Much of what appears in the press regarding Bitcoin investments and how to act on it has one thing in common: it refers to relatively large sums whose losses or gains will have a considerable impact on the owner.

What should you do, however, if you are one of a growing number of Bitcoin smallholders, those ‘stuck in Bitcoin’ by virtue of the purchasing power of their investment?

Experts far and wide tend to exercise caution when it comes to the topic of purchasing or selling Bitcoin, so Cointelegraph has decided to outline some options for readers who own smaller quantities so they can maximize its potential.

Firstly, we are of the opinion that doing nothing brings nothing. If you want to sell your bitcoins for fiat currency, simply plan at what exchange rate you will sell them, then wait till the hour comes. You should make a plan and, crucially, stick to it!

If you have less than 1 BTC

We think there are two options in this situation. If you trust in your luck, you can literally gamble. There are many pretty fair lotteries, poker sites and others which could potentially get you a slightly higher return on your small investment, giving you a little more opportunity to invest later.

“I would use some and buy me something,” advised Amos Meiri of ColoredCoins.org, “This will support the ecosystem and some I would keep. Buying other altcoins is not an option.”

A second option is to play the charitable card and make a donation to one of the many Bitcoin-funded charities springing up all over the world. There is now an incredible choice of business and social projects which would really appreciate your contribution.

If you have between 1 and 5 BTC

In this instance, the most beneficial move would be to trade. Research market trends, investigate charts and learn some basic trading skills. It may sound more trouble than it’s worth, or perhaps downright unachievable, but trading in MBT today could make you a shrewd investor in later years.

“Let's say I wanted you to ‘try out’ the euro, and you wanted to convert the dollars in your pocket to euros,” Garland William Binns III of the Bitcoin Foundation and Bitcoin.org explains.

“If I modified the statement and said, ‘Okay, every day, the euro is going to go up in value and the dollar you exchanged it from is going to go down in value, and sometimes, vice versa - your job is to convert back and forth between dollars and euros anticipating the upswings so you can profit from the conversions,’ that would be an entirely different ball game.

“I think anyone would caution against that, whether it be between the euro and dollar, the price of oil, a company in the stock market, or Bitcoin.”

If you have over 10 BTC

In this case, while daunting, perhaps you should consider diversifying your capital. Try splitting it into four parts and keep everything in different coins. Find some trusted altcoins and give them a chance.