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Some college students say cryptocurrency is the future

Many college students are turning to buying and selling cryptocurrencies to help cushion their finances while balancing unstable part-time jobs and limited work hours as full-time students.

“I would 100% recommend crypto investing,' business major Matias Gonzalez said. 'It's the perfect form of investing for college students. I initially decided to invest because I saw that it was an opportunity in which I could put in very little but gain a lot.'

Gonzalez was introduced to Dogecoin by a friend who told him Elon Musk tweeted about how Dogecoin was the future. His tweets led to many people investing in it and later seeing it surge past 0.70 cents in May 2021.

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More college students have begun turning to invest in cryptocurrencies in an effort to find new sources of income. As of now, there is no certain or for sure way to find success in buying and selling cryptocurrencies, and some still see it as very risky. (Photo illustration by Nefi Treviño)

There are many methods for getting a good return on cryptocurrency investments. Some try to get in early and buy as low as they can. Gonzalez initially bought several Dogecoin at about .05 cents a coin and since then has seen a 400% return on his investments. He thought about selling, but said it's safer to leave it until it's worth much more.

Others, like recent BYU graduate Branden Foley, like to watch what cryptocurrencies are trending. As soon as they start making a quick jump in value, they sell them at their peak to try to avoid ever being at a loss.

“I doubled my money with Shiba, but I made sure to get out a week ago. Then I got a bunch of Loopring and made a ton of money too,' Foley said. 'I mostly read articles that make sense and that I like. I don't make decisions based on what people on Reddit say because a lot of times it's just crazy people on there.'

Sebastian Barrera studies digital marketing at Ensign College and he likes to find online articles on what cryptocurrencies celebrities are investing in.

'There's a lot of celebrities out there that are big fans and investors of cryptocurrency,' Barrera said. 'Tom Brady has made it clear that he completely believes in Bitcoin, and Mark Cuban has even said that Dogecoin is one of the strongest cryptocurrencies.'

According to BYU economics professor Christian vom Lehn, the future of cryptocurrency still remains uncertain.

'Many approach cryptocurrency with two different ideas, that it is the future of currency or that it is a great investment opportunity,' vom Lehn said. 'In the long run, those are at odds with each other.

Vom Lehn said if cryptocurrency is to remain valuable in the long run, the value of currency will not change much.

'The investment opportunity in cryptos lies in making a bet that these assets will become a big part of the future of money and currency and transactions,' vom Lehn said. 'Based on what we've seen so far, that bet feels very risky to me.'

There are still many unanswered questions as to how one can know what specific cryptocurrency to invest in. Regardless, some students have found even if they don't have much money they can still afford to invest a little.