I am one of those retail investors who has taken out a contract for difference (CFD) in a cryptocurrency which is causing the FCA such concern, bless them. I read about Etherium, also mentioned by you, which was highly commended in a BA in house magazine on a flight back from holiday recently. Like you, I had also read about Bitcoin soaring from £0.04 per coin in 2010 to £4,295 recently.
Thinking I had missed the boat on Bitcoin, I decided to have a modest punt which I could afford to lose on Etherium. I chose my broker, eToro, very carefully and from their new client vetting procedure and authorisation by the FCA together with their very careful attention to my modest flutter I have been extremely satisfied with their service to date.
They know I am risking all of $500 to dip my toe in to the cryptocurrency sector, cash which was sloshing about doing nothing on my platform accounts with Hargreaves Lansdown who do not offer cryptocurrencies as yet.
My $500 immediately plunged by 35 per cent following China's clampdown on their cryptocurrency brokers but it is anticipated a favoured few will be allowed to trade by the year end. At the time of writing my flutter has recovered to minus 3.45 per cent and I am down all of $17.35 on my starting money. This is going to be a highly volatile but fun ride. If Etherium performs like Bitcoin, I will be a multi millionare by 2024.
That year I will reach 90 and hopefully be enabled to see out my last years in Hugh Heffner Playboy style. As in all gambling, the secret is not to wager more than you can afford to lose. We shall see.
David Sherman
Trustee & Chairman of the Investment Sub-Committee
The AJEX Charitable Foundation
London
