Dividend Magic

Saving and Investing towards Financial Independence in Malaysia

Cryptocurrencies

Luno Malaysia Review

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Investment, Other Investments 8

My Crypto Portfolio

It has been awhile since I’ve updated my crypto portfolio. Older readers of mine may remember my crypto mining days.

My most recent update of cryptocurrencies was back in December 2018 when had about USD 288 (or approximately RM1,256). I have not made any additional investments since then.

Moving forward, I’ll be updating my crypto portfolio hERE.

My Take on Luno Malaysia

I have recently moved all my coins – Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash to Luno’s platform.

The process was surprisingly simple and easy. Bear in mind that this is my first time sending / receiving coins.

It took around an hour for all my cryptocurrencies to arrive as they require confirmations on the blockchain.

As of today, my total crypto portfolio stands at RM3,808. For a roughly 1.5 year period, my return is about 200%.

I’ll be using Luno as a wallet to stash all my cryptocurrencies from this point on as well as an exchange to buy/sell.

The user interface is spot on and the support I’ve received from them with my inquiries has been outstanding.

Is Luno Safe? Is Luno Legit?

Safety-wise, Luno is the first regulated cryptocurrency exchange in Malaysia. And that’s saying something.

They’re regulated by SC so there’s really nothing for us to worry about fraud from Luno as an exchange.

A cyber attack however is something entirely different. Attacks and hacks on an exchange can happen and has happened in the past. But then again, there’s really nothing we can do about it.

Luno’s Wallet

Keeping your hard-earned bitcoins and other cryptos on Luno Malaysia itself is something all users can do. I myself do that but as my holdings grow in size, I will be thinking of moving them to a standalone wallet, maybe even an offline one.

Luno’s wallet is what is known as a custodial wallet. This means that your private keys are stored by a third party, in this case – Luno. Placing your coins in a custodial wallet is similar to the principles of placing your cash in a bank. The money remains yours, but you do not fully control your money when it is in their hands.

Advantages

  • Interest generating. Some exchanges/custodians are giving you money to store your coins with them. Think of your coins as being used as a sort of money market fund. Hoping to see this come to Luno in the near future.
  • Convenience. You’re able to manage all your funds in one place and at any time.
  • You won’t lose or forget your private key and access to your coins.

Disadvantages

  • The custodian has control over your money.
  • Your coins can be seized by a court decision.
  • If the wallet gets hacked, you may lose your coins.

Before you cry foul and move all your coins to your own private wallet, Luno actually has three layers of security for their wallets and your coins. The first layer is the industry standard where an external custodian secures the keys. This is for practical reasons otherwise moving funds would take too long.

The second and third layer is where the security intensifies and where the bulk of the coins are stored. Luno actually practices what they term ”deep freeze storage”. Essentially, the private key is broken up and stored in different places around the world.

For the reasons above, you may want to have a percentage of your coins with Luno and another in your own private wallet. If you plan to just hold for a very long time, keeping it on your own wallet would make more sense. Just don’t forget your keys.

However, if and when Luno announces the interest bearing feature, I think a lot of bitcoin holders will see value in keeping their coins with Luno.

As for security on your own side, please, please set up 2-Factor Authentication for your accounts. Better safe than sorry especially if you’ve got a significant percentage in cryptocurrencies.

Luno Malaysia’s Fees

First off, sending and receiving your cryptocurrencies. When you receive, Luno doesn’t charge a fee. When you send, you’re charged a fee.

When actually buying and selling on Luno’s exchange, to save on fees, forget instant buy/sell and instead, do a post order. Tick the ”post-only order” and you’ll see the difference in your fees.

Besides that, to get a full picture of other fees, you can visit Luno’s page on it hERE.

Why Bitcoin?

As always, prior research and due diligence on your part is required before making investments. For any asset class.

I’ve been monitoring cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin on and off for a few years now and I have my reasons for investing in it.

My first venture into cryptocurrency was back in December 2018. I invested USD 288 (or approximately RM1,256) back then.

Back in August 2020, my portfolio stood at RM3,808.

Cryptocurrency investment has been one of my biggest regrets. I regret not having put more money here. Of course, hindsight is always 20-20 but nonetheless, it is one of many regrets for me.

BITCOIN AS A STORE OF VALUE

Firstly, I see bitcoin as digital gold. As we transition to a digital economy, bitcoin will eventually challenge gold as a global store of value.

