To diversify or not to diversify...

[BrotherMencius]

So my wife and I started buying bitcoin a couple of months ago, and as of right now we're the proud owners of 0.4 of a bitcoin.

Since everything is so cheap right now, I want to invest some more of our savings before things pick up again.

Should we just be focusing on BTC, or would we be better off diversifying (maybe Etherium?).

We got into crypto in order to help us own a house and be able to be semi-retired within the next 10 years, if that helps.

[pooya87]

One of the reasons for diversification is to protect yourself from drops in the main asset you own so you look into buying things that can remain up or go higher when the drop occurs. Here is the problem with buying altcoins, whenever bitcoin has a bigger than normal rise or fall the altcoins get dumped.
So to answer your question, yes diversify but don't buy altcoins.

[Lorence.xD]

One of the reasons for diversification is to protect yourself from drops in the main asset you own so you look into buying things that can remain up or go higher when the drop occurs. Here is the problem with buying altcoins, whenever bitcoin has a bigger than normal rise or fall the altcoins get dumped.
So to answer your question, yes diversify but don't buy altcoins.

Might want to focus on your main investment first before diversification because you want to learn more about it. I myself focus on bitcoin only because I want to go all in first on something that is guaranteed to go big rather than gamble with altcoins that will probably go down really bad.

[jossiel]

Since you two guys have started, I advise you to stick first with bitcoin and create a goal like owning up to or more than 1 btc.

But if you think that you are ready to own another crypto and you have planned it well, you chose a good altcoin. Ethereum is considered another good crypto to invest but IMO, stick first to bitcoin.

[raidarksword]

Better stick of what you have started for now and with the amount of BTC you have mush better to add more while bitcoin is still not recovering because the dip is not forever, time to time it will recover.  Focusing one goal at a time is the best strategy.

[crwth]

First of all, congrats on owning BTC. Not a lot of people have HODL'd with everything that's happening in the crypto universe. I think now is the time to own more. Every time when people are in fear of buying an asset, it's the best way to take advantage of the SALE. It's best to buy this asset that could be worth HODLing in the long run. Which every one of us here feels.

I'm not a financial advisor of any sort but it's still worth looking into because there are more opportunities to get out there. If your goal is to HODL only and not make any more trades, I think the top coins would be worth it like ETH. If not, then you could just go with the current trend.

[xSkylarx]

Should we just be focusing on BTC, or would we be better off diversifying (maybe Etherium?).

Ethereum is a must-buy if you have money to invest in long term. It is really better to diversify rather than focusing only on one cryptocurrency, this way you can maximize your potential profit in the long run. Some of them will be x10 now in few years, others can give you x100 if you belong to those early adopters of that coin. Just look at the price of the top coins now like BNB, ADA, and ETH few years ago, they were really cheap so people who have bought them at that time must be rich now.

[Lucius]

I agree with what pooya87 wrote, and since OP already has 0.4 BTC, it might be better to keep investing in it than to start experimenting with some altcoins - because their price always depends on the price of BTC.

We got into crypto in order to help us own a house and be able to be semi-retired within the next 10 years, if that helps.

It's a long-term investment, and you should realize that you take a big risk if you put all your savings in the same basket - no one can know what will happen to BTC in the future. In addition to that risk, you have extra worries about how to secure your digital assets - and be sure not to choose a custodial solution or anything online where you don't have 100% control over your private keys. Not only do you invest in a very volatile asset, but you have to learn how to be your own bank - preferably one that has the highest security standards.

[Obito]

Better stick of what you have started for now and with the amount of BTC you have mush better to add more while bitcoin is still not recovering because the dip is not forever, time to time it will recover.  Focusing one goal at a time is the best strategy.

That's what I would do to, focus on only one first that guarantees to make you money and then you become successful enough in that part, that's when you slowly diversify your portfolio but always do your own research first before anything else, you don't want to be stumbling on a really bad coin that will only bring you misery.

[virtualdn]

It depends. I'm all in BTC now (had other coins before) but as risky as it may seem I also have more peace of mind, I know it will be huge in the future and that's fine for me. Everybody to their own but whatever you do you will eventually turn to BTC in the end. I know in the long run I'm a winner so no worries at all.

[BrotherMencius]

Thanks for everyone's input, I really appreciate it.

Honestly, I kinda want to just focus on BTC. It seems like the best bet to get to where we want to be in the long run. Maybe after we've got 1+ BTC it'll be worth re-examining.

[Sanugarid]

So my wife and I started buying bitcoin a couple of months ago, and as of right now we're the proud owners of 0.4 of a bitcoin.

Since everything is so cheap right now, I want to invest some more of our savings before things pick up again.

Should we just be focusing on BTC, or would we be better off diversifying (maybe Etherium?).

We got into crypto in order to help us own a house and be able to be semi-retired within the next 10 years, if that helps.

I think it much better if you will allocate some of your savings not just in BTC but to other promising alternative coins available in the market. By doing so, it will minimize the risk and helps you get more stable returns. Moreover, no one knows if BTC will recover from massive dips and how long would it take to recover. So to avoid massive losses on your part, don't put all of your money in one asset.

