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Top 11 greatest investors of all time

Discover the top 11 greatest investors of all time who have achieved unparalleled success in the financial world.

Learning from the greatest investors of all time can provide valuable insights into successful investment strategies and philosophies. Their success stories and experiences can inspire and guide new investors. Studying their methods can help individuals develop their own investment approach and improve their chances of achieving success in the financial world.

Here are the top 11 investors of all time. Learn about the investment strategies and philosophies that have made these individuals some of the most successful investors in history.

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” has a net worth of over $108 billion, and is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century, with a long-term, value investing approach. Being a value investor means that he looks for companies that are undervalued by the market.

Buffett believes in keeping onto his investments for a long time since he is a long-term investor. He has famously said, “Our favorite holding period is forever.” He looks for companies with a “moat, which is a sustainable competitive advantage that makes it difficult for other companies to compete.

George Soros

Founder of Soros Fund Management, known for his aggressive currency speculation and “breaking the Bank of England” trade in 1992, Soros has a net worth of $8.6 billion and is known for his philanthropic work and political activism.

Reflexivity, which is the notion that market conditions are influenced by both subjective perceptions and interpretations of that reality as well as by actual fact, is one of Soros’ key investment principles. This means that biases and cognitive limitations among market players may skew how they perceive the market, creating feedback loops that may intensify current market trends. According to Soros, investors can better predict and profit from market swings by understanding the reflexive nature of markets. 

Additionally, he promotes the concept of “margin of safety,” which holds that investors should only buy assets that are substantially undervalued in comparison to their real value. This reduces the possibility of substantial losses for investors, especially in the face of unforeseen circumstances or market unrest.

Peter Lynch

Former manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund, Lynch is widely regarded as one of the most successful mutual fund managers of all time, with an annualized return of 29.2% from 1977 to 1990.

One of Peter Lynch’s key investment principles is to “invest in what you know.” Lynch believes that because individuals can spot investment possibilities in their daily lives, individual investors have an advantage over institutional ones. Individual investors might spot prospective investment possibilities that others might pass up by keeping an eye on the businesses and products they use and are familiar with.

Benjamin Graham

Known as the “father of value investing,” Graham authored the seminal investment book, The Intelligent Investor, and mentored Warren Buffett.

Value investing, which entails purchasing stocks that are currently trading at a discount to their intrinsic value, is the cornerstone of Graham’s investment philosophy. Graham thought that rather than paying attention to short-term market fluctuations, investors should concentrate on a company’s fundamentals, such as its management, financials and competitive position.

John Paulson

John Paulson, founder of Paulson & Co., is known for his $15-billion bet against the U.S. housing market in 2007, which netted him $4 billion and went down as one of the largest trades in financial history.

Paulson is a hedge fund manager known for his investment philosophy of making concentrated bets on macroeconomic trends. He believes in using in-depth research to identify mispricings in the market and using derivatives to amplify returns. He also focuses on investing in undervalued companies with strong fundamentals.

Related: Crypto derivatives 101: A beginner’s guide on crypto futures, crypto options and perpetual contracts

Ray Dalio

The founder of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio is the head of one of the world’s largest hedge funds and is known for his “Principles” approach to management, which has been adopted by many successful investors and businesses.

Dalio is a hedge fund manager known for his investment philosophy of “radical transparency” and “principles-based” decision-making. He supports fostering an environment in which everyone is encouraged to express their ideas and opinions in an open and honest manner. To make better decisions in the future, Dalio also thinks that a set of guiding principles should be established. His investment strategy is centered on macroeconomic trend identification, risk management and diversification.

Carl Icahn

Founder of Icahn Enterprises and known for his activist investing approach, Carl Icahn has made significant investments in companies such as TWA, Texaco and Blockbuster and has a net worth of over $16 billion.

Icahn’s investment philosophy involves taking large stakes in undervalued companies and using his influence as a shareholder to push for changes that will unlock value for investors. He is known for his aggressive style and willingness to engage in proxy battles to push for changes in company management and strategy.

