Now is where the fun really starts! For those that are still skeptical, my advice would be to start investing with a small amount. Keep in mind that cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile. That volatility, however, provides us with an opportunity to trade and take regular profits. Even if you just want to buy and hold as a long term investment, you still need to create and fund a digital wallet on an exchange where cryptocurrencies are traded.
Photo of the Coinbase app
I have chosen the exchange called Coinbase for several reasons. They have the most respected name and rank the highest among all of the exchanges. Coinbase also has a very stringent vetting process as to which currencies they allow to be traded on their site. They started with Bitcoin in 2013, then later added another currency called Ethereum. In May 2017, Ethereum became the world’s second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. In April 2017, they added Litecoin which made the headlines in the exchange community. As other currencies establish themselves to be legitimate contenders to Bitcoin, they will be adding more.
Coinbase is also further cementing themselves as the leader by establishing exclusive partnerships with several well respected companies including Expedia and Fidelity.
They make it possible to purchase vacation packages with Bitcoin already. Fidelity announced recently that they will begin to allow customers to view their cryptocurrency holdings alongside all their other investment accounts. They will be rolling this out to Fidelity employees by the 3rd quarter of 2017 and will eventually extend it to all clients.
Trust is imperative. Out of the over 40 exchanges out there handling transactions for over 800 cryptocurrencies (most are nearly worthless), Coinbase ranks the highest with an “A+” Trust Score according to bestbitcoinexchange.io. They also provide the most convenient ways to fund your account. While their might be some exchanges out there with cheaper fees, they don’t come close to providing the level of security, service, and convenience of Coinbase. Another nice feature is that they also provide a user friendly interface on their trading platform gdax.com.
When you are ready to dip your toes in the water, we need to get you setup with a digital wallet. A digital wallet is the equivalent of walking into your local bank and opening a savings account. I used to manage retail banks and that process was actually more difficult than this will be. This will be done in a few mouse clicks and allows you to transfer money from your bank account or credit card. This money goes in as dollars and not as cryptocurrency. If you have ever opened an online savings account this is the exact same process. Once the money is in your digital wallet, then you can begin to buy cryptocurrencies.
Here’s is the step by step walk-through to easily set this up & what you’ll need:
-An email address to enter on the website I have a link to below.
-You’ll then create a password (make sure to save it somewhere, I like a free mobile app called Dashlane).
-Then they will send you an email. Open that email and click on the link they provide. That will verify your account.
You will then enter your country/state and accept the terms.
Then it will take you to your Dashboard where you can see current prices for trading. The charts are also useful.
If on a mobile phone, follow the “verify/link your phone” prompt and enter your phone number. You will then receive a 7 digit code to link it. It should also prompt you to view on the mobile app. I highly recommend using the app at this point as it is more user friendly.
-Click on the Accounts tab to see the digital wallets for each currency. At this point it will show a balance of $0.
-Now click on the Settings tab & under that you will click on Payment Methods.
-Bank wires is the default setting. I prefer not to do wires as your bank will most likely charge you a high fee for this. Click on + Add Payment Method.
-Here you can link your PayPal, Bank account, or credit/debit card. The credit card gives you instant access to the funds and you can buy immediately. The downside is that it has higher fees. The bank account option has a lower fee, but takes 4-5 days for the funds to arrive in your digital wallet. I have done both ways depending on if the current price of the digital currency I wanted was low enough to where I knew my profit on that trade would be greater than the fee.
-From there you just enter your bank/card information.
-When the money is in your digital wallet, all you have to do is click on the Buy/Sell tab and it will let you pick what currency you want to buy. It will show you the price per unit and any associated fees for the transaction.
That’s it! Congratulations and now you can tell your friends you own Bitcoin (or Ethereum or Litecoin)!!!
If you still have questions I would be glad to answer them. Please email me at: learncryptoinvesting@gmail.com or stop by the Contact Us tab.
Let’s go ahead and get wallet all set up first and funded. After that check out some of my blog posts like “Where Can I Spend Bitcoin?” on learncryptoinvesting.com that will provide you with valuable insight. I encourage you to sign up for my email list as well so that every time I post something of interest you will be notified. This will help you research information and educate yourself until you get more comfortable with this new investment vehicle. Click below to get started and you will receive $10 when you setup your digital wallet account and make your first digital currency purchase of at least $100:
https://www.coinbase.com/join/58f54d894540cd00b3ed2614.
Trading and investing in digital assets like Bitcoin and other altcoins is highly speculative and comes with many risks. This analysis is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.