We bought virtual currencies. We lost money on bitcoin

Without knowing our way around, we set out on a foray into the world of cryptocurrencies. We bought small amounts of bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the most popular virtual currencies of the moment, to get a better grasp of the concepts behind these highly volatile assets, which are nonetheless causing a stir in the financial markets. And for a few weeks we held a tiny fraction of this universe (literally): 0.00158622 bitcoin and 0.04075949 Ethereum.

Before we go on, it is worth dispelling a myth: we did not need a well-stuffed account to become cryptocurrency holders, even though the day’s news always points to the exorbitant values some of these currencies have been reaching. In our case, we put in 50 euros. The real investment, however, was 48 euros, since we paid two euros in fees for the two transactions on one of the best-known platforms. We will come to that.