Civil Engineers & Cryptocurrencies
Due to the very own nature of the construction industry, Civil Engineers usually fallback in adopting and experimenting new technologies due to ignorance and lack of guidance compared to our colleagues from the Software industry. Blockchains, Cryptocurrency investment and trading are few such technologies at least few of us haven’t put our hands into yet. But, buying a cryptocurrency is much easier than actually we think it is. I wish I had known this back in 2013 or someone had guided me, just to know how it works.
In this article, I would like to briefly discuss the importance of Blockchain technology in Civil Engineering and provide an outline on investing and trading Cryptocurrencies for Civil Engineers.
Significance of Blockchain in Civil Engineering & Cryptocurrency
Construction and infrastructure industry are the lifeline and backbone of a nation’s economy. As civil engineers, it’s our responsibility to adopt and facilitate digital transformation of our industry. This can be done only by accepting and implementing potential technologies and developments which are beneficial to our investors and clients. Blockchain and associated cryptocurrencies are one such domains civil engineers must expand and venture into.
The digital transformation of our industry revolves around the ultimate goals of improving efficiency, sustainability, performance and cost-effectiveness. Blockchain is a technology which has the potential to transform our standard way of doing things as civil engineers and that can facilitate innovation.
Blockchain Technology
To the basic a Blockchain can be defined as a Distributed Ledger Technology in which events or transactions saved as immutable records called blocks. These blocks are appended one after another, chronologically time-stamped, forming a chain of records. Thus, maintaining history of all events. Further, a cryptocurrency is a digital money generated as an incentive for the validation of blockchain in case of public blockchains networks like popular Bitcoin and Ether.
Blockchain technologies can be adopted in Payment and Project Management, Procurement and Supply Chain Management and BIM and Smart Asset Management activities. One example can be implementation of Smart Contracts in blockchain, which helps auto execution of digital contracts once the predefined contract conditions are met.
At a construction site, an example of blockchain could be historical records of labour attendance records that could be automatically processed by payroll using smart contracts considering the predefined contract terms. Further, information on possibilities of blockchain can be explored in the report “Blockchain Technology in The Construction Industry” attached below from ICE website.
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies Trading for Civil Engineers
While cryptocurrencies are only an outcome or juice of a running blockchain technology, it can also be a potential investment opportunity for civil engineers. Civil engineers usually focus on technical and career excellence and are reluctant to venture into new technologies until it becomes an industry standard. Investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies shouldn’t be overlooked by Civil Engineers. However, like any other investment, at least in this new pandemic era, the volatility and risk involved should be acknowledged.
Purchasing Cryptocurrency for Civil Engineers in India
Unlike it used to be around three years before, you can probably purchase any cryptocurrency in less than 5 minutes at your fingertips. Especially in India, the recent Supreme Court verdict in favour gave crypto trading in India an incredible push and credibility.
For Civil Engineers interested in Cryptocurrencies, WazirX is one of the famous cryptocurrency exchanges in India with instant bank deposit and withdrawal features. Civil Engineers can start trading cryptocurrencies for an initial deposit as low as 500 INR. It takes only 3 easy steps to start your crypto portfolio;
Signup > Deposit Money> Purchase Cryptocurrency.
There are over 2000+ cryptocurrency projects in the market into which you can invest in. Verification is usually completed within one business day. The cost of crypto coin varies between 0.1 to 9,00,000 INR. WazirX is backed by global giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance.com. Indian residents can also access Binance.com which gives them access to much more trading pairs and cryptocurrencies at lesser trading fees. Both WaxirX & Binance.com have an excellent mobile application to improve your trading experience.
Swyftx.com.au is another major exchange based in Australia but restricted to residents in Australia.
How much Civil Engineers can earn from Cryptocurrency trading & ROI
While everyone will have a loss or gain trading story to tell in any investment option, realistic expectations and ungreedy attitude can fetch you reasonable returns for your investment. Although, you can earn a fortune from trading, wrong decisions can also put a deep hole in your pocket. Although returns can be as high as 100% in a day, for me, a reasonable return is 15% over two weeks and this will be different person to person. Not to mention, there are investors who have earned 25,000% ROI over a month (see YFI coin).
Don’ts in Cryptocurrency Trading
- It is a good idea to stick to top 150 coins by market ranking to minimize the market risks;
- It’s probably a good decision to limit your investment to 5% of your net worth;
- Always start with minimal investment when you are experimenting;
- Never invest money you can’t afford losing;
- Beware that value of most of the cryptocurrencies are tied to overall trends of the Rank 1 coin, Bitcoin;
- Do not purchase cryptocurrency with credit card or with money that is not yours;
- Invest smart, invest during lows and when market is stable;
- Don’t be greedy, set realistic targets and book the profits once targets are achieved. Remember, profit loss is better than capital loss;
- Use stop sell options to avoid profit and capital loss beyond your risk appetite.
Concluding thoughts: Civil Engineers investing in Cryptocurrencies
While unlike the share market, there is no intrinsic value for a cryptocurrency unless adopted for mainstream applications, crypto trading continues to be a major investment option for engineers and investors. If you can control your expectations and greed, cryptocurrency trading is an investment option worth experimenting.
And never forget “Never invest money you can’t afford losing”.
The following article from ICE could provide you with additional insights on implementation of blockchain in Civil Engineering industry: https://www.ice.org.uk/ICEDevelopmentWebPortal/media/Documents/News/Blog/Blockchain-technology-in-Construction-2018-12-17.pdf
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other sort of advice and you should not treat any of the website’s content as such. CivilDigital does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.