I want to start by saying I am not an expert in Cryptocurrency. But I have news for you. You don’t really want an expert in cryptocurrency to help you get started. I’ve tried to ask many experts over the past few years. They just make it too complicated and I gave up.
The best and easiest way to learn how to buy and sell cryptocurrencies is to actually make a small purchase. You don’t have to invest much – in fact, in order to own some, you don’t have to spend anything (keep reading), nor do you have to “mine bitcoin” or anything else.
Once I had a few dollars worth of cryptocurrency to “play around with”, it was far easier to begin understanding process.
NOTE: This is just meant to get you off of square one and begin getting comfortable with cryptocurrencies. This should not be considered everything you will need to know.
NOTE #2: I am not a financial advisor and am not in any way advising anyone to make an investment nor do anything that they do not feel comfortable with. Always seek the advice of a financial professional when investing.
What Made Me Want To Try Again
Like I said above, if someone makes something too complicated, I just give up. OR if it seems scammy. OR if someone asks me to do something that just doesn’t make sense to me.
But I was referred to a really nice traffic exchange site, The Crypto Mailer, which is geared towards those interested in cryptocurrency, and I wanted to join. The only thing – I needed $37 in Bitcoin to join. So I was forced to figure it out.
In order to simply get started isn’t too hard. However, if you want to invest in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, you will eventually want to learn more than I am sharing here.
The instructions in this article are meant to just get you started. Actually owning some cryptocurrency was extremely helpful
My Pain is Your Gain
Do not share in the pain I had! This is the absolutely easiest way to get started:
- I found the best website, Coinbase.com. Set up an account.
- Once the account is set up, click on “Earn Rewards” in the top menu
- Go through the trainings there to earn some of various cryptocurrencies (and learn a few things along the way) PS when you finish some of the trainings, it may take as much as overnight to see the amounts in your Coinbase account. (I made about US 30 just doing this.)
- Voila! You now own some cryptocurrency! And you didn’t even spend any money yet.
This 2-minute video will give you a quick overview of Coinbase.
Here is a far more intense review of Coinbase.
My take: Coinbase is a great place to get started because they make transactions easy. But if you are serious about buying and storing Bitcoin (or other currencies) there is a bit more to it for safety.
Trade-able Currencies
If you click on “Prices” in the menu, you’ll see available currencies. The list defaults to “Trade-able Assets” – currencies that can be openly traded.
Select “All Assets” from the drop-down menu to see an exhaustive list of cryptocurrencies.
Now that you have seen the list, my recommendation is to stick with “Trade-able Assets”. Even some of those are probably not worth worrying about.
Bitcoin (BTC) is the most widely known and distributed, so that is my go-to. It is less volatile at this point. It’s value does fluctuate, however.
One other that seems to be trending is Ethereum (ETC).
Because Coinbase provides a list of viable currencies, and let’s me know which are trade-able, I have a greater trust in them as a platform. Also from watching the video, and since I am in the US, there is some protection.
Practice, Practice, Practice
If you have completed the “lessons” you probably now have some COMP or Stellar Lumens.
Click on “Trade” at the top of the site. In the resulting pop-up, click on “Convert” at the top.
You can now convert the currencies you have to another currency, like Bitcoin.
Why practice, practice, practice?
Depending on your confidence, you might want to practice converting from one currency to another, just to gain a better understanding.
Wallets
A wallet isn’t really a “wallet” like we know. It’s really a crypto address. Once you have an address, it does not expire. You can use it over and over again. Watch the above video, if you want to know more.
However, note that any given wallet can only hold one kind of currency. So, you might have a Bitcoin wallet, and an Ethereum wallet if you have more than one currency.
Weirdo Currencies
A long time ago, a good friend told me to download a phone app and begin mining “Pi”. Well, Pi still is not a trade-able currency, and may never be. If you want to “mine” Pi, go ahead. There is always a chance in the distant future that I will eat my words.
Another interesting one is the WESA, from a group called “We Share Abundance”. You can only keep a wallet for WESA at a site called Wave Exchange. By the way, Wave Exchange has their own currency which is viable, but not trade-able.
Conclusion
My advice is to give it a try and begin to teach yourself how to buy and sell cryptocurrency, especially if you’ve been curious. Coinbase even pays you actual money that can be converted to real currency, if you want.
Just don’t be afraid. It’s not that hard, and I know you are smart. 😉
Mentioned in this article:
Coinbase.com – platform for storing and trading cryptocurrencies
From the US Federal Trade Commission: What to Know About Cryptocurrency
Thanks for sharing the information about cryptocurrency. I myself, am not the expert either but I do invest in Cryptocurrencies, a few of them actually. When I buy them, I always make sure that it is worth the fees. Yes, there is the buying fees and selling fees that you have to consider and invest. I am using coinbase at the moment and so far I am happy with it. Robbinhood is another good one. You are right it is all about practice at the end of the day. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing the information about cryptocurrency. I myself, am not the expert either but I do invest in Cryptocurrencies, a few of them actually. When I buy them, I always make sure that it is worth the fees. Yes, there is the buying fees and selling fees that you have to consider and invest. I am using coinbase at the moment and so far I am happy with it. Robbinhood is another good one. You are right it is all about practice at the end of the day. Good luck!
I am so gad that you have gone in-depth with Coinbase. I currently have a Coinbase account and I have been unsure of whether I can trust it with my funds to buy more cryptocurrency. As I can see, I can trust it to buy crypto but not to store it! Nonetheless, I will be using it to make my purchases. Do you have any other recommendations of where I can store my cryptocurrency?
I think that I will try the hardware solution mentioned in the video or the link below it. That is, when I have an amount worth keeping safe. 😉
Honestly, your article did not help me understand cryptocurrency, nor did it help me to get started. I think you should start out by telling people what cryptocurrency actually is. Then explain why it’s used. Then I would explain the benefits (pros and cons) of using cryptocurrency/ How is it better than using the good old American dollar?
I’m sorry the article was not what you expected. The information is based on my personal experience. That being, you don’t need to know everything about cryptocurrency to get started. When you visit Coinbase and click on “earn”, they have training videos that help make things clearer – and they pay you actual money to do it! For me, it was the beginning of understanding what the “experts” were unable to convey. Wishing you much success if you decide to dive in!
PS The videos will show that there are instances in which using cryptocurrency for transactions is better than traditional currencies – whether it be the US dollar or others from around the world. It was eye-opening for me.