user58129: Example; If I buy $500 worth of Bitcoin and the stocks drop from say 4,000 to 3,200 - is my entire investment lost completely and I have to start again ?
Or is it now just negative (not worth anything) and if the stocks rise back up do I regain what I had without having to do anything ?
Next day it is at 3,600 so now I still have $100 ?

user11253: If you buy $500 worth of bitcoin when the price is $4000, then you would own 0.125 bitcoin. If the price drops to $3200, then you still own 0.125 bitcoin, which you could sell for $400. You do not "lose" your $500 investment, it just becomes worth less (in some sense you "lost" $100, but your loss is only realized if you sell your bitcoin at the $3200 price). If you do nothing and the price goes up again, you could then sell it for more.

58129: <p>Example; If I buy $500 worth of Bitcoin and the stocks drop from say 4,000 to 3,200 - is my entire investment lost completely and I have to start again ?</p>

<p>Or is it now just negative (not worth anything) and if the stocks rise back up do I regain what I had without having to do anything ?</p>

<p>Next day it is at 3,600 so now I still have $100 ?</p>
 11253: <p>If you buy $500 worth of bitcoin when the price is $4000, then you would own 0.125 bitcoin. If the price drops to $3200, then you still own 0.125 bitcoin, which you could sell for $400. You do not "lose" your $500 investment, it just becomes worth less (in some sense you "lost" $100, but your loss is only <em>realized</em> if you sell your bitcoin at the $3200 price). If you do nothing and the price goes up again, you could then sell it for more.</p>