Jesse Livermore

Considered a pioneer in technical analysis, Jesse Livermore is known for his successful bets on the 1929 stock market crash and the 1907 Panic.

Livermore’s approach to investing included placing bets based on market movements, utilizing technical analysis to spot market trends, and adhering to tight risk management guidelines. He had a reputation for being able to predict market changes and place successful transactions based on his analyses.

David Einhorn

Founder of Greenlight Capital and known for his short-selling approach and successful bets against Lehman Brothers and Allied Capital, David Einhorn has a net worth of over $1 billion.

Einhorn’s investment style involves finding mispricings in the market through in-depth research and using a value-oriented approach to investing. He is known for his ability to identify companies with undervalued assets or growth potential and take a long-term perspective on his investments.

Jim Simons

Founder of Renaissance Technologies and known for his use of quantitative trading strategies, Jim Simons has a net worth of over $25 billion and is a prominent philanthropist. Simons’ investment strategy involves using mathematical models and quantitative analysis to identify patterns and generate trading signals.

Philip Fisher

Known for his “scuttlebutt” approach to investing, Fisher authored the influential investment book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and mentored many successful investors, including Warren Buffett.

He believed that the ideal way to find businesses with long-term growth possibilities is to perform an in-depth study of their management, industry position and competitive advantages. Fisher also underlined the value of making investments in businesses that have a strong focus on innovation and research and development.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record a Staggering $8B in Daily Volume—Market Gripped by ETF Frenzy

How to evaluate any crypto project using fundamental analysis

Different from traditional markets, the crypto market has its own set of key questions to consider when analyzing a project and its assets.

Fundamental analysis is the process of finding the intrinsic value of an asset, with the goal to determine whether the asset is overvalued or undervalued. That information can then be leveraged along with technical analysis to decide whether to invest in or trade an asset.

In cryptocurrency fundamental analysis, the approach is somewhat different than that typically used to evaluate legacy market assets. Crypto assets don’t have the historical data required, because there’s usually no history of earnings reports or profit and loss statements.

For cryptocurrency analysis, all the available information on the asset needs to be sought out through research that includes investigating its use cases, its network, the team behind the project, vesting schedules, the list goes on. By looking at the right set of factors, traders can determine the fundamental value of an underlying project before investing.

Here are the 10 steps found to be most useful:

1. Read the white paper

Especially for long-term, buy-and-hold investing, it is critical to read a token’s white paper. This is the document that gives an intentional and detailed overview of a project. A good white paper explains:

  • The project’s goals
  • The use cases and distribution
  • The team’s vision
  • The technology behind the token
  • Plans for upgrades and new features
  • How the token provides value to users

2. Assess the claims of the white paper

Be skeptical because the people behind projects can bend, or even break, the truth.

This happens more often than most realize. For example, Michael Alan Stollery, the CEO and founder of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services, raised $21 million in an initial coin offering (ICO).

He later admitted to falsifying parts of the project’s white paper.

It’s important to ask some hard questions and get complete answers before putting one’s money into a project.

Some questions to consider:

  • Are the tokens really distributed the way they promise?
  • Are they meeting the road map expectations?
  • Are they inventing a problem just to solve it?
  • What are other people saying about it?
  • Are there any red flags?
  • Do the goals seem realistic?

3. Look at competitors

According to some industry sources, nearly 40% of cryptocurrencies that were listed in 2021 no longer exist.

That serves as an important truth investors need to take into account; a lot of projects — close to half and it could be even more — fail, and fail miserably.

Graph of deactivated cryptocurrencies on CoinGecko, by year listed. Source: CoinGecko

Scrutinizing a project’s white paper reveals the use case the crypto asset is targeting and the problem it is trying to solve. One should then consider whether or not that use case is, in fact, viable and wanted.

