The world of cryptocurrency is getting bigger and bigger everyday, and becoming more of a reality. Many people are investing, and mining cryptocurrency everyday. The thought of it all is very exciting, and the way we look at, and handle currency may be changing right before our very eyes. However for the many people that have invested, there are some that still have no idea how to get started or what cryptocurrency really is. This guide is how I started making investments into the crypto-world, and hopefully it gives some of you an idea on how to get started. Keep in mind there are many other ways to go about investing, and becoming a part of this evolution of this digital economy. Also keep in mind that I am no expert, just simply talking about how I got started in hopes that it will help someone out.
Step 1 (If you don't already own Bitcoin, or Ether): You need to set up an account on a website that will allow you to purchase either Bitcoin, and/or Ethereum using fiat currency. Fiat currency is just the physical currency that is used in your country. For me it's USD. The website that I used to purchase Ethereum was Coinbase.com, and from my experience it was pretty good. Once you have your account created and verified, you then must link your bank account and/or credit card. I would recommend linking your bank account if you're looking to purchase a large amount, since it allows you to purchase more per week. The limit is about $5,000 per week once you verify with a photo ID. Once the purchase is complete it will then take about a week for you to receive your cryptocurrency. This is where things get exciting.
Step 2: Once you receive your cryptocurrency, whether it be Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin, I strongly recommend to transfer it into a wallet. There are many software wallets you can download like Exodus, Jaxx, etc. Or you can buy a hardware wallet, such as the Ledger Nano S. Whatever wallet you choose it will come with an address. All you have to do is go to your Coinbase account, go to the send tab at the top, choose which wallet you wish to send from, put your software or hardware wallet address in the recipient space, and click send funds. That's it, you're done, and you are now a successful owner of cryptocurrency. The reason why I recommend getting a software or hardware wallet, rather than leaving your currency in a site like Coinbase, is because it's more secure, and you have more control over it.
Step 3: Now that you own Bitcoin, Ether, or Litecoin, you can choose to either save it for years to come, and hope that you can cash out and make some great profits, use it to purchase goods and services online, or use it to trade for other types of alt coins such as Golem, Monero, Ripple, etc. For example: I purchased Ether and kept half of it, and traded half of it. I traded for Golem, TenX, and a few other altcoins/ tokens. From here you can either keep investing little by little, or just wait and see what happens in the future. That's really all there is to it. If you're looking to trade for other currencies then there are many exchanges such as Gemini, Coin Exchange.io, Kraken, Bittrex, etc. All you have to do is set up an account on one or a few of those sites, verify it, transfer your coins from your wallet to that account, and begin trading. Just don't forget to always transfer back to your wallet when you're done.
I hope this article helped and answered some basic questions on how to get started in investing into cryptocurrency. This is just one way, the way that I did it, but there are other websites, and ways to go about investing. I wish everyone the best of luck with their investments!