Anti-abortion activists want Donald Trump in his second term to enforce a 150-year-old law they believe would be the next best thing to nationwide abortion ban, and have started gaming out how it would work. The president-elect walked a fine line on abortion during the campaign, two years after Republicans faced electoral backlash over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the case that guaranteed reproductive rights across the country. On the trail, Trump argued that abortion was a state's issue, and that each state should be able to make their own laws surrounding how, when and if to restrict the procedure. He pushed back on calls for a national ban pushed by many anti-abortion advocates, as well as attacks from Harris that he would enact more sweeping abortion bans if elected. But now that Trump is on the precipice of returning to the White House, anti-abortion activists are hoping that even if a national ban is off the table, he will use his sweeping executive authority to further limit abortion access in the U.S. One way they see that happening is through the enforcement of the Comstock Act, a 19th century law that bans sending "lewd materials" such as pornography by mail. Parts of Comstock have been repealed or overturned over the years, though provisions related to abortion remain on the books. Comstock is what's known as a "zombie" law — a piece of legislation that may be dormant but is still technically enforceable — that could be used to end the availability of medication abortion, the most common type of abortion in the country or restrict the delivery of medical instruments and supplies used in abortions. While Trump hasn't suggested he plans to enforce Comstock, some reproductive right advocates have warned this could lead to what essentially amounts to a nationwide abortion ban. The Comstock Act was first enacted in 1872 and named after the anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock, a key proponent of the law. Initially passed as part of the anti-pornography movement, its use was extended to abortion and contraceptive material over the years. However, it hasn't been enforced for decades, due to the 1973 Roe decision overturned by the court in the 2022 decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Enforcement over the next four years may come down to Trump's attorney general. He last week said he plans to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to the position . Bondi has a record of opposing abortion but has not said whether she plans to enforce the Comstock Act. Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade told Newsweek on Monday that the law would "apply to pills or medical equipment," but noted "delivery of these items by means other than mail could be a lawful workaround." While that may not equate to a nationwide ban, it would "create chaos so that the law is unclear" and have a "chilling effect on healthcare providers," she said. "There is some disagreement as to the scope of the Comstock Act in light of case law and amendments. Some argue that the law is now limited to prohibiting mailing abortion drugs into states where abortion is otherwise unlawful," she said. Anti-Abortion Activists and Trump Have Differing Views on Comstock Anti-abortion groups are hoping the Trump administration will embrace a more wide-reaching interpretation of the law that would have stronger limitations on abortion access, even in states where a broad majority of residents support reproductive rights. The conservative group Students for Life wrote that they hope Bondi will enforce the Comstock Act in a statement released following her nomination. "Make no mistake, Students for Life Action (SFLAction) would love to see a United States Attorney General who is serious about enforcing The Comstock Act . That alone would be a significant blow to the abortion industry and abortion in the nation at large, as it's a law that governs how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) handles the mailing of abortifacients, intended to end a preborn life," the statement reads. "Between Bondi standing up for life during her tenure as Attorney General in Florida, and the potential for her to actually enforce the Comstock Act , there's a great deal for pro-life organizations like SFLAction to be excited about." Trump indicated that he doesn't plan to enforce the Comstock Act in an August CBS News interview. "No. We will be discussing specifics of it. But generally no, I would not do that," he said when asked about whether he would use Comstock to further regulate abortion access. In response to his comments, anti-abortion activist Lila Rose told Politico he should consider repealing Comstock. "He came out recently and said that he supported access to these deadly abortion drugs, and that is horrific," she said. Newsweek reached out to Trump's transition team for comment via email. Jonathan F. Mitchell, an attorney who has represented Trump, told The New York Times in February that the Comstock Act would be one way for the administration to limit abortion access without passing a federal ban. "We don't need a federal ban when we have Comstock on the books," he said. Even though Republicans will hold a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, it's