Like gold, bitcoin is limited in its supply. Bitcoin is limited to only 21 million. Forever. Not only is bitcoin scarce and durable like gold, but bitcoin also improves upon many of physical gold’s characteristics. Bitcoin is divisible, verifiable, portable, and transferable.

If bitcoin were to take just a 10% share of the physical gold market, we could see its value increase 5X to $1 trillion.

With the continuous printing of money, bitcoin has been viewed as an asset similar to gold in the modern world as a hedge against inflation. A good article on this can be read hERE.

BITCOIN’S POTENTIAL

My next reason for investing in bitcoin is its sheer potential upside. There are many theories and thoughts on bitcoin’s adoption as a currency. Or even as a global settlement network for banks as businesses.

We’ve already seen PayPal recently move in that direction. Payment systems like Square Inc have bought into bitcoin. The potential is there. Unlike gold, gold has already plateaued whereas bitcoin’s potential is still vast.

I’ll be looking closely at Bitcoin and Ethereum especially moving forward. Although volatile in nature, with bigger upside potential, I’ll prefer buying Bitcoin to Gold when it comes to hedging.

Luno Malaysia Promo Code

Luno Logo Dividend Magic

As part of a collaboration with Luno Malaysia, we’ve come up with the perfect promotion for new users wanting to invest in Bitcoin.

Using the following code – LNDVDMAGIC50 , you will get RM50 worth of Bitcoin when you buy RM500 or more. That’s an instant 10% return on your investment.

If you’ve been wanting to own some Bitcoins, now is really the time to start.

Unfortunately, this promo is for new users only. Also, make sure you use Luno’s instant buy (instead of a post-order) function to be eligible for this code.

The full promo rules can be accessed hERE.
Please go through them carefully to meet the criteria for that RM50.

End.

As of 30 April 2020, my crypto portfolio worth RM3,808 consists of the following.

  1. Bitcoin – RM2,763
  2. Ethereum – RM1,039
  3. Bitcoin Cash – RM4

I’ll be updating my crypto portfolio hERE.

Let’s see where the next wave will take us.
Onwards and upwards!

Preference Shares in Malaysia – ICPS, RCCPS

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Dividends, Investment, Portfolio - Freedom Fund 10

What are Preference Shares?

The first thing that comes to mind to most Malaysians when Preference Shares / Preferred Stocks are mentioned is dividends. We will expect a higher rate of dividends compared to Ordinary / Common Shares. However, apart from dividends, there exist several other key features contained in a Preference Share.

  1. If and when a company is insolvent, preference shareholders are entitled to be paid from assets of the company first, before ordinary shareholders;
  2. Most preference shares have a fixed (and higher) dividend rate; and
  3. Preference shareholders typically do not have voting rights.

Sunway Berhad’s Preference Share, ICPS

December 2020.

As a Sunway Berhad investor, I was allotted 1730 ICPS rights. I then applied for 777 more ICPS and was approved for 770.

In total, I have 2500 ICPS now. Looking forward to that 5.25% in dividends. Also, I forked out RM2,522 in total. RM22 being handling fees.

Allotment: One ICPS for every five existing Sunway shares.

Tenure: Five years

Issue Price: RM1.00 per ICPS

Conversion Price: RM1.00 per Sunway share

Conversion:

1. 50% mandatorily converted into new Sunway shares on Dec 2024.
2. Remaining balance converted on Dec 2025.

Dividend: 5.25% (maximum)

*Sunway did not fix the dividends to remain shariah compliant.

So a few details first for Sunway’s irredeemable convertible preference shares (“ICPS”).

  1. Irredeemable: ICPS holders cannot redeem and convert as they please. As per above, 50% will be converted to Sunway ordinary shares on year 4, remaining on year 5.
  2. Convertible: 1 ICPS to 1 Sunway ordinary share.

 

IGB Corporation Berhad’s Takeover by Goldis Berhad – Free Tickets to the Show

This one was back in February 2018.

A huge part of why I’m doing this introduction on Preference Shares is because I’m actually electing to receive Preference Shares in lieu of cash / ordinary shares when Goldis takes over IGB Corp (a company I’ve invested in).

So this is your ticket to actually see how a corporate takeover works and more importantly, join me as I take my first step into the world of Preference Shares.

