A Beginner’s Guide to Trading Cryptocurrency

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Here is a beginner’s guide to trading Cryptocurrency and holding (Hodl) you were looking for. Bitcoin has shown a lot of volatility lately, and while volatility is what it’s known for, I’m not going to flood you with crypto jargon head-on. 

This comprehensive beginner’s guide carries all you need to know if you’re starting in crypto, and we’ll also tell you what “Buy the Dip” means so you don’t sound like a noob. 

Today’s cryptocurrency market is quite different from what it was a few years ago. Many massive developments have entirely transformed how we look at crypto and how it can be utilized for real-world goods starting with NFTs and NFT stuff in the metaverse!

Here’s everything you need to know about entering the crypto world. In addition to level-one information on cryptocurrency trading and holding, you will find valuable tips and a short glossary of some of the most commonly used crypto terms. 

How to Buy Bitcoins (And Other Cryptocurrencies)

The first thing you might want to know in this beginner’s guide to trading Cryptocurrency is how to purchase this darn Bitcoin or USDT thing, or any other digital coins for that matter. The primary platform to buy or sell crypto is a cryptocurrency exchange. There are several options you can choose from. Prepare to pay transaction costs when buying crypto from these reputable cryptocurrency exchanges. However, there is a trick to reducing them drastically. We will mention it later in this section.

Choosing a Reputable Exchange

Most people start with Coinbase or Binance, two of the most popular crypto reputable exchanges. These exchanges provide a truly convenient and easy way to purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum, USD(T), SOL or any other of the thousands of cryptocurrencies you want to buy as long as it’s listed on their platform.

The general rule is that the more convenient the cryptocurrency buying process becomes, the higher the associated fees tend to be. Widely used cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum particularly demonstrate this trend.

The Common Coins

The most common coins are Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Solana($SOL). These are easier to get with a Credit card and other fiat currency payment methods. Previously, you could only buy other smaller cryptos with BTC and not with fiat payment options. Exchanges have now made it easier to buy thousands of other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, directly from fiat. 

Before you buy, I recommend you compare different crypto exchanges and their offerings. For instance, if you’re comparing Binance vs. Crypto.com or Bybit vs. Bitmex, you have to evaluate how they meet your specific needs for various factors. Starting your crypto journey on the right foot will go a long way. 

With the advent of stablecoins, it has become much easier to keep your holdings in crypto without worrying about changes in value in this volatile market. I recommend you transfer your crypto assets to crypto wallets to hold them. 

Wallets? Other Exchanges? What the heck are you talkin’ bout?  Let’s move on!

How to Store Your Coins in a Wallet?

Remember to store your coins or tokens in a wallet instead of keeping them on exchanges. Exchanges often get hacked, as seen with the Mt. Gox drama and FTX in the past. You should always have a public key for receiving coins and a private key for sending coins.

This PRIVATE KEY is for YOUR EYES ONLY. Never share it with anyone – there is no exception to this rule. 

no exceptions

Back to the wallets, there are several concepts for storing your coins.

There are two kinds of wallets:

  • Software wallets, AKA Hot wallets
  • Hardware wallets, AKA Cold storage

You can find the best Crypto wallet in this article.

Hot Wallets

A hot wallet is accessible via the internet; good examples are a web wallet, an app, or an exchange wallet. If you create, for example, a Bitcoin wallet as the central authority on a website, you will get a public key. This key is like an address to which you can send your Bitcoin or Ethereum. This can be shown in public. 

But you should know that these keys can be scanned from the outside. This can reveal the amount of stored coins in that particular wallet to everyone who knows this key.

Here is how hot wallets work. You purchased 2 ETH on Coinbase, and they are now credited to your wallet. Then, if you want to increase security, you can create a wallet at MyEtherWallet. You don’t need an email address for that, and it is confusing that an account hasn’t been created, like on other websites. There are several ways to protect your account, so we picked the Keystore file here.

So the process would be:

  1. Open MyEtherWallet (make sure to be on the actual website), and choose a password.
  2. Download the Keystore / JSON File to your computer.
  3. Now, whenever you want to log in, you fill in the password you chose from Step 1 and upload the particular file.
  4. For extra security, you can delete this file from your computer and keep it on a USB drive in a vault or Bitwarden.