unlikely they would have the votes to enact a federal ban. Any national abortion ban would particularly face challenges in the Senate, where the 60-vote filibuster requirement would require Republican senators supportive of reproductive rights, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, as well as some number of Democrats to join in voting for such a law. There has been some daylight between Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on the Comstock Act in the past. In January 2023, Vance, who presently serves as an Ohio senator, led other Congressional Republicans in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland criticizing the Biden administration for not enforcing Comstock after the Dobbs decision. "It is disappointing, yet not surprising, that the Biden administration's DOJ has not only abdicated its Constitutional responsibility to enforce the law, but also has once again twisted the plain meaning of the law in an effort to promote the taking of unborn life," the letter read. The Republicans urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to "put the law and your obligation to enforce it above the abortion industry's dangerous and deadly political agenda" and "hold abortionists, pharmacists, international traffickers, and online purveyors, who break the Federal mail-order abortion laws, accountable." Reproductive Right Supporters Aim to Repeal Comstock Act While anti-abortion advocates have pushed for the law's enforcement, supporters of reproductive rights have sought to get rid of the Comstock Act in full. In Congress , there are at least two separate bills aimed at repealing the law. One was introduced by Rep. Cori Bush , a Missouri Democrat who lost her primary election this year , and the other by Rep. Pat Ryan, a New York Democrat. Ryan urged Congress to act on his bill following Trump's victory earlier in November, though it's dead on arrival in the GOP-held House of Representatives. "With the far-right's attacks on women's reproductive freedom only escalating - we have to act now. Congress must pass my Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act & my Stop Comstock Act to safeguard access to safe & effective abortion medication," he posted on social media. In a statement announcing her bill, Bush wrote that "reviving the outdated and obsolete zombie statute" is a Republican plan to "impose a nationwide abortion ban." There would be legal avenues to challenge the Comstock Act if the administration tries to enforce it, McQuade said, including building networks to "work around the statute" which applies only to mail-based delivery. Neama Rahmani, also a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek that the Biden administration having put out a memo declining to enforce the Comstock Act could be used as a defense for anyone charged under the law in the future. "After Dobbs , the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a memorandum saying that the Comstock Act doesn't prohibit mailing abortion pills because they can be used for non-abortion purposes like miscarriages and the mailers may not have the necessary intent to commit a crime," he said, noting that such a dispute would likely end up in the courts. Steve Aden, chief legal officer and general counsel at Americans United for Life, told Newsweek on Monday that his group is hopeful the Trump administration will reconsider the Biden administration's stance on not enforcing Comstock. "We expect to see them take a long hard look at the Biden administration's careless and reckless promotion of chemical abortion over almost every other policy priority, and especially the wrongheaded and clearly erroneous Office of Legal Counsel memo that whitewashed it all," Aden said.slots winner 777 。

Lindsey Vonn takes another step in comeback at age 40, competes in a pair of downhillsCHICAGO — With a wave of her bangled brown fingertips to the melody of flutes and chimes, artist, theologian and academic Tricia Hersey enchanted a crowd into a dreamlike state of rest at Semicolon Books on North Michigan Avenue. “The systems can’t have you,” Hersey said into the microphone, reading mantras while leading the crowd in a group daydreaming exercise on a recent Tuesday night. The South Side native tackles many of society’s ills — racism, patriarchy, aggressive capitalism and ableism — through an undervalued yet impactful action: rest. Hersey, the founder of a movement called the Nap Ministry, dubs herself the Nap Bishop and spreads her message to over half a million followers on her Instagram account, @thenapministry . Her first book, “Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto,” became a New York Times bestseller in 2022, but Hersey has been talking about rest online and through her art for nearly a decade. Hersey, who has degrees in public health and divinity, originated the “rest as resistance” and “rest as reparations” frameworks after experimenting with rest as an exhausted graduate student in seminary. Once she started napping, she felt happier and her grades improved. But she also felt more connected to her ancestors; her work was informed by the cultural trauma of slavery that she was studying as an archivist. Hersey described the transformation as “life-changing.” The Nap Ministry began as