As Bitcoin(BTC) is on its relentless march to march to above 65k USD in Nov 2021, it kinda sucks when you are not vested when it first launched in 2009 at a value of $0.
According to statista.com, the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization per week from July 2010 to November 2021 is already at more than $2.8Bn with more than 1500 crypto coins and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% till 2030. Here are some simple steps on how to start crypto trading.
- Pick A Reputable Cryptocurrency Exchange
- Setup a cryptocurrency wallet
- Do your homework
- Manage your risks
Even though the first bitcoin is introduced in 2009, there are still many sceptics about this is all a scam. However, as even billionaires like Mark Cuban or Elon Musk are starting to endorse cryptocurrency over its long term benefits, it is time we relook at what we think about them.
As more and more people worldwide jump on the bandwagon and starts to invest in crypto, it can be confusing for even seasoned investors that are used to playing stocks or other traditional types of investments.
Read on as we seek to elaborate the steps above in a simplified manner to help you kick start your own crypto trading journey.
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Pick A Reputable Cryptocurrency Exchange
Just like the stocks which are listed on stock exchanges to buy or sell, individual cryptocurrencies also need an exchange to be traded. It is quite simple to sign up and put some funds to start buying and selling crypto.
The following are a few other popular crypto exchanges:
- Crypto
- Coinbase
- Gemini
- Zengo
- Paxfu
- Bitfinex
- KuCoin
- Binance(Not Available in Singapore)
I personally prefer to use crypto.com as it is mobile-based and easy to use. Use my referral code 4ysr2ajpyr and we both get $25 USD 🙂
When signing up, make sure to read the terms of service as different platforms may operate differently. It is best to research and go through an unbiased review of exchanges like this or this. This can help you to make a better decision and sleep well at night when you invest your hard-earned money.
According to Coinmarketcap data, there are currently more than 307 cryptocoin exchanges where the biggest one has a total daily trade volume of more than $21 bn.
However, not all of these marketplaces are reliable. There are many situations of crypto exchanges being hacked and crypto traders losing their money. There are also instances where the exchanges stop operating with little to no explanation.
To play safe, go for those that are well backed or consider spreading your eggs in a few different cryptocurrency exchanges.
Note:
Not all exchanges will accept fiat money directly, so you may have to add your money into a cryptocurrency wallet first and then deposit coins into the exchange to start investing.
This leads us to the next step of setting up a cryptocurrency wallet.
Setting Up A Cryptocurrency Wallet
As there are lots of exchanges, investors have to transfer funds between them snd also have a place to store their assets. Cryptocurrency wallets allow you to do that.
In layman’s terms, a simple cryptocurrency wallet contains pairs of public and private cryptographic keys. These keys will allow you to track ownership, receive or spend the cryptocurrencies.
A public key allows others to make payments to the address derived from it, whereas a private key enables the spending of cryptocurrency from that address.[Source]
Most of them will require you to do verification including OTP, submitting of ID and home address proof.
Here are some common multi-currency wallets :
- StraitsX(Rebranded from Xfers)
- Coinbase
- Jaxx Wallet
- Coinomi
- Exodus
As I am based in Singapore, I personally use straitsX as when I make a Singapore dollar transfer into my account, it will be reflected as XSGD tokens which can be redeemable one for one with SGD on the StraitsX platform. XSGD tokens run on both the ethereum and zilliqa blockchain and can be spent on merchants like Luno or crypto.com.
You can transfer out your SGD balance anytime on a different blockchain.
In crypto.com, if you deposit money using USDC for the 1st time, you will be able to deposit using your credit card and withdraw to your bank account directly in subsequent transactions.
Do Your Homework
There are 2 main ways you can make money for your cryptocurrencies portfolio. It is either through capital gain or staking to earn ‘dividends’. How much dividends will depend on the type of coin and also how long do you stake it for.
For a 3 months lockin period and if you are ruby or below member in crypto.com, here are what you can expect to milk from some of the common coins in the market.
As there are thousands of coins out there, it is important to study the asset before putting your money into a coin. Here are some reputable cryptocurrency sites that I use for my research
Some other sources can include social media like Facebook groups, Reddit, Telegram, Discord channels or Quora.
Manage Your Risks
As cryptocurrencies move from the 1st generation(bitcoin) to the 3rd generation(DeFi), the technology is definitely evolving and for those that those not have a single cent in coins, it may be time to reconsider as an alternative investment.
However, as cryptocurrencies can go up and down in large percentages in a few short hours or even by a billionaire tweet, it is still a very high-risk asset. I will recommend that you do not invest more than 10% of your total assets into them and only invest money that you can afford to lose.
If you are still very risk adverse and do not want to invest a single cent, you can also consider mining with your mobile app for DeFi Coins like the Star Network(Use the referral code to boost: jaydentan) or Pi Network(Use my username chunyangtan as your invitation code)
. You never know if they will become the next bitcoin when it is launched on major cryptocurrency exchanges.