I’ve been investing in crypto currencies for about 9 months now. I started by buying small fractions of a BitCoin and as I learnt more, I bought a few alt-coins and I’ve invested in some ICOs.
There’s a fair bit to learn, so I thought I’d make a short guide for anyone new to cryptocurrencies.
Acronyms and jargon
DYOR – Do Your Own Research
ATH – All Time High
The highest price a coin has ever reached.
FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out
When the peice of a coin has just rocketed and you feel like you’re missing the bandwagon. This can lead you to purchase at an ATH.
FUD – Fear Uncertainty and Doubt
People spread FUD are sometimes trying to manipulate the market, or maybe they are actually experiencing it. In the Crypto space there tends to be a lot of fake news e.g. a headline might read “Korea bands Bitcoin”, when it’s simply that they are considering regulations. Don’t get caught up in this kind of thing, and DYOR before spreading it.
FIAT
Fiat money is the money you’ve been used to using for years e.g. pounds sterling, dollars, euros.
Mining
People provide computer processing power to keep crypto transactions flowing, in turn these people are rewarded with crypto. This reward is known as mining.
Shill
Not strictly a crypto term, but a lot of this is going on. People using their influence to manipulate the price of a coin.
TA – Technical Analysis
This is the use of charts and indicators to try and ascertain what the market will do. There are split opinions as to whether this works with crypto…
ICO – Initial Coin Offering
New projects use ICOs as a way to generate start-up revenue. You usually invest using Ethereum. By investing you are given coins in return. These coins are later available to trade on exchanges and may appreciate in value (or not!)
YouTubers
There are quite a lot of crypto commentators on YouTube. Some are there to shill coins, for their own profit, so beware and DYOR.
SuppoMan
Loud mouth crypto nut. Entertaining guy with a large following. I’ve done a couple of his Udemy courses
https://www.youtube.com/user/Suppoman2011
Boxminig
Good analysis of what’s happening
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxODjeUwZHk3p-7TU-IsDOA
Bull and Bear
Small channel, but gives good insights and technical analysis
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8KQBj1X0oMbRwe4l_mFHKQ
Crypto Daily
Humorous videos on crypto
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC67AEEecqFEc92nVvcqKdhA
Exchanges
To purchase some crypto, you’ll need to buy some using FIAT. Coinbase.com is a very convenient way to purchase. They sell BitCoin, LiteCoin and Ethereum.
If you want to buy any alt-coins then you’ll have to use other exchanges, I use Binance.com
To find out on what exchange you can buy a coin, go to https://coinmarketcap.com/ search for the coin and then click the “markets” tab.
LocalBitcoins.com is a peer to peer exchange. You can search for people to buy BitCoin from. Or you can sell your BitCoin here. It’s for BitCoin only.
Apps
BlockFolio is an app that can keep a track on your portfolio prices https://www.blockfolio.com/
Binance have an app for android too https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.binance.dev
Hardware Wallets
You’re vulnerable to people stealing your crypto in numerous ways – key logging software/viruses on your computer, exchanges getting hacked, etc.
A hardware wallet can keep your crypto safer.
I’ve invested in a hardware wallet called a Ledger Nano S. They are protected by a PIN code and you have to confirm transactions on the USB device. If you ever lose your wallet then you can buy another and recover your account by entering 24 seed words.
My recommendation is that you get one here https://www.ledgerwallet.com
Still confused about cryptocurrencies? Then send me a question and I’ll update this article