Before 1992, one could only buy stocks and ETFs at a stock exchange like Wall Street in the US and the London Stock Exchange(LSE) in the UK. Since then, the internet and computers have made stock exchanging something we can do from our homes. Now we’re at a stage where we can install an app on our mobiles and instantly be involved in the stock market without having to go to a stock exchange. Similarly, thanks to the outreach of the internet through mobiles and computers, when cryptocurrency was created, it quickly became a major form of digital currency.
How mobile apps changed the online trade playing field
As more people invest in a company’s shares, the richer a company can get. Initially, before stocks entered the internet, only the rich used to invest in them. A couple of years after stocks were introduced to the internet, substantially more people started investing too. But there was still a massive part of the population that wasn’t yet tapped since not everyone had a computer.
This quickly changed when mobile apps that could connect you to the stock market were introduced. Mobile apps could reach more people as a majority of the population has a smartphone. Suddenly, millions of internet users were investing with these apps. Anyone with a smartphone, time, and little money to spend started investing. As a result, this boosted the money companies were getting.
This trend is still going on. Just in 2020, a stock investing app called Robinhood had 3 million new account creations along with 1.58 million in other apps like Charles Schwab, ETrade, and TD Ameritrade.
What about cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency kicked off just a decade ago. Since a significant part of the population was already on the internet, the first currency, Bitcoin, got rapidly popular. Almost everyone today has a smartphone, hence magnifying the impact Bitcoin has.
When the currencies got popular, internet users saw an opportunity and invested in them. As more people bought them, the costlier they got, hence increasing their valuation. Without the help of computer and mobile investment apps, this would’ve been impossible due to a lack of outreach. Even cryptocurrency has many dedicated apps. There are already hundreds of apps that are ready to help users start investing. This number is expected to increase.
The leading cryptocurrency investing app, Coinbase, secured a whopping 13 million new users in just three months in 2021. This graph will only go up.
What do these investment apps do?
Investment apps for stocks, ETFs, and Crypto essentially bridge you to the market by giving you information and letting you invest. They bring statistics, graphs, and other information about share prices, averages, etc., to your phone so that you can make an informed decision about your investments. The only requirements are money, patience, and an internet connection.
The stock market and cryptocurrencies are known to be volatile. This means investors have to know the latest statistics and prices to make a decision. Investment apps provide much-needed information to them in real-time.
For going through the trouble to get you connected to the stock market, many investment apps take a commission for every profit you get, transaction revenues, etc.
However, one of the things investment apps do not do is help you with predictions. The stock and crypto markets are volatile. There are too many variables and unknowns that play into the market. There have been cases when investors lost millions as a result of incorrect predictions. One such example was when the Covid-19 pandemic was rampant. The oil prices dipped while gold prices skyrocketed. It’s impossible to predict something like that. Even relatively minimal fluctuations can be complicated to predict. So, pro investors turn to self-made computer algorithms to predict with appreciable accuracy. Investment apps do not possess this feature.
Why use investment apps?
In the same way that market prices fall, they can rise too. Being informed constantly gives users a better chance to get profits or avoid losses. We can’t carry our computers everywhere and open our laptops when needed. It’s just not feasible. Mobile app users have a better edge in that aspect. Many of them have even reported that they use the apps while at work, while traveling, etc. That is the main advantage of investment apps; the immediacy and accessibility.
Many first-time investors and people just testing the stocks and crypto market waters can find investment apps very useful. They’re fairly simple to use and are great for inexperienced investors too.
Conclusion
Investment apps for Stocks, ETFs, and Crypto are beneficial to users who are beginners or amateur investors because of their ease of use. They can be a useful tool even when trading is a side hustle for people who already have another job because of their immediacy. But they may not be the best-suited software equipment for a professional investor. From the companies’ point of view, they profit a lot from the increasing number of people investing in stocks. Especially giants like Google and Tesla. The same can be said about cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin. The investment apps have an all-around positive influence.
(c) 2021 Captain Words
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