Cryptocurrency at Northwestern Mutual
You cannot invest in Dogecoin, Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) or
any other cryptocurrencies on Northwestern Mutual at this time.
As an alternative, you can use a
$0 commission broker called Robinhood
that does offer cryptocurrencies investing.
Robinhood Promotion
Open Robinhood Account
Cryptocurrencies on Robinhood
At Robinhood, most popular cryptocurrencies are now available for trading and investing are:
- Aave (AAVE)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Compound (COMP)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Steller Lumens (XLM)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Uniswap (UNI)
- USDC (USDC)
Zero-Commission Goodness
Best of all, these cryptos will trade without brokerage fees or commissions -- just as Robinhood
handles all its trades.
Conversely, many crypto-brokerages which trade only in cryptocurrencies, such as Coinbase, do take percentages in fees and commissions. With the current activity (and volatility) in the crypto-market, trade commissions can be a really big drain on one’s profits. Zero-commissions will give Robinhood a very powerful advantage over these crypto-brokerages, especially for active traders.
Open Robinhood Account
Free stock up to $200 and 1% IRA match when you open an account.
Open Robinhood Account
Research and Charting
So, it is to Robinhood’s credit that they have started their foray into crypto by offering only
the top "coins” (cryptocurrencies). Ethereum (ETH) currently holds the record of 2nd highest
market-cap. Litecoin (LTC) is somewhere around 3rd or 4th.
While these are considered the safest investments in the cryptocurrency world, it is still a high-risk investment. Cryptos are new. They are open to government regulations, and they are not FDIC insured. It is an open frontier of finance like the world has never really seen, and no one knows how it will go for sure.
Robinhood offers all research that is available on the various cryptocurrencies. They offer the newest press releases, 52-week highs/lows, and the previous “close” based on a 24-hour cycle (coins never really close).
There aren’t typical stock screeners for cryptos on Robinhood, but you can use other functions such as setting price alerts, chart drawing, or overlaying charts from different coins.
High-Risk, High-Reward
Robinhood is protecting its customers by asking them to opt-in to trading crypto, and by being selective about what cryptocurrencies are offered. Keep in mind that this opt-in process is partly due to the fact that crypto is exchanged on its own marketplace, and so Robinhood had to partner with another company, Apex Crypto, to be able to offer these cryptos on the Robinhood platforms. Apex Crypto is not a member of FINRA, and these products are not FDIC insured. You have zero guarantees on these investments.
There are a lot more cryptocurrencies out there, which can be found on various
crypto-brokerages, but keep in mind that there have been cases of fraudulence in the past
concerning these smaller crypto companies. And a lot of small-cap competition over the same market, without much actual product to differentiate them from each other, makes for a casino-like atmosphere of volatility when actively trading among these smaller companies. Invest appropriately.
It can be hard to “do your research” on these smaller cryptocurrencies, when there simply is not much to them. Another digital coin in a generic pool of dozens is a turn-off to a lot of investors. So, Robinhood is being prudent in limiting its selection.
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