You’re here, you made it!
(Check to see if the cryptocurrency you want is on this list)
Understanding the world of cryptos can seem a bit overwhelming. But guess what? You’re here, you took the first step. If you are a beginner and wondering where to start, by the end of this you will have learned the basic concepts to get the ball rolling.
First, I would like to start off by saying that I am not giving you advice on WHAT cryptocurrencies to buy, but rather HOW you can purchase them and HOW you can get started.
There are many different ways to start buying cryptocurrencies. I will talk about using Coinbase and Binance. (Don’t know what those are? Don’t worry, keep reading!)
Here, I discuss 1 way of purchasing cryptos , but keep in mind, there are many other roads to get to the same destination.
Some basics to know before getting started.
This initial set up may take a day or two (signing up, validating your account, etc).
*UPDATE DEC 20: Times can now take up to a WEEK to get validated because of massive influx of people trying to get in. Do not let this detour you, get it done ASAP.*
It’s important to get started immediately as you may be missing opportunities.
A common misconception is thinking you have to buy a whole coin at a time, that is not the case. You can buy a part of a coin. The amount of money you put in will decide how much of a coin you will receive.
Now, when buying cryptos you have to realize that you are essentially buying into supporting the technology that the crypto was designed for. Like a company, each currency has a specific goal they are trying to accomplish, solving real world problems.
When you go to Canada, at current rates you can exchange $1 for $1.29 Canadian dollar. When you do this, you are investing in their economy, using their money to buy their products, and helping grow there financial ecosystem.
$1 USD right now will get you .000053 Bitcoins (BTC). As more people start coming into the Bitcoin space (more people investing in the technology), the value of it will grow.
Fiat money, are the physical dollars we hold in the real world. When we aren’t using them, we keep them in our wallet. When we want to invest in stocks, we take money out of our wallets, and put it into Stock Exchanges like NASDAQ to buy and sell stocks.
Crypto money works in a similar way. We have virtual wallets where we take money out of and put them into Crypto Exchanges so we can exchange them for other altcoins. When you are investing in a crypto, you are saying you believe in the technology and its capabilities.
Summary of what I'll be covering
- How to get started buying cryptos:
- Sign up for Coinbase to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin
- Sign up for Binance.
- Send your coin from Coinbase to Binance.
- On Binance, exchange your coin to whatever cryptocurrency you’d like.
- Send your coins out of the exchange into your virtual wallet.
- 5 Extra tips to help you move in the right direction
Step by Step Instructions - How to get started buying cryptos
Ready to buy? Let’s go!
[1] Sign up for Coinbase
If you sign up through the link, and initiate a buy or sell of $100 USD or more we both receive $10! ^.^
Once you have signed up, you must;
-Verify your email
-Verify your account
- Upload a License or ID card
-Attach a credit card or bank account
Coinbase is a basic exchange platform. From here you can directly purchase 3 of the most popular cryptos: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin instantly.
It’s important to realize that many cryptos cannot be bought with direct USD, instead you have to change to one of the main cryptos first (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin) and then exchange that for whatever crypto you please.
If you would like to purchase other cryptos, I suggest you buy Litecoin, due to the tiny transaction fee when transfer your coins out.
When I first bought $50 worth of Bitcoin, and wanted to send it from Coinbase to another exchange platform, I decided to only send $25 worth, and was hit with a $13 fee!
However, if I would have bought Litecoin first, then transferred, the transaction fee would have been a few pennies. Huge savings!
[2] Sign up for Binance
After confirming your email, log in.
Binance is another exchange platform like Coinbase, however from here you are able to trade multiple types of cryptos vs only 3.
*Optional Step When you first login it will ask you to enable 2FA (2 Factor Authorization) You can skip this by pressing “skip now” If you would like to enable it, you have to download “Google Authenticator” from the app store. From that app, you must scan the QR code given to you (or type it in) Once completed, you will be given a 6 digit code. This code updates every 30 seconds. When logging in, you have to use this code along with your password. This ensures that if someone does manage to steal your password, they won’t be able to get the random 6 digit code. Just an extra security factor.
[3] Getting ready to buy cryptos
What we are about to do is send Litecoins from the Coinbase Exchange to the Binance Exchange.
At the top of your browser in Binance, you will see “Funds”. Click “Funds” then “Deposit Withdrawals”.
In the top left of your screen, you should be able to search. Type “LTC” and you will be given 1 option. Then select “deposit” all the way on the right.
