Which One to Bet On for the Long Haul: Stock vs Bitcoin

Stock exchanges have been one of the top investment options for many people. However, many investors have started to look for alternative investments, such as bitcoin investing.

Stock vs Bitcoin, whichever you choose to place your money can impact your potential to gain profits. Therefore, it's a must that you learn about these two.

Stock Exchanges are vast marketplaces facilitating the sale and purchasing of currencies and commodities. There's one commonality between cryptocurrencies and stock exchanges that facilitate the trading between them. Accordingly, the manner in which stocks are traded on the financial market and the volatility of the market are some of the factors that separate different types of exchange. This video will outline the big differences between cryptocurrency and securities exchange. We also show the differences in which trading stocks and exchanges are different from each exchange form in that section such as cryptocurrency and commodities exchange respectively, in our article. We'll also discuss differences in terms of how both markets traded assets.

Overview of Bitcoin 

Created in 2009, Bitcoin (BTC) was created as a cryptocurrency by the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto. BTC uses peer-to-peer innovation and is public and open-source. No central bank or government can control its operation.

Bitcoin became popular as an investment by traders with the hopes that the price would increase-its price did skyrocket in 2017. Bitcoin's market cap as of August 20, 2021, is 878.95B USD, with a price of 46,745.03 USD.

At the present, a lot of digital currency and crypto-assets exist after Bitcoin, such as the Ethereum platform, Bitcoin Cash, etc.

By mid 2021, there are over 200 million recorded investors and traders in the crypto market, signalling a new popularity in the financial sector of the economy. With plenty of social media engagements regarding the crypto space including Twitter and Reddit, so many new people want in on the “legitimate get rich quick” profit. However, just like any other trading market, only 10% of traders manage to cash in huge profits. The 90% either burn their accounts quickly or constantly put themselves in a break-even position. 

Overview of Stock 

The stock market consists of multiple markets and exchanges where financial transactions occur, like issuing shares, buying and selling of shares of publicly-listed companies. These transactions are controlled by certain regulations and are done by OTC marketplaces or institutionalized exchanges.

The stock market is seen to have a history of growing value. Bitcoin exchange is new to the investment world, so we can never be sure of its future. However, there's still risk either way.

Bitcoin Investors vs Stock Investors: Who Makes the Most ?

So, which between Bitcoin vs stock makes the most profit? The answer is: that depends. If you prefer a more volatile market that never closes, Bitcoin currency is more suitable for you. But, if you like a “safer” approach to investing with a fixed schedule, the stock market is a better choice.

Yet, no matter which you choose, you will need to tread carefully. One wrong move could mean losing thousands of dollars in a matter of an hour or worse. While one can dream of owning a big house, a Lamborghini, and expensive food, there are so many factors to consider in investing in Bitcoin or stocks. Without proper risk management and technical analysis, you may be putting your money in the wrong places. 

But, if you know the stakes and the profitable investments, either of the two will rake in profit for your portfolio.

Depending on the market conditions and current events, both Bitcoin and stocks can propel your profits to the moon. Simultaneously, it can nose-dive into insufferable losses. Knowing the risk as well as the right investments are key to helping you gain a lot of cash. 

However, cryptocurrency is still considered more volatile - for better or for worse. Volatility can take your portfolio up to 20% in a few hours but can also hurt your portfolio down to 25% in less than thirty minutes. There is still a division between investors whether or not one is better than the other. Both are risky, although cryptocurrency takes the spotlight for the riskiest investment after stocks, properties and bonds. 

Those who are highly experienced in stocks always consider cryptocurrency as the “wild west” of trades. This is because cryptocurrency is not strictly monitored by the state nor does it abide by old market rules (like the Dogecoin currency gains from January to April 2021). But that is also why so many investors are also migrating from stocks to crypto, because the possibilities of high-percentage gains are endless. But, just like the wild west, it is a highly dangerous area. Some altcoins are considered scams while other coins that look like they have value because of their gradual gains turn out to be manipulated by pump-and-dumpers. 

Arguably, the stock market is a tamer place for trades and investments, but you will need a large sum of money to enter - preferably around $25,000. Unlike crypto, you become a shareholder of a specific company when you buy their stocks. The value of the stocks will depend upon the performance of the company, which is why the news is key to knowing whether your investment is worth the money or not. 

Overall Gains: From October 2020 to September 2021

Bitcoin

Let’s start with how cryptocurrency volatility looks like. For the sake of convenience, we’ll solely focus on Bitcoin in this article. As of September 2021, BTC has gained over an astonishing 331.46% since January 2019. It has gone through various ups and downs but has shown itself as the next generation of market trades and investments. With more bluechip companies looking to grab a piece of the pie, BTC’s prices will continue to rise.

Ethereum

The runner-up in the cryptocurrency market is Ethereum currency. Many investors are speculating that ETH will eventually overtake BTC in the long run because of its better use cases and faster transactions. Since October 2020, ETH’s price has gone up 879.7%. 

Binance Coin

Deriving from the world’s number one crypto platform, Binance Coin (BNB) remains one of the best-performing Blue-Chip cryptocurrencies today. Since last year, its price skyrocketed to 1.61K%.

