He and another friend lost a total of 35 Ethereums, which were worth about S$1,100 each at the time. The loss of about S$38,500 was roughly a fifth of their net worth.
Andy knew he had no legal recourse because crypto was not regulated and “nothing was written down on paper”.
After the experience, he decided that he would invest only in “very liquid” cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Investors should do their due diligence, he said. Where possible, they should check whether financial entities are licensed or on any investor alert lists.
“The entire blockchain and cryptocurrency space is highly volatile. And the technology behind it is very difficult to understand, so unless you’re highly passionate about this whole landscape, don’t see it as a get-rich-quick scheme,” he added.
“The second thing is, when people approach you (about) investment opportunities and (if) it sounds too good to be true, most of the time it is.”
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