These are the cryptocurrencies I HODL and continue to watch and why

Dear Steemit Freinds,

Most, if not all of us who use Steemit have a number of cryptocurrencies we continue to accumulate in the hopes that one day, the value will either skyrocket or become the next form of currency or technology that changes the world as we know it. I myself have been dabbling with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology for the past 4-5 years and although I consider myself still fairly new to the game, I have come to find a few currencies that I trust and support. Of the many currencies, there are available and that are becoming available, I continue to hold only a few.

When I first started, I was like most people jumping on every new coin announcement and in some cases throwing some of my existing mining power towards it. I have been burned on several occasions with pump-n-dump coins and scam coins, but in the last couple of years, have found a few that I can rely on that I will always hold.

Below is a list of cryptocurrencies I hold and why I continue to HODL them:

BITCOIN - Needless to say, I'm sure most, if not all people who read this hold some Bitcoin. It is the currency that started it all. No matter how many issues it has with transaction times and fees, no one can take away the fact that it is the coin that started it all and is the most well known digital currency there is. It is the face of all cryptocurrencies. It is the Gold of the digital currency world which all other currencies prices are based off. Everyone may complain and carry a love-hate relationship with the currency, but that doesn't change the fact - without Bitcoin, we wouldn't be where we are today and continue to thrive as we do today. It remains one of the more profitable coins to mine and the technology to mine it continuously evolves. I myself continue to grow my mining operation as my earnings allow. I use Bitcoin primarily as a store-of-value.

LITECOIN - WIth Bitcoin being Gold, Litecoin is Silver. It is almost as old as Bitcoin and has also seen its way through a lot of controversy. It doesn't have as much of a rocky past as Bitcoin, but it too has seen it's ups-and-downs. For a long time Litecoin remained stagnant as the Bitcoin price fluctuated, but with it's faster transaction times it remains a contender that has shown great resilience. The re-surge in cryptocurrency popularity and the ability to mine with ASICs has brought this coin back from the dead and it continues to have a bright future. This is my go-to coin for money transfers and transactions between people and exchanges.

ETHEREUM - At one time, considered as the future of digital currency and a possible candidate to dethrone Bitcoin. I have been mining and Hodling ETH since it was first announced. the technology of which it is built on is supported by a large group of Big Name companies and it is constantly evolving. It had fast transaction times and an aggressive timeline which screamed potential. The currency has had a few hurdles but managed to survive and continue to thrive. Transaction times are now an issue due to new technologies utilizing the network, however, it continues to be one of my popular choices to hold and mine due to its profitability.

DASH - I have been mining and holding Dash since it was initially launched as Darkcoin. Dash has always had a very strong community to support it. It was one of the first technologies to ensure it's users were truly private and anonymous. Unlike ETH which is considered more of a development platform, Dash identifies itself as a peer-to-peer decentralized form of electronic cash. It is built on Bitcoin's core code with additional privacy features and a faster and cheaper transaction time. Dash is the face of the x11 algorithm and gave us an alternative to the mining difficulty of Bitcoin. For a long time, Dash did not really move, however, recently it has jumped dramatically in price. I started mining Dash using clusters of PCs, however recently an ASIC miner was released - I was one of a few people who purchased a Dash Asic directly from Bitmain when it was released, however, profitability quickly took a dump and until recently due to the price increase, it again became a little more profitable. It has a good history and a reliable and supportive community which is why I decided to continue to hold and mine Dash.

Steem and SBD - Last but not least and as to be expected, I also hold SBD and Steem. I only happened to find out about Steemit when looking up prices and news about Bitcoin. I actually created an account early on when Steemit first launched, but ended up forgetting about it until 3 months later when I started to see more news articles about it. I was never really a big blogger or writer and only occasionally used social media to keep track of friends. One day I re-logged on and noticed the first few big names such as @heiditravels, @kevinwong, and a number of other successful Steemers posting huge earnings from several of their posts and thought I would give it a try. Because I was never a really good writer or content creator and always had something distracting me, I didn't really post frequently. I then joined a few organizations such as PAL and Whaleshares and then that is when my post earnings took a turn for the better. I'm still not a good writer, but I continue to try and post quality and meaningful content while trying to help communities grow and that has led to a more successful return. It is because of all my followers, my community members, friends and of course you who are reading my posts that I and anyone else is successful. The community has changed a lot, it has grown, it has matured, and there is still a TON of potential for Steemit - so without any hesitation, I continue to HODL, support, and buy SBD and Steem. The price will continue to appreciate and everyone who uses the platform will succeed. Steemit has one of the strongest and most supportive communities I have ever seen.

I was always taught to focus on a few things at a time in order to not get pulled to thin. Sure, there are other currencies and ICOs I dabble in, but the five I mentioned above are my primary, my fallback, and my top supported currencies that I trust will be around for many more years to come. They have proven that they can weather any storm and continue to grow and succeed.

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EOS, Ripple, Monero, ZCash, and BTS are some other good coins to keep track of, but for me, the 5 digital currencies and technologies listed above are my primary five. I'm not saying this can't change in the future, but for now, they are my top picks to stay with and always HODL.

Some of you may not feel the same way as me, and some may think differently, but to-date I haven't spread myself to thin and have done pretty well in hodling the coins I do hold onto. You may have your own top picks and I would love to hear what they are. Maybe I'll give them a shot. Let me know in the comments below what you think? Do you agree?

In the end, the only advice I can give you is - if you believe in digital currency, go with your gut and....

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If you have any questions, inputs, or feedback, please feel free to let me know. I would also appreciate your Upvote, Follow, and Resteem if you feel this post was interesting. I'm excited to see what other currencies and technologies you can recommend.