On Thursday, March 4th, EmEz sat down to discuss the benefits of investing in bitcoins, crypto currency and stocks with The Bitcoin & Crypto Evangelist,Armando Pantoja. EmEz kicked off the interview by asking Armando to introduce himself and explain to us why it is important to hear what he needs to say. Armando responded by informing us that he has a “background in technology and computer science,” and is currently in an award winning, 7-year career in the Financial Technology (FinTech) space specializing in crypto currency. He actually has his own niche crypto currency based company, “built for the recruitment industry” entitled, HireMatch. In 2009, while in graduate school majoring in Software Security, he learned about the new financial craze surrounding bitcoins & crypto currency (encrypted currency) while taking a cryptology course, and it really sparked his interest. He learned more about it in and out of class, which caused him to be one of the first early adopters of bitcoin and crypto currency.
EmEz then asked him a question that I am sure everyone wants to ask a stock investor, “What is the most surprising amount of money you have collected via stocks, crypto currency or bitcoin?” Armando quickly informed us that he has made “over $100k several times, and I used to post on Instagram when I bought and sold stocks,” and when he did that, it wasn’t to show off, but to prove to his followers that he actually knows what he is talking about! When EmEz asked him if it was illegal to share such information, Armando reassured us that it is not illegal to share his trades but not legal to “pump up” a stock.
Like most of us, EmEz, has a 401k and wants to know if he should still invest in the stock market as well, and Armando informed him, “the way I see 401k, is as your retirement which is something completely different. You should manage that differently, you should manage that for however old you are for 30-40 years into the future, that is how you should manage it, as a long term goal for the future. What we try to do in the stock market, is we try to build income through the stock market when we trade on our own accounts; that’s safe money that you can’t bother and it will grow over time. With stocks and options we try to build income, it’s a short term game.” EmEz went on to ask more questions about how much of his paycheck should he invest in his 401k to which Armando responded, “that's a hard question to answer because peoples' situations are different...what I will say is to only invest what you can afford to lose.” Makes total sense since a 401k is more of a long term personal investment for one’s future after they have retired that you have the option to increase or decrease in investment while still working for a company who provides you with the 401k stock option.
Both EmEz and Armando began to discuss some of the common trade terminology such as the phrase, “swing trade.” According to Armando, “swing trade is when you hold a stock over multiple days. Either you are waiting for the price to go down to a certain level and you’re expecting it to come back or the price is constantly going up and you want to make money as it goes up. Now, the pitfalls of that is that you can’t control what happens at night with a stock. You buy a stock today you’re gonna swing trade, and it may be doing good today and at night, they could come out with some news that can shut trading down, like Gamestop. Now by the time you wake up in the morning, you can’t get your money back, so you have to be able to manage those risks while having things in place to manage and understand the risks.” Wow, this is such sound and valid information that we should all keep in mind when investing in stocks.
Armando then went on to discuss what happened with Gamestop after EmEz asked him to explain in layman's terms, “what did they do to force the stock to go up and why was the stock market so against what happened with Gamestop?” to which Armando responded, “To be honest, Gamestop is a failing company. What happened was the mutual funds in the banks saw an opportunity to get the stock down and make money off of what we call ‘shorting.’ Shorting is when you make money off the decline of a stock, so for example if I think a stock is going down, I take a reverse position; I will borrow one share and instantly sell it hoping that it would go down….” He said much more to explain that term, and then the very intrigued viewers went on to ask many questions about different things heard in the news and/or social media about himself and the group he runs called CNC, bitcoins, crypto currency, stocks, financial terminologies, etc. Armando took his time to answer each question that he could, and did not shy away from addressing any negative comments or questions thrown his way. He handled everything with grace and stride, and he seems to be a very stand-up, genuine guy.
This episode is extremely helpful & advantageous to anyone that is thinking about investing in stocks, bitcoin, cryptocurrency and much more. If you or anyone you know may be interested in learning more about this topic, I recommend you take a deep listen while watching this episode of “The Sitdown w/EmEz Show” to really take in all the in-depth knowledge dropped by Armando Pantoja, the stock and tech investor himself.
You can watch the full interview below on EmEz’s Youtube Channel “The Sit Down with EmEz.”
For more info on Armando Pantoja, follow him on IG, Facebook, & Twitter.
(Photos Courtesy of Armando Pantoja’sInstagram Page)