What you need to start your crypto journey in 2023

Not long ago, dabbling in digital money was not for the faint-hearted. The average consumer shows reticence towards the unknown, and cryptocurrencies’ underlying technology needed light cast on it to become as popular as it is today. Fortunately, as the blockchain continues to evolve and consumers become increasingly familiar with cryptocurrencies, so does this industry. While it’s true that 2022 was a harsh year for investors, prices bounced back for most of 2023, improving investor sentiment. If you want to buy Ethereum with bank transfer or other preferred means, learning how to choose a good cryptocurrency exchange, selecting the proper crypto storage method, and other tips are good start.

To support you through your journey, we’ve rounded up a list of the essential steps to take before you dip your toes into the volatile waters of cryptocurrency.

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Pick the best cryptocurrency exchange

If you’re a newcomer to the crypto world, you can regard the highly-acclaimed exchange platforms as rooms where participants purchase, sell, and trade their assets. These function similarly to online brokerages for stock trading, enabling you to make deposits and place orders for cryptocurrencies with them.

With myriad cryptocurrency exchanges available and their significant marketing efforts, it can take time to find the best one. After all, what makes a crypto exchange stand out from others?

To answer this question, you should pay attention to several factors and features of a crypto platform, including:

Safety and security. Even if thousands of projects and innovations are emerging on the market nowadays, the crypto industry is still in its infancy, meaning that it’s subjected to risks. Hackings have been one of the most significant issues impacting these providers, as they’re not hack-proof nor immune to security breaches. You won’t entrust your funds to an application famed for being vulnerable to scams and scams. The best place to get started is to check the attention the platform offers to its security protocols.

Additionally, ensure you’re aware of the fees brought by transactions and their structure. There’s no such thing as a free meal, so when you make calculations, consider the fees for trading, balance transfers, withdrawals, and deposit making.

Third, you must check whether the preferred exchange offers its services to customers in your country. Some providers are not licensed to operate in any geographical location.

Continue with the wallet

If you’re pondering whether to buy Ethereum, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrency at low prices, you likely know you’ll need a wallet. And since you’re yet to use one and there are numerous different and complex definitions on the internet, you may be wondering what that is exactly. Considering this, you can imagine a wallet as a piece of software where you can store your digital coins and use them to prove they’re yours. Its purpose can expand and serve as the key to enabling cryptocurrency payments to merchants and employees. As you can see, there are many specificities to wallets. But how to choose the best and safest one?

To begin with, there are two types of wallets available: hot and cold ones. They’re different in that they serve other purposes. These are the best choices for utilizing wallet-enabled apps or for regular crypto transactions, and they come in two variants: desktop and mobile.

The former is the most popular with newcomers to the industry and is easily installed and set up.

On the other hand, mobile wallets are even more helpful in brick-and-mortar stores that take digital coins in turn for their products, as you don’t need to carry your computer around when shopping. However, these bring the risk of being damaged, stolen, or lost. In case this happens, a PIN code lock on the device will prove helpful as it won’t permit access to strangers or malicious actors.

They’re easily downloaded from Apple App Store and Google Play, but you can also use the link provided by a developer and get an authentic copy of the software.

Understand the risks of investing in cryptocurrency

There’s been plenty of chaos surrounding the detrimental events of 2022, like the collapse of FTX, Alameda, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank. Recent accusations of mismanagement and fraud charges against some big names in the cryptocurrency sphere showed that the bells rung by regulators like consumer protection agencies make sense.

There are more risks involved in digital money that you must acknowledge, including the following:

• Unpredictable regulations
• High volatility and speculation
• Challenges in evaluating crypto holdings
• Difficulty in valuing assets
• Cryptocurrency scams.

Furthermore, no price charts, predictions, or historical data can guarantee an ROI, so ensure you only invest when you’re ready and do thorough research. Start small and gradually add more tokens to your portfolio as you gain knowledge and experience.

Gain some cryptocurrencies

The world is on the brink of digital money adoption, and individuals receive financial rewards for discovering cryptocurrencies and using their knowledge to participate in collective efforts to streamline processes and ensure their safety, as well as for doing simple tasks that benefit the industry.

This may seem strange if you’re unfamiliar with digital money, but assuming you’ve been revolving around the cryptosphere, you likely already know you can be incentivized for different endeavors to better the space. Eventually, tokens may represent all forms of value and be applied to anything.

Take part in a local crypto community

Joining a crypto community where you can exchange opinions with other users and learn about cryptocurrencies is essential if you’re a newcomer. You can take advantage of local groups to gossip about the latest news and trends, as well as discover new opportunities and updates. This industry is yet to mature and it’s growing by leaps and bounds. Participating in a community and participating in discussions lets you stay informed about the latest trends.

As you can see, when it comes to cryptocurrencies, the main risk management strategies you can take on include keeping up with the news, using cold storage, making research on the tokens, and using a reliable and well-implemented cryptocurrency exchange.