401k vs bitcoin

Bitcoin 401k vs trading bitcoins for beginners

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There are no stupid questions here. Just like other cryptocurrencies, Litecoin is a global, digital payment method that uses blockchain technology to transfer and trade "coins. Since the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, made the Bitcoin code public, Litecoin is in many ways an extension or variation on Bitcoin since the code was open for modification read: the Bitcoin code is essentially the foundation of various cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin.

For this reason, coins like Litecoin are often referred to as "altcoins. However, Litecoin uses a different blockchain, which allows it to have a faster transaction or transfer speed. Litecoin uses an open source software to create and transfer coins, and is decentralized. Since Litecoin hit the market, its growth has been pretty astounding. Like most cryptocurrencies, the future of Litecoin is very much in question, but these digital "coins" are starting to become more widely accepted as payment.

Bitcoin , to many, is the original cryptocurrency that has thus far maintained its status as the most popular. Created in by an unknown individual going by the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin was designed as an alternative currency that used blockchain technology to supposedly increase safety in financial transactions throughout the network. Bitcoin essentially pioneered the cryptocurrency industry by allowing Bitcoin miners to mine and add coins to the public blockchain network.

So, while Bitcoin is essentially a currency, it also kind of operates as a stock so it's a mixture of a lot of things. So, both Litecoin and Bitcoin are cryptocurrencies that share a similar basic structure and rely on crypto networks, but what are the differences between the two? And how do you buy them? One of the principle differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin are their different cryptographic proof-of-work algorithms. The way these two algorithms affect the difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin is based off of is the speed by which they are able to mine respective coins.

Litecoin's algorithm is designed to produce about four times as many coins as Bitcoin does - producing one coin every 2. So, the speed of acquisition is really the main difference. However, both Litecoin and Bitcoin use algorithms that use computing power to process transactions, which is accomplished by "miners" confirming transactions in their networks with their computing power and receiving coins in exchange.

But the speed at which these transactions occur is very different for the respective Litecoin and Bitcoin algorithms. Bitcoin's SHA algorithm, famous for being very complex, has been altered over the years by miners, and commonly uses what are called Application-Specific Integrated Circuits ASICs - hardware systems that can be customized for mining Bitcoin. For this reason, Bitcoin's algorithm stresses processing power.

However, one critique of Bitcoin's algorithm has been that it is increasingly becoming more difficult for regular users to mine Bitcoin due to its complexity. On the other hand, Scrypt, which is used by Litecoin, is generally a more efficient algorithm for mining cryptocurrency due to how it is designed to prevent too much customization with hardware solutions like ASICs.

Scrypt, unlike SHA, favors high-speed random access memory. For this reason, Litecoin's algorithm makes it easier for regular cryptocurrency users to participate in mining without too much complexity. Because Scrypt allows regular miners often using CPUs central processing units or GPUs graphics processing units , Litecoin is typically a more easily accessible way to mine coins than Bitcoin.

And while this figure has fluctuated over the years, alternative currencies like Litecoin are certainly gaining on the crypto-giant. Transactions take a long time to be confirmed on blockchain network members - for both Bitcoin and Litecoin. As of recent estimates by Blockchain.

So, one block is mined about every 10 minutes. However, Litecoin transaction processing is much faster than Bitcoin's - processing a transaction confirmation about once every 2. It is because of this dramatic difference in speed that has made Litecoin an appealing option for businesses using altcoins because they don't have to wait as long for their transactions to process.

Additionally, another integral difference between Bitcoin and Litecoin are their total coins. Essentially, Bitcoin and Litecoin can only produce a certain amount of coins. Bitcoin can produce a total of 21 million coins in its network.

Litecoin, however, can produce up to 84 million coins. Before , a few U. The U. Congress banned new plans of this type in , pending further study. After that study was completed, Congress reauthorized such plans, provided they satisfied certain special requirements.

Only a few people paid any attention to Section k until the early s. The old plan design it reauthorized had never been popular and was not likely to become popular. But a few benefit plan experts recognized what everyone else, including Congress, seemed to have missed, that there was no material difference between promising an employee a retirement plan contribution that he or she could choose instead to receive in cash, and the converse, of promising the employee cash, but with the right to choose instead to have the employer make a retirement plan contribution to the employee's account.