Furthermore, it’s important to identify competing projects and examine existing projects this new one might replace, if successful. Bottom line: Smart investors are looking to see if this project is better than others or not.

4. Look at the team behind the project

A project is only as good as the team behind it.

The people offering the project must have precisely the right skills to make their project work. The white paper should have information about each member of the team, but doing some independent research can be helpful too.

Some questions to consider about the people behind any project:

  • Have they worked on other reputable, successful projects in the past?
  • What are their credentials? Are they experienced?
  • Are they reputable members of the crypto community and blockchain ecosystem?
  • Have they been involved in any questionable projects or scams?

What if there is no team? Then look to the developer community.

Find out if the project has a public GitHub. Check to see the number of contributors and activity levels. The more consistent development activity on a project the better.

5. Look at on-chain metrics

On-chain metrics are available by looking at data on the blockchain.

Exchange inflow and outflow metrics. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

The data can be pulled from websites or APIs — such as on-chain analysis, data charts and project reports — specifically designed to inform investment decisions.

Some of the data worth considering:

  • Transaction count — a measure of activity taking place on a network. The more activity, the better.
  • Transaction value — how much value has been transacted within a period of time. The higher this number is, the better.
  • Active addresses — how many blockchain addresses are active at any point in time. Again, the more active addresses, the better.
  • Fees paid — how the demand for block space is growing or shrinking for a token based on fees.
  • Hash rate — a measure of the network health in proof-of-work cryptocurrencies. The higher the hash rate, the more difficult it is to successfully mount a 51% attack.
  • Staking — the amount staked at a given time shows the interest level, or lack of it, in the project.

6. Look at the tokenomics

Invest in projects that create useful tokens, otherwise, the token may not have utility in the marketplace.

In addition, if the token is useful, it still needs to be determined how the market will embrace it, thereby making sense of the token’s price movements and allowing investors profit opportunities on an ongoing basis.

Some questions to consider:

  • Is the token useful?
  • How do people get the token?
  • What is the inflation or deflation rate?
  • Was it an ICO asset?

7. Market cap, trading volume, liquidity

Some of the most important analysis is about the financial metrics of the token associated with a project, including:

  • Market capitalization — the network’s value represented by the hypothetical cost to buy every unit of the asset. The “market cap” gives insight into the growth potential of the network, and it is calculated by multiplying the circulating supply by the current price.
  • Trading volume — the amount of value that was traded in a certain amount of time (daily, weekly, monthly). It points to whether a token has enough liquidity.
  • Liquidity — an indicator that measures how easily a token can be bought and sold. The more liquid a token is, the easier it is to sell it at its current trading price.

8. Community

When a community is behind a project, it tends to help the project’s token appreciate in value.

Social media, for instance, can have a significant impact on a crypto asset’s price action. Meme coins such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu skyrocketed in price, in part, due to social media excitement.

Just recently, Solana’s BONK token got a huge price boost as social media activity pushed interest levels in the asset to new highs.

NewsQuakes™ for BONK as social media excitement ramped up. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

A community that is backing a coin is a powerful catalyst, so here are a few questions to consider:

  • Is the community active and excited?
  • Are there a lot of shilling accounts?
  • Is sentiment good?
  • Are there plenty of developers?

Remember, a token’s price goes up only if there is interest and market action. The more people talk about and invest in a token, the more likely its price will appreciate.

9. Marketing

Currently, there are about 21,910 cryptocurrencies investors can choose from — that’s a lot of competition!

The team behind a project needs to actively market its token in order to differentiate itself from the crowd, and industry insiders are saying that it is now harder than ever to stand out.

In addition, with the continual advent of new tokens on the market, established cryptos are struggling to retain market share.

So, the team behind the project must actively build brand awareness, get customers and retain customers to improve sales and profits.

Some questions to consider before investing in a project:

  • Is the core team marketing the product well?
  • Do they have a dedicated marketing team?
  • Are they increasing market share or not?

