現在進入加密貨幣還太晚嗎？

由於川普第二屆政府將推廣比特幣，本月比特幣突破了 10 萬美元大關。在競選過程中，川普發誓要讓美國成為「地球的加密貨幣之都」。

You scoffed when you heard about young millennial hipsters buying up cryptocurrency, hiding your secret shame at not knowing quite what it was.

當你聽到年輕的千禧世代潮人購買加密貨幣時，你會嘲笑，隱藏你不知道它是什麼的秘密恥辱。

You chortled when bitcoin hit $1,000, back in 2013. You shook your head when the digital currency flirted with $20,000, four years later.

2013 年，當比特幣觸及 1,000 美元時，你哈哈大笑。

But when bitcoin soared past $100,000, earlier this month, you felt something different: Envy? Self-doubt? Resignation?

但本月早些時候，當比特幣飆升至 10 萬美元以上時，你會有不同的感覺：羨慕嗎？自我懷疑？辭職？

In recent days, you’ve even thought about jumping on the crypto bandwagon at last. But you fear you may be too late. And, depending on your financial goals, risk tolerance and timeline, you might be right.

最近幾天，您甚至終於想到要加入加密貨幣行列了。但你擔心你可能已經太晚了。而且，根據您的財務目標、風險承受能力和時間表，您可能是對的。

To some extent, cryptocurrency is a generational phenomenon. Among millennials, “everybody knows someone who’s become a crypto millionaire,” said Craig J. Ferrantino, president of Craig Ferrantino Financial Services in Melville, New York, speaking to USA TODAY earlier this year.

在某種程度上，加密貨幣是一種世代現象。紐約梅爾維爾克雷格·費蘭蒂諾金融服務公司總裁克雷格·J·費蘭蒂諾今年稍早在接受《今日美國》採訪時表示，在千禧世代中，「每個人都認識成為加密貨幣百萬富翁的人」。

If you’re a decade or two older, you may not know anyone who can even define crypto convincingly.

如果你年長一兩歲，你可能不認識任何人能夠令人信服地定義加密貨幣。

So, what exactly is crypto?

那麼，加密貨幣到底是什麼呢？

Cryptocurrency is digital money. It isn’t issued by governments or banks, so there’s no central authority. It exists on decentralized networks and uses a technology called blockchain, which tracks transactions and assets. Bitcoin is the leading brand.

加密貨幣是數位貨幣。它不是由政府或銀行發行，因此沒有中央機構。它存在於去中心化網路上，並使用一種稱為區塊鏈的技術來追蹤交易和資產。比特幣是領先品牌。

For years, ordinary investors who wanted to trade digital currencies generally had to go to a crypto exchange, a potential deal-breaker for neophytes. That changed in early 2024, when federal regulators voted that ordinary American investors could buy and sell bitcoin ETFs in the same way they trade stocks.

多年來，想要交易數位貨幣的普通投資者通常不得不去加密貨幣交易所，這對新手來說可能會造成交易損失。這種情況在 2024 年初發生了變化，當時聯邦監管機構投票決定普通美國投資者可以像交易股票一樣買賣比特幣 ETF。

(Exchange-Traded Funds, or ETFs, are an investment vehicle, akin to mutual funds.)

（交易所交易基金（ETF）是一種投資工具，類似共同基金。）

Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 threshold this month on talk that a second Trump Administration would promote it. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.”

由於川普第二屆政府將推廣比特幣，本月比特幣突破了 10 萬美元大關。在競選過程中，川普發誓要讓美國成為「地球的加密貨幣之都」。

Is it too late to get into crypto? Has the “Trump effect” played out? If you do jump into digital currency, how much hard currency should you risk?

現在進入加密貨幣領域是否太晚了？ 「川普效應」發揮了嗎？如果你真的涉足數位貨幣，你應該冒多少硬通貨的風險？

We asked some experts. Here’s what they said.

我們詢問了一些專家。他們是這麼說的。

If you haven't invested in crypto, is it too late?

如果你還沒有投資加密貨幣，現在還來得及嗎？

如果你還沒有投資加密貨幣，現在還來得及嗎？

“It is not too late to start investing in cryptocurrencies,” said Caleb Silver, editor in chief of Investopedia.

