Editor’s Note: Welcome to the first Early Investing mailbag column. Each week, we’ll answer two or three of your questions about pre-IPO startups and cryptocurrencies. This week’s questions happen to be about items we discussed in our First Stage Investor newsletter. We received a lot of questions along these lines, so we wanted to get you some answers. But we also want you, our Early Investing readers, to get a taste of the types of things talked about in the First Stage Investor service. Future mailbags will deal directly with issues raised by our Early Investing columns.
Q: Andy, when you wrote about EOS last week, you didn’t tell us whether we should invest in it or not. Don’t leave us hanging. What should we do?
A: EOS is a fascinating multibillion-dollar experiment.
I can’t take my eyes off it. It’s trying to do a dozen things never done before in the period leading up to a launch.
I’ve already lost count as to how many times the blockchain has stumbled, suffered setbacks and given the impression of being rudderless, if not completely out of control.
Yet it’s gotten back up and found its way forward every time. And now?
After dodging one disaster after another, it’s on the verge of going live.
Its launch sequence kicked off this weekend. It still has a number of steps to complete. It should be live in the next day or two.
It hasn’t been pretty by any stretch of the imagination. On the other hand, a state of semi-confusion was almost expected.
Nobody is saying that EOS is doomed.
It’s lugging some pretty ambitious agendas; that much I hope I made clear to you in my article.
But in no way does it have a one-way ticket to success either.
I’m not ready to tell you to invest or to stay away. At this point, either suggestion would be jumping the gun.
That’s not a problem for me.
I hope it’s not for you either.
Not everything I publish ends with a “buy” or “don’t buy” recommendation.
If that were the case, my subject matter would be severely limited.
Sometimes, I just want to share with you the most interesting events taking place in the crypto world…
Especially, as is the case with the EOS launch, if those events might disabuse one’s notions of how ICOs should proceed.
I’ll continue to follow EOS and will most likely get back to you and all my other readers down the road about what it all means… for crypto blockchain companies, investors and those just curious about how much decentralization an ICO can tolerate without falling prey to complete chaos.
EOS barely avoided such a nightmarish endgame. You’d think with more than $4 billion of investors’ money at stake, it would take a more cautious path.
But that’s not in EOS’ DNA. It was born to take risks. Or, put another way, investors were attracted to EOS precisely because it is so different.
These kinds of companies – the ones that strike out on their own strange, untried and unpredictable paths – are the ones that boast the highest risk and, if successful, highest reward.
It’s entirely possible that one of these days we’ll consider issuing a recommendation of EOS (to our First Stage Investor members).
If and when we do, it won’t be an entirely new subject to you…
Thanks to the freedom our readers have given us to discuss cryptos and crypto-related events with them without necessarily providing a call to action.
But if you think there’s something wrong with this approach, please let us know. We’re always looking to improve our communication with you.
- Andy Gordon, Early Investing Co-Founder
Q: Adam, how do we store the coins received in airdrops (free coin giveaways)? Which wallets will accept these coins?
A: Each “airdrop” (coin giveaway) is unique. There is no wallet that stores every coin.
Some coins will have their own wallet app either for your phone or your computer. Some will automatically store your coins in an online wallet that they host on their websites. You’ll need to create a secure username (usually your email address) and password for these storage options. As a reminder, be sure to use unique passwords. Never re-use your email or exchange passwords.
Online wallet services, such as MyEtherWallet.com, are capable of storing most Ethereum-based tokens (ERC20). However, I only recommend this option if you are technologically savvy.
If we recommend an airdrop, we will provide detailed instructions (or point users to the official instructions), which will explain…
- The steps you need to take to receive the airdropped coins
- How to store them
- When you’ll receive them (it’s not always immediate).
If you’re looking to do some scouting on your own, I recommend starting at AirdropAlert.com. It has new airdrops on a daily basis, and many of them are exclusive deals.
At the time you receive an airdrop, it’s not likely that the coins will be worth much (typically $5 to $15). We recommend holding on to these coins, because if the coin catches on, it could be worth quite a bit more in the future.
Reminder: Always be aware of potential scams when signing up for airdrops. I recommend using a separate email address that you set up exclusively for airdrops. That way you won’t get spam in your primary email address. Never give anyone sensitive information such as your password, private keys or control of your computer.
- Adam Sharp, Early Investing Co-Founder