10. If the core product is available, test it out

This one might be a little tough for someone who is just looking to invest in the underlying token of a project. However, let’s say one is considering an investment in Ethereum (ETH).

Since Ethereum is a decentralized global software platform, a functional, secured digital network technology would demonstrate for certain how the platform actually works.

Knowing this could definitely help inform a potential investing decision.

After all, if the platform is hard to use, time-consuming or otherwise creates more problems than it solves, it may be wise to steer clear of investing in such a platform until these issues are addressed.

So there it is — 10 steps for sound fundamental analysis to help evaluate the profit potential of any asset before any investing or trading.

See how Cointelegraph Markets Pro delivers market-moving data before this information becomes public knowledge.

Cointelegraph is a publisher of financial information, not an investment adviser. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile investments and carry significant risk including the risk of permanent and total loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures and charts are correct at the time of writing or as otherwise specified. Live-tested strategies are not recommendations. Consult your financial adviser before making financial decisions.

All ROIs quoted are accurate as of February 16th, 2023…

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record a Staggering $8B in Daily Volume—Market Gripped by ETF Frenzy

Bitcoin investors ‘buy the dip’ as BTC nears $40K, gaining 16% in less than 24 hours

While the number of Bitcoin addresses holding small quantities of BTC continues to increase.

Buyers returned to the Bitcoin (BTC) market, locating interim upside opportunities as the price rebounded to nearly $40,000 on Feb. 25, gaining 16% in less than 24 hours. 

Investors bulk up Bitcoin holdings

The number of Bitcoin addresses with a balance greater than 0.01 BTC (~$400) reached a record high of 9.51 million, the latest data from CoinMetrics shows. Meanwhile, the number of addresses that hold at least 0.1 BTC (~$3,850) also reached 3.34 million for the first time in history.

Bitcoin addresses with balance greater than 0.1 BTC. Source: CoinMetrics, Messari

On the whole, Bitcoin's network added a little over 24,500 addresses with a non-zero balance on Thursday, coinciding with BTC's choppy price moves — from around $37,200 to below $34,500, followed by a recovery toward $40,000.

Bitcoin on-chain accumulation trends. Source: Ecoinometrics

Data resource Ecoinometrics divided the addresses into two groups: one that holds less than 1 BTC, and the other that holds anywhere between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC, noting that both groups have been "buying the Bitcoin dip," saying.

"Probably a smart move if you have a long term investment horizon." 
BTC/USD hourly price chart. Source: TradingView

As Ukraine crisis unfolds...

The prospects of higher inflation may also be rising with the Ukraine-Russia conflict leading to higher commodity prices globally despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's preparing to tighten policy next month.

But Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, stated that the central bank officials would not pursue its aggressive rate-hiking plans amid the worsening geopolitical outlook.

"This takes the 50 basis point [rate increase] completely off the table," he told CNBC, adding:

"It takes the 8-9 hikes people were talking about for this year off the table. I don't think the U.S. economy could accommodate such slamming of the brakes of monetary policy. It means the Fed is going to have to be even more careful and tolerate inflation."

Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, commented on El-Erian's Fed outlook, adding that the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict could create inflation and "make Bitcoin compelling." 

Saylor's firm holds over 125,000 BTC worth circa $4.84 billion in its treasury, as per Bitcoin Treasuries.

Bitcoin below $30K next?

Despite Saylor's upside outlook, which appeared after Bitcoin's intraday rebound towards $40,000, the market's Fear and Greed Index score came out to be 27, showing uneasiness among investors/traders for the near term.

Bitcoin fear and greed index. Source: Alternative.me

Nick, an analyst at Ecoinometrics, also noted that Bitcoin's price could undergo a price correction below $30,000 despite having a strong upside outlook in the long term.

The reason cited is the imbalance between bearish and bullish positions on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME) Bitcoin options market, skewed more towards the former.