I’ll of course, be updating this periodically.

A Brief Introduction

Goldis Berhad actually owns 73.40% of IGB Corp and a takeover has been on the books for a long time. A takeover offer can be made to other shareholders if you own more than 50% of a company. 

To make this easier to understand, I’ll be using my own shareholdings as an example. I own 4,000 shares of IGB Corp, bought at RM2.87 per share.

Take note that IGB Corp closed at RM2.97, the trading of shares has since been suspended. The shares of IGB Corp have been valued by Goldis at RM3.00 per share during the takeover exercise.

There are 3 ways for me, as an IGB Corp investor to cash out from this takeover.

  1. I receive 100% Cash (RM3.00 per share). I’ll receive RM12,000  in cash and make an instant gain of RM520 (A 4.5% gain)
  2. I receive 30% in Cash and 70% in Goldis Shares. I’ll receive RM3,600 in cash and 2,800 units of Goldis Shares which are going for RM3.10 per share as of today. (A 6.96% gain)
  3. I receive 12% in Cash and 88% in New Redeemable Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares (RCCPS). I’ll receive RM1,440 in cash and 3,219 units of new Preference Shares valued at RM3.28 each. (No gain)

As you may well have guessed, I opted for Option 3.

IGB Corp Goldis RCCPS
Option 3 – RCCPS (Don’t forget to affix your RM10 Revenue Stamp and enjoy the post office queue)

Details of the Preference Shares or RCCPS Scheme

Tenure: 7 years

Dividend Rate: 4.3% (semi-annual payment)

Redeemable: Goldis Berhad can purchase/buy back the preference shares from and including the 4th anniversary of the issue date up to the maturity of the 7-year period.

Convertible: 1 preference share can be converted to 1 ordinary share at any time during the 7-year period.

Cumulative: If and when there are any missed dividend payments, they are to be paid at a later date by Goldis. ie. it’ll be owing to preference shareholders until the tenure of 7 years.

In Summary

4.3% Dividend Rate

With the RCCPS option, I’ll receive a FIXED return of 4.3% on my 3,219 units of preference shares at RM3.28 each. That’s RM454 every year for 7 years. In contrast, Goldis Berhad’s dividend yield is less than 1% currently.

The Redemption

I will be holding onto my preference shares for a minimum of 4 years. After which, Goldis will have the option to Redeem and buy back the shares at their discretion.

This is the only part of the whole exercise that worries me as I would like to hold onto those shares for as long as I can, and at the end of it all, convert them back to ordinary Goldis Shares.

But! Historically, Goldis has not redeemed their existing RCCPS and it matures in 2020. If that’s anything to go on.

I’ll just have to keep an eye out after the 4th year for any news of redemption.

End.

I hope I’ve managed to help some of the IGB Corp investors here clear up most of the issues and queries you have regarding the whole takeover exercise.

In short, and after my analysis, the RCCPS option is the way to go. The 100% cash option is the worst, so please don’t go that route. If you want cash, go for Option 2, and sell your Goldis shares after.

If you’ve got any other questions regarding this or if I’ve made any mistakes (I’m a 100% new to this), please do get in touch in the comment section below or on Facebook.

Thank you for reading and enjoy them Preference Shares!

Bitcoin and Genesis Mining ROI in Malaysia – September & October Update

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Investment 14

Cloud Mining on Genesis

Cloud Mining Malaysia

Genesis is back and its daily payouts are as scheduled. They have however raised their minimum payout threshold to the following:

  • Bitcoin 0.0025 BTC (was 0.0020)
  • Litecoin 0.002 LTC (was 0.001)
  • Zcash 0.001 ZEC (was 0.00005)

I’ve also increased my mining powaaa in November.

Genesis Mining Allocation Dec'17
Genesis Mining Allocation Dec’17

I’ve doubled my Bitcoin, Zcash and Monero mining rates. Also increased Ether’s. The next objective is to increase Ethereum’s mining power as I see great potential in the currency.

 

Return on Investment (ROI), This is Getting Big

Dividend Magic's Cryptocurrency Portfolio 2017
Dividend Magic’s Cryptocurrency Portfolio 2017

I have to admit that I’ve kinda lost track of my Bitcoin returns. I mine it personally on my PC as well as on Genesis. But here is my total returns for 2017.

