It's crazy how people have different ideas about what qualifies as a long-term investment. Everyone seems to have their own take on how long they can wait before cashing out.
Some folks think 4 years is enough, while others believe it’s gotta be at least 8 years. And then there are those who argue that anything under 10 years isn't really long-term.
Honestly, I think it’s all about mindset. How you feel, your income sources, and your investment goals really shape how long you choose to hold before you decide to sell.
So, what do you guys think? What timeframe do you consider a long-term investment when it comes to Bitcoin?
It depends on something like
- Your remaining time in your life: the young people and the elderly can have different time budget so their long term can be very different with each other.
- Your financial availability on time you intend to do your investment: this means beyond that time, you must close your investment position.
- The market cycle: for example Bitcoin market has four years each cycle and real estate has 10 years in each cycle, your long term investment in Bitcoin market can be 4 years at least while with real estate market it would be 10 years at least.
With Bitcoin investment, you can use this.
https://hodl.camp/
It suggest 5 years and 1 month as a long term investment (the hodl line).
When it comes to investment period, there is no one-size-fits-all. Bitcoin halving might be the reason for some investing on a 4-year term while others might be planning a 10-year term or more, leaving it as a generational asset. But in the end, investment plan also depends on one's mindset and financial needs, I mean how much they can survive without touching their investment portfolio
As we all know a long term investment is determined by the nature of the investment we think of going into. In the case of bitcoin, it is of utmost importance that we learn to exercise patience because of the market volatility and as such I will say that a minimum of 10 years is appropriate for a bitcoin investment long term goal and besides, while having a rundown of bitcoin journey so far, it was able to achieve a significant price value before the space of ten years and counting which means that it could do much more than that before the count of ten years looking at the speed it grew and the constant adoption rate coupled with the fact that it is beginning to serve as a national reserve for nations within the time frame it has evolved which would further give a boost to its price value.Therefore 10 years is enough significant time to expect a good return on investment on bitcoin as the adoption rate keeps increasing which would give it a boost for price increase but it would take an investor patience to be able to achieve such investment goals looking at the time interval involved.
My opinion... the biggest mistake is trying to define "long term" at Bitcoin in a generic term.
Man, this is very subjective and personal. If you ahve 18y, your perception is one thing, but if you are 60y, its completely another.
If you're in a very bad or very good financial situation its also changes significantly.
So, I think its much better to think about a long-term goal horizon than a fixed number. I've changed this perception countless times because I believe I can't have reached my goals yet.
What I know is that anyone who has held BTC for more than four years has never had a negative return, so I think you need to start from that number. But from there, it's a completely personal matter... so don't worry about an "exact time frame" because it simply doesnt exist.
My personal investment horizon is forever.
TL;DR I am selling small portions of my portfolio to cover some needs and I do DCA from my salary into the same portfolio. So I have inflows and outflows. But my portfolio returns are higher than the amount I withdraw yearly, so I have an increasing total balance.
So you are discarding a minimum of 4 years on this quest? Well, that is of your own view afterall it is at my opinion that this long term varies based on individual psychological insights and Investment goals while some investors as set on this journey for retirement purposes which might take them almost lifetime plans.
If we also considers maximizing our profits in due time as certainly the price rises much as more investors are buying bitcoins overtime. So it is obvious ideal that the longer you hold is the more profits you could achieve over the long term. So I will say 4 years can be accorded a long term while holding longer maximizes the probability of increasing our profits referencing historical performance and the anticipation that the price will always rise in time to come.
In fact, there is no limit to when to sell, if we need some money, we can sell some of the Bitcoins we have. Personally, I think investing in Bitcoin is like saving, as most people do, and the difference is that Bitcoin maintains the value of our savings and even increases their value, meanwhile, saving in fiat currency can potentially depreciate if held long-term. For example, imagine saving the hard-earned money we have earned in fiat currency for 10 or 20 years, then its value will decline, one of the causes is the inflation. So, If we save it in Bitcoin, you already know the answer, we can just look at the Bitcoin price chart from the past to the present, or even from the past five years until now.
However, you should also know that it is best to try to save Bitcoin by not selling a small portion or all of it, provided that you don't really need it, so that in the future it will be very useful for you, and the safest way I feel is to use the DCA method to be able to hold it for the long term.
When it comes to stocks 0-3 years is considered a short term investment whereas 3-5 years is considered a medium term investment and greater than 5 years is long term investment.
If we follow the same principles for crypto investments then if you hold for 5 years or greater then it would be considered a long term investment.