Related: Ukraine Bitcoin exchange volume spikes 200% as Russia war sparks currency concerns

"The puts to calls ratio on the CME Bitcoin options market remains at three puts for every call," he wrote in a report published Feb. 23, adding that "50% of the puts are on strikes" are now below $30,000.

"So that gives you an idea on what the market expects in the short term."

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record a Staggering $8B in Daily Volume—Market Gripped by ETF Frenzy

Fidelity analyst: Bitcoin price up-down debate ‘mostly noise,’ watch network’s Apple-esque growth

The number of users on the Bitcoin network keeps growing higher, drawing comparisons to tech giant Apple’s growth to date.

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its decline further into the week as BTC clung to the $40,000 support level on Feb. 18.

BTC price up-down debate “mostly noise” 

While many analysts anticipated BTC’s price to fall toward $30,000 next, mostly based on technicals, Jurrien Timmer of Fidelity Investments lambasted the downside bias, calling it “mostly noise.”

Bitcoin vs. Apple stock price similarities

The director of Global Macro published a series of tweets late Thursday, focusing on Bitcoin’s network growth since its inception as a decentralized medium of exchange. In doing so, he compared the cryptocurrency’s network effect with that of Apple, a trillion-dollar tech giant.

“Apple’s price has grown 1457x since 1996, while its price-to-sales ratio has grown 30 times,” wrote Timmer, adding:

“If the growth in valuation is an exponent of the growth in sales (per Metcalfe’s Law), then price should increase as an exponent of both metrics.”
Apple’s price and valuation since 1996. Source: Fidelity

Applying the same metrics on the Bitcoin network returned impressive growth.

For instance, Fidelity found that Bitcoin’s price had surged 640,633x since its inception until the end of 2021. While its price-to-network ratio, a supposed equivalent of the price-to-sales ratio, came out to be 52, up almost 867 times in the same period. 

Bitcoin’s size and valuation. Source: Fidelity

“If we apply Metcalfe’s Law and calculate the square of 867, we get 751,111,” noted Timmer, highlighting that it is “roughly in line with the 640,633x realized price gain.”

The stark similarities in the rise of Bitcoin and Apple networks — based on their price and price-to-sales/network ratios — prompted Timmer to hint at long-term growth in the Bitcoin market.

Additionally, the veteran analyst pitted demand curves of mobile phone subscriptions and internet adoption against Bitcoin to draw similar conclusions, suggesting that BTC’s price would rally above $100,000 in the future.

Bitcoin vs. mobile phone and internet users' demand model. Source: Fidelity

Long-term BTC setups back in focus

Like Timmer, other analysts also projected the ongoing decline as corrections that typically appear in a long-term bull market.

For instance, BTCfuel, an independent market analyst, shared a bullish outlook, citing a fractal from 2013.

Related: Crypto 'best place' to store wealth during Fed rate hike: Pantera CEO

Notably, Bitcoin in 2022 appears to be stuck below the same moving averages as it was in 2013. And since BTC broke above the said resistance areas eight years ago, its probability of repeating the same price action this year appeared higher, as per BTCfuel.

Bitcoin daily price chart 2013 vs. 2022. Source: TradingView

“Resumption soon,” the analyst wrote.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record a Staggering $8B in Daily Volume—Market Gripped by ETF Frenzy

Bitcoin Is Flashing These Bullish Metrics Despite Week of Volatility, Says CryptoQuant CEO

A top executive at CryptoQuant says that he’s bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) despite the leading crypto’s rough week. Chief executive officer Ki Young Ju of the on-chain analysis firm says that a few of Bitcoin’s fundamental metrics are showing signs of rising after a week that saw the king crypto drop nearly 15% from its […]

The post Bitcoin Is Flashing These Bullish Metrics Despite Week of Volatility, Says CryptoQuant CEO appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record a Staggering $8B in Daily Volume—Market Gripped by ETF Frenzy