...
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
So then, there's many ways to skin this cat. I'm still learning the ropes so I'll keep an eye on your blog. Thanks again!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This post received a 1% upvote from @morwhale team thanks to @pandorasbox! For more information, click here! , TeamMorocco! .
STEEM Price : 3.138 $
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This post has received a 50.00 % upvote from @steemthat thanks to: @pandorasbox. Thank you for your support. Stay Updated And Use Cool Tools At SteemThat.com
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This post has received a 1.25 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @pandorasbox.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
on guard, my friend for our bitter battles have only just began...
and wit that... I ATTACK!!!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Ohhhhh! Let me let me shotgun do the responding!!
It really looks to me that whoever attacks, is 90% sure to win the battle? Did you notice this also?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
yes ... I did, there is definitely an advantage to who ever is doing the attack in-spite of the level of the player ... hhhhmmmm
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Hi there. Thanks for the interesting article. Do you know of any site that charts alts against ETH? I have looked but cannot find one.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Not really, I usually just use the charts on the exchanges themselves.
I don't really trade short term much anymore. Instead I buy when it's at a dip or low point and simply wait some weeks/months. So technical analysis is less important and necessary! I only check the charts to see if we're still on track or not.. mostly curiousity, rather than prompting me to react!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
What do you think of WBTC?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit