Still own Bitcoin? Here’s what I think you should do

It looked as if 2019 was the year that the Bitcoin price was going to make a comeback some months ago.

After the price of the cryptocurrency plunged to nearly $3,000 at the end of 2018, in the first half of 2019, it rallied to almost $12,000 in June before resuming its downtrend. 

Indeed, since hitting this one-year high, the Bitcoin price has slumped. It is currently trading around $7,000, and it looks as if the value of the crypto asset could fall further over the next six months based on its trading trends since June.

Time to sell?

With this being the case, I think that if you still own Bitcoin, now could be the time to sell the cryptocurrency. This conclusion is based on more than just the current price action.

The thing is that over the past three or four years, companies, investors private equity and venture capital funds around the world have pumped tens of billions of dollars into Bitcoin and its infrastructure, with the goal of making cryptocurrencies a new method of monetary exchange around the world.

However, despite all of this time and effort, Bitcoin is still as niche as it was five years ago. The much-promised Bitcoin revolution just hasn’t happened.

Tech stocks

If you want to look to the future,  think a better option would be to invest your money in tech stocks because these companies offer diversification. Many have exposure to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but they also operate in other sectors, which means you don’t have to put all of your eggs in one basket. 

There’s also a range of tech-focused investment funds out there on the market, which means you can invest in the sector through a highly experienced professional.

These funds and investment trusts generally own a range of different tech sector investments, handpicked for their unique qualities. All you need to do is buy the fund, sit back and relax. Unlike Bitcoin, there’s no need to worry about security, high trading costs and foreign exchange fees.

A great example is the Polar Capital Technology Trust. This investment trust owns a range of global tech groups, including companies based in the US, China, Japan and South Korea. 

It manages a total of £2bn in assets and charges an annual management fee of around 1.3%. Over the past two years, the trust has produced a total return for its investors of 30%. By comparison, the Bitcoin price has gone nowhere. Over the past five years, the trust has returned 162% thanks to its large exposure to US tech stocks. 

Another example is the Allianz Technology Trust. This has the same sort of portfolio makeup as Polar Capital’s offering, but the trust only charges an annual management fee of 0.8%. 

Also, it is currently trading at a slight discount to net asset value and has returned 182% over the past five years.