My cryptocurrency portfolio jumped from USD171.34 in October to USD628.59 today, in a short span of 2 months. Of course, this is mainly due to the recent hype in all things crypto.

Mining of crytocurrencies started out as a small personal project for me back in July this year. I started out with USD93.20 back then on Dash contracts. I’ve not put in additional money, all of my proceeds from mining has been reinvested into more mining contracts.

I should get back my initial investment of USD93.20 from Dash contracts alone next year.

NiceHash Miner Hacked

I’m sure most here are privy to the recent hacking of NiceHash. I myself have lost a chunk of unclaimed Bitcoins from mining with them. It is frustrating but I fear I will never see those coins ever again.

 

End.

My cryptocurrency portfolio currently stands at USD628.59, fluctuating every other minute as we see the currencies swing up and down.

To those that are invested, I’d recommend ignoring the swings and focusing on real, credible news. Think logically and remember, investing is always for the long term.

To those that are interested in getting in on the action, I’d suggest:

  1. Cloud Mining – I go with Genesis
  2. Purchasing and holding onto your currencies. I use Luno (My promo code: HFCCY)
  3. If you’ve got a good PC lying around, try mining it yourself using NiceHash!

If you’re planning to purchase mining contracts with Genesis, please go ahead and key in the following code: KT7r1S which gives you a 3% discount on your purchase.

A big thank you to everyone that has been using my referral code. I’ve received many many additional hash power thanks to you.

Onwards and upwards! May the currencies swing in your favor

Bitcoin and Genesis Mining ROI – September & October Update

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Investment 0

Cloud Mining on Genesis

Cloud Mining Malaysia

Apologies for the delayed update everyone. Last I checked, Genesis has been back to their daily payout schedule. Currently, I’m mining Dash, Bitcoins and Ether. All other alt coins’ mining power has been utilised to mine Bitcoins.

Genesis Mining Allocation
Genesis Mining Allocation

I cry every night on the missed opportunity when Bitcoins were selling at the $3,300 to $3,500 range. As most of you would know, it is at $6,000 now.

That being said, mining it has been reaping my huge returns.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Exodus Bitcoin Portfolio Malaysia

Before you get all excited, the returns are not 100% from mining, a portion of it is mined personally by yours truly. I make use of the hardware from my office and just let the program run in the background.

My daily estimated earnings hover around the $1 per hour range. It’s a slow climb.

Dash Mining Contracts – ROI 86.5%

I started investing in Dash contracts back in July which cost USD93.20. 3 months later today, my Dash mining ROI has dropped to 86.5% p.a. I’d attribute the drop in ROI to the fall in Dash prices. Still, 86.5% in returns is still very, very substantial.

 

Bitcoin Mining Contracts

Ok, so I’ve messed up with Bitcoins here. It’s getting difficult for me to track what portion of my returns are from Genesis’ open-ended Bitcoin mining contracts and which are from my own personal mining. But the returns are definitely HUGE because of Bitcoin’s increase in value. I estimate that about 30% of the Bitcoins in my portfolio are mined personally.

 

NiceHash Miner

The program I use to mine personally is called NiceHash. It is free to use and eats up your PC’s GPU which in turn consumes your electricity. The interface is very user-friendly and if you’ve got a spare PC lying around at home, play around with it. But be aware of the spike in your TNB bill (Disclosure – I own TNB shares XD).

 

End.

So there you have it, between my Genesis mining contracts and personal mining skills, I’ve more than paid for my initial investment in Dash contracts. It’ll be pure profits from here on out. Although at my company’s expense in electricity. 

If you’re planning to purchase mining contracts on Genesis, please go ahead and key in the following code: KT7r1S which gives you a 3% discount on your purchase.

I’d also like to sincerely thank everyone again that has been using my referral code. I’ve received many many additional hashpower thanks to you.

Onwards and upwards!

Genesis Mining ROI – August Update

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies 20

Cloud Mining on Genesis

Cloud Mining Malaysia

So it’s been a month since my last update in July. I’ve moved on from Dash to Bitcoins. I’m still keeping my previously purchased Dash contracts but moving forward, I’ll be buying Bitcoin contracts.

Why the move? Bitcoin contracts on Genesis are open-ended, meaning it is perpetual, provided it is profitable throughout. This means you can in theory pay once and mine forever.

I have seen Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in price recently and the surge in profits from its mining contracts. As a dividend investor, I’d prefer a slow and steady increase, but who’s complaining?

