One Month In Cryptocurrency | Happy Holidays

ONE MONTH IN CRYPTOCURRENCY

I obtained my first Bitcoins on November 25th 2017. Today is Christmas Day and also my one month anniversary in the cryptocurrency space. Having followed the progress of #Blockchain and Bitcoin since early 2011 (I actually mined several hundred #BTC on a school computer which have long since been lost) it feels good to finally have some skin in the game and I wanted to write up an evaluation of my experience so far. I’ve made mistakes and lost some money while learning but I’m still in profit so I hope these tips can be of use to newcomers wanting to learn the basics and maximise their earning potential in 2018.

COINBASE - https://www.coinbase.com/join/5a174d37ac805901109bdc90

#Coinbase is a Digital Currency Exchange which allows users to buy and sell #Bitcoin, #Ethereum & #Litecoin directly through their website (They’ve also added support for Bitcoin Cash but as of posting this trades have been temporarily suspended).

Like many others I used Coinbase for my first transactions. Initially hesitant and wanting to test the service before committing to a larger amount I exchanged just £10($13), followed by another £10 and then £100($130)on the same day. Doing it this way quickly taught me that smaller amounts are almost not worth it as Coinbase takes a small fee from each purchase as well as marking up the buy price around £100, meaning you get less Bitcoin for your money. This is not the case for #ETH or #LTC, which usually sell at a similar price to other exchanges.

With a friendly UI and simple payment methods, Coinbase is a good way for new buyers to get hold of their first coins, but for more advanced and specific trading with reduced fees I recommend using GDAX (Especially for users outside of the US and Europe).

Advantages

Pay directly from your bank account.
Receive Bitcoin instantly.
Ethereum & Litecoin (& #BCH) also available.
$10 Free Bitcoin when you spend $100 on any Cryptocurrency.

Disadvantages

Approx. 4% buy fee makes small purchases less worthwhile.
Marked up price for Bitcoin.
Weekly spend limits (can be increased by making purchases).
GBP deposits and withdrawals not directly supported.

GDAX (Coinbase Sister Site)

The companion site to Coinbase, GDAX (Global Digital Asset Exchange) is a regulated trading hub where individuals and businesses can buy or sell cryptocurrency. They offer the same currencies as Coinbase (BTC, ETH & LTC with BCH coming soon) without the additional fees or marked up price.

For users in the US and Europe, it’s as easy as connecting your bank account and making a direct purchase. If you’re in the UK or some other country you will need to transfer funds from your bank account to Coinbase and exchange them for Euros by way of a SEPA transfer, then send that money over to #GDAX in order to trade. It sounds complicated but I assure you it’s relatively simple. This can be done in branch or through online banking and typically takes 2-3 working days for the funds to appear in your trading account. Banks typically charge a standard fee for this service of around £10 but if you are buying crypto in larger amounts then this method is far cheaper in comparison.

Another option you may wish to consider is Revolut, a digital banking alternative that I will discuss in further detail below.

Once the funds have been received in your Coinbase account and you have transferred them over to GDAX, you will be able to buy Bitcoin directly using limit orders and circumvent any additional cost imposed by Coinbase. You can also exchange your Bitcoin for Ethereum and Litecoin within the site, meaning that for those brave enough to try it, you can day trade between currencies (I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you are a beginner though).

Advantages

One time fee for SEPA transfer and that’s it!
Set limit price and get better deals on Bitcoin.
Real time trading charts (more precise than Coinbase).
If you have a Coinbase account, you have a GDAX account.
Free withdrawals to any wallet address.

Disadvantages

Can take several days for SEPA funds to appear in account.
Additional steps make it slightly more complex for UK users.

REVOLUT - revolut.com/r/sid0d96

Revolut is an alternative digital banking service that is accessed through an app on your smartphone. It’s essentially a pre-paid virtual top-up card (you can also order a physical card) that you load with your local currency and can exchange into USD, EUR and several other global currencies instantly and at no charge.

From within the app you can also make SEPA transfer to Coinbase and other exchanges for free. That’s right, your bank charges £10 but Revolut will send your money anywhere in the world for absolutely nothing.