[buwaytress]

To put it another way, diversifying your assets usually means branching out to another new class of asset. So if you're thinking of adding crypto to your portfolio, then having Bitcoin is enough. Like pooya87 says, altcoins historically have had a pattern of following Bitcoin's trends. Bitcoin IS crypto, despite everything else out there, how crypto lives or dies is inexorably tied to how well Bitcoin dies.

Well done too, by the way. And keep at it. Ignore the noise en route to your goals.

[yazher]

If that's your case then it is good not to take anything from your bitcoin since it's not really that big amount. Anyway, it's not too late if you want to diversify your current crypto assets to the other cryptocurrencies out there. But you need to consider that some of those coins won't recover after their price has crashed and the only thing you can do is sell them without earning anything or most likely you will lose some money due to the kinds of coins you have chosen. so you better take your time and choose wisely which coins are good this year and avoid those coins that have no development news or something like that.

[amishmanish]

So my wife and I started buying bitcoin a couple of months ago, and as of right now we're the proud owners of 0.4 of a bitcoin.

Since everything is so cheap right now, I want to invest some more of our savings before things pick up again.

Should we just be focusing on BTC, or would we be better off diversifying (maybe Etherium?).

We got into crypto in order to help us own a house and be able to be semi-retired within the next 10 years, if that helps.

Thanks for sharing and wish you guys success for your goals. I mean it dearly because someone close to me has similar goals. You made a post here too. Hope you read the answers.

When someone comes on the forum with such an honest goal putting in hard-earned money, it is always tricky as to what advise one should give. Hence, if you are only going by advice, nobody in their right minds would suggest anything other than BTC. As everyone already explained, this market lives and moves with BTC. The moment you open yourself up to Alt-coins, it can quickly turn into a goose-chase many don't recover from. There is a whole industry of influencers and shills out there trying to convince that everyone can make a 100X. (which is simply not possible).

Hence, if retirement is your goal and you have time, another way is to get into earning crypto by utilizing your existing skills. Once you start earning, that gives you slightly more freedom to experiment and take the risk to "diversify". This will need time and focus of course but it is possible. Like everyone else, I would of course advise against any diversification into Alts with actual fiat savings.

If you want more discussion on this, feel free to ask in PM.

[worle1bm]

So my wife and I started buying bitcoin a couple of months ago, and as of right now we're the proud owners of 0.4 of a bitcoin.

Since everything is so cheap right now, I want to invest some more of our savings before things pick up again.

Should we just be focusing on BTC, or would we be better off diversifying (maybe Etherium?).

We got into crypto in order to help us own a house and be able to be semi-retired within the next 10 years, if that helps.

If you are planning to hold for long term and already owns 0.4 btc at this time then further btc investment in small proportions will be better for you.Diversification is for investors who have some huge funds and want to invest them all and build their portfolio of coins so they need to diversify because when they suffer losses it's divided like some can be in gain while others in loss so it can be counterbalanced.But in your case btc is the only coin and you don't need to worry about it and go on with same pace and you will having more than one btc soon and profits will be huge.Moreover many altcoins follow Bitcoin rally so it's no fun for them and there are many shitcoins available in the market that can attract you but no returns.So stick with btc only.

[leea-1334]

Wow that is a lot of Bitcoin for a beginner so I should say congratulations:)

Keep buying at your current rate and do not look or get tempted. Put aside money you can lose, but not all your savings and you will be fine. Do not try predicting,,, just dollar cost and you will be happy.

I do say Ethereum also, but still mainly BTC!

[genolica]

It is up to you, really. If you wish to continue investing in other cryptocurrencies or alternate coins, it is you who will decide your outcomes no matter how the market can go really, because if you watch and study market trends it will be a big help for your investing and market decisioning skills. Typical big time decisioning is what I see in this situation. You might as well get help from the community, but the best thing is for yourself to involve in studying as it will significantly save you time and effort.

[Dabs]

I would suggest to update your target number to maybe something like 10 BTC before re-examining anything else. 1 BTC is a good goal. 10 is better. Some people won't stop until 100. The exact number is up to you, whether it's a round bitcoin number or the fiat equivalent or the bitcoin equivalent of a round fiat number (like say $1m USD or about 27 BTC).

There are countless stories of people who diversified into 10 different altcoins in the past 5 to 10 years, but would have made out better if they just stuck to bitcoin over that same time period.

Of course, if you had invested into the beginning of some of these altcoins, for example, by buying into the ETH ICO in 2014, you'd get 2500 ETH for every 1 BTC. If you got 0.4 BTC and joined the ICO back in 2013~2014, you'd have 1000 ETH right now if you also hodl it to today.

But today is different and most people wouldn't have known which alts or coins or tokens would survive and do well in the future.

Bitcoin, you know, for sure, that it will be around for at least another 10 to 20 years, perhaps longer. The longer it sticks around, the longer its possible lifespan will be.

Buy bitcoin and only bitcoin every month or every week for the next 10 years and you'll do much better than plenty of people.

[DannyHamilton]

The purpose of diversification is to reduce risk.  If you want to diversify, buy a stock index, or some real estate, or precious metals, or commodity futures, or something that is not crypto.  Buying other crypto isn't really diversifying.  They largely move up and down right along with Bitcoin. Why hold a weaker, less trusted, less used crypto currency?