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

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

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

In recent days, you’ve even thought about jumping on the crypto bandwagon at last. But you terror you may be too late. And, depending on your monetary goals, uncertainty tolerance and timeline, you might be correct.

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 James monetary Services in Melville, recent York, speaking to USA TODAY earlier this year. 

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

So, what exactly is crypto?

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. 

For years, ordinary investors who wanted to trade digital currencies generally had to leave to a crypto swap, 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.  

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

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 fund of the earth.” 

Is it too late to get into crypto? Has the “Trump result” played out? If you do jump into digital liquid assets, how much challenging liquid assets should you uncertainty? 

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

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

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

But inquire yourself: Why?  

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

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

“It’s not too late to commence 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.” 

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

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

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

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

Has the ‘Trump result’ played out? Will bitcoin rise further?

“Yes and no,” Schmid said.  

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

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

Silver agrees.  

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

“Those moves, and Trump’s campaign commitment to make the U.S. the ‘crypto fund of the globe,’ set the stage for cryptocurrencies to become more widely available to retail investors, which could boost prices.” 

What if you desire to buy crypto but don’t recognize how?

“person investors can tiptoe their way into investing in cryptocurrencies,” Silver said, “by opening an account with an online agent and buying person tokens and coins by a dollar amount.”  

In other words, you don’t have to pony up $100,000 to buy crypto.   

“Alternatively, they can purchase spot bitcoin ETFs, which track the worth of bitcoin through many of the largest online brokers,” Silver said. “While these ETFs don’t provide investors ownership of the actual digital coins, they track the worth closely, and trade throughout the day, like a distribute. When selecting a spot bitcoin ETF, investors should focus on the largest funds with the most assets under management, liquid assets flow, and low outlay ratios.” 

Armour offers specific ETF recommendations: iShares Bitcoin depend and Fidelity sensible Origin Bitcoin fund “arrive from familiar brands, have low costs, and are straightforward to trade,” he said. Bitwise Bitcoin “comes from a corporation more embedded in the crypto globe, if that’s significant to an investor.” 

Swanburg cautions investors against venturing too far into the crypto wilderness. 

“I’d probably leave with the ETF, just to avoid the logistical and estate nightmares of trying to hold crypto outside of traditional resource accounts,” he said. “Although I don’t recommend crypto to anyone.” 

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How much should you invest in crypto?

“For investors recent to crypto, or any resource class, don’t invest more than you can afford to misplace,” Silver said. “All cryptocurrencies are speculative and risky assets that are still unregulated. While it’s straightforward to get caught up in the hype,” he said, the downside of crypto is “wild volatility. uncertainty no more than 5% of your financing distribution collection, if you are just getting started.” 

Armour agrees on the 5% limit. “Our research shows that bitcoin’s volatility begins to overwhelm a financing distribution collection” if you invest more heavily, he said. “That figure could serve as a reasonable limit for long-term investors.” 

Swanburg, again, offers the contrarian view:  Invest “as much as you would be comfortable investing in a Beanie Baby collection, back in 1998.” 

(This narrative has been updated to add a graphic.)