If you think you have all the answers, you probably haven’t asked the right questions.

I don’t know where I first heard that maxim, but boy does it apply to cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and this learning experiment of ours.

What…you don’t think this is an experiment? This entire space is an experiment: the whole concept of Bitcoin is only eight years old, and the goal posts continue to move. We’re ten days into August of 2017, a month that began with The Great Fork and launched a new currency that seemed headed for the stratosphere – and then came back down to earth – and then the mother ship that launched it decided it would reach for new heights.

If you’re not Testing and Learning, then you’re probably doomed to fail. And if you think you have all the answers, start asking more questions.

Exhibit A: Altcoin Du Jour

Each day brings with it a new “Altcoin” that will take off – if you believe the Twitter experts – and if you don’t get in on the ground floor of this coin, be prepared to cry a river once those early adopters pump it and sell it for their Lamborghini. (We’ve taken to calling them “Lambo Coins,” because that seems to be the auto of choice for the crypto people.)

But…

The prevailing wisdom – and I tend to believe this – is that, of the hundreds of coins and tokens out there, once we’re past bubble territory, a handful of them will be worth something. The rest? Dust. Vapor. Ones and zeros.

We’re not near bubble territory yet, though – and that still creates opportunities for even the most casual of traders.

Which is where the “test and learn” concept comes in. If you’ve been following this site at all, you know we have a couple of hypothetical portfolios; these experiments have ranged from one that does okay (the Hedge Fund) all the way up to one that would have made tons of money (the BRED Portfolio).

You also know that we’ve shared some other experiments – posts on coins that COULD go stratospheric, and lists of coins that we think might be good fits for a more speculative portfolio.

And these range in success from okay down to meh.

Because it’s an experiment.

Exhibit B: Passive Crypto Income

That’s probably the best category to call these other things, lending/interest platforms like Bitconnect (which we told you about a couple of times and which we’re still monitoring; use that AFFILIATE LINK to get started if you want to try it out for yourself) and its competitor Control Finance (which we’re investigating as we speak; it appears to be free to sign up, so we have an AFFILIATE LINK over there for that one, too). Or there’s a mining program called Microhash that we just signed up for yesterday. (AFFILIATE LINK.)

Since we’re still learning, we’re asking some questions about these particular platforms:

1. Are they legitimate?
2. Are the revenue projections realistic?
3. What’s the potential for anyone to take their blocks and go home?

Answers:

1. Well, they appear to be…as far as we can tell from what we’re finding on the internet…but things aren’t always what they seem, right?
2. Well, that’s an interesting question…we don’t know, and it might take a while for us to find out.
3. We’re quite familiar with Mt. Gox – that’s ALWAYS a risk.

The issues, for this site and your intrepid reporter/guinea pig, stem from sustainability – are these platforms really creating systems that can allow someone to passively, casually, create the kind of income that could be life-changing? And, if they do, can they continue ad infinitum? Or will there be a crash and burn element that is going to get ugly?

The more that I study this space, the more I believe the following:

Bitcoin, the blockchain, and the cryptocurrency industry together create the potential for the largest transfer of wealth in human history.

But…it is still an experiment.

What’s The Point?

Sitting on the sidelines may be an option for you. Some people do prefer just casually going about their business while small changes happen around them; and maybe those small changes won’t turn into big changes.

But for us…the answers are out there, and we plan on testing and learning and asking more questions as the days go by.

Join us.