It’s fair to say that 2020 was a banner year for bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency market. The coronavirus pandemic swept across the world, disrupting our lives in different areas and in many cases changing things permanently. Economies and markets were jolted, while bitcoin surged to new record highs. The growth and maturation of this space has been impossible to ignore, engendering plenty of optimism among those who build the platforms and systems on which it runs.

For many, the year’s end brings about a tendency for reflection and plans for new goals. An article in the in NYTimes on January 1st talks about making tinier New Year’s resolutions and going for smaller and achievable. goals. That it makes a lot of sense to me, because most of us set big lofty goals every year, yet most of the time we fall short.

Ilias Louis Hatzis is the founder and CEO at Kryptonio, a “keyless” non-custodial bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallet, that lets users manage bitcoin and crypto, without private keys or passwords.

This is the perfect time to get into bitcoin and set goals, I’ve compiled a short list of simple resolutions as we head into the new year.

10. Read bitcoin’s white paper
If you want to understand why all this is happening and what you should expect in the future, make sire to read bitcoin’s white paper. It should cast away any doubts you may have about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

9. Make a donation using bitcoin
With bitcoin breaching the $34,000 mark, now might be a good time to give some of it to charity. Investors who have held their bitcoin for the long term and have a portfolio that’s overweight in cryptocurrency may consider donating it to charity. Virtual currencies are a complex asset, but some donor-advised funds are willing to accept these. In 2020, investors contributed close to $26 million in bitcoin to Fidelity Charitable’s donor-advised fund.

8. Don’t get caught up in short-term price action. HODL
Repeat after me. “This year, I will stop getting caught up in short-term price action.” I hope to you know by now that bitcoin is a long game. Stop giving the ups and downs your attention or expecting your cash out any time soon. All good things come to those who wait. I know that its easier said than done, but you have to try.

7. To stay away from government central bank digital currencies
Several countries recognize that digital currencies are the next stage in the evolution of money, which is why they’re already creating CBDCs, effectively competitors to bitcoin. Unfortunately, these rebranded versions of fiat currencies don’t really have any desirable properties for the public, beyond the fact that the government will be able to easily disperse stimulus packages, and effectively tax us differently, since these stimulus payments will only debasing the value of the currency.

6. Make your voice heard on the new proposed crypto rules with the US. Treasury Department
The US. Treasury Department is proposing onerous new regulations that will drastically increase the amount of personal information crypto exchanges will have to collect, store and share with the government. Make sure to voice your concerns by this Monday, January 4, 2021 here.

5. Learn about crypto staking
Simply put, staking is the act of locking cryptocurrencies to receive rewards. In most cases, you’ll be able to stake your coins directly from your crypto wallet. On the other hand, many exchanges offer staking services to their users. Staking is nearly as profitable as the mining or trading of cryptocurrencies, and without risk. All you have to do is stake (buy & hold) some coins in order to get added to the mining pool.

4. Pay someone in bitcoin
Now with PayPal getting into cryptocurrencies you will have plenty of opportunities to use your bitcoin to pay someone.

3. Get control of your private keys
You heard of the saying “not your keys not your bitcoin”. If your crypto is stored in a wallet on an exchange and you don’t have the keys, is it really yours? Well, its not. The biggest risk of keeping your funds on an exchange is the risk of losing them as the result of a hack. and in 2020 we had our fair share of exchange hacks. You have plenty of available options for non-custodial wallets.

2. Buy Ethereum
As I am writing this, I got a notification that Ethereum broke $1,000. In 2016 and 2017 we saw Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and now are seeing stablecoins and DeFi. Ethereum is a foundation for building an alternative Internet-based financial system that is completely open and trustless. So don’t think about it too much, buy some and do it now.

1. Buy Bitcoin
On November 23, I wrote that bitcoin at $20k is going to look like a bargain in the future. One month later, I can only say that bitcoin at $34k is still a bargain. Don’t get caught up about buying a lot. Buy what you can and HODL it. That’s it.

Ilias Louis Hatzis is the Founder & CEO at Mercato Blockchain Corporation AG.
He writes the Blockchain Weekly Front Page each Monday.I have no positions or commercial relationships with the companies or people mentioned. I am not receiving compensation for this post.
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I have no positions or commercial relationships with the companies or people mentioned. I am not receiving compensation for this post.
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