performance art in 2017, with a small installation where 40 people joined Hersey in a collective nap. Since then, her message has morphed into multiple mediums and forms. Hersey, who now lives in Atlanta, has hosted over 100 collective naps, given lectures and facilitated meditations across the country. She’s even led a rest ritual in the bedroom of Jane Addams , and encourages her followers to dial in at her “Rest Hotline.” At Semicolon, some of those followers and newcomers came out to see Hersey in discussion with journalist Natalie Moore on Hersey’s latest book, “We Will Rest! The Art of Escape,” released this month, and to learn what it means to take a moment to rest in community. Moore recalled a time when she was trying to get ahead of chores on a weeknight. “I was like, ‘If I do this, then I’ll have less to do tomorrow.’ But then I was really tired,” Moore said. “I thought, ‘What would my Nap Bishop say? She would say go lay down.’ Tricia is in my head a lot.” At the event, Al Kelly, 33, of Rogers Park, said some of those seated in the crowd of mostly Black women woke up in tears — possibly because, for the first time, someone permitted them to rest. “It was so emotional and allowed me to think creatively about things that I want to work on and achieve,” Kelly said. Shortly after the program, Juliette Viassy, 33, a program manager who lives in the South Loop and is new to Hersey’s work, said this was her first time meditating after never being able to do it on her own. Therapist Lyndsei Howze, 33, of Printers Row, who was also seated at the book talk, said she recommends Hersey’s work “to everybody who will listen” — from her clients to her own friends. “A lot of mental health conditions come from lack of rest,” she said. “They come from exhaustion.” Before discovering Hersey’s work this spring, Howze said she and her friends sporadically napped together in one friend’s apartment after an exhausting workweek. “It felt so good just to rest in community,” she said. On Hersey’s book tour, she is leading exercises like this across the country. “I think we need to collectively do this,” Hersey explained. “We need to learn again how to daydream because we’ve been told not to do it. I don’t think most people even have a daydreaming practice.” Daydreaming, Hersey said, allows people to imagine a new world. Hersey tells her followers that yes, you can rest, even when your agenda is packed, even between caregiving, commuting, jobs, bills, emails and other daily demands. And you don’t have to do it alone. There is a community of escape artists, she said of the people who opt out of grind and hustle culture, waiting to embrace you. The book is part pocket prayer book, part instruction manual, with art and handmade typography by San Francisco-based artist George McCalman inspired by 19th-century abolitionist pamphlets, urging readers to reclaim their divine right to rest. Hersey directs her readers like an operative with instructions for a classified mission. “Let grind culture know you are not playing around,” she wrote in her book. “This is not a game or time to shrink. Your thriving depends on the art of escape.” The reluctance to rest can be rooted in capitalist culture presenting rest as a reward for productivity instead of a physical and mental necessity. Hersey deconstructs this idea of grind culture, which she says is rooted in the combined effects of white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism that “look at the body as not human.” American culture encourages grind culture, Hersey said, but slowing down and building a ritual of rest can offset its toxicity. The author eschews the ballooning billion-dollar self-care industry that encourages people to “save enough money and time off from work to fly away to an expensive retreat,” she wrote. Instead, she says rest can happen anywhere you have a place to be comfortable: in nature, on a yoga mat, in the car between shifts, on a cozy couch after work. Resting isn’t just napping either. She praises long showers, sipping warm tea, playing music, praying or numerous other relaxing activities that slow down the body. “We’re in a crisis mode of deep sleep deprivation, deep lack of self-worth, (and) mental health,” said Hersey. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2022 , in Illinois about 37% of adults aren’t getting the rest they need at night. If ignored, the effects of sleep deprivation can have bigger implications later, Hersey said. In October, she lectured at a sleep conference at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, where her humanities work was featured alongside research from the world’s top neuroscientists. Jennifer Mundt, a Northwestern clinician and professor of sleep medicine, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, praises Hersey for bringing the issue of sleep and rest to the public. In a Tribune op-ed last year, Mundt argued that our culture focuses too heavily on sleep as something that must be earned rather than a vital aspect of health and that linking sleep to productivity is harmful and stigmatizing. “Linking sleep and productivity is harmful because it overshadows the bevy of other reasons to prioritize sleep as an essential component of health,” Mundt wrote. “It also stigmatizes groups that