Ok. Diving into this asset class can be a bit like drinking from a firehose, but I’ll try to help.
Everyone in the space should own some bitcoin. People will suggest different percentages. I gave 50 just because it’s a nice number that still lets you play with other stuff. I know that is a bit intoxicating when you first discover all of this. In actuality I would start higher on bitcoin. Personally I’m at 90%. Ideologically I align more with it and it’s been de-risked relative to other cryptocurrencies. There is slightly less upside compared to some of the smaller ones. Like maybe only 10x over the next 4-5 years but “less” risk like I said. I will spoiler a diatribe I wrote a while back when someone asked what gives bitcoin value.
As far as the rest of the crypto ecosystem, it’s impossible to easily summarize even if I had all the knowledge. Basically your next best options on a bigger exchange like Coinbase will be the various smart contract protocols. They enable decentralized finance, NfT purchases, gaming shit and other things I’m forgetting or unaware of.
The largest is Ethereum. It has the biggest market cap and moat. The safest bet of all these, but maybe less upside than the smaller ones if they’re successful. They’re navigating some structural changes currently.
The other two big ones that are emerging as potential competitors/threats to Ethereum are Solana (Sol) and Avalanche (Avax). I’m not versed on how they technically may be superior to Eth, but they definitely have more upside but more risk as well.
Others here can expand on a lot of this. The only other thing I’ll mention is please don’t buy any Xrp, BCh, BSV, or Litecoin. They’re all trash that draw newcomer’s money but not really worth following. You could make money but as someone pursuing a buy and hold strategy they should be avoided.
If you have any other specific questions I’ll try to answer them. Good luck.