Not to sound like a broken record, but it's no secret that stocks are seeing some of the most intense volatility in two years.
And the reason why is mainly that the world has a lot going on right now, and each of the major events we see on the news has a large impact on the sentiment cycle, which drives a lot of the buying and selling of traditional stocks.
We're not quite out of the woods yet with the pandemic, so the market goes up when case counts go down, and back down when they go up.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put the future of several commodities in doubt, so when the war is raging, markets go down, and when a headline about peace talks or emergency supply-side measures comes up, markets go back up again.
Inflation is near highs we haven't seen in four decades, and the Fed's interest rate hikes are driving a lot of panic selling. If inflation tapers off, it may bounce back, but if it's structural and here to stay... who knows what the markets could do?
That's why it's more important than ever for you to have your cash in an asset that isn't as vulnerable to monetary policy or the shocks of current events. If you've been one of my readers for a while, you know that's why I recommend everyone get into cryptocurrency now.
Obviously, Bitcoin and Ethereum are must-buys for anyone serious about a crypto portfolio. But there's one unique asset that combines crypto's natural immunity to monetary policy and the sentiment cycle with the lessons learned from the beginning of crypto.
It's a "crypto for the future," built from better, newer tech. Let me show you why this asset has so much moneymaking potential...
Why You Need to Buy Cardano Now
Cardano (ADA) was created by Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum, in 2015. It is the first cryptocurrency founded on peer-reviewed research and developed through evidence-based models. You can look at it in some ways as a response to the shortcomings of, and criticisms levied against, BTC and ETH.
As a result, Cardano stakes (pun intended) its name on being secure, ethical, and sustainable.
Using a peer-reviewed, proof-of-stake platform called Ouroboros, Cardano claims to have mathematically verifiable security against attackers.
Because it uses proof-of-stake, the 'block validator' stakes their own coins for the opportunity to 'mint' the new block. This uses significantly less energy than proof-of-work, and the validator will lose the coins they stake if they create a fraudulent block, which disincentivizes any attempts to defraud the system.
The decentralized peer network is also part of what makes producing this coin so energy-efficient, up to four million times more than Bitcoin.
If all of that sounds a little techy, don't worry. Here are some real-world examples of Cardano in action.
On April 19, the Cardano announced that it is going to upgrade Ethiopia's education system.
Cardano will use its technology to grade students' work digitally, monitor the school's performance, and even create a tamper-proof system for recording information.
This technology will significantly benefit the country's 3,500 schools and every student and teacher in them.
One application in development seeks to help the global retail industry curb the billions in damages from counterfeit goods by using the Cardano blockchain as a means to establish digital "certificates of authenticity" for particular items.
Yet another application seeks to use digital markers to tag shipments in the agricultural industry, both as a way to resolve supply-chain issues and to make it easier to administrate recalls in the case of a hazard.
It's currently trading at around $1, but I predict that it could reach as much as $15 by the end of 2022, given how innovative it is and how many practical applications are in the works.
How to Buy Cardano on Coinbase
Step 1:
Go to the Coinbase website (www.coinbase.com). Fill in your email address, and click the "Get Started" button.
Step 2:
You will see a "Create Your Account" dialog box. Fill in the blanks,
make sure to create a strong password (use a mix of letters, numbers, capital letters, and special characters). Coinbase will send you a verification email. You'll need to check your email and click on the link in the Coinbase email to continue. Clicking on the verification email will take you back to the Coinbase site.
Step 3:
You will be walked through a series of screens that ask you for additional information. First, it will ask if you're setting up an account for an individual or a business. After you click on "Individual," you will be asked for a phone number. Be sure to use a mobile phone number - not a landline - as Coinbase sometimes uses the text messaging feature to send the security codes required in two-step verification.
Step 4:
Now, you've arrived at the "Add Account" page. This is how you'll get U.S. dollars into your account to buy Cardano. You have three options: a bank account, a credit card, or a wire transfer. A bank account gives you higher limits than a credit card. (Coinbase has limits on how much cryptocurrency a customer can buy or sell in a given time period.) The link to a bank account also works both ways - when you sell, you can transfer the proceeds back into your account, which isn't possible with a credit or debit card. But using a credit card gives you the ability to buy instantly.
Fund transfers via bank accounts take four to five days to confirm - not ideal when you want to buy now. However, you can link both types if you like - as well as more than one of each type. To link a bank account, click on that option and scroll through the list to find your bank. Then, all you have to do is type in the online ID and password you use when logging in to your bank's website. The credit card option asks for the number, expiration date, CVC code (a three-digit code - usually on the back), and your zip code - pretty similar to how you'd make a credit card purchase on a retailer's website. You may also need to submit an image of a photo ID - such as a driver's license - to confirm your identity.
Step 5:
To enable your Coinbase U.S.- dollar wallet, you need to do another verification step. (I know all this verification seems burdensome, but it's necessary to prevent fraud - and much of it is required by law.) Click on your name in the upper-right corner of the Coinbase screen and select "Settings" from the drop-down menu. To verify your U.S.-dollar wallet, click on the link highlighted with the light blue background (the words are "Verifying Your Identity"). You'll be taken to a page that asks for your personal identification data as well as your occupation.
Step 6:
At this point, you're ready to use the Coinbase service and buy ADA.
You can also set up recurring buys here if you want to purchase a set amount of a particular cryptocurrency at a set interval of a day, week, every two weeks, or monthly.
Once you hit the "Buy" button, the cryptocurrency is deposited directly in your Coinbase wallet (immediately, if you used a credit card - several days later, if you used a bank account).
That's it!
Cardano is one of our favorites from a class of tokens that we've been calling "microcurrencies," in part because you can usually get them for pennies on the dollar compared to Bitcoin.
But it's not the only one, and some of these tokens have shown us some of the biggest returns we've ever seen.
These cryptos have outperformed BTC by as much as 5,567X in the same time period. Experts are saying that as much as $10 trillion in new wealth could soon be up for grabs for those who get in now.