The only difference was which one was the default option. These pioneering experts realized that, by flipping the default option from receiving a contribution to receiving cash, employees for the first time could in substance contribute to retirement plans on a pre-tax basis by making k contributions, contributions that technically are employer contributions.

Ethan Lipsig was the first of these k pioneers. In , about three weeks after Section k was enacted, he sent a letter to Hughes Aircraft outlining how it could convert its after-tax savings plan into a pre-tax savings plan — a k plan. It was the very first manifestation of the k plan, as recognized by The Employee Benefit Research Institute's history of the k plan. There are two main types corresponding to the same distinction in an Individual Retirement Account IRA ; variously referred to as traditional vs.

Roth, [10] or tax-deferred vs. Income taxes on pre-tax contributions and investment earnings in the form of interest and dividends are tax deferred. The ability to defer income taxes to a period where one's tax rates may be lower is a potential benefit of the k plan. The ability to defer income taxes has no benefit when the participant is subject to the same tax rates in retirement as when the original contributions were made or interest and dividends earned.

Earnings from investments in a k account in the form of capital gains are not subject to capital gains taxes. This ability to avoid this second level of tax is a primary benefit of the k plan. Relative to investing outside of k plans, more income tax is paid but less taxes are paid overall with the k due to the ability to avoid taxes on capital gains.

For pre-tax contributions, the employee does not pay federal income tax on the amount of current income he or she defers to a k account, but does still pay the total 7. The employee ultimately pays taxes on the money as he or she withdraws the funds, generally during retirement. The character of any gains including tax-favored capital gains is transformed into "ordinary income" at the time the money is withdrawn.

If the employee made after-tax contributions to the k account, these amounts are commingled with the pre-tax funds and simply add to the k basis. When distributions are made the taxable portion of the distribution will be calculated as the ratio of the after-tax contributions to the total k basis. The remainder of the distribution is tax-free and not included in gross income for the year. Beginning in the tax year, employees have been allowed to designate contributions as a Roth k deferral. Similar to the provisions of a Roth IRA , these contributions are made on an after-tax basis.

For accumulated after-tax contributions and earnings in a designated Roth account Roth k , "qualified distributions" can be made tax-free. In the case of designated Roth contributions, the contributions being made on an after-tax basis means that the taxable income in the year of contribution is not decreased as it is with pre-tax contributions. Roth contributions are irrevocable and cannot be converted to pre-tax contributions at a later date.

In contrast to Roth individual retirement accounts IRAs , where Roth contributions may be recharacterized as pre-tax contributions. Administratively, Roth contributions must be made to a separate account, and records must be kept that distinguish the amount of contribution and the corresponding earnings that are to receive Roth treatment.

Unlike the Roth IRA, there is no upper-income limit capping eligibility for Roth k contributions. Individuals who qualify for both can contribute the maximum statutory amounts into either or a combination of the two plans including both catch-up contributions if applicable. Aggregate statutory annual limits set by the IRS will apply. The Internal Revenue Code generally defines a hardship as any of the following.

Some employers may disallow one, several, or all of the previous hardship causes. This does not apply to the similar plan. Many plans also allow participants to take loans from their k. The " interest " on the loan is paid not to the financial institution, but is instead paid into the k plan itself, essentially becoming additional after-tax contributions to the k.

The movement of the principal portion of the loan is tax-neutral as long as it is properly paid back. However, the interest portion of the loan repayments are made with after-tax funds but do not increase the after-tax basis in the k. Employers, of course, have the option to make their plan's loan provisions more restrictive.

When an employee does not make payments in accordance with the plan or IRS regulations, the outstanding loan balance will be declared in "default". A defaulted loan, and possibly accrued interest on the loan balance, becomes a taxable distribution to the employee in the year of default with all the same tax penalties and implications of a withdrawal. A k plan may have a provision in its plan documents to close the account of former employees who have low account balances.