are affected by sleep disparities and certain chronic sleep disorders.” In a 30-year longitudinal study released in the spring by the New York University School of Social Work, people who worked long hours and late shifts reported the lowest sleep quality and lowest physical and mental functions, and the highest likelihood of reporting poor health and depression at age 50. The study also showed that Black men and women with limited education “were more likely than others to shoulder the harmful links between nonstandard work schedules and sleep and health, worsening their probability of maintaining and nurturing their health as they approach middle adulthood.” The CDC links sleeping fewer than seven hours a day to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and more. Although the Nap Ministry movement is new for her followers, Hersey’s written about her family’s practice of prioritizing rest, which informs her work. Her dad was a community organizer, a yardmaster for the Union Pacific Railroad Co. and an assistant pastor. Before long hours of work, he would dedicate hours each day to self-care. Hersey also grew up observing her grandma meditate for 30 minutes daily. Through rest, Hersey said she honors her ancestors who were enslaved and confronts generational trauma. When “Rest Is Resistance” was released in 2022, Americans were navigating a pandemic and conversations on glaring racial disparities. “We Will Rest!” comes on the heels of a historic presidential election where Black women fundraised for Vice President Kamala Harris and registered voters in a dizzying three-month campaign. Following Harris’ defeat, many of those women are finding self-care and preservation even more important. “There are a lot of Black women announcing how exhausted they are,” Moore said. “This could be their entry point to get to know (Hersey’s) work, which is bigger than whatever political wind is blowing right now.” Hersey said Chicagoans can meet kindred spirits in her environment of rest. Haji Healing Salon, a wellness center, and the social justice-focused Free Street Theater are sites where Hersey honed her craft and found community. In the fall, the theater put on “Rest/Reposo,” a performance featuring a community naptime outdoors in McKinley Park and in its Back of the Yards space. Haji is also an apothecary and hosts community healing activities, sound meditations and yoga classes. “It is in Bronzeville; it’s a beautiful space owned by my friend Aya,” Hersey said, explaining how her community has helped her build the Nap Ministry. “When I first started the Nap Ministry, before I was even understanding what it was, she was like, come do your work here.” “We Will Rest!” is a collection of poems, drawings and short passages. In contrast to her first book, Hersey said she leaned more into her artistic background; the art process alone took 18 months to complete. After a tough year for many, she considers it medicine for a “sick and exhausted” world. “It’s its own sacred document,” Hersey said. “It’s something that, if you have it in your library and you have it with you, you may feel more human.” lazu@chicagotribune.com

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Thomas scores 25 as Austin Peay defeats Georgia State 62-50

Incarnate Word beats East Texas A&M 38-24 to finish undefeated in conference playTULSA, Okla. (AP) — Michael Jacobs' 19 points off of the bench helped lead Southern to a 70-66 victory over Tulsa on Saturday. Jacobs shot 7 of 15 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line for the Jaguars (4-4). Cam Amboree added 10 points while going 3 of 5 (2 for 3 from 3-point range) while they also had five rebounds. Derrick Tezeno shot 4 of 6 from the field to finish with 10 points. The Golden Hurricane (4-6) were led by Keaston Willis, who recorded 23 points and seven rebounds. Tyshawn Archie added 17 points, four assists and two blocks for Tulsa. Ian Smikle also had 11 points and eight rebounds. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .AP News Summary at 2:33 p.m. EST

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Newsom, a Democrat, proposed creating a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program , which was phased out in 2023 after funding 594,000 cars and saving 456 million gallons of fuel, Newsom’s office said. “Consumers continue to prove the skeptics wrong – zero-emission vehicles are here to stay," Newsom said in a statement. "We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.” Newsom’s proposal is part of his plan to protect California's progressive policies ahead of Republican President-elect Donald Trump's second term. He called the state Legislature to convene in a special session to help “Trump-proof” state laws by giving the attorney general’s office more funding to fight federal challenges. But a budget shortfall could complicate California’s resistance efforts. Early budget projections show the state could face a $2 billion deficit next year, according to a report released last week by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. That’s an improvement from an estimated $46.8 billion deficit the state faced last year, but the shortfall could still curtail the state’s ability to expand new programs and fight federal legal challenges. Legislative leaders in both chambers have said the state needs to stay prudent in anticipation of future budget deficits. Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump's transition team, said the president-elect would deliver on his campaign promises, “including stopping attacks on gas-powered cars.” “When he takes office, President Trump will support the auto industry, allowing space for both gas-powered cars AND electric vehicles,” she said in a statement. Money for the new rebate system could come from the state's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is funded by polluters under the state’s cap-and-trade program, the governor's office said. Officials didn’t say how much the program would cost or how the rebates would work. California has surpassed 2 million zero-emission vehicles sold, according to Newsom's office. The state has passed policies in recent years to transition away from fossil fuel-powered cars , trucks , trains and lawn mowers . Trump previously vowed to end federal electric vehicle tax credits , which are worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles. There’s also a $4,000 credit for used ones. But Trump later softened his stance as Tesla CEO Elon Musk became a supporter and adviser. Newsom's proposed rebates could exclude Tesla and other automakers in an effort to promote more market competition and innovation, according to the governor's office. But that is subject to negotiation with the state Legislature. Musk called Tesla's possible exclusion “insane” in a post on X. About 42% of rebates went to people buying or leasing Tesla vehicles under the state's previous clean vehicle rebate program, according to data from the California Air Resources Board. Trump criticized Newsom on social media after the governor called for a special session, calling out the high cost of living in California and the state’s homelessness crisis. Trump said Newsom was “stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again.’” Newsom said on his podcast earlier this month that he reached out to Trump after the election. He said at a news conference last week that he still hadn’t heard back from the president-elect. California's defunct Clean Vehicle Rebate Program offered rebates on electric cars as high as $2,500.Saratoga Entries for Tuesday, Nov. 26 SARDELLA SELECTIONS First Post Time: Noon Race 1: 8- Tattoman: Broke at 1-9 last time, avenges despite the post; 5- Pilsner Frosty: Only beaten a length in her Spa debut; 1- Green Meadow: Speed and the rail to threaten; 2- Flex Your Muscles Race 2: 3- Imgoingtojackson: Close in [...]

It took a while, but e-commerce giant Amazon ( AMZN 2.20% ) finally topped its all-time high, last seen in 2021. You might be nervous since the broader market has continued to rip higher, a reminder of 2021, which, in hindsight, was primarily due to a market bubble caused by 0% interest rates. But Amazon is a different company now than just three years ago. Everyone knows about the e-commerce business, which owns about 40% of America's online shopping market, but the company's Q3 earnings hammered home some encouraging truths about Amazon's future. I'll outline what excites me for 2025 and beyond and whether the stock, up 37% over the past year, is a buy, sell, or hold. Amazon's growing the most in the right places Most people know Amazon started selling books online in the late 1990s and has evolved into a juggernaut that offers a seemingly unbeatable combination of product selection, low prices, and fast delivery that has fueled the company's rise to control about 40% of America's e-commerce sales. However, Amazon is an exceptional company because it has successfully leveraged its e-commerce business to create additional businesses. Amazon sells products online at thin margins to keep competition at bay. So it's great news that Amazon is growing the fastest in segments that can contribute more to the company's bottom line. Specifically, I'm looking at: The cloud computing segment, Amazon Web Services (AWS), grew 19% year over year in Q3. Subscription services, which include Prime memberships, grew 11% year over year. Advertising, ads shown to online shoppers, and streamed video grew 19% year over year. Amazon doesn't break out its operating income for each specific segment; instead, it divides it into three categories: North America, International, and AWS. However, AWS alone accounted for $10.4 billion of Amazon's total operating profit of $17.4 billion (60%) in Q3, despite AWS only representing 17% of sales. In other words, you want Amazon's fastest-growing segments to be these higher-margin areas because that will move the needle on the bottom line faster. Cash flow is piling up as a result That's exactly what's happening. You can see a few things in the chart below. AMZN Cash from Operations (TTM) data by YCharts First, notice how Amazon's cash flow from operations (day-to-day business activities) has exploded higher over the past few years. It has pushed Amazon's free cash flow higher, despite the company continually investing more of its sales back into the business. Amazon has invested in logistics to support its e-commerce business and in AWS to expand its computing capacity to support growth and new opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI) . If