If you’ve been following the financial markets closely this year Bitcoin may have caught your attention. And why not? While the stock market took a deep dive at the start of the pandemic, only to recover to its previous highs by August, Bitcoin saw something in excess of a 50% increase in price over the same time frame.

If you’ve been contemplating how to buy Bitcoin, you’ll need to learn all you can about this exotic investment. It’s not like any other asset – if it even qualifies as an asset at all. More than anything, it seems to be a concept, and that’s why you need to know exactly what you’re getting into.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is what is more generally referred to as a cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are virtual currencies, meaning they exist only on the Internet. Despite the many pictures you’ve undoubtedly seen of what looked to be actual Bitcoin coins, no such creature really exists. The photos you see are merely a representation, which also explains why they seem to look a little bit different from one picture to another.

Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009 as open-source software. It was created by a software developer who goes by the name Satoshi Nakamoto, which is widely believed to be a pseudonym. Put another way, nobody really knows who invented Bitcoin.

The crypto was designed to be limited to no more than 21 million units. But much like dollars can be subdivided into pennies, Bitcoin can also be broken down into smaller units, called Satoshi – what else??? In theory, at least, as many as 2.1 zillion Satoshi can be created from 21 million Bitcoin units. That is, each Bitcoin is worth 100 million Satoshi.

Like all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin can only be bought, held, spent, or sold on the Internet, hence the term digital currency. Originally, Bitcoin was created specifically to be a digital currency, meaning a medium of exchange for online transactions. It was seen as a currency alternative to government-issued money, like dollars, yen, and euros. Its value as an alternative is vested in the idea that it can’t be counterfeited, double spent, tracked, or even manipulated by governments. In other words, it was designed to be a free-floating currency.

However, virtually since its inception, Bitcoin has been much less a medium of exchange and more of a financial speculation.

Bitcoin is hardly the only cryptocurrency, though it is the biggest by far. Others include Ethereum, Litecoin, and Namecoin. Facebook has even attempted to launch its own cryptocurrency, called the Libra. The crypto was announced in 2018, with a targeted release date of 2020. But more than halfway through the year, the release of the Libra is uncertain.

Why Buy Bitcoin?

While Bitcoin is accepted as a payment method, the number of participating vendors and merchants in extremely limited. Its value seems to be primarily based on speculation – the possibility of the crypto rising to even higher prices.

In addition to its impressive performance in 2020, Bitcoin has provided incredible returns for early adopters. When originally introduced in 2009, it traded at no more than $1. But by the end of 2013, it had already rocketed to nearly $800. After that, it dropped down to close to $200, where it languished through most of 2015.

But by the end of 2016, it was trading at close to $1,000. And that’s when the real action started taking place.

On December 17, 2017, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $19,783.06. But as impressive as that gain was, the price was back down below $3,300 by December of 2018. It briefly moved above $12,000 by the middle of 2019, then fell back once again.

That see-sawing price action with Bitcoin seems to be the attraction. It may be the ultimate buy low/sell high asset – if you can get the timing thing right.

The Risks of Buying Bitcoin

As exciting as the speculation potential of Bitcoin is, the downside risk is as obvious as the upside potential. Though many are fascinated at the possibility of buying the crypto at $5,000, then watching it launch up to $50,000, there’s no guarantee that will happen. It’s just as likely that you’ll buy at $11,000, only to watch it dropped down to $4,000.

That may be the biggest risk, but it’s certainly not the only one.

Bitcoin isn’t backed by anything. There’s no gold or silver sitting in a vault somewhere backing up the whole digital currency. And even though that’s true for national currencies, at least those have the backing of governments. That also means there’s no FDIC equivalent to protect your investment should something go wrong.

And speaking of governments, there’s always the possibility that one or more major governments will declare cryptocurrencies to be illegal. That’s not as far-fetched as it sounds, either. Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are designed to compete with national currencies. Thus far they haven’t been very successful. But should they catch on as a common medium of exchange, government bans won’t be out of the question.

There’s yet another risk that might be more philosophical than anything else. That’s the use of Bitcoin for its intended purpose, as a medium of exchange. In the 11 years that the crypto has existed, it hasn’t even made a dent in global economic activity. Even on the Internet, which Bitcoin was designed specifically to serve, it’s use in transactions is extremely limited.

