Cryptocurrency is a new and unique space, which can make it difficult to wrap your head around. That’s why our experienced team put together this resource for you to create your personal crypto strategy.
By spending some time creating a plan, you can navigate the world of crypto more confidently and be better positioned to achieve whatever goals you have.
This resource is available as a PDF, which you can find below. The document includes 10 questions for you to answer. There are two ways to use this document:
- Download the PDF, open the file, and type in your answers.
- Print the PDF and write your answers.
For anyone not printing, you must download the PDF to your computer and use that downloaded file. Otherwise, your answers will not be saved.
Disclaimer: We are not Financial Advisors. All opinions expressed by Collective Shift and its representatives are intended for educational purposes only and should not be treated as investment or financial advice. Any information provided is general in nature and does not take into account the reader’s specific circumstances.
10-Step Crypto Strategy Template
Not a fan of PDFs? We have you covered! Keep reading for those who want to view the template on the platform. We still encourage members to download the PDF and fill it out at a time that suits them.
For fans of video, see my YouTube video summing up this resource!
Who is the template for?
- You own or want to own between $10,000 to $2M in Crypto.
- You’re ready to take crypto seriously and make money in this bull market.
- You’re sick of YouTubers & influencers giving clickbait content.
- You’ve been through 0, 1 or 2 crypto cycles already and didn’t make any or enough money.
- You don’t have a structured action plan for this bull market.
We provide tips to help you understand the most important considerations so you can execute your own strategy.
Who Am I?
I’m Ben Simpson, CEO & Founder of Collective Shift.
- 50,000+ social media followers
- TEDx crypto speaker
- Building crypto education companies since 2017
- Advised and educated over 10,000 crypto investors globally
- Focused on helping intelligent investors to take their portfolio’s to the next level
Create Your Template
We’re here to help you along your crypto journey. One of the most important things you
can be doing, in our opinion, is creating a strategy that is specific to your
circumstances and goals.
Although we cannot provide a strategy for you, as everyone’s situation is different and
we are not financial advisors, we can help you create your own through our template!
What to do?
Work your way through the below 10 questions. Where you feel you need additional
context, leverage our suggested resources listed under each question.
After answering these, you’ll have your own crypto strategy. From our experience, the
more time and effort you put into creating and thinking about your strategy, the more
likely you are to stick to it.
This is something you’re going to work on, and something we’re going to help you with
and get better at! Return to it frequently to remind yourself why you are here.
Contents
Q1: What Does Your Current Portfolio Look Like?
Q2: What Are You Trying To Achieve or ‘Get Out’ of Crypto?
Q3: What Is Your Time Horizon?
Q4: What Is Your Risk Appetite?
Q5: What Is Your Short-Term & Long-Term
Strategy?
Q6: Have You Reviewed Your Cryptocurrencies?
Q7: Where Are Your Cryptocurrencies Stored?
Q8: What Is Your Buy Strategy?
Q9: What Is Your Sell Strategy?
Q10: Have You Considered Your Tax & Structure Strategy?
Q1: What Does Your Current Portfolio Look Like?
The best starting point is to get an overview of your cryptocurrency holdings. You can do this by writing them down on paper or by adding them to your Personal Dashboard on the Member Platform.
Some people may have multiple portfolios, splitting into short or long term. Crypto
portfolios can be structured in all sorts of ways.
For your consideration: Many long-term investors think the best way to start a crypto
portfolio is to put roughly 80% into BTC and ETH. Some also choose to include stablecoins
in their crypto portfolio.
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Crypto Portfolio Structures: Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced
Q2: What Are You Trying To Achieve or ‘Get Out’ of Crypto?
By understanding your goals and what you want to get out of crypto, you can create a
clear and tangible outline to return to and remember why you’re here.
For your consideration: Are you in the crypto space for long-term investment exposure,
asset diversification, short-term trading, to help pay off your mortgage, to make a career
change, or something else?
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Planning Your Crypto Goals
Q3: What Is Your Time Horizon?
Your time horizon is the months, years, or decades you think you need to achieve your
goal. It’s incredibly important to understand whether your goals are achievable within
your time horizon.
For some, they could have different time horizons depending on their short or long term
portfolios and depending on different cryptocurrencies.
For your consideration: Some people’s overall time horizon is less than a year, whereas for
others it’s a few years or even multiple decades. Then there are others who may have a
different time horizon for certain cryptocurrencies (e.g. holding BTC for multiple decades,
but any other cryptocurrency for 1–3 years).
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: What Is a Risk Assessment?
Q4: What Is Your Risk Appetite?
Risk appetite is one of the most overlooked aspects when entering the crypto space.
Sometimes people underestimate the extreme risk associated with cryptocurrencies.