If you are in the US or Europe, you are unlikely to need this but for UK crypto-enthusiasts, it is a must have. The company is London based and their pre-paid debit card uses MasterCard so they do have some legitimacy. I’ve only recently discovered this service myself but will be using it from now on for all my crypto-related purchases.

The app is free to use although there is a premium version which is charged monthly (£6.99) and offers a number of additional benefits including; A physical card that works in most brick and mortar locations, instant purchases of the big three cryptocurrencies in app (BTC, ETH & LTC), Device Insurance for your phone, Overseas Medical Insurance and even more features to be added soon.

If you are trying to save money and maximise the amount of crypto you can buy, Revolut is unbeatable for newcomers spending less than £25,000.

Advantages

Instant transfer from bank account to Revolut app.
Instant exchange between 16 currencies.
Free SEPA transfers to Coinbase.

Disadvantages

Some upper limits on deposits and withdrawals.
Not available on desktop or in browser.

WALLETS & FEES

The first thing I’d recommend everyone reading this do is visit blockchain.info and sign up for a free wallet. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular Bitcoin wallets around; they offer lots of information and statistics about BTC, allow you to make purchases directly using localised exchanges and even let you import private keys so you can track your entire balance across all wallets in one place.

Beyond that, I’m also using the Exodus Desktop wallet (exodus.io), a clean and simple interface that supports multiple coins and allows exchanges between crypto within the wallet. It’s not recommended to use this wallet for general purpose spending as the transaction fees increase the more you make. Instead, think of it as a storage wallet for larger balances.

There are dedicated wallets for each coin and even more that can hold lots of different coins. Do your own research and find the one that best suits your individual needs.

BITCONNECT - https://bitconnect.co/?ref=sidjames

Now this is the part I was hesitant to mention, since there’s a lot of animosity regarding BitConnect and it’s place in the crypto ecosystem. Personally, I love it and can’t recommend it enough though I understand why people might have reservations.

BitConnect is a lending platform that allows you to exchange your Bitcoin for BitConnect Tokens and loan them out to a trading bot which makes trades based on the volatility of Bitcoin.

When you make a loan your money is locked away for between 120 and 299 days depending on the amount, but you receive daily interest payments based on how well the bot performs. The rate of interest varies day to day but averages out to around 0.9% (Some days are lower and others much higher).

My initial investment into this platform was £120 ($160) on November 29th 2017 and my total earnings so far have been almost £30 ($40). You can cash out each day if you would like, converting your profit back into Bitcoin and moving it to a personal wallet but you also have the option of reinvesting to increase to your principal and earn compounding interest. This has been my approach and so my active investment is currently $190 (almost $200).

I couldn’t be happier with how this program has worked out and while it’s important to do your own research, I know I’ll be adding to my principal in the New Year and plan on using my profit from compounding to add to my crypto portfolio.

Think of it this way. If you hold your bitcoin and the value goes up, you only make money by selling and cashing out. with BitConnect, you continually earn each day and can use that profit for whatever you choose (Bitcoin, BitConnect, New Year Eve party).

Advantages

BitConnect is pegged to Bitcoin so the prices are correlated.
Daily interest payments that can be cashed out immediately.
Reinvest to earn compound interest and increase your payouts.
Invest as little as £75($100) or as much as £750,000($100,000).

Disadvantages

Capital is locked away for duration of loan.
Interest rates can sometimes drop to zero (this is not common).

IN CONCLUSION

This has been an interesting month. There have been ups and downs (quite literally if you spend as much time as I do on coinmarketap.com and tradingview.com as I do) but I’m making money and most importantly, I’m enjoying myself. This has been an experience unlike any other and I’m glad to be involved now, even if it’s later than those already in crypto. For those thinking about getting started, do your research and make smart decisions, but don’t hesitate or you will be left behind.

From what I’ve seen, there’s a limit on how long this insane growth can last and eventually all of these digital currencies will become as stable as fiat is right now.

The crypto train has left the station but there’s still a few stop left before we reach our final destination.

I don’t know what 2018 has in store but I do know that I’ll be there, front and centre and ready to make the most of my opportunities.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and I’ll see you all in the New Year!

My BTC Wallet Address - 143t5vqJFkCpjshBPH3NjDY2vQaTBSc7LR

My BCH Wallet Address - 1LqQEGcJ3c1kedwGwpDZ6Us7aTw5wbdGBP