I convinced my aunt to invest her life savings in Shiba Inu

A REDDIT user has claimed he convinced his aunt to invest $200,000 (£150,000) in Shiba Inu crypto – only for her lose tens of thousands of dollars in 24 hours.

The anonymous poster says his auntie, 47, was inspired by him bragging about the fortune he was making before dumping her savings into the meme cash.

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Shiba Inu is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies – with the skyrocketing in value since its inception in 2020.

But cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and can be incredibly risky to invest in.

Unlike other types of investment, crypto is not regulated so you don’t have protection if things goes wrong.

Another major concern for any considering crypto is there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to convert your assets back to cash when you need to.

Fees and charges for buying and selling can also be much higher than with other investments.

This Reddit poster on the popular SHIBArmy forum shared his cautionary tale as his overzealous aunt was stung by the highly volatile value of crypto.

He claims his “gains” after only putting in $85 on the coin inspired his mum’s sister, as he had been boasting when the coin was hitting highs of $0.00008.

However, as is often the way with notoriously fickle crypto currencies, the coin quickly saw its value crash to $0.00006.

The 25 per cent dip would slash the value of her investment by around $50,000 (£36,000) – and salvaging the money is difficult as the funds are now locked into Shiba.

And while the coin has now recovered to around $0.00007, the sudden turn around on the coin has not impressed the Reddit user’s aunt.

The user claimed his aunt dumped in all her savings and was left refusing to talk to him as she saw its value sliced down “like a baby tree”.

“She heard me and my brother talking about gains.. then wired 200k to any account and invested it,” he wrote.

“Stupid is as stupid does sir… That’s why she lives with my mom. Shes kinda slow when it comes to investing.”

However, he doubled down that he believes the the investment was a good idea and soon she will be “dumb rich”.

And he revealed the two are now on speaking terms again as Shiba Inu begun to recover, with him telling her to “hold” until the end of the month.

Other Reddit users were less impressed by his move, warning him you should never give financial advice to family .

And they were especially shocked when the user claimed he had only been investing for three months yet was already dishing out guidance.

You should still never invest more than you can afford to lose

SHIBArmy user

He also claimed that it was his aunt’s first time investing and she had a habit of playing scratch cards.

“You should still never invest more than you can afford to lose. Had you told her that, she’d have no reason to be mad at you,” one user said.

“That is exactly what I say to people.

“Don’t invest more than you’re willing to lose, and do your own research so you can’t get mad at me if it doesn’t work out.”

Another user added: “She should of maybe dumped 20k in vs 200k. Sounds like she is a bit greedy.”

Others wrote “that’s not investing, that’s gambling” and “she needs to understand how volatile the crypto market is”.

And further users mused “maybe the worst financial move I’ve ever heard of” and “I feel you. That’s why I never tell anyone to invest. Nobody”.

What are the risks of investing in crypto?

Investing in any cryptocurrency is risky – here we round up what you need to know.

• Consumer protection: Some investments advertising high returns based on cryptoassets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering requirements. 
• Price volatility: Significant price volatility in cryptoassets, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places consumers at a high risk of losses.
• Product complexity: The complexity of some products and services relating to cryptoassets can make it hard for consumers to understand the risks. There is no guarantee that cryptoassets can be converted back into cash. Converting a cryptoasset back to cash depends on demand and supply existing in the market. 
• Charges and fees: Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment which may be more than those for regulated investment products.  
• Marketing materials: Firms may overstate the returns of products or understate the risks involved.

The crypto has gained popularity in recent months, especially since it was listed on leading currency site Coinbase in June.

And Shiba has now surpassed the popular Dogecoin after its massive growth.

The coin is now ranked ninth, while Dogecoin is ranked eleventh.

Although the Shiba tokens feature the same dog of Dogecoin, sometimes Shiba is referred to as the “Dogecoin killer”.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, previously told The Sun: “The Shiba Inu coin appears to have been created just to give Dogecoin a run for its money.

“It features the same dog which became a meme, and aims to replicate Dogecoin’s success of turning a joke into a money making machine.”

A meme coin is typically based on a social media or internet-based joke.

But Adam Garcia, founder of investment information website The Stock Dork, said investors won’t abandon Shiba anytime soon.

Crypto website Wallet Investor expects the coin to be valued at just $0.000053 in a year – down from its current trading levels.

Coin Price Forecast, on the other hand, predicts Shiba will be valued at $0.00015031 by the end of 2021 and $0.00018090 by the middle of next year.

However, Shiba launched trading just this year, and newer cryptocurrencies are riskier than those that have been around for longer, such as Bitcoin.

It’s difficult to predict how Shiba’s price will change in the future due to a wide number of factors affecting it.

This includes regulatory crackdowns around the world, and comments by high-profile individuals such as Musk, and other developments.

The value of an investment typically falls if many investors sell off their assets around the same time.

Cryptocurrency markets fell in recent months after a series of worldwide crackdowns on the currencies.

But there has been some positive news coming out of the US, with country vowing not to ban it, unlike China.

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