- A London-based millennial sold $30,000 of his cryptocurrency investments in 2021 to buy an apartment.
- He shared the top investment strategies he’s used since he began investing in 2017.
- The prices of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have surged in recent months.
When Bill first heard about cryptocurrency in 2012, he said he made an unsuccessful attempt at getting into bitcoin mining.
It wasn’t until 2017 that the London-based millennial began investing in crypto tokens, he told Business Insider via email.
“I was really interested in Ripple and decided to invest,” said Bill, whose identity is known to BI but has been withheld because of his fear of professional repercussions. “I then bought Stellar, bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Bill said most of his investment gains came from Ripple and Stellar. Between December 2020 and April 2021, when the prices of both tokens were near their recent peaks of about $1.60 and $0.54, respectively, he started cashing out. Bill sold roughly $30,000 (or €28,000) worth of Ripple and Stellar, according to documents viewed by BI. He estimated that he invested between $6,000 and $7,000 in these tokens and that his average return across the sales was over 300%.
Last year, shortly after turning 30, he said he put these proceeds toward the purchase of a $350,000 (or £280,000) apartment in London.
Bill is among the millions of people across the world who have invested in cryptocurrencies. While some of these investors lost money — particularly when token values plunged in 2022 — others have benefited from a surge in crypto prices in recent months.
In February, the total value of the cryptocurrency market reached $2 trillion for the first time since April 2022. In March, the price of bitcoin hit $66,000 for the first time in nearly three years and reached a record high of over $73,000. While bitcoin is now trading around $70,000, it remains well above the roughly $16,000 it plummeted to in November 2022. The prices of some other tokens, including Ethereum and Solana, have also risen considerably over the past year.
Experts have pointed to the prospect of lower interest rates, growing demand for bitcoin ETFs, and the upcoming bitcoin halving event — when the number of bitcoin tokens rewarded to miners will be cut in half — as explanations for the crypto market’s strong performance in recent months.
While some crypto investors are likely to bet on prices rising even more, others, like Bill, might start selling some of their proceeds. This could be among the reasons the price of bitcoin has fallen from its March peak.
Targeting certain tokens and investing over time proved to be a good strategy
Bill, who works as an M&A professional, said the first step in his crypto-investing strategy was to buy tokens he believed in. He said these tended to be utility tokens like Ripple and Ethereum, which are created — rather than mined — and typically provide access to services or products within a blockchain ecosystem. They’re distinct from security tokens, which effectively function as investment assets like stocks.
He said he tried to make his investments when prices were falling and then deployed a dollar-cost averaging approach, which involved making a series of investments over time in the hopes of decreasing the average cost of his investment.
When prices rose to what Bill thought were their near-term peaks — and he’d made a good return on his investment — he started selling his tokens in batches over a given period of time.
“I tend to do a first sale to cover my investment and then do a few more transactions until I fully exited the position,” he said. “I mostly look at the market sentiment and charts to ascertain where we are in the cycle.”
While he’s had some success as a crypto investor, Bill doesn’t consider himself an expert.
“I simply follow this strategy which is highly based on the belief that the markets will go up long-term, and the tokens that I believe in won’t lose value,” he said.
To be sure, an investor is never guaranteed positive returns, whether they’re investing in cryptocurrency or another asset like stocks. The crypto market has been particularly volatile in recent years, which can come with significant risks for investors.
Going forward, Bill said he’s not rushing to invest more in the crypto market. Between 2022 and this past February, he said he sold roughly 95% of his investments, though he reinvested about $15,000 of the proceeds.
For now, Bill said he’s waiting for crypto prices to fall or for an attractive investment opportunity to arise. In the meantime, he said he’s turning his attention to a side hustle he hopes will provide an additional income stream.
“I sold pretty much everything,” he said of his crypto investments. “I am not buying anymore now though, so just waiting.”
Have you sold some of your cryptocurrency investments and spent the proceeds? Are you willing to share your story? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@insider.com.
