“Stock market sell-off” and “red numbers signal market drop”: the headlines pull no punches. It’s panic on the stock market – though it seems to be stabilizing somewhat as the week goes on. Still, there is no sign of panic at B&R Beurs. “As a long-term investor, you know these kinds of things can and will happen. So it doesn’t cause any fear,” says Quincy Salden, the association’s treasurer. Some members are even cautiously buying shares during this period to continue their long-term strategy.”

Evaporate

One of those investors is Mechanical Engineering student Inder de Boer. It was through his technical studies that De Boer developed an interest in tech stocks. “For example, shares in ASML. But the technology behind Bitcoin is also fascinating to me. I bought into those stocks early on, so I was lucky.” In addition to traditional stocks, Bitcoin has also dropped significantly at the moment. “I’ve seen a lot of money evaporate over the past few weeks.”

Still, De Boer is not too alarmed by this because he has seen the prices fall and rise again many times over the years. In fact, he sees this as a good opportunity to score some bargains. “Now that I work alongside my studies, I have some more money to spend, so I’ve been able to invest an extra two months’ worth of salary. Everything is cheap right now, which is nice.”

Confidence

But the steep downturn does hurt a little. “Of course I think about how long I’d have to work to earn back the money I lost,” says De Boer. “But I also know that, in the long run, the stock markets will bounce back.” What has changed for De Boer is how actively he looks for opportunities during these volatile times.

He still has full confidence in crypto. “That’s because of the technology behind Bitcoin. I don’t really concern myself with altcoins though (alternative crypto currencies to Bitcoin, Ed.). Trump may make changes, but that doesn’t erase people’s confidence in Bitcoin.”