Rollovers between eligible retirement plans are accomplished in one of two ways: by a distribution to the participant and a subsequent rollover to another plan or by a direct rollover from plan to plan. Rollovers after a distribution to the participant must generally be accomplished within 60 days of the distribution.

The same rules and restrictions apply to rollovers from plans to IRAs. A direct rollover from an eligible retirement plan to another eligible retirement plan is not taxable, regardless of the age of the participant. In , the IRS began allowing conversions of existing Traditional k contributions to Roth k.

In order to do so, an employee's company plan must offer both a Traditional and Roth option and explicitly permit such a conversion. There is a maximum limit on the total yearly employee pre-tax or Roth salary deferral into the plan. In eligible plans, employees can elect to contribute on a pre-tax basis or as a Roth k contribution, or a combination of the two, but the total of those two contributions amounts must not exceed the contribution limit in a single calendar year.

This limit does not apply to post-tax non-Roth elections. This violation most commonly occurs when a person switches employers mid-year and the latest employer does not know to enforce the contribution limits on behalf of their employee. If this violation is noticed too late, the employee will not only be required to pay tax on the excess contribution amount the year was earned, the tax will effectively be doubled as the late corrective distribution is required to be reported again as income along with the earnings on such excess in the year the late correction is made.

Plans which are set up under section k can also have employer contributions that cannot exceed other regulatory limits. Employer matching contributions can be made on behalf of designated Roth contributions, but the employer match must be made on a pre-tax basis. Some plans also have a profit-sharing provision where employers make additional contributions to the account and may or may not require matching contributions by the employee. These additional contributions may or may not require a matching employee contribution to earn them.

There is also a maximum k contribution limit that applies to all employee and employer k contributions in a calendar year. Governmental employers in the United States that is, federal, state, county, and city governments are currently barred from offering k retirement plans unless the retirement plan was established before May Governmental organizations may set up a section b retirement plan instead.

For a corporation, or LLC taxed as a corporation, contributions must be made by the end of a calendar year. For a sole proprietorship, partnership, or an LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship, the deadline for depositing contributions is generally the personal tax filing deadline April 15, or September 15 if an extension was filed.

To help ensure that companies extend their k plans to low-paid employees, an IRS rule limits the maximum deferral by the company's highly compensated employees HCEs based on the average deferral by the company's non-highly compensated employees NHCEs. If the less compensated employees save more for retirement, then the HCEs are allowed to save more for retirement.

This provision is enforced via "non-discrimination testing". This is known as the ADP test. When a plan fails the ADP test, it essentially has two options to come into compliance. A return of excess requires the plan to send a taxable distribution to the HCEs or reclassify regular contributions as catch-up contributions subject to the annual catch-up limit for those HCEs over 50 by March 15 of the year following the failed test.

A QNEC must be vested immediately. The annual contribution percentage ACP test is similarly performed but also includes employer matching and employee after-tax contributions. There are a number of " safe harbor " provisions that can allow a company to be exempted from the ADP test.

This includes making a "safe harbor" employer contribution to employees' accounts. There are other administrative requirements within the safe harbor, such as requiring the employer to notify all eligible employees of the opportunity to participate in the plan, and restricting the employer from suspending participants for any reason other than due to a hardship withdrawal.

Perhaps shall 0.00141795 btc value sorry, that

If you're looking for an asset that you can quickly move in and out of without losing value in a short time like Bitcoin can , gold might be a better option. It is a much more liquid asset and can allow you to reallocate your portfolio quicker when the market fluctuates. If Bitcoin's price is higher than the daily limit allowed by your exchange, you'll only be able to do it in smaller increments.

If you don't own many Bitcoins, it might be a much more liquid asset for you. Additionally, if the market swings wildly and many investors begin selling their Bitcoin, its price would drop dramatically in response. Bitcoin has historically proven to be subject to the media effect , investor sentiment, regulatory actions, and hype.

News from the digital currency sphere could prompt investors to panic and make quick decisions, quickly sending Bitcoin's price upward or downward. This volatility is not inherent to gold for the reasons mentioned above, making it perhaps a safer asset. In recent years, several alternative cryptocurrencies have been launched which aim to provide more stability than Bitcoin.

