Monacoin is Japan’s favorite meme coin, originating from the Japanese forum 2channel in December, 2013. While its design and origins might resemble something of a joke, this currency has won the hearts of investors. As of December 2017, it has a market cap of $650 million USD, making it the 44th largest cryptocurrency.

As a fork of Litecoin, Monacoin was designed to handle transactions faster, and with lower fees than Bitcoin. While it does this well, it’s not the main reason to consider investing in Monacoin. The reason MONA is an attractive altcoin investment is because it tends to follow its own path: It’s often in the green when BTC, ETH and LTC are in the red; and, in general, does a good job of holding its price during tumultuous periods.

In December 2017, Mona quadrupled from $5 USD to a peak of $20. This happened at time when BTC was fairly stagnant and ETH was on a slight decline. You can see this trend at other times: Just before the month started on November 28–29, and later around Dec 18–20, MONA grew while the other coins floundered. (Granted, Monacoin wasn’t immune from the great crypto-crash of Dec 22nd.)

At the same time, Monacoin tends to stay stagnant or decline at times when BTC and ETH grow. This happened on Dec 8 and Dec 14.

Having assets that are affected by different factors is key to a diversified portfolio. For one, if doomsday comes for 1 asset, it won’t kill your whole portfolio (the same reason why boomers split their investments between stocks and bonds). Secondly, if you’re a swing trader, it keeps things much more exciting. The ability to align the high point of one asset with the low point of another makes your day trades far more effective.

How to Buy Monacoin with BTC, ETH, or LTC

The fastest way to buy Monacoin with another cryptocurrency is on Shapeshift.io. Simply choose your base currency in the “Deposit” field, and select Monacoin in the “Receive” field. Enter your MonaCoin wallet address in the destination address field. (If you don’t have one, you can install the official wallet.)

The fee on Shapeshift is 0.2 MONA (or ~$2.5 USD as of the time of publishing), plus any fees you’ll incur sending your base currency over to Shapeshift. A more cost effective solution is to use the US-based exchange Bittrex where you pay a small transaction fee of 0.25% (or 25 cents for every $100), and then host your MONA for free on their integrated wallet. Just note, this may not be as secure as using your own wallet, if you’re planning on holding for the longterm.

How to Buy Monacoin with USD, EUR or Another Fiat Currency

As of this writing, there’s no way to buy directly Monacoin with any fiat currency. Instead, you’ll have to buy Ethereum (ETH) or Litecoin (LTC) first, then follow the steps in the previous section.

The simplest way to buy ETH or LTC with a national currency is Coinbase. Simply head to their website and create an account (we both get $10 if you use my affiliate link). Most national currencies are accepted, including USD, EUR, CAD, GBP and AUD. You can pay with your bank account, or credit card, although using a credit card is the only way to get your funds instantly.

Once your transaction clears, simply click “Accounts,” then the wallet you purchased. Click the paper airplane icon to send coins, and enter your Shapeshift or Bittrex deposit address, as I described in the previous section. Just note: While bank transactions have lower fees on Coinbase, they can take several days to clear. Pay special attention to this before confirming your purchase.

Risks to Keep In Mind

As we outlined in this article, there’s definitely advantages to diversifying your Portfolio with a *maverick* coin like MONA. Just be aware that life of it’s own means life of it’s own. If today is a good time to buy Ethereum, it might not be a good time to buy Mona, and vice versa. Pay careful attention to this coin’s monthly trends before you invest too much. And as always, don’t put in more than you can afford to lose. As with any speculative asset trading, the market is highly volatile, and prone to heavy corrections and extended droughts.

This article is not intended to serve as investment advice: Just informational ramblings of a business writing and amateur coin trader.