Like 90s internet stocks

Many of the greatest tech stocks of our time trace their beginnings to the dot-com era.

I’m talking about giants like Nvidia (NVDA), Google (GOOG), and Amazon (AMZN). If you had the foresight to invest in these new types of companies—and the fortitude to hold them through the downside of the dot-com bubble (not easy!)—you made life-changing money.

• Today, crypto and the 90s internet stocks have a lot in common.

Crypto’s come a long way in the last couple years.

There are now 562 million crypto holders worldwide—that’s grown 33% since 2023.

But there’s still a long way to go.

Today, the crypto user experience sucks. There’s no way a billion people will use crypto in its current form.

And that’s our opportunity…

Remember the internet in the 90s?

I can still hear the screeching sound of my old dial-up struggling to connect to the internet.

Slow websites. Frozen pages. Dropped connections. The early days of the internet were rough.

Crypto is a lot like those early days of the internet. Not user friendly. Messy. Takes effort to navigate. The frustrating user experience means we’re still very early to crypto.

But just like the internet, crypto will become much easier to use. This will attract hundreds of millions of new users, fueling years of rapid growth for crypto businesses.

See, it’s important to understand what makes crypto unique... and how it’s offering everyday investors new opportunities.

• Blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin (BTC) and all other cryptos. 

At its core, blockchain is a database that’s used to record and verify transactions and asset ownership. But digital money is only one use of this incredible new technology.

Blockchain represents a whole new way to launch and operate a business. And it’s created an entirely new asset class: crypto businesses.

Many of the world’s most innovative companies are being built on the blockchain. Take Uniswap (UNI), for example. Think of Uniswap like the new Nasdaq. It’s a “stock market” for cryptos, built on the blockchain.

How is Uniswap different from a normal stock market? It’s not run by flashy stockbrokers with gold Rolexes. It’s controlled by smart contracts.

Smart contracts are self-executing agreements that live on a blockchain. Think of them as “money robots.” Clever computer code that can hold, send, and receive money and assets… moving them from one place to another.

Every Uniswap trade is processed by code without any human involvement. It completely cuts the middlemen out of the transaction. This is only possible because Uniswap runs on the blockchain.

Uniswap isn’t some rinky-dink operation, either. It’s a multibillion-dollar business. And it’s only one of the game-changing companies being built on the blockchain today.

• Ever hear of Helium (HNT)?

Building a wireless network is expensive. AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) spend billions of dollars on big, expensive cell towers each year. They hire armies of employees to maintain the equipment. And they spend countless hours obtaining city permits so they can strap hotspots to street poles. 

Helium invented a whole new way to launch a wireless network. Instead of building out a network itself, Helium uses blockchain to incentivize users to do it. 

Here’s how it works…

Helium sells hotspot routers that reach about 200X farther than a standard WiFi box. You can buy one, install it on your roof, and start broadcasting internet.

Right now, there are close to a million Helium hotspots running around the world in 170 countries.

Hotspot owners “sell” internet to nearby folks through the Helium router. In doing so, they’re rewarded with Helium blockchain “tokens,” which they can exchange for real US dollars. And some users can earn hundreds of dollars a month by doing this.

Helium used blockchain technology to bootstrap a global wireless network without laying a single cable or building towers. That’s genius, and it’s made it the fastest-growing wireless network in history. It’s also transformed Helium into a multimillion-dollar business.

• See how Uniswap and Helium aren’t “digital money” or “cryptocurrency? They’re real businesses, making real money.

I’m interested in buying the world’s best disruptive businesses. It just so happens that some of the highest-quality businesses in the world aren’t listed on the stock market… they’re being built on the blockchain.

In my opinion, this makes blockchain the most important invention since the internet.

Consider this…

Thanks to the internet, Amazon built the world’s largest bookstore without having any physical book store locations…

A couple years later, Uber (UBER) came along. It was the world’s largest taxi network without owning any taxis…

Then came Airbnb (ABNB). You get the idea.

At its core, blockchain is really a new technology that allows you to start a new type of company. Many of the fastest-growing businesses in the future will be crypto businesses.

And by investing early, you have the chance to get in on the ground floor of the next Amazon or Google—just like the early days of the internet.​

Stephen McBride
Chief Analyst, RiskHedge

PS: If you’re excited about the opportunities crypto and blockchain present, you’ll love The Jolt. Every week, we dig into the world’s biggest investing ideas and deliver insights straight to your inbox—keeping readers ahead of the curve. Join us today and stay ahead of the next big trend.