If you’re wary, here are 3 ways to get into crypto without actually buying it

Cryptocurrencies are right in the name. It may be hard to justify investing in a currency made of math if you follow Warren Buffet's advice to never invest in businesses you can't understand.

It is hard to ignore the fact that the price of one bitcoin has more than doubled this year, from under $5,000 in March 2020 to over $60,000.

The excitement surrounding digital currency may leave some investors feeling like the lonely kid at the pool party, wanting to join their friends having fun in the deep end, but too nervous to jump in.

For investors who are cautiously curious, here are ways to gain exposure tocryptocurrencies without buying it.

Do you want to bet on the digital currency without owning it? Try these mining stocks.

Think of this strategy as a way to invest in cryptocurrencies. Some companies have holdings in cryptocurrencies. They are betting on its success, so you can too.

Douglas Boneparth is a certified financial planner and president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York City. It depends on how much of their balance sheet is in digital currency.

Checking a company's balance sheet can show if they have any digital assets. The tech giant has received a lot of attention for its investment, but it only makes up 2.4% of the company's assets. If the assets balloon in value, it could also affect the stock value.

According to Cathie Wood, institutional buys will make a case for $500,000 by 2026.

Another way to get exposure is to invest in companies with a stake in the industry.

You can either invest in the commodity itself or the infrastructure around it, the miners, the materials needed for mining, the same with energy and oil, says Boneparth. There are some public companies that are focused on the space of the ledger, but not many of them.

One of the few publicly traded companies that focuses on cryptocurrencies is Riot Blockchain Inc. Riot Blockchain helps build the infrastructure of cryptocurrencies and provides another investment opportunity.

Invest in a fund that invests in cryptocurrencies.

The U.S. has approved one exchange-traded fund for cryptocurrencies. The BITO is not directly invested in bitcoin. It is based on futures contracts. Because it is an exchange traded fund, investors can invest directly from their accounts.

Caution is used if investing directly.

There are a few ways you can reduce your risk if you invest directly in cryptocurrencies. Reducing the amount of money you invest is one way to do this. Some credit cards give rewards in the same way as cash back or miles. You don't have to use your own dollars to add cryptocurrencies to your portfolio.

Hillary Clinton says that cryptocurrencies can destabilize nations and undermine the U.S. dollar dominance.

Stable coins are similar to traditional cryptocurrencies but are backed by real-world assets, making them less prone to significant drops in value.

Information in this article is provided for educational purposes. NerdWallet doesn't recommend specific investments, including stocks, securities or cryptocurrencies.

NerdWallet has more.

NerdWallet has a writer named Alana Benson. Abenson@nerdwallet.com is the email address.