I wanted to take the time to share my experience from the past couple months, but first, I have to take it back a little further than that....
The first time I heard about bitcoin was in 2015. An associate of mine introduced me to a bitcoin ATM in my city. The way he explained it to me, it was a digital currency that was not controlled by the government. I got to see how the ATM transaction worked, a paper wallet being generated, and being sent to a software wallet. I remember bitcoin was in the $600 range. I'm not sure how I wasn't completely entranced by the concept at the time, even with the limited knowledge about it that I had, but life went on, and I had all but forgotten about bitcoin.
Fast forward to April 2017, I stumbled back across bitcoin being discussed on some forum/thread somewhere, along with a description of the blockchain, and the potential this had as the foundation for future technological advancements. I recalled that $600 dollar price, and immediately looked up the current price. Seeing that bitcoin was in the $1200's, and that it was worth double what it was? It was definitely a wake up call from an investment standpoint. My feeling of being "late to the party" was only magnified by my research on bitcoin's price history. I found myself really shocked and frustrated that I hadn't really discovered bitcoin earlier, especially considering it's 2013 spike in value, and my tendency to surf far and wide on the interwebs. It's something that will always bug me a little bit...
Research on bitcoin's developments led me to all of the wonders of the blockchain space that was all developing behind the scenes. The drama and politics of the ongoing scaling debate, the rapid emergence of altcoin trading markets and exchanges, not to mention bitcoin was quickly growing in value to what would end up being an impressive bull run booming the crypto market cap to an ATH.... It was all quite overwhelming, but I had decided that I need a piece of the action.
Since then, I have been learning as much as a can about the markets. I find myself spending 6-12 hours a day charting, reading slack channels, playing with TA, and of course, accumulating bitcoin and altcoins. For now, I am working with a small volume of coins, but with time and successful trades, I know it will only grow. What excites me more that the chance of gains from all of this, is the potential for bitcoin and several other promising projects to have an effect on the economy and the world as we know it. I'm already a strong believer in what blockchain technology can do.
If you are new to this like me, you probably have felt pretty overwhelmed by all of this as well. It may be the weight of the concept, the complexity of it's inner workings, or it may simply be fear of losing money. I want to share a few tips I have picked up on, kind of to compare notes with other beginners in the crypto space, and to check in with more experienced traders to confirm I'm on the right track.
1: Play The Long Game
As an experienced trader in the crypto markets, there is so much money do be made "bounce trading," or taking advantage of the volatility in the markets. I'm not saying that for a noob there isn't, but until you can recognize trend reversals and read pattern signaling, i.e. technical analysis, you could get riggity-riggity-rekt, son. If you believe in crypto like I do, then you know, that even though I feel late to the game, this whole industry is still in the early stages of development. If the coin already has significant volume, or the development team is active and they have a solid roadmap, then chances are that combined with bitcoin's continued rise, the coin will be worth more. I feel like that, plus the added bonus of hedging your portfolio, makes playing the long game the best way to get your feet wet.
2: Beware of Scams
Honestly, this probably should have been number one on the list. Fraud is not a new thing , but the angles that can be taken in the crypto space are more diverse and can be catastrophic to your portfolio. From a simple phishing scam to steal private keys, to ICO's with questionable inception and no public team, there are a lot of people trying to take your money from you. The returns in crypto already fall in the "too good to be true" range, but if it sounds like it is, it probably is. Always check url's before signing in. Never click links from questionable emails, and always, ALWAYS, do research. Seeing what other people are saying can be a huge insight to whether or not it's trustworthy. (Just remember people have their own interests.)
3: Learn
The most important thing really in my opinion. For us newbies to be successful or to be able to add to the community, we have to constantly be learning and getting a feel for the rapid changes occurring in this developing industry. Catalysts can happen seemingly out of nowhere, causing major market movements, so it's important to stay on top of things. Research research research......
That's all I have for now. If you are new to this like me, let me know what your experience has been so far. What is the most important things you have learned? If you are a pro, I am always looking for pointers and advice. What was it like when you first started trading?
I will be posting more about my experiences with different exchanges and different blockchain projects in the future. I am excited to see what's in store for the rest of 2017!
-Crypto Rick (C-137)