Here’s a question that either comes straight from the top of the crypto market or is a decade too late: is it time to increase crypto exposure in your portfolio? Do you have enough? Do you have any? Should you increase that amount? For me, the answer is–finally and resoundingly–yes.

If you’re sick of hearing about cryptocurrencies and prefer to focus on saving and investing in good ol’ fashioned stocks, by all means stick to the plan. It’s hard to argue with the double-digit percentage annual increases that have seemingly become the norm these days. And make no mistake, that still accounts for 99% of my investing portfolio. But while I’m going to continue to hammer VTSAX and S&P 500 indexes in my Roth IRA and 401k, I am finally allocating some of the extra cash toward the crypto market on a more consistent and deliberate basis.

Dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin & Ethereum

As recently as a few months ago, I didn’t own enough crytpo to carve out even a small slice of my asset allocation pie chart (side note: I’ve taken a bath on those ARK funds). In fact, I still don’t.

Less than a percentage of my overall portfolio is invested in crypto–mostly in Bitcoin and Ethereum. It’s all well and good to “buy the dip” when the volatile crypto market experiences another 10-20% (or 50-90%) crash, but that requires paying attention and taking action. I know myself well enough to know that a set and forget approach is the best way for me to slowly gain exposure to a new asset class.

As such, I’ve set up automatic monthly deposits into BTC & ETH via BlockFi (you can do this on most any trading platform, such as Coinbase). Additionally, I’m gleefully collecting some Bitcoin rewards via BlockFi’s Bitcoin rewards card. Over time, this should help me increase my crypto exposure to the coveted 1% checkpoint, and then some–particularly if the cryptocurrency world significantly outperforms traditional investment options as it has over the last 10 years. When the big dips do occur, I will try to shovel excess cash in that direction. But I’ve finally automated

Playing around with alt coins

Not to be confused with the enticing shitcoins we all so enjoy, altcoins are just what their name implies–alternative coins. AKA, not Bitcoin. Among them, Solana seems–to an incredibly untrained eye–to have some traction. My novice take is that Bitcoin is indeed this generation’s gold. It will survive the test of time. The fees associated with Ethereum, however, leave the door open for a competitor to ultimately take its place.

I’m using my BlockFi account for the Boomer crypto investments of Bitcoin & Ethereum. On Coinbase, I’m throwing a few small speculative darts at the altcoins. Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, Doge, Shiba (which of course I bought but then sold before it’s recent 10x run), you name it. My Coinbase account is more of a fun money experiment, while BlockFi is where I do my traditional crypto investing. To the extent that “traditional crypto investing” exists. EDITOR’S NOTE: Aaaaaaaaand it’s gone.

What took so long to increase my crypto exposure?

I learned about investing the Boglehead way (Vanguard low-cost index funds), and it’s served me well. I’m the last person willing to take on risk and lose the hard-earned cash I’ve managed to accumulate. But even I can no longer pretend that cryptocurrencies are going away any time soon.

So what’s the plan? For me, it’s follow the crowd. Do what the smart young people are doing. There is an entire generation of people willing cryptocurrencies into existence, and from there into relevance. I am now of the opinion that it’s borderline irresponsible to ignore crypto as an investor. In other words, I have too much FOMO reading about this crap all the time not to take action.

Despite my recent advocacy for crypto, which I have very strongly poo-pooed in years past, I am still firmly entrenched in the belief that index funds are the way to go for almost every investor. It’s fine to play around with percentages on the fringe of a portfolio, but there’s no telling what the future holds. Stocks may not always go up. But historically, they do. Crypto simply hasn’t been around long enough to know what the eventual adoption and use cases will be. And for that matter, which coins will survive and advance. Whereas with stocks, you’re investing in tangible companies that make goods and provide services. Via index funds, you’re getting a small piece of pretty much all of them.

If you’re new to investing, I am always going to stump for investing in low-cost index funds. If you kind of sort of maybe feel comfortable with what you’re doing with your money beyond that, it’s probably time to increase your crypto exposure.