A “LTC Deposit Address” will show up and give you a code. This code is the address of your exchange wallet, which you need in order to send money to it.
Go to your Coinbase account and buy Litecoins.
Notice the Coinbase fee to purchase and remember there is still a transfer fee (which we have reduced significantly by buying LTC) . Although this is the quickest way to get started, you can avoid purchase fees and transfer fees all together. Check out this link for more info.
Then access your LTC wallet. Click accounts at the top of the page, then select your LTC wallet.
Enter the “LTC Deposit Address” you received from Binance, the amount you wish to send, and send it.
Give it sometime to process, you may not see the funds in your Binance Exchange wallet immediately. It may take 10 minutes, or a few hours, all depending on how busy the network is. Once it is deposited, it will reflect it in your Binance account in “Funds -> Deposit Withdrawals”. To see the status of the deposit, select “Funds -> History”.
Boom! You are all set to start exchanging your LTC for other cryptos!
For a complete list of cryptos you can purchase on Binance, visit this link.
These include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tron (TRX), EOS, Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), Iota (IOT), Cardono (ADA), NEM (XEM), Monero (XMR) and many other cryptocurrencies.
[4] Buying Cryptos In Binance
On the top left select “Exchange” then “Basic” It may seem overwhelming when the Exchange first pops up, but trust me it’s easy to navigate once you get the hang of it.
On the right side of the screen, you will see a box that says “Favorites BTC ETH BNB USDT” at the top. Select “ETH”, then in the search section underneath it, type “LTC” and you will see the LTC/ETH pair. Select the pair and a new graph will load.
Underneath the graph you will see a box with 3 options; Limit, Market, Stop Limit.
Select Market. This will sell your LTC’s at the market value for ETH at the current time.
Using the Limit or Stop-Limit options, you can set the price you would like to buy or sell at and if it hits that number it will go through. I will not go more in depth with those options, rather just show you how to buy immediately.
Now from here you can either buy or sell. We want to exchange or “sell”, 100% of our LTC’s for ETH. The reason we do this is because in order to buy other cryptos, we need to have ETH (Ethereum), BTC (Bitcoin), BNB (Binance Coin), or USDT (Tether). So in the “sell” region, click 100% then press “Sell LTC”. The order will immediately go through, and to double check, you can go back to “Funds -> Deposit Withdrawals”.
Now, once you have ETH, go back to the box on the right that says “Favorites BTC ETH BNB USDT” at the top. Make sure ETH is selected, then find the crypto pair you would like to exchange to.
For this example I will use XRP (Ripple).
Go back to the 3 options under the graph (Limit, Market, Stop-Limit) and select market. From there you can type in the amount of XRP you would like to purchase, or select the “25% , 50%, 75%, 100%” options to purchase XRP. If I wanted to use 25% of my total ETH to buy XRP, I would click 25% and it will automagically tell you how much you will receive. Click “Buy XRP”.
Congrats! You are the new owner of the Ripple coin!!
Repeat this process, with any other coin you would like!
To check your funds, or to see how much you have in each of the cryptos just go back up to the top and select “Funds -> Deposit withdrawals”
[5] Storing your Cryptos
You must understand that exchanges are not a place you want to keep your cryptos unless you are trading constantly and need them in there. The reason is in case the Exchange gets hacked, by storing your coins offline, you will not lose them. The exchange wallet is not where you want to keep your cryptos, I REPEAT, it is NOT where you want to keep your cryptos for the long haul.
Instead you need to download a desktop virtual wallet for the specific currency or even better store it offline. If I wanted to store my XRP in a virtual wallet, by a google search I would type in "Ripple Virtual Wallet" and come up with this link.
From there I would download the wallet, set it up, and in the same way I sent crypto from 1 exchange to another, I would do the same but instead send it from the Binance Exchange to my virtual wallet.
Once my Ripple wallet is set up, I would go to Binance -> Funds ->> Deposit Withdrawals, Find XRP (Ripple) and click “Withdrawal”. In my Ripple Wallet, I would be assigned an address that I would copy and paste into Binance in the Address section. The “label” entry box can be whatever I want it to be, and is meant to help you keep track of your transactions. For this example, I will call it “My first crypto”. I would then send it to my wallet.
Note, when downloading your virtual wallet, make sure you google search and find the most trusted virtual wallet for that coin. Also, be aware that your computer might see it as a virus if you have a virus protector, which is a False Positive, and you will need to allow it from your virus protector settings.
BAM you are done!