With no asset or government backing, and no consistent purpose, Bitcoin has to be considered a pure speculation.

That holds the potential that the value may one day drop all the way down to zero. That’s certainly not a prediction, but it’s a very real possibility.

Decide Where to Buy Bitcoin

Okay, you’ve learned a bit about Bitcoin, including the risks, and you still want to take the plunge; where do you start?

You’ll need to buy Bitcoin, which is something you can’t do at a bank or traditional investment brokerage. Heck, even Walmart doesn’t sell Bitcoin.

For that reason, there are very specific platforms where you can buy Bitcoin or any other type of cryptocurrency. These are frequently referred to as cryptocurrency exchanges.

Examples include:

• eToro
• Coinbase
• Coinbase Pro
• CEX.io
• Changelly
• Bisq
• Cash App (which also offers banking and investing)
• Coinmama

This isn’t a recommendation to purchase Bitcoin or any other crypto from the above exchanges. The entire industry is no more than a decade old, and numerous players have come and gone. You’ll have to do your own investigating to determine the integrity of any exchange you decide to purchase Bitcoin on.

Also, there are trading fees involved with cryptocurrency exchanges. You’ll need to investigate the current rates for each exchange, based on how much of the currency you want to buy, and how frequently you expect to be trading it.

Still another option is to use Robinhood. It’s an online investment service that offers free trading of stocks, but it also acts as an exchange where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Here is a more complete rundown on where to buy Cryptocurrency.

Storing Your Bitcoin: Choosing a Digital Wallet

Since Bitcoin is a digital currency, you won’t be able to hold it in a bank account or brokerage account. For storage purposes, you’ll need to hold it in a digital wallet.

Digital wallets come in two temperatures, hot and cold.

With a hot wallet, your crypto is stored either by the exchange where you purchased your Bitcoin or by a cloud provider that you can access through your computer or a mobile app. In fact, a free hot wallet will often be offered where you buy your cryptocurrency. Fortunately, even third-party digital wallets, those that are cloud-based, are usually free as well.

The advantage with hot wallets is that transactions are much quicker, often instantaneous. However, that speed has the potential to sacrifice security. Hot wallets can be targets for hackers. This is a good time to repeat that cryptos are not covered by FDIC insurance or any similar coverage. If your Bitcoin is stolen, it’s gone for good.

Popular hot wallets include Coinbase, Electrum, and Blockchain.

Cold wallets are an actual portable device. You can use them to download and store your cryptos. They’re considered more secure than hot wallets because you actually have physical possession of the device were your currency is stored. They can be purchased generally for under $200. Popular cold wallets include Trezor and Ledger. (Once again, we’re not endorsing either, only reporting that those are known cold wallet options.)

Final Thoughts

This article is meant to be only an introduction on how to buy Bitcoin and not a recommendation. As noted in the article, Bitcoin is true speculation, in that its “value” is based entirely on the idea that someone else will pay a higher price in the future than you paid to buy it. This is also known as the greater fool theory, and even though it’s a strategy that ultimately is doomed to fail, plenty of people have made fortunes in speculations based on nothing more.

If you do plan to buy Bitcoin, keep your position small. A 5% allocation is probably plenty, and 10% is almost certainly too much. The vast majority of your portfolio should be invested in traditional assets, like stocks, bonds, funds, and real estate, with a small portion also held in cash equivalents for safety.

No matter how well Bitcoin seems to be performing at any given point in time, it’s important to keep a cool head. This is a speculation that tends to zigzag in short order. It can rise by 1,000% in a few months, then fall by 90% in just a few weeks, leaving you exactly where you started – if you’re lucky.

The post How to Buy Bitcoin (BTC) appeared first on Best Wallet Hacks.

Do you want to invest in real estate but you’re not entirely sold on the idea of real estate investment trusts (REITs)? If so, you may want to take a close look at CrowdStreet.

CrowdStreet is part of a new and fast-growing class of real estate investing vehicles, often referred to as real estate crowdfunding, where investors come together to invest their money in real estate projects offered by real estate sponsors.