These coins are called " stablecoins " because their prices are pegged to fiat currency or another stable asset. For instance, Tether is linked to the value of the U. Whether Bitcoin is a better investment than gold boils down to your investment goals, whether you enjoy speculating, your risk tolerance, and how much capital you can stand to lose if the market turns. A financial advisor can help you create investing goals and decide whether Bitcoin is a good investment for you.

Gold is one of the more rare metals. Bitcoin is rare compared to other cryptocurrencies, and gold is rare compared to other metals. They are both rare in their respective categories. Bitcoin is similar to gold in that it has become an alternate investment for some investors. It has the potential for many uses and can be a worthwhile investment if used in the right strategy. Which is better depends upon your risk tolerance, investing strategy, how much capital you have to use, and how much you can tolerate losing.

Bitcoin is much more volatile than gold, making it a riskier investment than gold. Since each individual's situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. London time in London Bullion Market, based in U.

Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs. Your Money. Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Part of. Guide to Bitcoin. Part Of. Bitcoin Basics. Bitcoin Mining. How to Store Bitcoin. Bitcoin Exchanges. Bitcoin Advantages and Disadvantages. Bitcoin vs. Other Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin Value and Price. Table of Contents Expand. Table of Contents. Gold vs. Bitcoin: An Overview. Key Differences. Bitcoin FAQs.

Bitcoin: An Overview Analysts and amateur economists love to sound alarms over a looming recession. Key Takeways Gold has been an asset that holds value over long periods and is used to hedge against market downturns. Bitcoin is young and unproven as an investment, but cryptocurrency speculators are using it to store value and hedge against corrections and recessions. Which one is a better investment depends on your risk tolerance, investing goals, strategy, and how much capital you can handle losing.

Is Bitcoin Rarer Than Gold? This is similar to the stock market, real estate, and most other open marketplaces. Bitcoin has a fixed maximum supply of 21 million coins, with nearly 19 million coins created. This concept is comparable to outstanding shares in the stock market. When an open buy order and sell order meet at a common price, the order executes.

That final trade price is the current bitcoin value. You may find that some exchanges list different bitcoin prices. This is because some exchanges operate independently of the open market and serve only their members, so prices may vary slightly from the overall market.

The value is the current price, or what someone is willing to pay for something right now. Valuation is a complicated analysis of an investment. Bitcoin's value is the current market price; its intrinsic or actual value is difficult to pinpoint. These metrics can then be compared to the performance of other stocks to achieve a relative value. Bitcoin can be compared to other cryptocurrencies to achieve a relative value.

However, it's difficult to compare the intrinsic value of stocks or bonds to bitcoin because they are different instruments. Intrinsic absolute or actual value is the term that is often used to refer to the value determined using analysis and valuation. Value is relative to the investor. If bitcoin meets your investing goals , risk tolerance and gives you the returns you want at a price you're willing to pay, that price is its value. This is the market price you see when you look up bitcoin's price.

Bitcoin is a unique asset that is relatively new, so the future is generally considered uncertain. Regulatory agencies in the U. Because cryptocurrency is not yet regulated, it does not have the same legal or privacy protections as accounts and securities based on the U. Outside influences can drive bitcoin prices up also. In addition, early investors who built up a significant bitcoin holding, sometimes known as bitcoin whales, can swing the markets by entering a large transaction.

While you could buy bitcoin and earn a big return, there are also major risks of loss. Bitcoin's value depends on your financial circumstances and investing goals. Bitcoin's price is publicly available at any time through most cryptocurrency exchanges, along with cryptocurrency news and market websites. CoinMarketCap is one of the larger and better-known cryptocurrency valuation and data websites and is a trusted source of bitcoin price data.

If you have an account at an exchange or brokerages like Coinbase, Robinhood, Gemini, Binance, eToro, or FTX, you can view the current price in your trading app or account online. The surge in price reflected the first time a bitcoin-linked ETF became available for trade on a stock exchange. The Balance does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice.

The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors.