Recently there has been a new cryptocurrency craze in the United States and all across the world. This currency has been making the news on a daily basis due to its volatility. It is one of the most complex ideas ever presented to modern day technology.

With this said, we can now dive into what it really is. Cryptocurrency is a virtual peer-to-peer medium for exchange; in other words, digital money. The buying options of cryptocurrency were limited at its creation, but now there are ample opportunities to spend the currency. There are many large online and retail companies and businesses that will accept it, like Overstock or Newegg, but it is also accepted at some small businesses. Although it is conventional to buy certain products with cryptocurrency, others are not accepted by society. For example, the idea that one can purchase a house or even pay for college with cryptocurrency is not widely supported.

So how did this radical currency idea become such a rich market? Although there are some practical uses of cryptocurrency, it is important to know who many of its participants are: criminals. Because the currency is not monetized by the government and all of its transactions are irreversible, it attracts many people that aim to stay off the grid or make sketchy deals. Another major draw to customers is lack of tax on cryptocurrency. Of course, there are taxes on short and long-term capital gains, the same way there would be for any other investment, but the real attraction is that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not treat cryptocurrency as a “real” currency; therefore, it is not subject to federal tax rates in any way.

With all this said, cryptocurrency still remains the most divisive topic in finance right now. Personally, I would get in the cryptocurrency craze as soon as possible, but into a smaller less-known than Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ethereum. The reason for this is that these are becoming more and more extrinsically overvalued, and once the price dives down, the smaller competition will rise. My personal pick for a cryptocurrency would be Monero. For me this is the Goldilocks of cryptocurrencies and its volatility is much less than that of Bitcoin. Regardless, with any new craze, dives and spikes are inevitable, so I would stick to a modest amount of money — especially if this is your first time investing in a cryptocurrency.