CrowdStreet not only offers you an opportunity to invest in real estate but also in one of the most popular real estate investments among institutions and wealthy individuals: commercial real estate. Real estate has the benefit of potentially providing both stable regular income and capital appreciation upon the eventual sale of the underlying properties.

Why invest in commercial real estate? According to NAREIT, equity-based real estate investments earned 12.87% between 1978 and 2016. Compare that to compared to the S&P500 which earned 11.64% over the same time period. You can see why real estate is such an attractive investment. 

CrowdStreet is one way to invest in commercial real estate and take advantage of those potential returns.

🚨 This Wall Street Journal article titled “Missing Millions and a Rabbinical Arbitrator: Real-Estate Deal Gone Bad Hits Popular Crowd Funder” shares some harrowing news about some of the deals on Crowdstreet. “A Wall Street Journal review of 104 completed deals and other deals that were aborted or still in process found that many failed to meet returns suggested in sales pitches. When developers fell short of funds, they asked investors to pony up more cash or risk losing their investments. CrowdStreet also helped raise cash for a firm that lied about its track record to investors, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, and whose chief executive was later sentenced to prison for fraud for the fundraising.” Until these issues are addressed, we no longer recommend Crowdstreet but this does highlight the importance of due diligence. You can’t rely on the platform to do it.

Who is CrowdStreet?

Based in Portland, Oregon, CrowdStreet has been in business since 2014. While that may not sound like a long time, understand that the whole business of real estate crowdfunding didn’t exist until the passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in 2012. One of the primary outcomes of that act was the opening of access to private equity investments, including commercial real estate projects, to more investors.

Until then, access to commercial real estate investing was limited to wealthy investors and institutional money, like pensions and insurance companies.

In the space of just six years, CrowdStreet has funded more than 430 commercial real estate investment offerings, raising more than $1.22 billion in capital. Thirty-three of those projects have since exited (sold).

Is CrowdStreet for Accredited Investors Only?

The short answer is yes. Because of the high risk/high reward nature of CrowdStreet investments, accredited investor status is required.

To qualify for accredited investor status, you must meet either the annual income or net worth requirements as follows:

1. Have an annual personal income of at least $200,000 (or $300,000 jointly with your spouse) in each of the past two years, with a reasonable expectation of reaching the same income in the current year, or
2. Have a minimum net worth of $1 million, not including your personal residence.

Unlike some investment platforms that require only that you self-certify your accredited investor status, CrowdStreet does require independent verification. You can do this either by using VerifyInvestor.com through the CrowdStreet Transaction Center, or certified by an independent third-party verifier, such as your CPA, attorney, or wealth advisor. The third-party can provide verification by supplying a verification letter, which is available in template form through CrowdStreet.

Please note sending forms of self-certification, such as providing income tax returns, W-2s, or financial statements, are not acceptable forms of verification.

If you are not an accredited investor but are interested in real estate investing, consider Fundrise. They offer REITS and do not require accreditation. Here’s our full review.

Get started with CrowdStreet

Minimum Initial Investment

The typical minimum is $25,000, though some deals may require at least $100,000. Minimum investments will usually be listed in the individual investment details.

If you don’t have $25,000 to invest in real estate right now, here are several ways to get started with as little as $1,000.

Account Types Offered

Crowdstreet offers individual or joint investment accounts, or IRAs when included in a specialized self-directed IRA (SDIRA). These are not common self-directed IRA accounts, such as those offered by investment brokerages. They’re usually highly specialized IRA custodians that work specifically with alternative investments, including private equity commercial real estate.

CrowdStreet has built out online integrations with Millennium Trust, Entrust, and Equity Trust specifically for IRA accounts.

Income Distribution Frequency

Depending on the deal, some investors might receive income distributions during the hold period, but most of the distributions come when the property sells. 

Investment Availability

CrowdStreet deals are available in all 50 states and open to U.S. investors.

Customer Support

Customer support is only available by on-site email. No phone contact is indicated and there is no mobile app. 

Account Security

As with most investments, CrowdStreet is not protected by either FDIC or SIPC.

CrowdStreet Investments

CrowdStreet investments are sourced and reviewed by a team of real estate professionals with more than 60 years of combined private equity real estate experience, and involvement in more than $6.5 billion in total real estate transactions.