Despite the name “MyEtherWallet” (MEW), you can store all ERC20 tokens there. In other words, every other cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain can be stored on MEW. 

Many coins/tokens have their own web, app, or desktop wallets. Check the wallet for each coin/token you are going to buy.

A desktop wallet is a program downloaded on your computer. You run it on your machine and store your tokens there. A really good one is Exodus, which can hold many different coins/tokens in one place. Be aware of the possibility of hacked or crashed machines. That said, there’s a wide range of crypto wallets you can choose from to keep your crypto assets safe.

Cold wallets

Cold storage or cold wallets are way more secure than their software counterparts. They are not connected to the internet, and therefore, the risk of getting your coins stolen by cybercriminals is much lower. There are several approaches to storing your cryptocurrency offline, depending on your risk tolerance.

The options:

  • Hardware Wallets
    Hardware Wallets are like advanced USB sticks or credit cards, some with a display and several additional security measures. The most popular crypto hardware wallet is Tangem at the moment, which is made by a Swiss company. The cheapest option is a Two-card set, which costs around $54. You can read more about this wallet in our Tangem wallet review. Here is a video we created on how to setup a Tangem wallet in under 2 minutes.
  • Paper Wallets
    Paper Wallets are simply pieces containing your public and secret keys. The value of your wallet is stored on the blockchain, connected to your keys. The public key is used to receive transactions, and the secret key is needed to open your wallet and send transactions. With a printed piece of paper, you can be sure a computer crash, a hacker attack, or similar problems won’t lose your digital currencies.
  • USB sticks with the required web wallet files: If you generate a web wallet like with MEW, you can store your JSON file and your passphrase on a USB stick and store it there instead of on a computer that is accessible to the internet and, therefore hackable or could crash.
  • Physical Bitcoins: With a physical Bitcoin, the manufacturer installs a public address and a hidden private key with the coin. It is more of a bearer item. The private key is hidden, so the coin cannot be spent as long as this is granted.

How to Buy Altcoins – What is an Altcoin?

A beginner’s guide to trading Cryptocurrency: Altcoins are all cryptos/tokens other than Bitcoin. Many altcoins have promising projects behind them that support using these coins within their respective projects.
One example of such an altcoin is the Avalanche coin (AVAX). You can read more about the next gen coin in our article. Now that you’ve found a promising project you want to invest in, how do you buy these altcoins?

The websites of those projects don’t offer direct purchases of their coins. This is where you need exchanges. Let’s order some altcoins step by step!

Let’s assume you did your research and read this article about holding some coins for some time and want to buy some now. If the altcoin you want to buy is available on a reputable cryptocurrency exchange, then buying is as easy as buying BTC. However, if your targeted token is not on exchanges like Binance or Coinbase, you must follow a different route. 

Step 1: Buy BTC 

First, if you need Bitcoin and Ethereum, or UDST, you can purchase them with your credit card at Binance.

Alternatively, You Can Buy the Altcoin Directly

Once credited, sign up with another exchange that offers the coins you want. In our example, we are purchasing AVAX or PEPE crypto coins. If you prefer a quick exchange, you can purchase your desired altcoin directly at Changelly, which accepts credit cards as well.

Step 2: Transfer BTC to Altcoin Exchange

If you still have your BTC or ETH in Coinbase or the primary exchange where you initially bought the crypto, you must deposit it to the other exchange that trades your chosen altcoin. For instance, if you are depositing ETH, you will see a cryptic wallet address, which you must copy precisely (excluding whitespaces).

Then, on Coinbase, hit the send button and paste this address. Once the transaction starts, you will receive a TXID (transaction ID) to track your transaction on the blockchain. Please note that these transfers are not instant and must be confirmed by miners. For example, Binance requires a minimum of 2 confirmations before the amount is available on the exchange. You can use Etherscan to follow the process. BNB or Ethereum transactions are typically faster than those of the Bitcoin blockchain network, so be patient.

Step 3: Select Crypto Pair

After the transfer is complete, the amount will appear in your account. If you send Bitcoin or Ethereum, you will trade on the corresponding markets. For example, if you want to purchase AVAX, choose the AVAX/ETH pair.

Step 4: Make the Purchase

When you’re ready, place an order for your desired altcoin.