Cardano

Plenty of investors have fallen in love with Cardano currency (ADA) for its more convenient approach on transacting with cryptocurrencies and building a more advanced technology than Ethereum. Many speculators call it ETH 2.0. Since October last year, ADA’s price went up 2.59K%, making it one of the fastest-growing investments ever.

S&P 500

One of the most popular Blue-Chip stocks is the S&P 500. Considered as a stable share, SPX has been consistently performing well and has granted good gains for its long-term investors. As of September 2021, SPX has gained 33%.

Amazon

Amazon stocks may have already peaked, but it still remains as one of the better investments if you like a low-risk low-reward choice. It has gained 6.52% since October 2020.

How They Differ From One Another: Bitcoin vs Stock Market

The stock market has been tried and tested by many in terms of growing their wealth by long-term investment. However, cryptocurrency has also been making a good impression for its sky-rocketing value for the past years. Here are the differences between the Bitcoin vs stock market. 

Asset

The main difference between the Bitcoin exchange and the stock exchange is the assets the traders or investors use. Stocks are based on company shares, while Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency. Stock exchanges provide vast markets where buyers and sellers can shop for currency and commodities. The stock and crypto exchange share one key characteristic: they make trades more facilitated. The way assets are traded, the volatility of the market amongst other factors are the differences between the two types of exchanges. 

The distinction between a stock and a cryptocurrency reflects a fundamentally different way of buying. Stocks usually give the owner certain rights such as voting rights and the distribution to the stockholder of an underlying share of the capital. In addition, cryptocurrencies differ heavily from those used widely on how they will actually represent. The design and ownership implications of each individual cryptocurrency in a given application vary widely. Certain types of crypto security tokens have actually a similar use as stocks and represent an equity share in the issuing company, in addition to having other programmable traits. Accordingly, for all types of investors stock markets are normally restricted to regular business hours.

Design

The stock exchange is operating in a managed and controlled environment. The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) in the US manages stocks. Bitcoin was created as a decentralized platform; it is unregulated.

That said, cryptocurrency is considered by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett as “rat poison squared” since he does not see it as a legitimate way to make a profit. According to him, long-term stocks are where true income comes from as Bitcoin and the altcoin market will “come with a bad ending”. 

“In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad end,” he said. “If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I’d be glad to do it but I would never short a dime’s worth.”

Yet, the new generation of investors and traders go against his opinion on cryptocurrency. After all, many consider crypto as the “people’s money” because it is not controlled by the state. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency is both a good and bad trait. Good because it means autonomous transactions without the worry of a government watching your payments. Bad because nobody else is liable but yourself in case of a cyberattack on the market or if transactions become extremely anonymous. 

Volatility

There's always volatility for both crypto and stocks- both of these can increase and decrease in value, and it's almost impossible to determine when is the perfect time to buy and sell.

Between Bitcoin value vs stocks, Bitcoin is more subject to volatility because of its limited coins and decentralization. There are speculations that Bitcoins' value can tremendously change, like explosive growth. While for stocks, this exchange has a good reputation in this aspect as it is inclined to increase over time.

High volatility in cryptocurrency can be seen as both a pro and a con depending on the way you place your money in it. Scalpers and short-term traders prefer Bitcoin over stocks since the returns can be as fast as five minutes with around more than 1% gain. Not to mention, altcoins can do ten times more than that, given that you know which coin to trade in. Some can even soar as high as 20% in less than fifteen minutes. Yet, that also means you can lose 25% in the next fifteen minutes as well if you are not careful. Despite the fast gains of cryptocurrency, it also results in fast losses. 

Overall, the stock market is still a safer place to do both short term and long term trades compared to cryptocurrency. However, that does not mean you cannot make huge losses as well. As long as you know which stock to invest or day trade in, you can rake in massive profits much like Bitcoin.  

Ownership

For the investor to own a stock, a brokerage account is needed. Information such as a home address, signature, etc., are required as verification and to prevent fraudulent activity and identify theft.

Owning a crypto coin can be done anonymously. An investor can store Bitcoin in a hard wallet or a virtual one. Anonymity has its advantages, but it can also be risky- for example, you could forget your password or misplace your hard wallet.

For these reasons, more inexperienced people lean towards cryptocurrency. After all, you can buy as low as $10 for any coin you like. Additionally, you do not even have to find a stockbroker to get started. And, if you sell your coin, you gain all of it (excluding taxes and fees based on the currency you are trading in). Meanwhile, the stock market involves a middleman, forcing you to give up a percentage of your profits and pay for fees whenever you buy and sell. Also, you are required to have at least $1000 to start trading and investing for the potential profits.

Hours of Operation

The Bitcoin market runs 24/7. You can even see the changes in the cryptocurrency market during New Year's eve. The stock market is only open during business hours, Monday through Friday, and is closed during the holidays.

Combined with the volatile nature of Bitcoin, running your investments without stopping can also result in big risks. Since Bitcoin operates 24/7, that could mean FUDs can occur while you sleep and wake up finding long red candlesticks in your portfolio. This also makes day trading harder to do because you cannot find yourself in a fixed position before anything big occurs. 