Once you invest in Bitcoin and are profitable on investing, then you will know that you have earned some reasonable amount from what you have used to invest at the initial stage, so once you make profits from your investment, then you can sell in profits as long as not in loss, some will suggest holding for at least a successful halving period and if possible to hold more longer up to 3 halving periods and then sell, while some may be selling and buying the dip continuously or engaged on trading.
It really depends on how you see your investments.
We must all accept that investments are our cash- meaning, we wait for its value to mature to take advantage of its price in the future. So in answering your question, the goal here is to at least have a positive increase on its value overtime and when the time arises for me to need such money, then cashing it out would be the answer.
Again, there is no absolute rule here as it will vary depending on the needs of a person. But you must never hesitate to use your investments and see it as an emergency cash in the event that you direly need some money for your obligations and priorities.
It's up to you! You want to invest for two years, which is important because it's profitable right? It doesn't matter if you invest for two years, as long as you have your own target.
I'm sure everyone has the same view on investing, but the duration depends on their own goals. For example, I invested in BTC for about 3 years because it was profitable even though I regretted selling it early, but I never gave up because the profit was already felt.
What's the point of investing for a long time if it's not profitable?
But with Bitcoin, the longer you HODL, the greater the potential profit.
Long term to me is five, six and seven years above but if you see two years or even a year as long term you probably have what you a chasing with your investment.
Bitcoin can do also even in a year and with a capital that is a lot you can be satisfied with your profit.
It is not just about psychological matter but the kind of investment assets that is involved .
Investment instruments are many depending on the one that you choose to invest in and that will determine your exit plan. For example, if you are leasing a property, it is usually from 3 years above after which redemption will be mature and you take back your property. You can do a fixed deposit with the bank and agree on what time to regain access to your money plus your profit. What about buying property like land? It depends on circumstances around the land development that will make you decide it is mature to sell for profit. These are all about your decision on the lifespan of your investment.
But talking about bitcoin investment, for me I consider the best time for such investment to call for your profit is a circle of four years. By that four years of one halving circle, Bitcoin has the history of overtaking previous ATH, so I think it is also the best time to take your Bitcoin profit.
The longer you invest and hold your coins, the higher the returns will be. So if you ask me, I would go for 10 years even if its very challenging whether Ill stay patient the whole time or get distracted and eventually decide to sell. But as much as possible, Ill stay focus on what my goal is, and just treat my bitcoin investment as my future retirement. I dont expect to get rich quickly, so Im not in a hurry to reap all my future profits.
@OP, you have already stated what long term investment is, different source or people will define long term investment as holding an asset for more than a period of three years, some source would say it is for a period of five years and some 10 years but from the knowledge of economics, any investment held for more than a year is still considered a long term investment but in my knowledge a Bitcoin investment should be considered long term if held for more than 4 years.
I feel that the word long-term is based on the investor mindset and his own time frame. Personally, long-term has no exact number of years. I will continue stacking more sats as long as I can and pass it on to my heir.
As long as bitcoin exist, you need to make it part of your life because if you sell, you will want to buy back. No need of selling too soon when you know that you will buy back because you are killing the compounding effect of your bitcoin portfolio.
If we are talking about investment of bitcoin here and not any general investment my limit for long term investment is four years as the bear minimum due to how bitcoin cycle or halving is averagely every four years. I expect the market to have had a change within this period of time. This four years is the dear minimum in my opinion and then there should be something likd 10 years, in this years and with the historical bitcoin trend the market should have been way up considering Two or more halving or bitcoin cycle would have taken place,
The major then going for long term most of the time is not even setting the duration but rather the funds used to invest, most people use those funds which they cannot do without for a very long time to invest and in any situation they dont necessarily have the luxury to hold for long even if they want to because the funds might be for taking care of some things, but if it is the other means of securing funds they will hold until they Wish
Does this mean that in four years, you will completely cash out your investments? I think those who are regular investors will never "de-energize" this source. Everything is determined by our goals and our life situations. It is funny to tell everyone that you will not touch your investments for a certain amount of time, since life is unpredictable, and unfortunately, for all unexpected situations, money is often needed. Therefore, let bitcoins always be in wallets, and we, to the best of our ability, should not only add to this source but also take away, since it is worth remembering that we are not eternal, and by regularly saving for ourselves, we miss not only the colors of life itself but also health.
It matters how we define long-term. More than 1 year is a long-term investment for me. From what I understand about investing, I don't think we need to hold for several years before taking our profit. In this volatile trend of Bitcoin, every pump is an opportunity to sell and earn money, while every drop is an opportunity to invest more. That is why I don't hold too much of my Bitcoin, as I take every single opportunity to earn regardless of time.
I'm not going to say that is the smart thing to do, but I believe that is the right system.