As bitcoin and crypto seem to be coming out of the painful bear market, it looks like web traffic for crypto investing is again increasing. There’s a slight uptick in people interested in getting started. So I just added this forum for discussing crypto investing how-to tips, advice, problem solving and whatever else you wish to discuss.
Easy ways to buy bitcoin - The Cryptocurrency Forums
If you are on the outside looking in with a desire to get started but don’t know what to do first, here are a few tips.
1. Open one or two exchange accounts. Everyone has their favorites. Some are only available in certain countries, and some coins are only available on certain exchanges. I have my own biases. For a beginner, you can’t go wrong with Coinbase. But as soon as you get set up, go ahead and follow up by moving to Coinbase Pro. Don’t let the “Pro” name scare you. It’s easy to use and will save you tons in fees.
Coinbase Starter’s Guide - The Cryptocurrency Forums
Buying crypto with Coinbase Pro - The Cryptocurrency Forums
2. Trust the exchange when they ask for all the personal info. They are required by law to confirm your ID, record your SSN, and do background checks on you. Advanced investing requires even deeper investigation. It takes awhile to enter all the required info and get approved. But if you’ve chosen a legit exchange, don’t be concerned when they ask for that info.
3, Link your exchange account to your bank account. See #2. It’s safe. Otherwise you can send funds to the exchange by wire, but there are fees and several ways this can go wrong.
4. While doing steps 1-3, read up on a few coins you want to buy. Most will start with bitcoin, ether, litecoin, XRP, or maybe bitcoin cash, Binance. Stick with a large well known, easily traded coin at first. While reading, be careful of the community factor. I view crypto as an investment, but many sites including Reddit have coin specific communities whose members support only their coin with a fanaticism that reminds me of the Xbox vs PlayStation or PC vs Mac arguments out there.
Don’t invest in bitcoin because someone from Reddit’s bitcoin community says it’s the only one worth buying. Go deeper. Read several sources. But let’s face it, you’ll probably start with bitcoin.
5. Once you have a little money in your account, make a small purchase. Even $50 is a start. Keep in mind fees on small purchases sometimes take a larger chunk because of minimum charges, but you’re learning and don’t want to make a $5k mistake right off the bat.
6. In the old days, everyone urged you to move your coins out of your exchange account ASAP to a private wallet to avoid losing them to a sudden shutdown or hack. This is less important in 2019 if you’ve chosen a well-known exchange, although hacks still occur.
Cryptocurrency Wallets and Why You Need One - The Cryptocurrency Forums
Be very careful when moving crypto from exchange to private wallets. Making a mistake in the address will result in permanent loss of the funds. They may be safer on the exchange until you are certain you know how to move coins from one address to another. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crypto have been permanently lost due to simple address mix ups. Take your time to learn first.
7. Keep your exchange password complicated and secure. Use all of the usual password tips. Use two-factor authentication to access your accounts. If you don’t know what this is, Google it. Most hacks still happen via phishing for passwords. Run antivirus and anti malware software on your desktop, laptop or mobile device. Don’t click on links in emails. We curate links in our articles, but we don’t review all the links posted in the forums by other members. Be very cautious. Don’t respond to private messages here that seem suspicious or promise to help you get started. Staff here will not do that. Report suspicious messages to @The CC Forums
8. Once you’ve made a purchase or two, you’re ready to move on to more advanced investing. I don’t day trade, but I do believe in long-term investing. Consider whether you want to continue to put a portion of your savings into crypto each month. If so, you’ll have to manually move money from bank to exchange after payday and wait 4-7 days. Set up a disciplined plan to buy $xx worth of bitcoin, ether or whatever on the 15th of every month at noon regardless of price. That’s true dollar cost averaging. It forces you to invest no matter what. It takes out the emotion. You keep the dollar amount constant, and when price is low you get more for your money. When prices are rising, you’re benefiting from the coins you already own.
9. Taxes matter. Learn the rules and keep records of your buys and sells. Exchange reports are getting better, but they still don’t send out 1099’s. So you may end up entering your trades manually at tax time, unless you use one of the paid services. Start with this quick review on the tax situation which has links to our other articles on crypto tax reporting.
2018 Cryptocurrency Tax Rules - The Cryptocurrency Forums
I’ll save the next post for topics like using limit orders to set your entry and exit prices and ladder orders. In the meantime, get out there, open an exchange account and move a little money into it. The accounts are free and safe if you stick with the major exchanges.
