Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

‘Crypto is by far my most profitable investment’

‘Crypto is by far my most profitable investment’

“Money and IT are my core things,” says Adrian, a financial services professional in his late 40s, who asked not to use his full name to avoid “tax complications”. 
In many ways, he is the archetypal cryptocurrency investor in the current bitcoin rally. Following his divorce, a pub conversation in 2017 led him to look into cryptocurrencies. Since then, Adrian has gone deep.

“I have property, wine, lots of different investments but crypto is by far the most profitable. I look at what I put in and there is no better return anywhere else,” he says.

He says he owns about 50 different types of cryptocurrency but has kept as much as 70 per cent of his investment in bitcoin, which he regards as the safest and most liquid option. 

He is also actively trading — hence his concerns about HM Revenue & Customs — on various exchanges and in the fledgling derivatives market, using leverage to amplify the outcome of his bets.

Venturing beyond buying and holding coins, Adrian has entered the rapidly growing area of decentralised finance, which uses the “digital ledger” technology of blockchain to replace intermediaries in trading, lending and borrowing. One crypto insider describes decentralised finance — also known as “DeFi trading” — as the world’s most adversarial market. 

“You can make anything between 100 and 1,000 per cent, but it’s probably not for beginner investors,” he says, adding that trading in this area requires a heavy commitment in time and research.

Adrian says he will “never” sell his bitcoins but aspires to borrow against his holdings in DeFi markets to buy a home in a couple of years. Having gone from bitcoin novice to evangelist in three years, he believes blockchain has the potential to replace insurance companies, retail banks and central banks.

“If you’re selling bitcoin you’re going long fiat. Why would you ever want to do that?” 

Sachdev has taken a much more moderate approach. The derivatives expert runs financial advisory firm Vedanta Hedging and takes a dim view of overly complex products. He nonetheless started “dabbling” in bitcoin in January this year. 

“I can give you 20 reasons why investing in bitcoin is a good idea and 20 reasons why it’s a crap idea,” he says, noting that he took the plunge after two people whose views he respects encouraged him to do so. “I did some research and downloaded CoinbasePro.”

His initial investment of about £20,000 has so far yielded a profit of roughly 35 per cent. Still, given bitcoin’s volatility he is taking a cautious approach and says he would never use leverage. Sachdev still owns more gold than bitcoin but says this could soon change. 

“I don’t want to invest any more into crypto than 5 per cent of my equity investments,” he says. “Returns are bigger and quicker than in other alternative markets like art or wine, but it’s a lot more frothy and prone to bubbles because it’s very new.” 

He would “ride out” any collapse in price, he says, and has had no issues when converting some of his bitcoin into fiat currency. But he also believes bitcoin’s success might be too big for central banks to ignore. 

Bitcoin’s failure thus far to fulfil its promise of becoming a mundane, ubiquitous means of payment does not worry him, however.

“I’m not too bothered about not being able to use it in Sainsbury’s. I see bitcoin as an uncorrelated asset. Just because it can’t do everything it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×