I'm sure you've all heard the news of the past few days by now. If not, allow me to fill you in:

China's government banned cryptocurrency exchanges, helping to kick off a major selling event. The price of Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that is not this blogger's favorite but which has remained inescapable because of its use in trading, fell sharply, taking most of the cryptocurrency market with it. Fears of similarly unfavorable regulation in the United States might have lowered the price further, and JP Morgan Chase's CEO blew some smoke (but definitely not steam, or STEEM ;)) about Bitcoin being a "fraud." Speaking of frauds, Control Finance has been down for days, and if they aren't gone with their clients' funds forever, I will take a cue from Filthy Frank and eat a cake made of hair.

Silver Linings and Golden Consequences

If the title didn't give it away, let me tell you that I'm not worried at all. (And, believe me, the dip in fiat exchange rates DID effect my portfolio!) Of course, it helps that I didn't give my precious investing capital to one of the most impressively gigantic pyramid schemes our industry has yet seen. I'm going to have to touch on separating decent bets from the evil turds in a future post, but this event was anticipated by many investors in the industry who wisely stayed away. If you lost money, all I can say is that lessons learned are at least potentially worth something, particularly if you find a new (and better) opportunity and try again. And believe me, my friends, more opportunities are on the way.

Every time someone has convinced themself that they have unwittingly forfeited their last chance to be rich and happy in life and that all is for nothing, there is someone else, somewhere, who has almost nothing but has found the opportunity of a lifetime.

Now, on to the markets:

When you say 'crash', I hear 'discount.' I'm extremely grateful for the recent selloff. I was able to pick up some more Ethereum at a stupidly generous dollars-to-ethereum price. Even as I type, Ethereum is still underpriced. The coming forks could leave investors with more than one viable cryptocurrency in their Ethereum wallets, and the implementation of zk-SNARKs will boost not only the future prospects for a privacy focused Ether token, but also the price-per-unit of the currency.

I hope none of my readers sold this recent dip. The best method I know for remaining calm in the face of a supposed 'market collapse' is putting all of one's fear, uncertainty, and doubt up front. Be skeptical of the currency when others are thinking only of the cars they would like to purchase. Research the fundamentals of any business or cryptocurrency you buy into. If the fundamentals are strong and you think the asset is underpriced relative to where it will be in 6 months to 5 years, it's probably a safe buy. Life is fraught with occasions where one must make decisions with imperfect information. You are unlikely to buy the perfect bottom of a dip and sell at the absolute best high. It doesn't matter. If you research fundamentals and buy at good prices, you will make good profits. You might even make extraordinary profits.

Crypto is the future, and no government on Earth can stop it. Sit back, relax, and learn to love the FUD. It could seriously pad your (crypto) wallet in the long term.

Thanks for reading. As a new blogger (and soon-to-be video maker) I take all feedback very seriously, and Steemit is all about sharing information, so be sure to leave a comment if you have anything to say. Happy investing!