To be honest, I am not a big *"chartwatcher,"* which was also the case back in the *"old days"* when my investing revolved around stocks on the stock markets, rather than cryptocurrencies.


![1015-Pokers.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTPSerMZNoSETDtn5421FyestdVvza4zxRK7Ff9FtnwXc/1015-Pokers.jpg)


My investment strategy was pretty much always the same: 

Look for something that seemed like a fundamentally good idea, make sure the company's management had at least a *rudimentary clue* about how to run a company... and then buy some shares and hold on for the long run. 

For a variety of reasons *(mostly related to the ABSURD costs of medical and health care in the USA)*, I don't have a stock portfolio anymore, I just have a modest cluster of cryptocurrencies, including our native Steem token.


![1008-Calendula.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTx7N5RrWB4x6hKSUvBseH2DybLxxyXfmqLfp1KKqZwor/1008-Calendula.jpg)


My crypto strategy hasn't been a whole lot different.

I believe in the *underlying concept* of the benefits of blockchain technology, I also like the idea of cryptos as an *alternative monetary system,* which left me pretty much with the task of deciding which (among the thousands) projects made the most sense to me.

Maybe I am making a mistake is applying similar *"fundamentals"* to crypto investing as to stocks... but I like the idea of a crypto/blockchain project having some kind of *fundamental applied use case* rather than just a bunch of big promises and so-called *"vaporware."*

Which is one of the reasons I like Steem... there's actually *an underlying "something"* here, not just a White Paper with no place to go.


![1091-Thistle.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmeZEdxBmPMgpGBCiJXRphzY9SZKGMn8wUF5eKNgHiVWpK/1091-Thistle.jpg)


Which brings me to one of my ongoing *reservations* about the cryptosphere... the fact that the original promises of *"banking the unbanked"* and serving as an *"alternate payment system"* has pretty much been usurped by the good old fashioned *"Wall Street Greed"* of people looking to score their next Lambo, rather than create a better future.

Alas, I am somewhat of an *idealist,* and that has often been a bit of a drawback in this world of ours!

*Anyway,* even though I am not a *"chart watcher,"* it does make me happy to see a bit of a slow uptrend building again... because that *does* mean that the value of our stakes here are growing again, and even our rewards become a little more meaningful.

And that's a good thing, in this day and age where things are financially tight for a *lot* of people!

Thanks for reading and have a great remainder of your week!

***How about YOU? Do you think the crypto markets are going to start moving higher again? Where do you think the price of Steem will be, by the end of 2021? How about the price of Bitcoin?  Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!***

***(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20210728 00:04 PDT
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