If your new to the crypto space or want to take a more deeper dive into the world of ICOs and various other alt coins than this article may be for you. This is my beginners guide to where to find stuff within the crypto space. These are all the links I use on a regular basis to stay up-to-date and on top of the crypto currency markets.
Cryptominded Directory of Resources
Before we get started, if your completely new to the space and have no idea what is Bitcoin or crypto currencies, then this is where you should start. This website has a ton or resources for new and existing crypto enthusiasts about everything you could ever want to know about this space.
https://cryptominded.com/
General Crypto News
Coindesk
This website is great for general crypto news that tends to focus more on the major coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. If you want to know which countries and companies are adopting or NOT adopting blockchain technology, this is usually a good starting point. Coindesk also put out industry reports on the state of the blockchain community (see below link).
https://www.coindesk.com
https://www.coindesk.com/research/
Cointelegraph
One of my personal favourites. They cover mostly the main crypto currencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple & Dash) and I really enjoy the illustrated images and their periodic price analysis of these coins. This website tends to cover a lot of interesting things happening in the crypto space whether economical, political or socially humorous.
https://cointelegraph.com
Boxmining (YouTube)
This YouTuber posts frequent YouTube videos covering crypto news and mining-related content. I find myself watching more YouTube videos these days to get interesting news and commentary. Boxmining has been very consistent and thorough with their uploads.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxODjeUwZHk3p-7TU-IsDOA
Bitcoin.com News
Great for all around Bitcoin-related news.
https://news.bitcoin.com
Crypt0 (YouTube)
This is another source of interesting news by YouTuber Omar Ban who posts daily YouTube videos on the current state of the crypto world. He often talks about interesting news or coins that I don't hear from other content channels.
https://www.youtube.com/user/obham001
Steemit
We can't forget the one and only Steemit Crypto thread. I've been seeing more and more mainstream pro-crypto people start posting on Steemit. Notably Max Keiser (
https://steemit.com/trending/cryptocurrency
https://steemit.com/trending/bitcoin
Ethereum News
Since a large majority of Alt Coins run on Ethereum, this is a great website to find news related to Ethereum and those type of alt coins.
https://www.ethnews.com
Tracking ICOs
Bitcoin Suisse AG
Now this is a bit unorthodox but one of the resources I use to see what solid ICOs are coming out is by visiting Bitcoin Suisse AG. This company is well known in the crypto space for accepting fiat money and crypto investments from whales to fund new and upcoming ICOs. If Bitcoin Suisse AG is partnering with a particular ICO, you can be pretty certain that the project in question is solid and has been properly vetted.
https://www.bitcoinsuisse.ch
ICO Alert
This website is a great resource that shows you a ton if not all the known ICOs currently raising funds. Good or bad... so browse with caution.
Smith+Crown Ongoing/Pending ICOs
With a slightly more filtered selection of ICOs listed chronologically, Smith+Crown is a trusted website for seeing what new projects are coming out.
https://www.smithandcrown.com/icos/
ICO Ratings
I really love the concept behind this website but you should always take any recommendations or ratings with a grain of salt and do your own due diligence. ICO Rating provides a simple rating system that identifies the potential popularity and risk/reward of new ICO projects.
http://icorating.com/
Reddit
I sometimes explore the sub-reddits related to new and upcoming ICOs to see what the company and other people are saying about that particular project. There are a lot of sub-reddit forums you can checkout and explore to see what the community is talking about.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ico/
Market Analysis
TradingView
I've done a lot of trading in the past focusing on Equities, ETFs, Options and Commodities. I've recently started using TradingView as a platform to do my own market analysis and to also explore other peoples perspectives as well. It's always good to get an outside perspective on things when investing. TradingView is a free charting service that is also very social and has a great community of like-minded individuals. You can follow my posts here or search for a specific coin to see what other traders have to say like the link below.
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/LTCUSD/
Hacked
This is an awesome website that posts high-quality market analysis on various crypto coins and preforms detailed Analysis on various noteworthy ICOs. Please note that this website limits you to view only one post free per day... if you want to get access to the entire blog you have to pay $39USD/month. I personally visit it once in awhile to view specific posts that peak my interest for free.
https://hacked.com
Cointelegraph
You can also find pretty solid market analysis from Cointelegraph's Denis Harrison. He usually focuses on the big guys (ie. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, Dash etc.)
https://cointelegraph.com/authors/denis_harrison
Node Investor (YouTube)
This is a very good YouTuber that goes by the name of Node Investor who releases frequent video commentary on the markets and highlights potential opportunities he sees. I highly recommend you subscribe to his YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa81HAp1se359Sr5qEMMP7A
AF Bitcoins
I personally follow this trader also. He looks at a combination of crypto coins with some winks to commodities such as Gold and Silver. For those unaware, crypto currencies and commodities (like Gold and Silver) share vary similar bonds and should both be watched as they will play important roles for the future economy.
