While it's important to understand the products and markets before investing, Mostly when it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies, one should be able to distinguish a security from a commodity properly before any investment.
What is a security or a commodity has been a hot topic for crypto enthusiasts from the very early days. Regulatory bodies have long ruled Bitcoin to be a commodity and recently did the same to Ethereum, this means it's not about what we consider an asset to be but what it is defined to be by the authorities. Most people only classify BTC and ETH to be commodities and everything else a security, while a couple of altcoins with their own chains are making their claim to be regarded as a commodity.
If we go back a few steps though, I'll advice anyone investing in crypto to stick to Bitcoin after doing their research.
Yes, because they are still new and everyone is still confused about their real use cases but eventually all have given a light if what they are truly are. I can't remember if when did they say that Bitcoin is a commodity but I remember Ethereum was recently said to it, or by the time its ETF were accepted.
I think there is still no problem if some of us can say that they are an asset because they can also serve its function. As for security, it was only Ripple is clear to me that it was a security because higher bodies say so before. If one does their own research carefully, then no doubt that they will mainly consider Bitcoin before anything else.