Each real estate deal offered on the platform must pass a three-step process:

1. Sponsor Vetting. Here the real estate developer or operator’s background and track record are investigated and evaluated for professionalism. That includes deep background checks, reference checks, and a review of a sponsor’s previous projects. Sponsors will be classified as either emerging, seasoned, enterprise or tenured.
2. Deal Screening. This step involves the evaluation of the investment itself. CrowdStreet looks to ensure that the proposed investment aligns with the sponsor’s background and CrowdStreet’s general investment thesis.  
3. Offering Terms Review. The terms of the proposed offering and associated documents are reviewed against CrowdStreet’s standard investor deal terms criteria matrix. This step may result in the sponsor adjusting certain details or the deal being rejected completely.

For example, all deal sponsors must co-invest in the deal and state their co-investment amounts for equity offerings.

Only once all three criteria are met will deals be made available on the platform for investment.

Deals on CrowdStreet fall into four risk categories. Two offer more conservative returns – and less risk – while two others have both higher returns and higher risk levels.

The four risk profiles include:

Opportunistic Deals

These are real estate investments that target the highest returns but also have the greatest risk. The category includes ground-up developments that have little to no cash flow and often represent very complex business plans.

To date, CrowdStreet has published 102 opportunistic deals, seven of which have been sold and fully exited.

Value-Add Deals

This is another risk profile where the goal is to significantly increase the value of the property. This is done by making large-scale improvements to the property. 

CrowdStreet has offered investors participation in 227 value-add deals, 23 of which have sold and exited.

Core-Plus Deals

Core-plus investments are high-quality properties that are mostly occupied but have some monthly income allocated for future maintenance and upgrades. Put another way, they’re more conservative investments with lower potential annual returns. Of the 70 offerings, three have exited. 

Core Deals

Core deals have stable, predictable cash flows, are located in major markets, and are usually fully occupied and need no major improvements.

A less common deal on the Marketplace, CrowdStreet has only published five core deals, with none having exited yet.

Get started with CrowdStreet

Investing with CrowdStreet

When you invest with CrowdStreet you’ll have a choice to invest in individual deals and/or funds and vehicles.

Individual Deals

If you invest in individual properties, the platform provides details of the specific parameters of each deal. For example, they’ll provide five basic pieces of information:

• Targeted investor IRR – the anticipated average annual return upon completion of the deal, taking into account both average annual cash flows and equity return over the holding period.
• Targeted Equity Mulitple – the cumulative distributed returns, divided by the amount of paid-in capital. For example, if you put $100,000 into a deal, and the expectation is you’ll receive $200,000 in total return upon completion, the targeted equity multiple will be 2X.
• Targeted Average Cash Yield – the anticipated annual rate of return on income distributions you’ll receive on your investment.
• Targeted Investment Period – the length of time that’s anticipated between initial investment and property sale. Depending on the individual deal, that can be anywhere from two years to 10 years, with three-to-five years as an average.

You’ll be able to select the individual properties you want to invest in based on the above criteria, and how well it fits within your own investment expectations.

The platform also offers a filtering search that will enable you to narrow your investment selections based on IRR, deal terms, income distribution frequency, minimum investment size, and investment structure (debt, equity, mezzanine debt, portfolio, preferred equity, or REITs).

You can also filter based on the geographic region in the country, and property type – such as land, hospitality, industrial, medical office, multi-family, retail, student or senior housing, or mixed-use properties.

Funds and Vehicles

CrowdStreet also offers commercial real estate funds. They consist of investments spread across multiple properties within a single, diversified portfolio.

Single-sponsor funds are managed by a single real estate firm and focus on whatever that firm’s specialty is. That can be based on a geographic region or a specific type of commercial property, such as retail, office, or multifamily complexes.

CrowdStreet funds are managed by CrowdStreet itself. There are different funds offered based on different investment strategies.

CrowdStreet Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Opportunity to invest in commercial real estate, which is one of the highest yielding long-term investments available.
• Potential of high returns – the typical investment has a targeted IRR of 22% when annual distributions and capital appreciation upon property sale are included, but you have to review this on a case by case basis.
• You’ll have a choice to invest in individual properties or investment funds.
• You can choose both the geographic location and the specific property types you want to invest in, including large apartment complexes, retail or office space, hospitality, student housing, and more.

