Shaun Groomes – The Link Builders, Vice President

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Shaun Groomes is an intelligence and infantry veteran that served in the 82nd Airborne until 2007, spending time in Afghanistan from 2005-2006. Upon completion of his service, he found a comfortable life in affiliate marketing in 2008, working with lead generation and mobile advertising. He’s been in the digital marketing space for nearly a decade.

After two previous ventures, Shaun joined The Link Builders in 2016 as Vice President. When he’s not working, he studies chess, enjoys writing, and tries to fly fish.

How did you get started with cryptocurrency?

I started out a crypto greenhorn in June of 2017. I had never bought Bitcoin or anything. I even used to pronounce Ethereum as “erethreum” – like it was some kind of organ that you needed to get checked by your doctor.

I started learning as much as I could at night and on the weekends by reading blogs, Medium articles and subscribing to Youtube experts on crypto. I spent $12 on a cryptocurrency Udemy course in June that gave me a hands-on approach to trading alt coins and from there I tiptoed into the world of trading.

What’s your digital currency investment strategy?

In all honesty, earlier this year I would buy pieces of every popular altcoin on Coinmarketcap.com. Not the best strategy, but it’s not terrible starting out. Now I do tedious research and keep my ear close to the ground. If something is brand new to the exchanges, I’ll scoop it up and just watch the charts with respect to volume and price.

I regularly buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin incrementally on price dips. If there’s a crazy run going on – I do nothing.

I also invest in what interests me. If it grabs my attention and has a widespread application in the real world, you can guarantee I’m firing a buy order.

Each time I buy, I also set a sell order for any altcoins. I don’t have my heart invested in alts. This allows me to walk away and not have to constantly watch the charts. For example, if I buy 1000 tokens at 300 satoshis, I’ll set a sell order double the buy-in price at 600 satoshis for 40%-50% of my holdings. Sometimes, I’ll place another sell order, slightly above a 100% ROI target in case the price keeps rising.

It’s a hands-off way to set yourself up for a chance at profitability.

How do you see blockchain technology improving life in the future?

It’s a no-brainer that there are a lot of practical applications where blockchain tech and digital currencies can improve our lives. Companies that are launching these projects simply have to make it easy enough for widespread use and media outlets must assist the average person in understanding the concept. I’m confident it’ll catch on.

For merchants, you can cut out the banks and accept digital currency with lower fees. Some altcoins, like Metal, even plan to serve as a payment processor. OmiseGo has a real use in Asia right now for workers to send money to their families in real time. Companies like Remme.io even want to put passwords on the Blockchain that way you’ll never have to remember your login for anything or worry about being hacked.

I’d like to see more blockchain companies actually implementing their projects in the healthcare industry – particularly for VA Healthcare records. The Veterans Administration is so old and outdated. If the government (or a third party) got behind placing these records on a public blockchain, there would not be as many veterans being forgotten about and receiving poor care.

What are some of your favorite books you’ve read?

For this industry, I try to stay away from buying crypto specific books since it’s a different landscape a month later.

I’d recommend reading some classic investment books though. Some of my favorites are The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch, and Charting and Technical Analysis by Fred McAllen.

What’s one piece of advice you can share with others?

Don’t get too attached to a cryptocurrency. There are Facebook fan pages with thousands of members dedicated to one single cryptocurrency constantly asking themselves, “When Moon, guys?!”. Don’t get trapped into this way of thinking. Control what you can control. You can’t control the price of a token and shilling will only get you so far.

You can be a Bitcoin or Ethereum fan, but for alts, don’t set yourself up to get your heart broken. If you’re a trader, get in and get out only to raise your stake in Bitcoin and Ethereum.