Step 5: Store Altcoins in the Wallet 

Once you purchase altcoins and intend to hold them, use one of the best crypto wallets, especially for larger amounts. If you plan to sell quickly, you might leave them on the exchange, but be aware of the risks, such as hacking or accessibility issues during high traffic times.

That’s it 🙂

Cryptocurrency Beginner’s Guide: Day Trading or Investing?

A beginner’s guide to trading cryptocurrency: There are two ways you can handle your coins: you can trade them day-to-day or hold them as an investment. The trading volume is an important decision you want to make at the beginning of your venture. Let’s see what the difference is:

How Does Crypto Day Trading Work?

This means buying different cryptocurrencies and trying to sell them at a higher price in a short timeframe. It requires extensive training and knowledge of technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and risk management tools. 

You will need a trading plan. Many crypto coin owners are day trading without even knowing it. It is a bad idea to use Facebook groups, for example, to read about this or that coin, sell at potential losses, buy into another coin, and so on. Your funds will be bleeding in the long run with no profitable trades.

Crypto signals providers offer much better information and technical analysis by experienced traders. You might want to look into our selected best crypto groups on Telegram, which offer good signals tested by us. 

If you want to get your feet wet and learn to trade in the crypto markets, joining one of our recommended crypto signals groups is a great way to start learning from experienced traders and making healthy profits simultaneously! 

It is also interesting to learn more about buy-and-sell walls and financial markets to get some general ideas about trading altcoins. Be aware not to panic once BTC pumps and your altcoins drop.

Investing in the Next Gen Coin

Investing in the next-gen coin is all about research, trusting your instincts, and not panicking! The first step is to research projects and the cryptocurrency they issue. 

If you find something promising, let’s take AVAX as an example, you investigate them more. You research the team, check their website and LinkedIn, and see what kind of reviews and history they have. 

You need to see what they are trying to build, if this is needed in the future and will solve problems, and, last but not least, what their crypto will be used for. Then you purchase it and forget it for some years. 

Don’t check the price constantly, as it goes up and down constantly. You will likely get stressed once it tanks for some time and sells at a loss. Cryptos are highly volatile, so this will happen. 

You need to trust your instinct and look at the long run. We have our eyes on the long-term, not the ups and downs. 

Cryptocurrency Beginner's Guide

A beginner’s guide to trading Cryptocurrency: What is a Satoshi?

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency and was invented by a mysterious person or a group of persons appearing as Satoshi Nakamoto. A Satoshi, commonly called “sats,” is the smallest unit of a Bitcoin, so it is one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin.

What Does “Sats” Mean?

1 Satoshi = 0.00000001 BTC

100 Satoshis = 0.00000100 BTC

1,000 Satoshis = 0.00001000 BTC

10,000 Satoshis = 0.00010000 BTC

If you want to trade, you should get familiar with it. You will mostly trade against Bitcoin, and therefore, everything is calculated in Sats. Be sure to stay ahead and always think in dollars so you don’t lose the feeling for the amounts you invest.

Crypto Slang

This glossary is one of the most important parts of our beginner’s guide to trading cryptocurrency. This equips you with the vocabulary and basic understanding of crypto markets.

The more you dig into the rabbit holes, the more strange terms that seem to make no sense will appear. Here is a list, along with a simple explanation. 

Crypto Jargon You Need to Know

  • ALTCOIN: A term to refer to all the smaller cryptocurrencies. Every crypto besides Bitcoin is an altcoin.
  • BAGHOLDER: Someone who bought crypto thought it would soar soon but dropped instead. As you should never sell at a loss, you hold the coin in your bag of coins now until you can sell it with a profit.
  • BEARISH: Bear Market trend when prices go down.
  • BULLISH: Bull Market trend when prices go up.
  • BUY THE DIP: refers to purchasing a digital asset when its current market price experiences a temporary drop, with the expectation that it will eventually recover and rise, presenting an opportunity for potential gains.
  • DIGITAL CURRENCIES: electronic forms of money that exist only in the digital space, allowing for instantaneous and online transactions.
  • DUMP: When an individual sells a cryptocurrency, they are dumping it. Also, a cryptocurrency dumping, in general, means a massive selloff, so its price drops significantly.
  • DYOR: Short form for “Do Your Research.”
  • FA: Fundamental Analysis
  • FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out. This often happens when the price of a coin increases very much, and you buy in because you fear missing large profits.
  • FUD: Fear Uncertainty & Doubt – someone spreads bad news, so a coin gets dumped.
  • HODL: Acronym for Hold On for Dear Life, which means not selling a certain coin. It first came up in a Bitcointalk thread.
  • MOON: This term means the price of a cryptocurrency is predicted to shoot up very high—one of the most overused words in Crypto.
  • PUMP: A strong upward movement.
  • Shitcoin: A cryptocurrency with no use or that doesn’t have a bright future.
  • TA: Technical Analysis
  • REKT: To get burned with a considerable loss.
  • SWING TRADING: For swing traders, it involves leveraging the typically high volatility of digital assets to capture gains from price fluctuations over a period of days to weeks.
  • TRADING BOTs: An automated trading system that uses a machine learning program to automatically create and submit buy and sell orders to a market or exchange.
  • WHALE/S: Market movers that buy-in for unbelievably high sums and, therefore, manipulate the prices.

Check out another post by us about the use of crypto slang and what is going on in groups and forums. Just to be aware 🙂

10 Advantages of Cryptocurrencies in General

A beginner’s guide to trading cryptocurrency: How much do you know about how today’s market conditions affect ranking good investments? If you want to scrape various cryptocurrencies on exchanges like Bybit, Binance, OKX, Kraken, and others, having the know-how to get the best results is essential. Various strategies can be used for day traders and short-term holders but can apply to any cryptocurrency trading. There are various helpful investment practices/strategies you can use. If you use the right trading strategies, you can experience growing up to 2x higher on daily investments.

It’s important to remember that nothing in life is 100%. Like other markets, cryptocurrency markets can be VERY volatile and change quickly. The key is to make safe investments that will help to provide the best results. If you make the best investments, there’s a good chance you can get high returns. However, there will always be some risk, so it’s critical to minimize it and use a trading plan.

Why should you invest in cryptocurrencies to begin with? They can provide several benefits, including the following ones:

1. Privacy

When you make cryptocurrency transactions, there’s no need to share your identity/location. There’s also no info you have to share with the bank and government about the deal. As a result, it can be said that the investment is 100% decentralized.

2. No limits

In the case of using cryptocurrencies for transactions, there are no boundaries. For example, the sender and receiver can be in different parts of the world, but you can still transfer funds without issues. In addition, transactions between countries are very easy in the case of crypto since no central bank controls the market.

3. No chargebacks

After making the payment, you can’t charge back. This greatly lowers the chance of fraud, which is critical. After the wire transfer is complete, it can’t be reversed. Unlike credit cards, you can’t file a chargeback. There are drawbacks, but there can also be advantages as well.

4. Lower costs

It’s costly to transfer funds by wire transfer. The major banks can impose substantial fees for each transaction, compounded by the high fees charged by credit card processing companies.

However, the situation is different with cryptocurrency. That’s because the costs are very low or there are no costs at all. In the case of credit/debit cards, the seller pays the fees. However, in the case of crypto-currencies, the buyer pays a small fee.

5. No third party involved

You are in charge of your money in the case of cryptocurrencies. You can keep it in your digital wallet and use it as you want. There’s no third party involved, so you don’t have to trust organizations like banks.

6. Personal information is safe

In the case of crypto-currencies, people can’t steal personal info from merchants. This results in sensitive data being private. When you create a proxy ID, you can rest assured that nobody knows anything about you. This is a plus.

7. High Security

All the transactions are super secure since they use cryptography created by the NSA. It’s almost impossible for anyone other than the e-wallet owner to make payments using your wallet. The exception is if someone hacks them. The good news is that there are several methods to protect yourself from them. It’s important to learn the different methods so you can use them.

8. Stay anonymous

Some coins can help you remain anonymous. People often believe that all of them can do it, but this is not true. In the case of Bitcoin, it’s “pseudonymous” since people will never know your identity on the blockchain precisely. However, I can get some info from it. This is something to keep in mind.

9. Fast/Easy payments

It’s quite easy to make payments via cryptocurrency. You can do it in a couple of seconds. It’s quite fast since you don’t need to input several details or even enter details for debit cards or credit cards. All you need is the digital wallet address of the person/company to which you want to send a payment.

