Update on my cryptocurrency portfolio

My portfolio aimed at protecting the principal and ensuring an adequate return has been more or less set up. I've selected my five cryptocurrencies for investment. These five ponies in the race are:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Monero
• Ripple
• Dash

I could buy Bitcoin and Ethereum from Luno, our most famous exchange in South Africa (click on that link to sign up and I can earn some Bitcoin, or use this promo code 4BPW4). Why did I choose these?

Look at my ponies go! Made using Yahoo finance.

Bitcoin futures market just opened

There's widespread speculation as to what exactly this means for Bitcoin, but it seems that it would address some of Bitcoin's volatility. Bitcoin is the original and most well-known cryptocurrency out there, so I reckon it would be worth getting Bitcoin now and keeping it up to the point where Bitcoin is mined out.

Ethereum is not just a cryptocurrency

Ethereum addresses some blockchain concerns. It's more than a cryptocurrency, as it is a platform for smart contracts too. It uses a different proof-of-work scheme than Bitcoin, and it seems even more volatile, but I believe its true value hasn't been realised by the market yet.

Monero is beautiful

Since I value privacy, I'm very keen on getting started with Monero. I'm busy setting up my Monero blockchain, and I must be honest this part of the process is cumbersome.

Ripple is quick

Ripple addresses the slow transaction aspect of Bitcoin. I'm still reading up on Ripple but it's different enough from the others as it's not based on a proof-of-work scheme, and it solves some of their issues, so I'll definitely get some.

Dash is more scalable

As seen from the recent Bitcoin transactions, Bitcoin has some scalability issues. It's part of why it is comparatively slow. Dash tries to address these concerns.

Quite a hot mess I've got here

As you can see, I chose five fundamentally different cryptocurrencies. I'm still in two minds as to which investment strategy to use, but I'm pretty much set on some version of buy and hold. I might take out my initial lump sump with a small percentage as soon as I make profit in order to avoid losing any money, and then just leave the difference in the race as it's not any of my principal investment.