Whether you have questions as a beginner or you want to share advanced strategies, help us help others by posting here. And thanks for joining.
Easy ways to buy bitcoin - The Cryptocurrency Forums
If you are on the outside looking in with a desire to get started but don’t know what to do first, here are a few tips.
1. Open one or two exchange accounts. Everyone has their favorites. Some are only available in certain countries, and some coins are only available on certain exchanges. I have my own biases. For a beginner, you can’t go wrong with Coinbase. But as soon as you get set up, go ahead and follow up by moving to Coinbase Pro. Don’t let the “Pro” name scare you. It’s easy to use and will save you tons in fees.
Coinbase Starter’s Guide - The Cryptocurrency Forums
Buying crypto with Coinbase Pro - The Cryptocurrency Forums
2. Trust the exchange when they ask for all the personal info. They are required by law to confirm your ID, record your SSN, and do background checks on you. Advanced investing requires even deeper investigation. It takes awhile to enter all the required info and get approved. But if you’ve chosen a legit exchange, don’t be concerned when they ask for that info.
3, Link your exchange account to your bank account. See #2. It’s safe. Otherwise you can send funds to the exchange by wire, but there are fees and several ways this can go wrong.
4. While doing steps 1-3, read up on a few coins you want to buy. Most will start with bitcoin, ether, litecoin, XRP, or maybe bitcoin cash, Binance. Stick with a large well known, easily traded coin at first. While reading, be careful of the community factor. I view crypto as an investment, but many sites including Reddit have coin specific communities whose members support only their coin with a fanaticism that reminds me of the Xbox vs PlayStation or PC vs Mac arguments out there.
Don’t invest in bitcoin because someone from Reddit’s bitcoin community says it’s the only one worth buying. Go deeper. Read several sources. But let’s face it, you’ll probably start with bitcoin.
5. Once you have a little money in your account, make a small purchase. Even $50 is a start. Keep in mind fees on small purchases sometimes take a larger chunk because of minimum charges, but you’re learning and don’t want to make a $5k mistake right off the bat.
6. In the old days, everyone urged you to move your coins out of your exchange account ASAP to a private wallet to avoid losing them to a sudden shutdown or hack. This is less important in 2019 if you’ve chosen a well-known exchange, although hacks still occur.
Cryptocurrency Wallets and Why You Need One - The Cryptocurrency Forums
Be very careful when moving crypto from exchange to private wallets. Making a mistake in the address will result in permanent loss of the funds. They may be safer on the exchange until you are certain you know how to move coins from one address to another. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crypto have been permanently lost due to simple address mix ups. Take your time to learn first.
7. Keep your exchange password complicated and secure. Use all of the usual password tips. Use two-factor authentication to access your accounts. If you don’t know what this is, Google it. Most hacks still happen via phishing for passwords. Run antivirus and anti malware software on your desktop, laptop or mobile device. Don’t click on links in emails. We curate links in our articles, but we don’t review all the links posted in the forums by other members. Be very cautious. Don’t respond to private messages here that seem suspicious or promise to help you get started. Staff here will not do that. Report suspicious messages to @The CC Forums
8. Once you’ve made a purchase or two, you’re ready to move on to more advanced investing. I don’t day trade, but I do believe in long-term investing. Consider whether you want to continue to put a portion of your savings into crypto each month. If so, you’ll have to manually move money from bank to exchange after payday and wait 4-7 days. Set up a disciplined plan to buy $xx worth of bitcoin, ether or whatever on the 15th of every month at noon regardless of price. That’s true dollar cost averaging. It forces you to invest no matter what. It takes out the emotion. You keep the dollar amount constant, and when price is low you get more for your money. When prices are rising, you’re benefiting from the coins you already own.
9. Taxes matter. Learn the rules and keep records of your buys and sells. Exchange reports are getting better, but they still don’t send out 1099’s. So you may end up entering your trades manually at tax time, unless you use one of the paid services. Start with this quick review on the tax situation which has links to our other articles on crypto tax reporting.
2018 Cryptocurrency Tax Rules - The Cryptocurrency Forums
I’ll save the next post for topics like using limit orders to set your entry and exit prices and ladder orders. In the meantime, get out there, open an exchange account and move a little money into it. The accounts are free and safe if you stick with the major exchanges.
Whether you have questions as a beginner or you want to share advanced strategies, help us help others by posting here. And thanks for joining.
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