One of the greatest and worst things to ever happen to investing is the chat forum. These chat forums have grown in number, size and influence over the last decade.
Today a rumour which infiltrates and permeates through a forum can ‘pump’ an investment higher, and also can play a hand in the price of an investment coming crashing down.
A lot of the times these public forums allow for unfettered, unmoderated commentary from anyone with a fake name and a linked email address. Furthermore, no one in these forums is required to identify themselves in the public domain.
They often have ‘handles’ that link back to themselves in no way, shape or form. And it’s under this digital mask that anyone can say (just about) anything they like.
Rise of the forum is reflective of the world we live in
The rise of the forum is reflective of the world we live in where everyone and anyone is given a platform to voice their views and opinions. The problem is that everyone takes their own opinion as fact, and not many take the time and energy to actually deep dive into whatever it is they’re talking about.
You can easily jump onto any Aussie stock forum or any crypto chat forum to see the kind of vitriol that’s spat out for yourself. These ‘keyboard heroes’ are quick to cast stones, judge, and attempt to influence the views of others, taking a very authoritative stance.
But what most people don’t realise is that time spent in these forums is time wasted. Any researcher or real investor worth their salt, may occasionally have a look to see what falsities and rumours are doing the rounds. Realistically, forum chat is about as effective a use of time as Facebook or digging a mud hole in the rain.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of cryptocurrency. We’ve seen it all in these forums. And we learnt a long time ago that they’re the biggest waste of time there is — yet it’s hard not to get drawn into them, and into arguments with half-wit imbeciles.
Nonetheless, if you do find yourself tractor-beamed into these forums (and you inevitably will either with stocks or crypto) you need to head in armed with a few key considerations.
- Everything you hear from anyone that is not officially affiliated with an investment in a crypto project comes from a place of ulterior motive.
- You will get those ‘trolls’ that are intentionally there to cast doubt, spread fear and build pessimism because they are lacking any form of dignity in their own lives.
- They typically have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
And we say this because we had some people recently ask us about bitcoin’s recent ‘pump’ (note: they actually used the word ‘pump’ and they’re pretty new to the whole world of crypto).
After I explained to them their foolish use of the word pump, I asked what they really wanted to know. And they told me they’d heard some people talking (they’d seen people writing in forums) that this was all a big pump and bitcoin would crash back to under US$3,000.
This chatter had come about because of the wildly volatile crypto markets over the last 18 months.
From 14 November 2018 to roughly 14 December 2018 the fiat-converted price of bitcoin nearly halved. It went form around US$6,400 to around US$3,200. And remember this is coming off the back of peaks in January 2018 (of around US$20,000).
Full fear had kicked into crypto markets and bitcoin in particular. The fear, the negativity, the hatred was ripe across all forums. Apparently the end of bitcoin was nigh and crypto was proving to be one heck of a scam…according to those with 10 minutes of knowledge and experience in the space. [openx slug=inpost]
It’s enough to put the fear of crypto gods into any ‘noob’
It is enough to put the fear of crypto gods into any ‘noob’ who is still dipping their toes into this revolution.
But wise heads need to prevail, and we count ourselves as one of those wise heads. Here’s why…
On 13 December 2018 we wrote to you to say:
‘The money continues to flow into crypto. Even in the midst of the ‘crypto winter’ there are still huge opportunities for those smart enough. But it takes an understanding of the risks and a great respect for the volatility these markets bring.
‘We’re of the view that the big wave we saw in 2017 and early 2018 is the first of many. There will be more in the coming years. And the next big crypto wave could make the last one look as small as the ‘big ones’ that came before in 2013 and 2011.’
On the date we sent that to you the fiat-converted price of bitcoin was around US$3,400.
Then on 24 January 2019 we wrote to you again to say:
‘Back in 2013 and 2014 [crypto and altcoins] all went through one of the wildest booms and busts you’ve ever seen.
‘Chances are you didn’t see it actually. But we did. It was vicious. But not just vicious in terms of the value boom and bust, but the toxic, abusive, FUD-filled communities that came with such volatile markets.
‘What’s uncanny is that it’s nearly exactly the same thing that’s happening now in the crypto markets.’
In that same piece I also said:
‘And it’s our view, having been through all this now twice in less than 10 years, that it’s going to happen again. And it will be on an even bigger scale than 2017/18 with more users, more people involved, even more crypto to choose from and again, exponentially more value on the table.
‘It’s coming, and we’re prepared for it, are you?’
On the date we sent this piece to you, the fiat-converted price of bitcoin was around US$3,600.
And then more recently in our related publication, Tech Insider, we wrote:
‘While 2019 might seem sanguine for crypto, it could be the perfect time to be building a position once again.
‘We anticipate that this year might fly under the radar price wise, but with the speed of development, the next leg up could come at us very fast. So we wouldn’t wait very long if you’re still sitting it out.
‘Before you know it, we’ll be pushing those highs from 2017, and then be ready for a parabolic move from there.
‘Imagine if bitcoin and crypto prices crept back over the next year/year and a half to where they were at the end of 2017.’
Well the next leg up has come at us fast. Were you ready for it? We’ve been warning that things haven’t got worse, they’ve become exponentially better.
In our view it’s all leading to another crypto boom. And by George you don’t want to be late to the party on the next run.
Regards,
Sam Volkering
Sam Volkering is one of the editors at Money Morning New Zealand, and is its small-cap, cryptocurrency and technology expert. He’s not interested in boring blue-chip stocks. He’s after explosive investments; companies whose shares trade for cents on the dollar, cryptocurrencies that he believes could deliver life-changing returns. He looks for the ‘edge of the bell curve’ opportunities that are often shunned by those in the financial services industry. Sam specialises in finding new, cutting edge tech and translating that research into how the future will look — and where the opportunities lie. It’s his job to trawl the world to find, analyse, research and recommend investments in the world’s most revolutionary companies.