these high-margin segments weren't growing, increasing Amazon's capital expenditures from 4% to 6% of sales to 11% to 13% would dramatically slow earnings growth. Yet Amazon's earnings have soared over the past couple years, and analysts estimate they will grow by an average of 28% annually over the next three to five years. Is Amazon stock a buy, sell, or hold? Amazon invests so much money in the business that valuing the stock based on a snapshot of earnings can be misleading. Instead, I would like to compare the stock to the company's cash flow from operations because it's a more steady measure of its performance. The chart suggests that Wall Street doesn't yet appreciate how much cash Amazon generates compared to three years ago. The company's surging cash flow has pushed Amazon's valuation to roughly 30% below its decade average and its lowest levels since about 2016: AMZN Price to CFO Per Share (TTM) data by YCharts Looking ahead, it seems likely that Amazon's ad business and AWS continue growing for the foreseeable future. AWS is poised to benefit from AI, which still appears to be in its early innings , while Amazon continues investing in bringing eyeballs to Prime Video. The company will start broadcasting more live sports in 2025, including the NBA and Nascar. Consider Amazon stock a compelling buy for long-term investors.Games to snuggle up with this holiday season

By James Royal, Ph.D., Bankrate.com Cryptocurrencies are enormously volatile, but that volatility can create opportunities for profit if you’re looking to trade these digital assets. Cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen a lot since their debut — but they’ve also experienced tremendous boom-bust cycles along the way. Experienced traders have been speculating on cryptocurrencies for years, but how can you get started if you’re new to the crypto market? Here’s how to start investing in cryptocurrency and the significant risks you need to watch out for. First things first, if you’re looking to invest in crypto, you need to have all your finances in order. That means having an emergency fund in place, a manageable level of debt and ideally a diversified portfolio of investments . Your crypto investments can become one more part of your portfolio, one that helps raise your total returns, hopefully. Pay attention to these five other things as you’re starting to invest in cryptocurrencies. As you would for any investment, understand exactly what you’re investing in. If you’re buying stocks, it’s important to read the annual report and other SEC filings to analyze the companies thoroughly. Plan to do the same with any cryptocurrencies , since there are literally thousands of them, they all function differently and new ones are being created every day. You need to understand the investment case for each trade. In the case of many cryptocurrencies , they’re backed by nothing at all, neither hard assets nor cash flow of an underlying entity. That’s the case for Bitcoin , for example, where investors rely exclusively on someone paying more for the asset than they paid for it. In other words, unlike stock, where a company can grow its profits and drive returns for you that way, many crypto assets must rely on the market becoming more optimistic and bullish for you to profit. Some of the most popular coins include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana , Dogecoin and Tether (a stablecoin) . So before investing, understand the potential upside and downside. If your financial investment is not backed by an asset or cash flow, it could end up being worth nothing. A mistake that many new investors make is looking at the past and extrapolating that to the future. Yes, Bitcoin used to be worth pennies, but now is worth much more . The key question, however, is “Will that growth continue into the future, even if it’s not at quite that meteoric rate?” Investors look to the future, not to what an asset has done in the past. What will drive future returns? Traders buying a cryptocurrency today need tomorrow’s gains, not yesterday’s. The prices of cryptocurrencies are about as volatile as an asset can get. They could drop quickly in seconds on nothing more than a rumor that ends up proving baseless. That can be great for sophisticated investors who can execute trades rapidly or who have a solid grasp on the market’s fundamentals, how the market is trending and where it could go. For new investors without these skills — or the high-powered algorithms that direct these trades — it’s a minefield. Volatility is a game for high-powered Wall Street traders, each of whom is trying to outgun other deep-pocketed investors. A new investor can easily get crushed by the volatility. That’s because volatility shakes out traders, especially beginners, who get scared. Meanwhile, other traders may step in and buy on the cheap. In short, volatility can help sophisticated traders “buy low and sell high” while inexperienced investors “buy high and sell low.” If you’re trading any asset on a short-term basis, you need to manage your risk , and that can be especially true with volatile assets such as cryptocurrency. So as a newer trader, you’ll need to understand how best to manage risk and develop a process that helps you