From the success stories of the wealthy people on earth that are dead or alive, investment makes up larger part of their wealth. People seeking means to grow their money usually look at the direction of investing their money to increase or multiply their money.
It is also true that not all investment gives yield or produces result. Most people have lost their capital while trying to invest. Gambling is different from investment and taking financial education very serious positions one to be a good investor.
Investing in Stocks and cryptocurrency are one of the investment carried out by people. While stock is ancient, Cryptocurrency gained weight in 21st century after the peak of cryptocurrency coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and some alt coins.
Not everybody is a fan of cryptocurrency yet due to insinuation that cryptocurrency may not last. For some years now, digital assets investment enabled by blockchain technology gains weight more than the earlier prediction that cryptocurrency will vanish as a ponzi scheme.
Stock investment is buying the shares or stocks of companies traded in stock exchanges like New York stock exchange, Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX), London Stock Exchange and others. People go through a broker to make purchase of companies stocks they assume will perform better in the future. People invest in a company they knows, the leaders and location address of the company. Investing in stocks don’t give a guarantee that every investment must come out with positive results. Companies are registered as approved by the government regulatory agency for busines registration. Before companies stocks are traded in the stock exchanges, the companies go through process for scrutiny by the necessary agency before the Initial Public offering (IPO) gets approved. It gives security to some extent in the eyes of the investor that government knows that such company exists.
Cryptocurrency is not like stock investment. People can buy crypto coins directly through Exchanges, blockchain and others without going through third party. Government don’t back cryptocurrency and Investment is moved by the interested investors that are fans of decentralization of finance. Transaction takes places when there is a willing buyer or seller. No government in the world has been able to stop Cryptocurrency investment totally as transactions has continued to go on. Many people that bought certain Cryptocurrency coins made money when such coin gained more market capitalization like in the case of bitcoin that was below one dollar but has climbed or hit above seventy thousand dollars in 2024. It has risen and falling so investors in that line of investment calculate when to get in and when to liquidate asset for another time. Investors look at bear and bull run. They buy when market is down with hope of selling when the market pick up again. Some investors are not also interested in the bull and bear market period. They buy coin(s) and hold for a long time depending on their investment plans.
Stock investment and Cryptocurrency investment have both produced many millionaires in dollars while many have gone from rich to poor through their wrong strategy in one or both of the investment.
In companies, individuals or corporate organization that have more units of shares or stocks could become the majority shareholder of the company thereby influencing decision making. People can buy out a company making the founders to lose control of the company but the same can’t be said in cryptocurrency where nobody knows the true founder of certain coins. The adopters or fans of cryptocurrency are looking at decentralized finance but the decision of certain individuals that are big in cryptocurrency investment influences market performance too. Some companies accepts payment and make payments using bitcoin and other coins. Individuals uses crypto coins to buy a product or services the same way they could use normal traditional banks.
There are individuals that have gone to the underworld with nobody including their immediate family gaining access to their crypto wallet if the heirs don’t know the wallet login details and secret phrases. In stock investment, investors also includes details of their next of kin who inherits the investment when the investor passes on.
People uses stock to plan generational wealth by buying up shares of companies to own a significant stake in such company or companies.
Cryptocurrency investment in the other hand has made many people rich who has used the profit to set up a business, buy real estate and other Physical assets that can be touched and felt.
Some investors uses stocks and crypto to hedge their money against inflation. What works for one person may not work for another. Some investors play around the two markets and monitors the performance in their long term investment plans. Certain speculators posited that many made return in short term in cryptocurrency investment more than many years of stock holdings in companies that haven’t performed well.