Investopedia 主編 Caleb Silver 表示：“現在開始投資加密貨幣還為時不晚。”

But ask yourself: Why?

但問問自己：為什麼？

Profiting from bitcoin’s rise “may be your primary reason,” Silver said, “but it's important to understand that all cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are highly volatile, unregulated and widely misunderstood.”

從比特幣的上漲中獲利「可能是你的主要原因，」西爾弗說，「但重要的是要了解，包括比特幣在內的所有加密貨幣都具有高度波動性、不受監管且被廣泛誤解。

Bernd Schmid, contributing crypto analyst at The Motley Fool, more or less agrees.

The Motley Fool 的特約加密貨幣分析師 Bernd Schmid 或多或少同意這一點。

“It’s not too late to start investing in crypto,” he said, “as long as you have a long-term perspective. Crypto adoption is today where internet adoption was in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”

他說：「只要你有長遠的眼光，開始投資加密貨幣還不算太晚。今天加密貨幣的採用就像 20 世紀 90 年代末和 2000 年代初互聯網的採用一樣。

Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar Research Services, preaches caution with crypto.

晨星研究服務公司北美被動策略研究主管 Bryan Armour 主張對加密貨幣保持謹慎態度。

“It’s not too late, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good investment,” he said. “Crypto remains a speculative investment with high volatility. There’s no need for someone to invest in it if they are uncomfortable with that.”

「現在還不算太晚，但這並不意味著這一定是一項好的投資，」他說。 「加密貨幣仍然是一種具有高波動性的投機性投資。如果有人對此感到不舒服，就沒有必要投資。

Jonathan Swanburg, a certified financial planner in Houston, is even more skeptical.

休士頓的註冊財務規劃師喬納森‧斯旺伯格 (Jonathan Swanburg) 則更加懷疑。

“I’m not a crypto guy,” he said, “but if you didn’t like crypto at $20,000, I think you need to look at why you would possibly like it at $100,000, except for FOMO (fear of missing out). So, yes, I do think it is too late.”

「我不是加密貨幣愛好者，」他說，「但如果你不喜歡 20,000 美元的加密貨幣，我認為你需要看看為什麼你可能會喜歡 100,000 美元的加密貨幣，除了 FOMO（害怕錯過） 。所以，是的，我確實認為為時已晚。

Has the 'Trump effect' played out? Will bitcoin rise further?

「川普效應」發揮了嗎？比特幣還會進一步上漲嗎？

「川普效應」發揮了嗎？比特幣還會進一步上漲嗎？

“Yes and no,” Schmid said.

「是的，也不是，」施密德說。

“Yes, because the possibility of a crypto-friendly administration was initially undervalued and is now priced in,” meaning that bitcoin’s value already reflects the Trump effect.

「是的，因為對加密貨幣友好的政府的可能性最初被低估，現在已經被定價，」這意味著比特幣的價值已經反映了川普效應。

“No,” Schmid said, “because we’re still waiting for concrete regulatory developments” in the second Trump Administration.

「不，」施密德說，「因為我們仍在等待川普第二屆政府的具體監管進展」。

Silver agrees.

銀同意了。

“While the election effect on the price of cryptocurrencies may have played out for now,” he said, “the Trump administration is gearing up to create an entire new regulatory ecosystem around this asset class by appointing David Sacks, a former PayPal executive, as the nation’s first crypto czar, and nominating Paul Atkins, a Wall Street veteran, as SEC chairman.

他表示：「雖然選舉對加密貨幣價格的影響目前可能已經顯現，但川普政府正準備圍繞這一資產類別創建一個全新的監管生態系統，任命PayPal 前高管戴維·薩克斯(David Sacks)為美國第一位加密貨幣沙皇，提名華爾街資深人士 Paul Atkins 擔任 SEC 主席。

“Those moves, and Trump's campaign promise to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the world,' set the stage for cryptocurrencies to become more widely available to retail investors, which could boost prices.”

“這些舉措以及川普競選時承諾讓美國成為‘世界加密貨幣之都’，為散戶投資者更廣泛地使用加密貨幣奠定了基礎，這可能會推高價格。”

What if you want to buy crypto but don't know how?

如果您想購買加密貨幣但不知道如何購買怎麼辦？

如果您想購買加密貨幣但不知道如何購買怎麼辦？