mitigate losses. And that process can vary from individual to individual: Newer traders should consider setting aside a certain amount of trading money and then using only a portion of it, at least at first. If a position moves against them, they’ll still have money in reserve to trade with later. The ultimate point is that you can’t trade if you don’t have any money. So keeping some cash in reserve means you’ll always have a bankroll to fund your trading. It’s important to manage risk, but that will come at an emotional cost. Selling a losing position hurts, but doing so can help you avoid worse losses later. Finally, it’s important to avoid putting money that you need into speculative assets. If you can’t afford to lose it — all of it — you can’t afford to put it into risky assets such as cryptocurrency, or other speculative assets, for that matter. Whether it’s a down payment for a house or an important upcoming purchase, money that you need in the next few years should be kept in safe accounts so that it’s there when you need it. And if you’re looking for an absolutely sure return, your best option is to pay off high-interest debt. You’re guaranteed to earn (or save) whatever interest rate you’re paying on the debt. You can’t lose there. Finally, don’t overlook the security of any exchange or broker you’re using. You may own the assets legally, but someone still has to secure them, and their security needs to be tight. If they don’t think their cryptocurrency is properly secured, some traders choose to invest in a crypto wallet to hold their coins offline so they’re inaccessible to hackers or others. Remember that investing in cryptocurrency can be part of a broader investment strategy, but shouldn’t be your only one. While investing directly in cryptocurrency is popular, traders have other ways to get into the crypto game, some more directly than others. These include: Each of these methods varies in its riskiness and exposure to cryptocurrency, so you’ll want to understand exactly what you’re buying and whether it fits your needs. In theory it takes only a few dollars to invest in cryptocurrency. Most crypto exchanges, for example, have a minimum trade that might be $5 or $10. Other crypto trading apps might have a minimum that’s even lower. However, it’s important to understand that some trading platforms will take a huge chunk of your investment as a fee if you’re trading small amounts of cryptocurrency. So it’s important to look for a broker or exchange that minimizes your fees. In fact, many so-called “free” brokers embed fees — called spread mark-ups — in the price you pay for your cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is based on blockchain technology . Blockchain is a kind of database that records and timestamps every entry into it. The best way to think of a blockchain is like a running receipt of transactions. When a blockchain database powers cryptocurrency, it records and verifies transactions in the currency, verifying the currency’s movements and who owns it. Many crypto blockchain databases are run with decentralized computer networks. That is, many redundant computers operate the database, checking and rechecking the transactions to ensure that they’re accurate. If there’s a discrepancy, the networked computers have to resolve it. Some cryptocurrencies reward those who verify the transactions on the blockchain database in a process called mining. For example, miners involved with Bitcoin solve very complex mathematical problems as part of the verification process. If they’re successful, miners receive a predetermined award of Bitcoins. To mine Bitcoins , miners need powerful processing units that consume huge amounts of energy. Many miners operate gigantic rooms full of such mining rigs in order to extract these rewards. As of October 2024, running the Bitcoin system burned as much energy per year as the country of Poland. If you’re looking to invest in Bitcoin, you have a variety of ways to do so, and you can work with a number of companies, including: If you’re looking to buy Bitcoin, pay particular attention to the fees that you’re paying. Here are other key things to watch out for as you’re buying Bitcoin . An altcoin is an alternative to Bitcoin. Many years ago, traders would use the term pejoratively. Since Bitcoin was the largest and most popular cryptocurrency, everything else was defined in relation to it. So, whatever was not Bitcoin was lumped into a catch-all category called altcoins . While Bitcoin is still the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization by far, it’s no longer the only game in town. Other altcoins such as Ethereum and Solana have grown in popularity, making the term altcoin somewhat outmoded. Now with a reported 15,000 or more cryptocurrencies in existence, it makes less sense than ever to define the industry as “Bitcoin and then everything else.” Cryptocurrency is a highly speculative area of the market, and many smart investors have decided to put their money elsewhere. For beginners who want to get started trading crypto, however, the best advice is to start small and only use money that you can afford to lose. Bankrate’s Brian Baker contributed to an update of this story. ©2024 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.