The receiver will be credited with the amount in a couple of seconds/minutes, depending on the type of digital currency you are investing in. The process is quite easy, and it’s one of the main benefits of this type of investment. It’s a plus over other types of investments that are more complex. That’s why this is one of the best options if you’re looking for new investments.

10. Easy access

Cryptocurrencies are already available to the general public. Nearly anyone can use them. They are decentralized, and investors worldwide have access to them. Several projects are using cryptocurrency to raise funds. Nearly everyone who can make fund transfers using the Internet can join such projects.

This is a critical issue because it’s quite easy to get involved in crypto-currencies. This differs from other types of investments that are very difficult to start based on factors like how much capital you have to invest, the experience you have investing, etc.

The beginner’s guide to trading Cryptocurrency: 5 Rules to Follow Once You Get in Touch with Crypto

1. Invest Based on Risk Tolerance

Take time to figure out your risk tolerance and assess how much risk you’re willing to take. In some situations, crypto traders are willing to take big risks; in others, it’s not the strategy they want to use. It’s about how much of a gamble you’re willing to take. Remember that you can’t make big earnings quickly unless you are willing to take significant risks. So it’s an important issue to consider.

2. Keep Your Crypto Assets Safe

This is another step to consider to get the best results. There are several online resources where you can find helpful information about how to do that. The key is to do your research so you know which steps to take. If you take the best steps, you can be assured your coins will be safe, which can help give you peace of mind. As always, it’s critical to protect your investments.

3. Buy Crypto Now

You made a good investment if you purchased Bitcoin a decade ago. However, if you didn’t do that, you should still consider doing it now. That’s because you can still make some big earnings in crypto. However, the key is to get started as soon as possible. This will help get you on track in terms of your crypto revenue. However, if you put it off, then it could mean you’ll miss out. This is no financial advice, and we are no financial advisors.

 4. Invest in What You Can Lose

It’s important not to invest more than you can realistically afford to lose. This situation is like many other types of investments. It’s critical not to make huge investments when you can’t afford to experience big crypto losses. On the other hand, if you can afford major crypto losses, it might be worth increasing your trading volume and taking the risk of making investments that include big amounts of coins. This requires some number crunching to determine what you can afford to invest/lose.

5. Do Your Own Research

This is important to ensure you’ll get the latest information you can trust. Meanwhile, if you get the info from third-party sources, there’s a greater chance the info isn’t true. That’s a situation you’ll want to avoid. You can do that by doing extra research. DYOR!

Final Words

The key is to know about the current market conditions and invest in using common sense. The goal of this beginner’s guide to trading Cryptocurrency is to help you get started but remember that this is a learning process, and if you’re a newbie, you’ll quickly get used to everything. This is especially true when your portfolio shrinks, and you must determine which tweaks you should consider.

Many investors make trading decisions based on price movements. This can cost you a lot of money, so it’s a situation you want to avoid. However, if you read order books and do your homework about crypto trading strategies, you can start making better investments. This can help to improve your portfolio.

The good news is that there’s a lot of information online and advice you can access that will help you make decisions when investing in cryptocurrencies. That’s the ultimate goal, but you have to be very careful. Always keep in mind: Crypto = Wild West! The particular advice/recommendations aren’t as important as getting the desired results.

We hope we have given you everything you need to know in our beginner’s guide to trading cryptocurrency. Of course, there is so much more to learn, but this should give you a first impression of the much-needed basics. Please feel free to ask your questions in the comments field below. We will try to answer you quickly.

Enjoy Trading. Enjoy Crypto, Live Life!

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  1. This guide is a great starting point for anyone new to crypto! It simplifies key concepts and offers valuable tips for navigating the market.

  2. Your blog post was like a crash course in [topic]. I feel like I learned more in five minutes than I have in months of studying.

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Ivo
Ivo
Ivo is a creative entrepreneur with a strong background in digital projects and online businesses. Since 2020, he has helped grow SmartOptions.io into a trusted community for crypto traders and signal proivders, providing insights, reviews, and education around trading signals, exchanges, and tools. Based in Portugal, Ivo combines hands-on experience in crypto and Web3 with a broader interest in investing. His approach balances curiosity with pragmatism, always learning from history while adapting ideas to the times we live in.