To keep cryptos offline completely I would recommend the Ledger Nano. The nice thing about the ledger is that I can store a bunch of cryptos in 1 place, check out their website for a complete listing.
5 Extra tips to help you move in the right direction
[1] When using Binance, the value of your crypto will change in USD conversion. So let’s say you know that crypto X is at an all-time high, it may not be smart to buy the crypto immediately.
Instead, what you can do after you transfer your LTC into Binance, and transfer it to USDT. Each USDT unit is backed by a U.S Dollar held in the reserves of the Tether Limited and has a 1:1 ratio USD/USDT.
So perhaps I purchased a coin at $ amount. I see some bad news online that I believe will drop the price. I would want to “cash out” while each of my coins is worth more now in USD. I would need to exchange the coin into BTC, ETH, or LTC, then exchange it to USDT, and once the price drops, I would go back in and buy it. To transfer to USDT, go back to the basic Binance Exchange, and on the right side find box that says “Favorites BTC ETH BNB USDT” at the top.
Select USDT, and view the option pairs allowing exchange. Then I would exchange my crypto into one of those options first, then exchange it for USDT.
Ex. I buy 10 XRP at $5 each for a total of $50, and find out the price is going to drop and most likely not rise again for whatever reason. Before XRP can drop to say, $1, and making my 10 XRP coins worth $10, I would first exchange (sell) it for LTC, BTC, or ETH, then exchange it to USDT.
[2] Download Apps!
Be sure to get Coinbase on your mobile phone!
Get Binance on the go!
iOS Binance - You can not download this app from the app store, and must download it from there website. Be sure to follow the instructions and allow the app in your Settings -> General -> Device Management and verify the app.
Download CoinCap from the app store to see live prices of over 1000 cryptos. I use this to find new Cryptos I have never heard of, and then I can do research on them and find upcoming cryptos.
You can also use the Blockfolio app which does the same.
[3] Stay up to date with crypto news
If you are following a crypto like Ripple, type in “Ripple news today” on google. You may find an article posted within the last 24 hours that you believe will make the price go up in the upcoming months. This gives you an advantage and you are able to stay ahead of the curve. In the world of cryptocurrencies, you can never be 100% certain on what will happen. The Crypto Market is still young and volatile. You will see many others profit like those who are profiting from the Bitcoin boom. You have to be patient and make smart long term investments.
[4] Deciding on what crypto you want to invest in and don’t know where to start?
Like any investment, there will always be risk. I know this may sound crazy, but you have to use your brain when deciding! Look at different factors that could show long term growth like;
- Does it solve a problem in the real world?
- Is the technology behind it doing something innovative?
- Who are the people running the projects and what are their qualifications?
- What kind of milestones have they reached and how has that effected there value?
If you are serious about investing in a coin, and have all those answered, you should learn the basics of reading trends on charts and making technical decision based on data.
It is important to pay attention to what’s happening in the real world with the currency, and not solely depend on reading charts and technical analysis methods to place your bets.
Cryptos are volatile!
The data might project one thing and the coin could go in the complete opposite direction. There are many other factors that can show promise, but at least these will get you started going in the right direction.
Once you gather all of this information, YOU have to make a decision. Taking all of these factors into account, you have to make a judgement on whether you believe your investment has potential.
Join forums on reddit, and other websites.
A few of my favorite to use are:
- Coincalendar.info
- Coindesk.com
- Ccn.com
- Cointelegraph.com
- Steemit.com
Also don't forget to follow developers and coins on Twitter/Facebook for the latest updates in what you are interested in. @fintechfrank on twitter always has great material to follow.
[5] For those of you who are new to the crypto world, understand that Bitcoin will not be number 1 forever.
It may stay that way for a few years, but eventually another coin will take over (by doing research you will understand why).
Bitcoin is just the first of its kind, and other derivatives with better tech will take over.
Just like when the first iPhone came out, it was just the first of its kind, and now we see other phones with better capabilities.
Right now Bitcoin is at about $20,000 USD. When it hits $100,000 you will see a 5x return which is great.
But let’s say you found a coin early on at $0.01, that had strong promise and you believed that it had a future, you may invest $100 in it.
If the value of it went from $0.01 to $1.00, you would have a 100x return.
Early adopters of Bitcoin believed in the tech so much, they were willing to put their money where there mouths were. Even when everyone else thought they were crazy, early adopters believed in the tech because they say the potential. Seems like they weren't so crazy after all huh?
Don’t get to caught up on the fact that you missed the huge percentage gains in Bitcoin, find the next big thing and ride that wave.
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