Cons:

• Accredited investor status is required and will be verified.
• High minimum initial investment, starting at $25,000.
• Lack of liquidity – this is common to all real estate crowdfunding investments because each is a standalone deal that offers no public exchange for an early exit.
• Investment commitment – terms can run from a minimum of two years to as many as 10 years.
• Very limited contact – email contact only, no phone contact is offered.
• No mobile app from which to track your investments.
• No insurance coverage is offered, such as FDIC or SIPC. However, your investment is secured by the underlying real estate it’s attached to.

Are the Deals on CrowdStreet a Good Investment?

Only you can determine what a good investment is for you based on your own risk tolerance, investment goals, time horizon, and personal preferences.

Even if you qualify as an accredited investor, you should invest only a small percentage of your portfolio through CrowdStreet or any other single real estate crowdfunding platform. Real estate should represent a percentage of your total portfolio equity allocation, and it’s wise to diversify that amount should be spread over several investments. This will be especially important if you are investing in individual property deals.

But if you have the financial wherewithal, and you’re looking to add a true alternative investment to your portfolio – one with expected returns well above average and that competes favorably with stocks – CrowdStreet should be on your shortlist of possibilities.

If you’d like more information, or you’d like to invest, visit the CrowdStreet website.

Get started with CrowdStreet

Disclaimer:
This post contains an affiliate link. CrowdStreet has not endorsed this post. However, if you register with CrowdStreet through this affiliate link, WalletHacks.com may earn a referral fee at no cost to you.

The post CrowdStreet Review 2024: Crowdfunded Commercial Real Estate Investing appeared first on Best Wallet Hacks.

Do you remember when Robinhood was founded? It was April 2013 and the idea of a smartphone app only brokerage with free trades blew everyone’s mind.

How were they going to make money?

How soon until they went under?

Fast forward six-plus years and not only is Robinhood still around but they’ve changed the industry. Free trades is almost a standard as the older brokers struggled to keep up. Cash management accounts are far more common, even though Robinhood’s first foray had some hiccups.

But if you were to point out one close competitor to Robinhood, it probably would be Webull. They don’t have as much fanfare or press but they are very similar substitutes.

Robinhood may be one of the originals and one of the largest investment platforms but Webull is a newer company but has recently built a loyal following. Both companies have taken away some of the fear of investing by offering easy-to-use products that are free from most of the fees.

So, how do Robinhood and Webull compare to each other? Let’s take a look and see how each stacks up.

Robinhood vs. Webull Snapshot

Both companies offer $0 commission trades on stock, ETF, options, and cryptocurrencies. Neither has an account minimum and both offer a bonus when you sign up with a link here.

Both Robinhood and Webull offer the ability to buy fractional shares.

Webull offers several things that Robinhood doesn’t (which is why they’re one of the best Robinhood alternatives):

• $0 commissions on short selling with margin accounts
• Trading simulator

Since Webull offers Rollover IRAs, we include them on our list of the best IRA rollover promotions.

The new customer promotional offers are slightly different too:

• Robinhood offers free stock (valued $5 - $200)
• Webull offers up to 40 fractional stocks

Now, let’s dig deeper.

What is Webull?

Webull is an all-in-one self-directed investment platform. Originally, the company was a research platform (which reflects the type of investment platform they created) whose brokerage services are provided by Webull Financial LLC. Webull released its mobile app in 2018 and has seen incredible growth since its launch.

Here is our Webull review for more information.

What is Robinhood?

Robinhood is a commission-free investment platform that is very popular. Formed in 2013, Robinhood successfully launched its app to the general public in 2015 and has worked hard to remove many of the barriers that keep people from investing.

Here is our Robinhood review for more information.

What makes Robinhood and Webull different?

Since both Robinhood and Webull are investment platforms, they share some similarities that customers will love; however, they are also very different from each other.

Let’s see what sets each of these investment apps apart from each other.

Their target user

While there’s an inherent competition between the two services, Webull and Robinhood weren’t created for the same people. Robinhood isn’t shy about promoting itself as the investment platform for beginning investors. From the app’s design to the language used, every part of Robinhood was created with beginners in mind.