Your risk appetite is the amount and type of risk you’re willing to take to meet your
strategic objectives.
It’s essential to know precisely what you’re buying, owning or using. It helps you
understand whether your time horizon and goals match your risk appetite.
For your consideration: Many would argue that Bitcoin is the least risky cryptocurrency to
hold. Those who can tolerate a higher level of risk will generally allocate some of their
portfolio to altcoins.
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Understanding & Managing Risk in Crypto
Q5: What Is Your Short-Term & Long-Term
Strategy?
Now you know why you’re here and what you want to achieve, you can start to
understand your overall strategy.
- Do you want exposure to certain layer-one (L1) or layer-two (L2) blockchains,
decentralised finance (DeFi), gaming, or another sector - Do you plan to get exposure to altcoins in the short term or stake your
cryptocurrency for yield? - Your strategy could even be determined by Bitcoin’s four-year market cycle!
For your consideration: Some people prefer to have either a short-term strategy or
long-term strategy, and not both. Again, it depends on your goals and circumstances.
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Ultimate Guide To Staking Cryptocurrency & Bitcoin Halving’s Impact on Price
Q6: Have You Reviewed Your Cryptocurrencies?
If you already own cryptocurrencies, when did you get them, why are you holding
them, and why did you buy them?
Review not only why you’re holding them but how they stack up. By using our crypto
fundamental and tokenomic resources as part of your own independent research and
education, you can make an informed decision moving forward.
It can also help you to fine-tune how you go about selecting cryptocurrencies.
For your consideration: Using our ‘Ultimate Crypto Checklist’, see how a certain
cryptocurrency stacks up in terms of its team, funding, backing, traction, usage and the
problem it is solving.
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Collective Shift Ultimate Crypto Checklist | Tokenomics Series (Part 1): What Is Tokenomics? | Tokenomics Series (Part 2): Evaluating Demand, Supply & Value Capture
Q7: Where Are Your Cryptocurrencies Stored?
Storage is one of the most unique aspects of crypto. It’s incredibly important that you
know how to safely keep your cryptocurrencies in your own custody. By not giving
storage the attention it deserves, you risk permanently losing all of your cryptocurrency.
Do you know the crypto storage best practices? Here are two of the most important
ones
1. Securely store most of your cryptocurrency in an hardware wallet.
2. Never type your recovery phrase on a computer or other internet-connected
devices.
For your consideration: Are most of your cryptocurrencies stored on an exchange, a
hardware wallet (e.g. Ledger), or a web wallet (e.g. MetaMask)?
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Ultimate Guide to Storing Your Cryptocurrency | Security Centre
Q8: What Is Your Buy Strategy?
A buy strategy is often overlooked. Without a clear plan, you could fall for FOMO or get
involved in something you otherwise wouldn’t or doesn’t align with your strategy.
A buy strategy is also about ensuring you get the most cost-effective swaps possible.
If you’re buying or swapping significant value upwards of $10,000, it may be better to use
an over-the-counter (OTC) desk to help ensure you aren’t losing lots of money to
‘slippage’, which can happen on certain exchanges.
For your consideration: Ask yourself why you’re buying a particular cryptocurrency. Does it
align with your goals from Q2 and your strategy from Q5? Which are your preferred
exchanges and how do you plan to buy in the most cost-effective way possible?
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Where To Buy Cryptocurrencies | Identifying Where to Buy Cryptocurrencies
Q9: What Is Your Sell Strategy?
A sell strategy is critical to keep you in check, particularly during times of extreme price
volatility.
It is important to consider how your crypto is stored and how efficiently you can sell
crypto-assets to meet your sell strategy in these circumstances, particularly if using
cold storage, where it can take time to transfer onto an exchange to sell and be
expensive to do so when the network is busy.
By having (and sticking to) a sell strategy, you lower the chance of succumbing to FOMO
and selling at a price that you otherwise wouldn’t have. Consider automating your sell
strategy to make it easier to follow.
For your consideration: What percentage of a certain cryptocurrency will you sell and
when? How does your sell strategy compare between the short and long term? What will it
take for you to sell?
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Preparing Your Exit Plan
Q10: Have You Considered Your Tax & Structure Strategy?
In Australia, the U.S. and almost all other jurisdictions, buying and selling cryptocurrency
has tax implications.
Misunderstanding the tax implications can lead to serious problems (e.g. large,
unexpected tax bills) that could have otherwise been avoided or at the least minimised.
It is important to consider that jurisdictions have their own tax laws, so something
you read online may not apply to you.
These are a few things to consider below, but either way, we strongly recommend
speaking to a professional tax accountant about your personal situation.
Relevant Collective Shift Resource: Resources For Australians Ahead of Crypto Tax Time | Member Discounts (Crypto Tax Australia & Crypto Tax Calculator)