These are ideas and tools that I wish someone would have told me about when I was starting out in crypto. This material is being presented at a Crypto Minneapolis / St. Paul meetup called Blockchains & Cryptocurrencies 101.
Starting out is overwhelming, so learn all you can, and go at your own pace
If you're feeling overwhelmed with the whole "crypto" "blockchain" phenomena, it's ok. Start by watching one of the thousands of youtube videos on this topic. Spend some time understanding what this technology means.
This is a great starting point: https://medium.com/the-mission/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bitcoin-f2a3be247a5b
How to buy crypto?
Getting into crypto is often the most difficult part of the entire process. Buying from a service like Coinbase.com is the easiest method in the US. The downside is that Coinbase is not privacy oriented.
If you would like to buy your crypto from another person directly, you can do so through one of the options listed below. These services escrow the bitcoin/ethereum being sold by the seller. This makes it a safe transaction and avoids the risk of fraud. They then release the funds upon completion and proof of payment.
- Localbitcoins.com
- Bitquick.co
- Localethereum.com
Payment can be done by bank deposit, wire transfer, or one of many other options available. Once you complete the payment, you usually take a picture of the receipt, upload as proof of payment, and receive the crypto purchased.
When buying crypto, you usually buy Bitcoin or Ethereum. Later, you can trade those into something else.
Securing crypto
Once you buy your crypto, it’s important to secure it. There are thousands of articles that can teach you how to do it. The most important rule of crypto is: Make sure YOU own your crypto.
There is an inherent risk to storing your crypto on a centralized exchange for any long period of time. Centralized exchanges have a history of being shut down or eloping with the funds (Google: Mt. Gox).
For my needs I like the smartphone app called Mycelium. When I buy bitcoin and need to receive it for safe keeping, I open Mycelium, click receive, and use the address that’s generated there.
Trading crypto
I personally don’t trust centralized exchanges with more than a nominal amount of funds. Too many have been shut down, too many are an infringement of privacy. To me, a big part of crypto is privacy, which makes these types of exchanges undesirable. Nonetheless, if you plan on using one, some of the ones that have been around a long time are Binance and GDAX (belongs to Coinbase).
My preferred way to store and trade crypto is on the Bitshares Decentralized Exchange.
The benefit of Bitshares is that it’s a blockchain-based exchange. It is transparent, it is not based in any country, doesn’t belong to any individual, and it can’t shut down and steal your crypto.
How does it work? You send your Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other major coin to your Bitshares account. Then you use the trading platform to trade.
The interface is a little bit complicated at first, so I will be doing a meetup to teach people how it works. If you would like to get started asap the following youtube video series will help:
Chronos Crypto Intro to Bitshares:
Finally, if you would like to try Bitshares as soon as possible, please consider signing up with my referral link:
https://wallet.bitshares.org/?r=cryptomsp
Cryptos I like
First, a warning: I am not a financial advisor and the following opinions are my own. Everyone has their own preferences for how they invest. I like to invest in projects that solve real-world problems with strong teams that have a track record of success.
My current investments are:
1. Bitshares (BTS)
Bitshares is not only a decentralized exchange that has been in operation since 2014, it also has something called Market Pegged Assets (MPA). For example, bitUSD is pegged to the dollar, bitCNY is pegged to the Chinese Yen, etc. These assets are being used on exchanges all over the world as fiat equivalents. The more they’re used, the more demand for Bitshares itself.
Many businesses are using the speed and efficacy of the Bitshares technology to launch their crypto businesses on top of their blockchain, such as…
2. Bitspark (Zephyr)
Bitspark is one of the largest remittance companies in the world (featured by companies like Accenture, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and others). They’re building their new blockchain remittance technology on top of Bitshares – which will allow easy, low cost, transfers anywhere in the world.
3. EOS (EOS)
EOS can be thought of as an operating system for blockchain projects. It’s being built by the inventor of Bitshares, featuring the same super-fast speeds and ability to scale. In my opinion, it will someday supersede Ethereum.
4. NEO (NEO)
NEO can be thought of as the Chinese version of Ethereum. I believe it will do well, because of popularity in Asia.
I hope this post was helpful. Please feel free to ask questions or comment below!