Unlike cryptocurrency, the stock market schedule allows you to do positional trading before it opens. This gives traders a window of opportunity to find the best stock to put their money into prior to any form of movement. 

Institutionalization and Risk Management

There are a lot more differences between the stock market vs bitcoin, but one of the highlighted differences is that the stock market, through the years, became an institution. It also affects and correlates with how an economy functions. Comparing this to Bitcoin, this crypto coin has not established itself as an institution yet.

If you’re interested and deciding between Bitcoin vs stocks, know that these two have risks. While both can be profitable, comparing Bitcoin vs stock makes a difference in knowing which one has a more manageable risk. Of course, it is inevitable that you take in losses at some point during your trade or investment but it all boils down to which market is more tolerable when you lose money. But the risks and strategies you will encounter with these two will be different. There's always a risk, both for BTC and stock, that the market can crash unexpectedly- it could drop because of current events, it could remain stagnant for quite a time.

On the good side, performing companies have the probability of growing their wealth in the future. The market value of a stock can rise because of an expansion, new business partnership, etc. There are also predictors and guides to study the movement of stocks- something that crypto doesn't have. Bitcoin price depends on demand and supply and speculations. Bitcoin is more prone to volatile movement in the market since its volatility depends on the investors' confidence.

The positive side of Bitcoin is experts speculate its growth will continue in 2021. According to macroeconomics, supply and demand indicators, and technical analysis, Bitcoin will reach an approximate value of $50,000 target next year.

The Similarities Between Bitcoin and Stock

Despite having multiple differences, there's still common ground between BTC and stock.

Both have the potential to grow your wealth by passive investing, which means buying and holding the share in the long term period. The profit of BTC and stocks are based on market fluctuation, with both of their gains taxed.

Generally, the primary similarity between BTC and stock is that these are both passive investments that can be risky. In investing between Bitcoin vs stocks, learning the risks is one valuable skill that can help you decide on which assets to buy. It enables you to make the most out of these investment options.

Investing Bitcoin vs Stocks: Which is Safer? 

Changes can easily occur in a snap of a finger in the market. But passive investors trust long-term investing in the market because prices tend to balance out over time. 

In deciding between stocks vs Bitcoin, it’s best to rely on your preferences based on the characteristics of the two, and which risks you are willing to tolerate. You should look at it in a long-term timeframe– may it be Bitcoin or stocks.

There's a lot that's yet to be explored in Bitcoin. It only entered the market in 2009. And although a lot of businesses accept BTC as a mode of payment, it still has a long way to go to be formally established. 

Nobody can tell when BTC can become institutionalized and mainstream. While there's a possibility that it can grow exponentially, chances are it can also be obsolete in the future.

Because of the volatility of Bitcoin, the stock market is the safer option to invest in. It's not recommended for passive investors to allot the same amount of their fiat currencies in BTC and stocks. If you invest in a well-performing stock, you are most likely to gain good profit over time. Even so, it's still necessary to do a lot of research that can guide your investment journey, because stocks are not equally the same.

Can Digital Money Overtake Stocks?

And now to one of the frequently asked questions - Can Digital Money Overtake Stocks?

Many businesses and companies are including crypto in their investments. However, this does not guarantee digital currencies' growth in the future. Some countries banned the use of crypto. Crypto's initial goal was to be a form of payment. While it hasn't come to that point yet, there's a growing attraction in digital currencies. A lot of people wished they could have invested in crypto when it was cheaper back then.

Crypto is not likely to go away soon, Mastercard even plans to include a variety of crypto on their network. Although there's a bright future for crypto, it's difficult to gauge how long it will stay in the limelight. This is because crypto is relatively new than stocks.

For the majority, stocks tend to be the right choice for a huge portion of their overall portfolio. This is also recommended by the former chief investment strategist David Stein, because of its characteristics and stability- you just need to determine the value to invest in based on the stock's profit. Stein also said that it's logical to assume that the majority of the companies will still exist and remain stable in the future.

Stocks are a safer option for investors, with a better future than BTC because it has been institutionalized. It also became a means to dictate the economy.

Bitcoin's future lies in whether it will be an accepted mode of payment. Otherwise, BTC and all other digital money can be worthless in the future. BTC makes sense if you want to diversify your overall portfolio. As mentioned earlier, Bitcoin is a good alternative to the more mainstream and popular assets. But whether you want to focus on Bitcoin vs stock market is all up to you.

Final Words

In investing Bitcoin vs stocks, investors have to note that these two are very different types of investments that have their respective roles in the market. Your choice should ride on your risk tolerance, financial standing, and goals. As an investor, you should invest in an asset that makes sense for you, that is compatible with your risk appetite and financial goals. 

If you like to live dangerously with a high risk to high reward ratio, cryptocurrency is your place to go. The best part is that you can start off for as low as $10 to invest or trade. Just keep in mind that the crypto market never rests. However, if you have a large capital but would like to go for a safer approach, then the stock market is a better option. Either way, always manage your risks and rewards whether it’s Bitcoin vs stock market so you do not find yourself wrecked or continuously chasing the market to break even.