It really depends on your situation, let me try to break it down.

Mining costs way more money up front, think thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
By now, just using your home pc to mine isn't cost effective, you would have to get a pc specifically for mining (strong gpu) or an ASICS (crazy expensive).
If you are mining one of the major coins, you would have to join a mining pool and consistently put out a strong hashrate.
That means that maintaining your mining rig also costs quite a bit.
If you live in a country where utilities are expensive, this can become a pretty huge monthly expense.

For investing, there is the convenience of putting in only as much as you want to.
But, also for a newbie, there is a huge risk of making poor trading choices due to lack of knowledge or inexperience.
Just about every single new investor has had to learn the hard way (even if you did a ton of research).

So, in the end, it depends on your situation really.

Basically, you are hodling a bag full of nothing.
Crypto doesn't magically get value and not every project is successful.

If you were to invest in a real life startup (like a new tech company), there is a high chance you will lose all your money because the company closes down.
If an ICO was never able to go to market, then they are basically a bankrupt company.
Your coins and tokens are useless.

Of course, crypto is p2p, meaning you can always trade with people.
And who knows, maybe you can find a sucker that will pay for them, but that is highly unlikely.
And, maybe someone will pick up the project a couple years down the road, but that is also highly unlikely.

The best thing to do is just leave them there in your wallet.
If it's annoying that you have these, you could always send them out to random wallets if you want.

Isn't it amazing to think that eth was $1200 at one time?

Now, going back down to $10 might seem possible.
Especially if we consider btc has a good chance of dropping down to the $2000s.

What we basically saw are two major flaws in the eth ecosystem: scaling and utility.

When the bull run was in full swing, the eth network just couldn't keep up.
There were four to eight hour transaction times and crazy gas prices.
Then, when the market crashed, the utility of eth dropped like a rock, since really, it's only use is to invest in ICOs.

But, despite everything, I still believe in eth.
It has history, market penetration, and continuous development.  It will pull out of this ahead in the end.

Well, at least you are open about trying to get more followers.
A lot of people make posts trying to be "helpful" but really just want more subscribers.

Yes, it is a good time to buy.
But I think we haven't seen the bottom yet.
A lot of people were hoping for a bull run at the end of the year.
We are now at the end of the year but instead of a bull run, the market is crashing.
That means that throughout the new year holidays, people will be hodling more than ever.
This will dramatically hurt the market even more.

On top of that, the entire stock market accross the world is bleeding now, so we can't expect new money to come in either.

I feel like the CEO is doing a publicity stunt.
A company like Binance has access to all the data in the world, why would they need a bunch of nobodies to pitch him something?
I guess you can call it transparency or crowdsourcing, but I personally think the actual data they have from their own exchange is more reliable than the opinion of a bunch of strangers.

I personally would not like to see xrp have trading pairs.
There's a solid reason why btc, eth, and to a small extent ltc has had trading pairs.
the main reason is that they are legitimate and have stood the test of time.
Ripple, no matter how valued it is, is a company that goes against the fundamentals of crypto.
I would not like to see such things gain more strength and momentum in the crypto world.

Well, just a week ago it seemed like a great time to join, and now a week later, btc has dropped down to $4700.
It would be very depressing if you bought something for $6200, then a week later it was worth $4700.
this really goes to show how unpredictable and volatile crypto is.

In the end, you just have to make a decision and stick with it.
Not only when to jump in, but also when to jump out.
Realize that in traditional stock markets, any profit above 8% is considered FANTASTIC.
15% or more? that is a rare unicorn.

but here in crypto, we see 20 to 30% swings, all the time!
Without a specific plan, you will just be pulled along for a crazy ride.

I've always wondered why people think things like this.
Another one I hear is "can crypto replace cash and fiat?"

All around, the reality of the world, is that it can have both things at the same time with each not taking down the other.
A more realistic idea is that banks adopt blockchain, they coexist together.
they both offer valuable services to society and aren't direct competitors.
I suppose you can say that blockchain enables complete p2p transactions so banks aren't necessary.

