Building a crypto portfolio doesn't have to be complicated. Here's a simple framework for beginners.
The 3 portfolio tiers
Conservative (low risk)
- 70% Bitcoin
- 20% Ethereum
- 10% Stablecoins (USDC/USDT for buying dips)
Best for: New investors, long-term holders, people who want crypto exposure without the chaos.
Balanced (moderate risk)
- 50% Bitcoin
- 25% Ethereum
- 15% Large-cap altcoins (SOL, ADA, AVAX, DOT)
- 10% Stablecoins
Best for: Investors comfortable with volatility who want growth potential.
Growth (higher risk)
- 35% Bitcoin
- 20% Ethereum
- 25% Large-cap altcoins
- 15% Mid-cap altcoins (new L1s, DeFi, infrastructure)
- 5% Stablecoins
Best for: Experienced investors with a high risk tolerance and long time horizon.
Use our Portfolio Allocation tool to build your custom allocation and see dollar amounts.
How much should you invest?
The only correct answer: an amount you can afford to lose entirely. Crypto is volatile and risky. Common guidelines:
- Start with 1-5% of your total savings
- Never invest emergency fund money
- If a 50% crash would cause you financial stress, invest less
Use our Crash Simulator to see exactly how much you'd lose in historical crash scenarios.
How to diversify properly
Diversification in crypto is tricky because most altcoins are highly correlated with Bitcoin. When BTC drops 30%, most altcoins drop 40-60%.
True diversification means:
- Different layers — L1 (BTC, SOL), L2 (ARB, OP), Infrastructure, DeFi
- Different use cases — Store of value, smart contracts, stablecoins
- Geographic exposure — Not all your assets on one chain or exchange
Check correlation between assets with our Correlation Matrix.
Rebalancing
Over time, your allocation will drift as prices change. Rebalancing means selling overweight positions and buying underweight ones to maintain your target allocation.
Use our Portfolio Rebalancer to see exactly what to buy and sell.
Related tools
- Portfolio Allocation — build your custom allocation
- Crash Simulator — stress test your portfolio
- Portfolio Rebalancer — see what to rebalance
- Correlation Matrix — check asset correlations
- DCA Calculator — plan your regular investments
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