Cryptocurrency is grabbing financial headlines again and seems poised for a new bull run. That’s why I decided now’s an opportune time to interview Alex Benfield, our inhouse crypto expert.

Alex (pictured) is a rising star in the crypto world. From November 2020 to November 2023, he was a crypto analyst at Weiss Ratings.

At Weiss, Alex co-edited multiple cryptocurrency newsletters and ran several portfolios. We recently hired him for our team. This is part one of my interview with Alex; I’ll publish part two tomorrow. My questions are in bold.

You used to be broke, working a dead-end, low-paying job. You’ve made no secret of that biographical detail. But now, you’re an investment advisor who owns a house and a boat. How has crypto changed your life?

For starters, crypto gave me purpose. I discovered my passion when I began researching and investing in cryptocurrencies and eventually found my calling. But you’re right, at the time I began my journey into crypto I was flat out broke with no real direction in life. Crypto changed all that.

I didn’t have much money at the time but I took what little I had and began investing in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) because I believed in those assets, what crypto stands for, and what it could become. My initial bet in crypto paid off, but instead of taking profits and exiting this space I doubled down, and continued to put whatever leftover change I could find into the crypto market.

I lived a modest lifestyle, saved up as much money as I could, researched the market and studied after other successful traders, and continued to invest in cryptocurrency. It was that conviction and determination to become a good cryptocurrency trader that paid off for me.

Over the course of several years of investing and compounding successful trade after successful trade, I was able to move my girlfriend (now wife) and I into our first home in Florida and provide a much better lifestyle.

However, not only have I made money investing in crypto, but it has given me financial security and financial freedom. I can move around my money with ease and initiate loans without talking to a bank. I bought my boat using a cryptocurrency-backed loan on the blockchain with no middleman.

Oh, and it took me less than 15 minutes. Crypto is far more useful than most people realize. Now that I’ve learned how to win in this market and how to use cryptocurrency to enhance one’s life I want to teach others how to do the same.

You’ve often talked about a recurring four-year “super cycle” in cryptocurrency. A regular four-year cycle consists of a three-year uptrend, followed by a one-year downtrend (i.e. a bear market). Why does this cycle occur and at what stage are we now?

All markets tend to be cyclical, but most other markets have much longer cycles. Crypto is a fast-paced new industry and trades 24/7. That is one reason why I believe the crypto cycles move so much faster. You also have the halving occurring every four years, another thing that ties in these four-year cycles.

We are currently at the very beginning of the third year of the market cycle. We’ve gone through the bear market and just wrapped up the “neutral” year of the cycle. The year 2024 is set to be the first bullish year of the cycle, where we could see Bitcoin double or triple in value.

There will be some up-and-down volatility as there always is in crypto, but this year should be even more bullish than 2023. According to the four-year cycle theory, 2025 is set to be our final bullish year where Bitcoin sets a new cycle all-time high and tops out. That means we have about two full years of bull market left to make some incredible gains, followed by another bear market before everything starts fresh again.

In other words, crypto is on the cusp of a new bull run, correct?

Yes, 2023 was a pretty positive year, but I wouldn’t have called it a true bull market. It was more a turning of the tides from the brutal bear market of 2022 to something better.

Sentiment and price action had gotten so bad towards the end of the bear market that crypto prices did tend to bounce back in big fashion in 2023, but it wasn’t really the start of the next bull market, it was more a transition out of the last bear market. The true bull market will be starting at any point near the end of Q1. Things could turn bullish any time now and BTC could start closing in on its previous all-time high quickly.

One of the key events on Bitcoin’s blockchain is what’s known as “halving,” when the reward for mining is cut in half. Halvings reduce the rate at which new coins are created and consequently lower the available amount of new supply, which drives up prices. When is the next halving expected to occur?

The next halving should occur on or around April 14, and the new issuance rate will be cut in half. This is the built-in supply reduction pre-programmed by Satoshi Nakamoto himself, that dwindles down the supply issuance until 2140 when the last Bitcoin will be mined.

This upcoming halving will end up reducing the amount of new Bitcoin that hits the market and the amount sold by miners every day. Simple supply and demand economics suggest that the halving alone should result in higher prices.

The halving occurs just about every four years as well, and while the halving schedule and the four-year cycle aren’t directly connected or on the same timeline, they are certainly intertwined. The halving is certainly one reason why Bitcoin operates in such a cyclical manner every four years.

Well, if the next halving is expected to happen sometime this year, that means crypto investors are facing a big near-term opportunity. What’s the best way for average individual investors to take advantage of this event?

Absolutely, crypto investors are on the cusp of an amazing buying opportunity and the chance to participate in the next big crypto bull market. The average investor first getting into cryptocurrency should almost always start with the same goal: buy spot Bitcoin and take self-custody of it.

Ideally, that investor could hit a specific BTC target of 1/4, 1/2, or one Bitcoin, etc. before moving the Bitcoin off an exchange and into a hardware wallet. Simply owning and “custodying” Bitcoin for long enough will almost always be a winning strategy in crypto, as the last five years have shown (see chart).

Of course, there are other ways to capitalize on the halving, but they all start with buying BTC and ETH before the halving occurs. Then investors can cycle in between other crypto market sectors after their initial capital pumps post-halving.

After investors load up on Bitcoin and Ethereum there is a whole other world of cryptocurrencies out there, and there are some amazing diamonds in the rough. There are also plenty of projects to stay away from so it can be difficult to navigate your way through the entire market of lesser-known cryptocurrencies.

Many investors feel they missed the boat on making life-changing profits. They look at the “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap tech stocks and lament that they didn’t get aboard say, Apple or Amazon, much sooner, when they were dirt cheap. Do you think the crypto realm offers anything analogous to the Magnificent Seven…but in the nascent stage?

I believe there are currently a few cryptocurrency projects that could still offer returns on par or greater than the “Magnificent Seven” have seen over the last two and a half decades. People feel that they’ve missed out on Bitcoin because of the returns that it’s seen over the last decade, but they would be wrong.

Bitcoin still has a ton of room to grow over the next decade, and along with Ethereum, Solana, and a handful of others, could continue to blow investors’ minds. I’ve been working on compiling a list of cryptocurrencies that I believe have the potential to grow beyond our wildest dreams and the staying power to do so. So stay tuned for that.

These cryptocurrency projects have all already grown tremendously in price over the years but are just getting started. They all stand poised to be the leaders of the new transition from Web2.0. to Web3.0, and much like the Magnificent Seven that means they could dominate for the next few decades. Now is nowhere near “too late.”

Editor’s Note: Look for part two of my interview with Alex Benfield in the next Mind Over Markets column. As the above article makes clear, crypto represents a lasting revolution in finance, investing, and consumer behavior.

Consider this: Bitcoin, the leading “blue chip” cryptocurrency, gained a whopping 156% in price in 2023. This bullishness has extended throughout the crypto segment and the momentum is likely to continue throughout 2024.

Every portfolio should have some sort of exposure to crypto. But you need to be informed, to make the right choices. Start receiving our FREE e-letter, Crypto Investing Daily. Click here now!

John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

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This article previously appeared on Investing Daily.