Retirement is a reality facing every working individual, whether employed in a large corporation or running his enterprise. Planning for retirement is one of the most important financial goals in one’s life, it involves setting aside the retirement money during the working life of an individual.
The investment for retirement should start as early as possible, and since the investment is long-term in nature some risk can be incorporated into the portfolio. Considering this, there has been some argument around using one’s retirement money to invest in Bitcoin. This article weighs in the pros and cons of doing so.
Nature of Bitcoin
Before talking about buying bitcoin with your retirement money, let us first understand the nature of Bitcoin as an investment. Bitcoin is the first crypto asset and its value is not pegged to the profits of a corporation or a precious metal, and it completely depends on the dynamics of demand and supply.
Bitcoin is not part of any banking system and is designed to be free from any government control. It is accepted by some enterprises to buy goods and services and its value keeps on fluctuating, making it one of the more volatile assets to hold in your portfolio.
Bitcoin has been at the forefront of the latest innovation in the world of finance and millions of new investors are getting attracted to it. It was launched in 2009 and has gained tremendous value since then. The major appreciation occurred from 2016 to 2021 when in November 2021, it attained a valuation of $60000 (INR 45 lakh) before falling to current levels below $32000 (INR 24 Lakhs).
It is difficult to analyse the fundamental factors in the price fluctuation of Bitcoin, as the price is mostly driven by sentiment and uncertainty in the global financial system.
However, certain benefits make it attractive to buy bitcoin with your retirement money
Diversification:-
Bitcoin can serve as an alternative investment with a low correlation with traditional asset classes like equity and debt. The money invested in Bitcoin will not be impacted by market downturns.
Hedge Against Inflation:-
As opposed to Fiat currencies like Indian Rupee or US dollar which have an unlimited supply, Bitcoin has a limited supply. The total supply of Bitcoin is fixed at 21 million, hence it can be seen as a store of value like gold, which augurs well for your retirement portfolio to beat inflation.
Expanding Industry:
Crypto is an expanding industry and the acceptance of Bitcoin is increasing by the day. Bitcoin is an asset with an early mover advantage in the industry that may work in your favour in terms of value appreciation.
Enhanced control:-
In contrast with other investment options like bank deposits or capital markets, there is no custodian required for crypto, and you have full control over your funds using private keys.
High return generating potential:-
The returns in the last 4-5 months period have not been great, but if you look at the long term for 5 year and more, the returns have been phenomenal. Since retirement is a long term goal, you can afford to wait with your retirement money
On the other hand, the picture is not all that rosy and surely there are concerns when you think of buying bitcoin with your retirement money.
Volatility:-
Bitcoin prices have shown a great deal of volatility in the past, and the trend is expected to continue in the future. You need to be careful around that at the time of withdrawal as some sudden downturn in the value may result in the loss at that time.
Legality:-
The regulations around Bitcoin are not clear, they are not banned in India, and a tax of 30% on bitcoin earnings has been levied by the union government in the last budget, but there is no guarantee that Bitcoin will remain safe for investors.
Growth issues:-
The growth of any crypto asset depends on the innovation it does on the blockchain and its ability to attract new users, till now bitcoin has been able to do that but whether this will continue in the future, is difficult to predict
Cybersecurity:-
There have been cases in the past where crypto exchanges have been hacked by scammers. Even the wallets of individual investors have been hacked and pilfered in the past, and this is a credible threat
Business Risk:-
Crypto trading and investing in the latest trend that is currently gaining traction, but we do not know for sure as to whether it is going to continue in the future.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is a risky option in the traditional sense, as far as using your retirement money to invest is concerned. However, investing a small percentage of your retirement money (based on your risk appetite) in Bitcoin can afford you many advantages. Buying bitcoin with your retirement money will help you diversify your portfolio and give you high growth potential. For more information on how to buy Bitcoin, please log in to www.zebpay.com.
