Bottom line up front: this is about "investing" in altcoins that provide Proof of Stake return.
Everything I invest in provides dividends. I have stocks, mutal funds, bonds, REITs, ETFs, ETNs, CEFs, LMNOPs and more… So when I first jumped into cryptocurrency (Nov 2013), and really learned about the different coins and how they operate I was drawn to the coins with Proof of Stake.
Now coins are A LOT different than stocks, funds and the rest. Unlike a company, coins don't produce anything (besides more coins) - so their value is not based upon their profit (or loss) throughout the year. Coins are by design meant to be currency, a medium of exchange. So their value is determined by their adoption, scarcity, and other magic. Similar to foreign exchange trading, but far riskier, because those currencies have to be used by their countries for some time - they're not going to have a hard fork and suddenly become useless.
So when I say "investing" I do so with trepidation, because the altcoin scene is a lot like gambling as well. You're hoping the coins get adopted and see wide scale use. Because if they don't you're effectively just trading baseball cards/stamps/or even pre-chewed gum.
The point: Don't invest anything - time or money - that you aren't willing to lose.I have real money in the game because I believe cryptocurrency will grow. But it isn't my life savings, or a sizable amount because I am just an average man with bills and children that I want to see in college.
What is Proof of Stake?It is a type of model where the holder of a cryptocoin after a set period of time will receive a Stake - a reward - for holding that coin. Now both the period of time and amount of the stake is variable. For a fairly complete list of coins, periods, and stake percentages, please see my other thread:
Proof of Stake Coin ListProof of stake started with Peercoin (PPCoin), the first scrypt adopter was NVC, while the first scrypt-jane adopter was Yacoin. I don't know if there are any quark-algo (or other alternate algo) coins with stake - but that'd be a good idea (hint hint devs) if pulled off right.
Arguments against StakeSome will argue that the stake model is flawed. There are many arguments, but ponzi scheme and pyramid scheme are thrown around a lot. In my opinion stake is neither of these - offering stake is no different then a coin that offers decreasing returns over time. You're offering early adopters a reward for their work and effort (i.e. holding coins). I will not get into arguments on the matter - I'm just here to talk about what I am doing.
Why a different threadI did not want to muddy the other thread with my opinion on the coins - good, bad, and what to invest in. That is what this thread is for. So without further chatter…
When it comes to proof of stake there are a number of coins to choose from. However, I will contend that there are very few to hold on to for their stake. I am not interest in coins with small stake - the market will play havoc with the value, so even if you do get stake you won't likely recoup value in a reasonable time. I'm not interested in coins without devs - without good devs the coin dies. The coin needs to have a community - if no one is interested in the coin then you can't sell it to anyone.
Bearing those things in mind, I would contend that the following coins are possible investments:
Battlecoin (BCX) 50% NVCS (1%), SA 10/20, Coins 4.76, Cryptsy, CMC
Possibility. Fallen a lot recently. Time will tell.
Cryptocash (CASH)10% yearly (0.6%), SA 30/90, Coins 2.26, Cryptsy
Possibility. Fallen a lot recently. Time will tell.
Hobonickel (HBN)100% NVCS (1.9%), SA 10/30, Coins 5.71, Cryptsy, CMC
A major contender. Good devs. Good fluidity. Not as big a community as others.
Mintcoin (MINT)20% yearly – decreasing every year (1.1%), SA 20/40, Coins 3333, Cryptsy, CMC
Newest coin on the list. Large community. Price is very volatile.
Novacoin (NVC)100% NVCS (1.3%), SA 30/90, Coins 95, Cryptsy, CMC
The progenitor of the rest of the coins on the list. Good dev. Good fluidity. Largest market cap of the coins on the list.
Philosopherstones (PHS)50% yearly (0.7%), SA 5/10, Coins 95, Cryptsy, CMC
A major contender. Devs seem responsive. Not a big community.
Tekcoin (TEK)500% NVCS (40%), SA 30/90, Coins 4.76, Cryptsy
Possibility because of its large stake, age and stability. Dev says there are things in work. Little community.
Cachecoin (CACH)5% yearly (0.1%), SA 7/30, Coins 95, Cryptsy, CMC
Possibility because it is the only script-jane with the best stake/period combo. Time will tell.
Diamond (DMD)On watch. Devs say things are in works. If they release an update that has fixed the stake - and it is a good stake, it can be a contender.
Teslacoin (TES)On watch. Started well, but there is little activity of late.
Since many coins are descended from Novacoin, many will have a Stake percentage that mirrors it. However, Novacoins percentage is variable depending upon the Stake ready coins on the network. It starts out at 100% yearly and decreases based on the stake difficulty.
100% NVCS = 100% / (StakeDiff ^ 1/4)
Many coins will be listed as X% NVCS, which means that they would yield X% yearly, but difficulty decreases this percentage.
From the above list I have selected 4, and 4 only that I consider a stake investment core.
My criteria: Market Cap, Stake Return, Dev team, Community
My 4 core coins are:
Hobonickels [HBN], Philsopherstone [PHS], Novacoin [NVC], and Tekcoin [TEK]I believe any stake investor should hold these 4 coins. Now, the ratio in which you hold them is determined by how much risk you are willing to take. It is the old risk vs. reward profile. A portfolio heavy in TEK and HBN will yield a lot more, but it will have to deal with a lot of price fluctuation and low liquidity. A NVC heavy portfolio will be stable in price and you'll have liquid assets, but your return will be lower.
StakeHunter PortfoliosI offer two possible portfolios for those beginning to dabble in stake. If you only had 1 BTC and wanted to "invest" in coins that provide stake, the following two portfolios would let you do so. One is High Yield and you risk price fluctuation do to coin price. The other is more conservative and it will be more price stable but the yield will be smaller.
StakeHunter Conservative Portfolio - 1BTC/80% yearly/6.7% monthlyHobonickels - HBN - 0.25 BTC - 0.0148 BTC monthly stake
Novacoin - NVC - 0.5 BTC - 0.0188 BTC monthly stake
Philosopherstone - PHS - 0.1 BTC - 0.0042 BTC monthly stake
Tekcoin - TEK - 0.1 BTC - 0.0289 BTC monthly stake
Other - 0.05 BTC
StakeHunter High Yield Portfolio - 1BTC/131% yearly/11% monthlyHobonickels - HBN - 0.5 BTC - 0.0296 BTC monthly stake
Novacoin - NVC - 0.1 BTC - 0.0038 BTC monthly stake
Philosopherstone - PHS - 0.1 BTC - 0.0042 BTC monthly stake
Tekcoin - TEK - 0.25 BTC - 0.0722 BTC monthly stake
Other - 0.05 BTC
As you can see, two separate ways to invest can yield two vary different returns. But these are the only ways 1BTC can be split. It all depends upon how much risk you want to assume. And what about the 0.05 BTC Other - that is for new coins and opportunities - for example Growthcoin or Fluttercoin.