Webull, on the other hand, is meant for active traders. It’s designed for intermediate and advanced users. Beginners trying to use Webull may get lost in the trade simulator, newsfeeds, financial calendars, and various other investment market data.

Investment options

Robinhood offers multiple investment options, such as commission-free investments in stocks, ETFs, and options. Robinhood also offers the unique option to invest in cryptocurrency. Users can buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and others within the app. Mutual funds, bonds, and over the counter stocks aren’t available with Robinhood.

Webull is slightly more limited in its investment offerings, but they do carry 5,000 stocks and ETFs. There are also ADR investment opportunities; however, they don’t offer cryptocurrency, mutual funds, bonds, or over the counter stocks.

Platform

When it comes to the mobile app itself, Robinhood is the sleeker investment platform. Because they are targeting beginners, they worked to create a product that was aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Unfortunately, anyone looking to research investments will have to do it ahead of time and outside of the Robinhood app as they don’t feature this type of information. Robinhood is available for mobile and web-based use.

Webull has a much clunkier interface. It might make sense to more seasoned investors, but you can tell that more thought went into the investment side of the business, not the design side. Webull is a smaller brokerage firm, so it makes sense that they weren’t able to put more effort into the design of their app. Originally, Webull was only available to mobile users, but web-based and downloadable platforms are now available.

Paid vs. free options

Another significant difference between Robinhood and Webull is what features are free and which ones cost money. For the most part, both investment platforms offer tons of free services.

Robinhood released Robinhood Gold, which is a paid account, starting at $75/year and allows users to gain access to trading on margin. There is a $2,000 minimum balance required. Other perks with Robinhood Gold are extended trading hours and bigger instant deposits.

With Webull, users can access up to 4 times their deposit in margin without paying for a monthly subscription and only pay for margin interest. There is also a minimum balance of $2,000 required with a Webull margin account. Webull doesn’t charge for extended trading hours. Something you can pay extra for with Webull is real-time global market data. Only U.S. market data is free.

Financial Calendar

A feature offered by Webull but not Robinhood is a financial calendar. Their financial calendar shows:

• What the upcoming IPOs are
• What companies are reporting earnings over the next month
• What companies are paying out dividends

This type of information may not be interesting to many investors, but active investors love this kind of information.

Customer Support

Robinhood and Webull offer their customers similar support services. Both investment platforms provide two types of support: email support and online support in the form of a help center. Only Webull offers phone support by calling 1 (888) 828-0618.

Price Alerts

Webull gives users the ability to set price alerts. Webull will send you a notification when a stock hits a specific price point that you set. Robinhood doesn’t offer price alerts.

Short Selling

Short selling is an investment strategy that involves borrowing stock or security and sells it, hoping to buy it back at a lower price to turn a profit; it’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy. Webull allows short-selling commission-free but is not an option with Robinhood.

Trading Simulator

Webull users have access to a free trading simulator. A trading simulator allows people to “practice” trading. You can test out trading strategies to see likely results. This can take out some of the risks of trading. It would make sense for a tool like a trading simulator to be present in Robinhood since its geared towards beginners, but they don’t offer one.

Account Types

Available accounts for Robinhood and Webull are similar since both offer options of cash accounts with no minimum balance. You will need the funds to make investments, but beyond that, there is no minimum. Both companies also offer margin accounts which are required to have a $2,000 minimum due to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulations.

Robinhood recently started offering retirement accounts too!

You can see that Webull offers a few more services than Robinhood. Both are free investment platforms, though. In the end, it probably depends more on what level investor you are as to which platform makes more sense to use regularly.

New Account Promotions

Finally, I never like letting a promotion dictate which service to use but in this case, both brokerages offer similar new account bonuses.

Webull will also give you a up to 40 fractional stocks for opening of your account and making a deposit.

Robinhood will give you free stock (valued $5 - $200) when you sign up.

Webull and Robinhood are very similar and since both offer a new account bonus, I suggest giving them both a try to see which one you like best. You can get free stock in the process!

Get 2 free stocks worth up to $1,850 from Webull

Get free stock (valued $5 - $200) from Robinhood

The post Robinhood vs. Webull: Which Free Investing App Is The Better? appeared first on Best Wallet Hacks.