The crypto rollercoaster ride, from the perspective of Mr. Menno Pietersen, the ICONOMI Expert behind the CARUS-AR Crypto Strategy.

I am very proud to be one of the first 12 Crypto Strategy Experts on the ICONOMI platform, since its release in September 2017. And wow, this has been quite the rollercoaster!

In the traditional world, there are still some doubts regarding Bitcoin and Crypto. But, my view is different: I see a young, creative, developing, and exciting ecosystem of digital experiments. Combine this with the (relatively new) open internet, new investment possibilities, and it’s decentralized nature and you get a very explosive mix. . .both in the up, as well as downside.

Total CARUS-AR (CAR) Price start from 1 January, 2019 till now, June 2019.

The investing rollercoaster from 2017 till 2019

CARUS-AR was among the best performers on the ICONOMI platform during the bull market in 2017, but has also seen very large drops in value. This can be emotionally very hard to manage at times, but, we all know that the crypto market is volatile, so we need to be prepared for that as well.

The 2018 bear market was one of the worst in the short history of crypto, with a max drawdown of 93% for CARUS-AR last year. I am happy to see some recovery over the past three months, a steady rise back to “only” a 26% loss since the start of CARUS-AR, 1 year and 8 months ago.

Four of the previous Bitcoin (BTC) ‘Bubbles’ (Bubbel in Dutch, taken from a presentation I gave in 2017). Older hype cycles are barely visible in the later years and seem insignificant.

Today’s market sentiment

Last year we had amazing profits and returns, this year we have had a very rough bear market, and are now recovering quickly. Even now things are developing, infrastructure is being built, legislation is being created, blockchains are starting to scale, and institutional investors are no longer laughing – but are now starting to look to invest.

Just 2-3 years ago, even mentioning Bitcoin or Cryptocurrency among ‘serious’ investors would get a lot of ridicule: “it is money for criminals,” and “There is zero value.”

Now Banks, institutions, and many companies are starting to invest. I believe that this will also lead to people talking and asking serious questions about the crypto market.

It could take some time, but I am convinced that this Cryptocurrency space will have a very exciting and bright future in the coming years. I plan to do all I can to provide a diversified, balanced, and (relatively) safe way to invest.

Bitcoin (BTC) in USD from 2015 till now, June 2019 in a logarithmic view. Two hundred USD to almost 20,000 USD, back to 3,200 USD, and now 9,200 USD!source: https://www.tradingview.com/

The Blockchain and Crypto future in my view

With Bitcoin moving up fast, at this moment (June 2019) a single BTC is now over 9,000 USD, the future looks bright. What makes me even more excited about the Blockchain and Crypto future is the growth of Proof of Stake crypto projects with very exciting technical solutions to Blockchains’ main drawbacks:

Scaling

Usability

Interoperability

Projects that are focused on creating the network and platforms needed for crypto to scale will be fantastic long-term investments. Currently, my favorite projects focused on this are:

COSMOS (ATOM)

Creating the ‘Internet of Blockchains’ using the Tendermint consensus protocol.

Creating the ‘Internet of Blockchains’ using the Tendermint consensus protocol. Ethereum (ETH)

Continuing to develop solutions to scale and improve Smart Contract features.

Continuing to develop solutions to scale and improve Smart Contract features. Cardano (ADA)

Developing a smart contract platform with advanced and scientific features based on PoS.

Developing a smart contract platform with advanced and scientific features based on PoS. WAVES (WAVES)

One of the most active crypto projects with a focus on WEB 3.0.

One of the most active crypto projects with a focus on WEB 3.0. Chainlink (LINK)

Connecting Smart Contracts to the ‘real world’.

Connecting Smart Contracts to the ‘real world’. Republic Protocol (REN)

Focused on the free movement of value between all blockchains and the transfer of tokens in zero-knowledge.

How do I use the ICONOMI platform, and what are its benefits?

The platform allows me to quickly suggest a rebalance to the ICONOMI team, this can be done using the ICONOMI Dashboard, and is very simple to use. The advanced trading engine and systems of ICONOMI handle the rest, I do not need to think about fees, or what exchange to use, ICONOMI handles this for me and picks the best trade.

The other great advantage of the ICONOMI platform for me is that, as the Expert I do not need to worry about security, KYC, fiat payouts, or bookkeeping. Investors in CARUS-AR do everything on the ICONOMI platform:

Sign-up

Get approved

Send EURO or Crypto

Choose where to invest

I can focus 100% on the important things such as research, strategy structure, and networking and never need to worry about investors funds, contact information or security issues.

Why did I choose ICONOMI?

ICONOMI has created a platform that allows easy access to this risky, exciting, and growing ecosystem. I am excited and proud to be a small part of it and will keep doing all I can to research and share all I can about the Crypto and blockchain space. I will do this in the role as a Crypto & Blockchain consultant for CarusAes and ICONOMI Crypto Strategy Expert.