[thoughts on this article I wrote for CryptoFolio --- https://medium.com/cryptfolio/how-cryptfolio-can-smooth-your-crypto-journey-fd8842e44653 ]
As newbies we all begin our journey through the cryptosphere in much the same way. First we hear about Bitcoin. We are told that it is an electronic money used by criminals. But, we choose to ignore the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and investigate the facts for ourselves we learned much much more.
During that research we kept hearing about other coins like Ethereum, Monero, Litecoin and Doge. All unique in their own ways. And all expanding on Satoshi's vision for the future.
Eventually we all relearn the first lesson of Satoshi; Bitcoin is not meant as an
investment vehicle; it is a curency. And, all of the other currencies are exactly like it; whether it is Litcoin, Ethereum, the Ruble or the US Dollar. Money is money.
And then we discover the Tokens. These are the real invesment vehicles. The place where crypto forms its own stock market of sorts. Tokens allow us to support our favorite crypto projects. And share in their successes.
Along the way we read everything we can find. White papers, websites, and forums tell us the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of it is true and other times that information turns out to be tripe. At first we are pumped by the hype and scared by the FUD. Every coin and token has hype. And each has its own community to keep that hype alive. Every coin and token also has its haters. Those FUDsters spend their time and effort to sling falsehoods and dark truths (normally blown out of proportion) at us to disuade us from participating in a project that, for whatever reason, those people seem to despise.
Soon enough we get tired of the hype and FUD and we start a deeper exploration on our own. What is this coin about? Why should we buy this token? What is mining? Which pool should we use for our own mining operation? Where should we invest our hard earned money so that it makes the most profit? The possibilities are literally endless these days. And so are the hazards. The only way to navigate this world is to be as organized as possible. So, we embark on our journey, feeling ready and well informed.
And then comes the pitfall of the busy crypto life; information overload.
The cryptosphere is built to promote security. So, we create account after account. Each of those accounts has its own string of massively complicated passwords and private keys. Security is key and that is evident when we sign up for each new project and platform.
We all get drawn in to the large exchanges first. So, we start an account on Binance. Then we discover less centralized platforms and start a new account on EtherDelta. We keep hearing about mining. So, we look into it deeper and hear about all of that free money our computer will create for us while we sleep. So, we sign up for an account on MinerGate. We pick a few more wallets, exchanges and mining pools until it all becomes quite overwhelming.
It is 2018. There aren't many people who use a pen and paper anymore. So there ends up being a file here, another there and soon there are 20–30 different private keys hidden all over our laptop. Not exactly the most secure way to keep our funds intact. But, the sad reality is that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people operate in the cryptosphere like this every day.
And for those remaining people who do use pen and paper; what happens when your notebook get a drink spilled on it? Or there's a fire? Or any other number of catastrophes happens to effectively erase your keys and passwords? Well, you've lost all of that money; that's what happens. So, since that simply isn't an option we need to figure out a different way, a better way, to handle our sensitive information.
The pen an paper idea is a good one. But, print outs are better though. So you start taking screen shots left and right to print out every valuable piece of information you need, just to log in to the sites you use daily. Then you take those print outs and store them in a fire proof lockbox or safe. Voila, your private keys and passwords are safe, secure and easy to read.
However, that leaves you needing to access those papers over and over. Making a second copy to leave on your desk. It's an option. Not a very good one, but it is an option.
The truth is that pulling out those papers every day, or several times each day (for those of us who cannot help but to look at all of those coins, tokens and numbers repetedly throughout the day) in order to access each account is going to smear those valuable papers and leave us in no better shape than if a pipe bursts and takes out the computer on our desk.
So, how do we maintain access to our investment portfolios and mining pools? The answer is easy with CryptFolio. Just sign up, connect your accounts and you have a one-stop website where you can monitor everything.
That's right. That jumble of post it notes on your desk, and all of those forgotten files in your laptop can be easily connected to your CryptFolio account to give you that "Big Picture" view of all of your HODLs, investments and mining profits.
Aside from simply connecting monitors from each of your attached accounts CryptFolio does much, much more. Again, the simple fact is that the crytposphere was created to be used by normal human beings. As such, most of us did not grow up learning about Wall Street, ROIs, graphs and all of that traditional fiat investment terminology we see running rampant in cryptos today.
The team at CryptFolio knows that fact and they have taken great care to help out their users in every way possible. The site itself analyses your information and creates graph and charts for you. And, even better, they explain it all in great detail using easy to understand terminology.
The Profit and Loss chart in CryptFolio.Among those graphs is the Profit and Loss chart. This chart, right on the top of your dashboard, keeps a running tally as to your combined profits and losses. It's a great tool to have right there to remind you as to the status of your investments and holdings.
Next up is your Portfolio Balances in USD (or your local currency). This running tally lets you check your balances on every account you connect to CryptFolio. This chart is the place to go to save yourself more time than any other. Instead of having to log into site after site throughout the day you simply need to login here and look at the graph on the top right corner of your dashboard.
Following those, your CryptFolio dashboard will show you a number of other graphs that show each account's value and fluctuation in various lists and graphs. Each of these expands the knowledge you've already gained just looking at the top two.
So, although we're not all Wall Street whiz kids, we'll soon seem like it with all of the tools and perks of this site. You can add and remove wallets and accounts easily. In fact, everything about the User Experience of this site allows you to both know what to do and how to do it with just a glance; and, allows you to do those things that will streamline this versatile web platform.
We know by now you're asking "what's the catch?". That's the best part of it. There is no catch. The core of the site is free to use, and offers paid subscriptions for additional features and better data.
Why should you use CryptFolio? The answer is simple. Because you need it The whole point of the cryptosphere is to free the common man from the financial opression and slavery of the past. CryptFolio sees Satoshi's creation for what it is. And, they built upon it.
Spending our days looking for passwords and private keys is bad enough. Add to that the time it takes us to decipher all of those little candle sticks and Wall Street lingo and, well, it's simply no fun anymore.
And what point is freedom if life is a huge, constant pain in the neck? You're right. That's a pointless life. One that CryptoFolio has solved for us all.
Good luck on your own crypto journey!
Happy HODLing!!!