Return on Investment (ROI)

Genesis ROI

Dash Mining Contracts – ROI 160%

Above is the return from my investments in Genesis mining. I started investing in Dash contracts about a month ago which cost USD93.20. So far, in a month, I’ve managed to earn USD12.70. That’s an estimated 160% return per annum. I’ll hopefully be getting back all my capital in another 6 months. Pure profit from there.

Bitcoin Mining

You’ll also notice my USD19.48 in Bitcoins. Those are mostly from my own personal mining through my computer at home and at work. I’m earning about USD1.50 a day from there. As mentioned earlier, I’ve also purchased Genesis’ open-ended Bitcoin mining contracts. If you believe in Bitcoin’s future value, invest in their contracts.

End.

If you’re planning to purchase mining contracts on Genesis, please go ahead and key in the following code: KT7r1S which gives you a 3% discount on your purchase.

I’d also like to sincerely thank everyone that has been using my referral code. I’ve received some additional hashpower thanks to you.

Onwards and upwards! Let me know how mining has been for you all!

Genesis Mining ROI and Other Updates

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies 15

Cloud Mining on Genesis

Cloud Mining Malaysia

As promised, here’s an update on my 2-year Dash(x11) mining contract with Genesis Mining. But first, I’d like to thank everyone for the love and using my promo code – KT7r1S (it gives you a 3% discount upon purchase by the way).

If you’re perplexed and utterly confused by everything I’ve just said, head over to my previous post – Bitcoin Cloud Mining in Malaysia.

Now, the update!

ROI on Genesis – Cloud Mining Dash (x11)

Genesis Mining Dash x11 Payout
Genesis Mining Dash x11 Payout

I’ll be using the payout on 20th July because the one on 19th includes mining from when I signed up on the 18th.

As of right now, Dash is valued at USD 186.69. That gives me about USD 0.247 per day and USD 90.29 per annum from mining. I spent USD 93.20 purchasing the 2 year contract. That’s an ROI of around 96.8% pa.

Of course, all this is provided the price and mining difficulty remain constant. Which won’t.

Now, this ROI will increase when I purchase the USD500 contract as you get more MH/s per USD. I’m limited to the current one because Genesis has a USD per day limit for Dash x11 contracts (due to the huge demand). Nevertheless, I’ve still been adding and purchasing more Dash mining contracts because I do see Dash’s potential in the future.

I’m really loving Ethereum as well. I’ll be adding more mining power for Ether next month. For now, I’ve been slowly accumulating Dash (x11) and I’m currently almost reaching 50 MH/s. Still waiting for their USD100 per day limit to be lifted so I can get that USD500 for 100MH/s contract.

With the promo code – KT7r1S , I’ll be paying USD485 for 100MH/s. This will be the most value for money in terms of dollars paid per MH/s.

Storing my Coins

Because I’m mining alternative coins like Dash (x11) and Ethereum, I opted to store them on a multi wallet. I use Exodus. Their UI is awesome.

So after transferring and storing my alt coins on Exodus, I’ll then move it to a more local (Malaysian friendly wallet) – Luno.

Enter my promo code: HFCCY.  You can still enter the code after signing up. Inside your account as shown in the picture below. We will both benefit from this. It isn’t much, after buying RM250 or more on the site, we will both get RM5. It’s something.

Luno Promo code - HFCCY
Luno Promo Code – HFCCY

End.

As mentioned earlier, the next big purchase would be Dash (x11)’s USD485 for 100MH/s mining contract. Thereinafter, I’ll be focusing on Ether mining and then reinvesting my returns. In the long run, turning my alternative coins into Bitcoins will be the goal. From there, it’s long term holding of Bitcoin. I’ll have to get used to holding an asset that doesn’t pay interest.

All that being said, the Freedom Fund is doing really well. Hopefully, this exciting little mining venture will pay off in the next 2 years and provide additional funds to be invested in stocks.

Have you purchased any mining contracts with Genesis Mining or are planning to? Hope to hear from my fellow miners. Use promo code – KT7r1S for a small 3% discount.

A warning to everyone, cryptocurrencies in and of itself are extremely volatile and risky. Cloud mining adds to that risk because you’re placing your money with a company and trusting them to continue mining for the foreseeable future. As always, invest at your own risk!

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