https://afbitcoins.wordpress.com
Popular Exchanges
Coinbase
Probably the most popular and easy-to-use exchange in the space that allows you to buy/sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. This is my normal go to exchange if I need to bring fiat money into the market. Like any exchange, I highly recommend you use them to only buy and sell. Do not store your coins in them. Get in and out.
https://www.coinbase.com
Poloniex
This one of the oldest and largest exchanges (in terms of volume). Unlike Coinbase, you can't convert fiat money into crypto, but with Poloniex you can trade a very large variety of alt coins you don't have access to on Coinbase. I've used them for awhile and never had any problems. It's also important to note that I've heard horror stories about their poor customer service, and also rumblings of them potentially having operating issues. So if you trade with them, make sure to not keep your holdings in there for too long.
https://poloniex.com/
ShapeShift
This service allows you to swop crypto currencies without having to go through a traditional exchange. I highly recommend using ShapeShift as your first option when trying to swop existing crypto currencies. This is the safest, quickest and most cost effective option.
https://shapeshift.io
Others Exchanges
I have also used Liqui and Kraken to a lesser extent but not enough to recommend them as of yet. Both have worked for me so far. I will make any updates to my post in the future if they become noteworthy.
Crypto Portfolio Management Apps
There are a lot of portfolio management options out there to help monitor your crypto holdings but for privacy and security reasons, I would recommend avoiding any service that requires you to create an account. For all the value of privacy, discretion and anonymity that crypto currencies give you, it would completely defeat the purpose if you simply told a centralized service which assets you own, how much, and in some cases which wallets their stored.
Blockfolio
If you do wish to monitor your portfolio I recommend using Blockfolio. It's a mobile app available on Android and iOS that does not require an account. There is a lot of privacy speculation about portfolio management apps in general but this application seems to be on the up and up.
http://blockfolio.com
Crypto Mining
Once you've dipped your toes into the crypto market and purchased some crypto currencies you may want to start looking to get into mining your own coins. This allows you to generate long-term daily recurring revenue and help build your portfolio. In some future posts I'll be talking more about the advantages of doing this.
Genesis Mining
The most popular and trusted cloud mining provider out there is Genesis Mining. I've used them for awhile now and never had any problems. Make sure to do your research into which coins you want to mine first before signing up. To save 3% on your next Genesis Mining purchase,feel free to use my promo code u0p1hb to help support my blog posts.
https://www.genesis-mining.com
CoinWars Mining Profitability
Before you start mining I recommend checking out CoinWars to find out which currencies are the best to mine and how efficient they are. This website also has a mining calculator that you can use to estimate how long it will take to break-even on your mining investments. Keep in mind that mining costs are always fluctuating depending on the dollar value, difficulty, demand for mining that particular coin.
https://www.coinwarz.com/cryptocurrency
https://www.coinwarz.com/calculators
Soft Wallets
These are software-based wallets that are stored on your computer. Some people use soft wallets that support multiple coins in one application like Exodus or Jaxx. Below are links to some of the most reliable wallets for the major crypto coins.
Copay (Bitcoin Wallet)
This is a popular bitcoin wallet that's available on all desktop and mobile platforms.
https://copay.io
Official Litecoin Wallet
One of the most reliable and popular Litecoin wallets.
https://litecoin.org
Official Ethereum Wallet
One of the most reliable and popular wallets. You can store you Ethereum and all Ethereum-based alt coins (ERC-20 Tokens) in this wallet.
https://www.ethereum.org
Official Dash Wallet (aka "Dash Core")
One of the most reliable and popular wallets.
https://www.dash.org/get-dash/
Hard Wallets
These are the most secure forms of storing your crypto currencies. Rather than storing them on your computer (which can get hacked) you can store them directly on USB type hardware device.
Ledger
The Ledger Nano S is a great entry level hard wallet. It works with MyEtherWallet and will soon be supported by Exodus as well. The Ledger is easy to use and looks awesome!
https://www.ledgerwallet.com/r/285c
Trezor
I have not used Trezor but it is similar to Ledger and also works with MyEtherWallet.
https://trezor.io
The End
This wraps up all the main resources I use and think you will want to know about if your just starting out in the crypto space. I hope this information helps. If you liked this post, don't forget to upvote it and follow me on steemit
.
If you know some other great resources, comment below! I'm always looking to expand my horizons.
Happy Investing!