But even in totally unstable countries like central african republic or venezuela, where hyperinflation basically makes all purchases p2p (it's how black markets run).
there are still banks and bank services.

Of course, it would be nice if blockchain makes it so banks don't have such an authoritarian grip on the world lol.

Shouldn't this be over in the bitcoin thread?

Well, when the value of your asset plunges selling it at that time is not very profitable is it?
I suppose there is the strategy of selling for a loss to prevent further losses, but how manypeople are actually doing that?
My guess is most are selling out of panic.

btc had been in the $6000 range for a whoel 3 month period.
This steady value is really rare for crypto.
It was either going to spring up or down, and in this case it went down.
It coincided with the stock market fall that happened the same day.
This shows that crypto is actually becoming much more integrated into the overall financial landscape.

All we ever see nowadays are the sames stupid questions over and over:
"Can I quit my job to do bounty hunting?"
"Is bounty hunting profitable?"
"Where can I find good bounties?"

And, of course, all the posts complaining about bounty hunting.
About how they work so hard but no one respects them and they get treated poorly.
Or how they get scammed all the time.
You also have people coming up with an "Awesome!" solution to fix bounty hunter's "problems".

I miss the days where people could have real conversations here about certain alts, developments, and trading strategies.
bitcointalk used to be my #1 source for learning about crypto but now it has become mostly useless because it is flooded with bounty hunter spamming.
And, yes, I guess I'm a hypocrite because I too am wearing a signature.

Poor eth, the cracks are really starting to show.
One of the main reasons why eth got to be so valuable was because the demand for it.
Everyone needed it to do ICOS.  Especially in 2017 investing in icos was very lucrative and drove the price of eth very high.
Now that the ICO bubble has burst and the market is pretty much dead, there is absolutley no demand for it.
Sure, you can still trade a lot with it, but btc still has more trading pairs.

This also does not bode well with other smart contract platforms.
There are so many of them and the only thing that can make them valuable is if they can build a strong ecosystem.
Despite being impressive on paper, the only other platform besides eth that has managed to make a community is NEO.
The others don't stand much of a chance

For me, even an mvp is not enough, there needs to be a beta product that I can actually test and use.
From what I've seen, an MVP is basically meaningless.
I have seen companies call a website an MVP or a couple of entries on github and mvp.
In all cases, there was nothing that could actually be seen or tested.
That is basically the same as not having a product at all, and I will never invest in something unless it can get to market.

For the tech footprint, I have relied on my network to help me out.
Since I don't have much tech knowledge, I pass on the info to my techie friends and they have a go at it.
I trust their judgement and it is very easy for them to spot something that has terrible tech.
In return, they come to me with help with contact in Asia and especially the chinese market.

Unfortunately, people's mentality don't work this way.
Just about every single "investor" has lost a lot of money.
That is because they jumped in during last years all time high bull run or did most of their trading during that time.
Now, all throughout 2018, they have seen their portfolios shrink in value.

So they are in panic mode.
They are hodling for dear life and waiting to get their value back.
They won't invest more money because they don't want to lose more money.

Of course, the best way to recover is actually to invest more, but people act off of desperation than strategy.
Especially now, since prices are so low, everyone should be reinvesting to reduce their cost per token average.

I actually don't mind that there are so many coins.
After all, blockchain tech is decentralized and open source, so anyone can take it or fork it.
Having so many coins just goes to show that satoshi's vision works.

Of course, it is annoying and also bad for the market when a company just tries to make a quick buck by copying something else.
But these are typically short lived and lose steam very fast, especially as the market matures.

When crypto was in it's baby stages, there were actually a lot of techies who went and created their own coins.
This is where some of the best joke coins came from, stuff like nyancoin and doge.
But it also paved the way for people experimenting with more things like increased privacy and other features.

Well, we have finally had a spectacular crash and btc has broken the $6000 mark.
It will stay under 6k for awhile.

Typically, we could expect a bull run, and market signs were showing strong indicators.
However, the entire global stock market is hurting badly, a direct effect of the crashing Chinese stock market.
These might seem unrelated, but everything is interconnected nowadays.

I don't see us hitting a bull run if the global economic outlook is not good.
The reason is that we need NEW money to come in to crypto.
That just isn't going to happen if investors portfolios are bleeding in other markets.
And there hasn't been fomo and hype for awhile, so noobs won't come pouring in either.

My suggestion is that you ask more professional, and you will treated more professionally.

First off, you should stop claiming that your work is hard and very valuable.
I have done extensive bounty hunting for over a year and never have I thought it was hard.
On top of that, I never saw my work as valuable because the whole bounty campaign marketing thing itself is just extremely counterproductive.
Spending the same amount on a real life marketing campaign would much better than hiring a bunch of unkown people to post on twitter, facebook, youtube, and bitcointalk.

AS far as the bounty hunters crashing the price, that is a very real thing.
Just because 1 to 2% is allocated for bounties, doesn't mean that too small to manipulate the price.
It has everything to do with trading volume, and after bounties are paid, trading volume spikes because bounty hunters dump it.

Bounty hunting should never be taken too seriously because it is not a serious job.  Just do it on the side to supplement your real investing.

I still don't think that xrp is more lucrative than eth.
What would make it lucrative? Just because it is #2 on coinmarketcap now?
Eth had, and still has way more mainstream support, a more robust ecosystem, and real world use cases than xrp.

The only reason why xrp made 2nd is because eth free falled along with btc.
And btc free falled along with the stock markets accross the world.
The reason why these coincide is because we now have a lot of stock market investors with btc and eth in their portfolios, not xrp.
On top of that, xrp isn't fungible and doesn't have that many trading pairs.

Oh, did I also mention that ripple is an evil corporate company?

Of course, I would like a more mature and stable market, but I am one who believes a bull run will happen.
I don't see any signs that it won't.

The steady price of btc might seem like it is going nowhere, but that is one of the strongest sign that an asset is ready to grow.
And, of course, as btc goes up, it pulls the entire market up with it.
As far as sentiment goes, current investors are more than eager to jump in once the market takes off.
It just takes some "spark".

For outside new money coming in, there are also strong signs of institutional money interested in crpto.
With many traditional investment firms offering crypto options and futures, it is a doorway for big money to come rolling in.

But, at the same time of all of this, I do know that crypto is predictable, so if it doens't take off, I wouldnt be surprised lol.

I would say that now is the absolute best time to jump in.
I believe this so much that I have been buying in even more.

This isn't wishful thinking either, the market is showing some great signs.
First off, we are definitely at the bottom now.
For three months straight the price of btc has tried to drop below $6000, but it never has.
Well, it did just once and then a day later it shot right back up.
This steadyness in the market has built a lot of stability for the next bull run.

And even if the next pump doesn't happen this year, there is no way crypto will fall even lower in 2019.
People who are saying that crypto is done are very misinformed.

Yes, it is annoying.  But I have found solutions to be simple.
Just provide the campaign manager with proof that you are the original owner of the account or information.
All it should take is a couple of screenshots.
I've had it happen to me just once, but it got taken care of after I submitted proof the other person was copying me.

One thing is for sure, there will always be shady people out there that won't think twice about cheating.
No matter what measures campaign managers make, there will always be some new way to cheat it.
So picking a professional campaign manager is essential.
Or, you can always just use something like bountyhive, were they have a great track record and a closed system that weeds out a lot of scammers.

What do you mean by new cryptocurrency?
Cause new cryptos are coming out all the time?
Do you mean a new type of blockchain technology or some dominant crypto like btc?
So it sounds like your friend believes that crypto will die out?

As far as new types of crypto, actually we are already on "blockchain 3.0"
For a long time almost all coins were the same, they followed the btc blockchain structure.
Then, eth brought in the ability to create smart contracts right on the blockchain, creating a new type of blockchain, a "blockchain 2.0" if you will.
And now, we have cryptos that aren't even blockchains at all, but instead are original pieces of tech including iotas tangle, nano's dag, etc.
These can all be called blockchain "3.0" they are instant, free, and scalable.