The world of cryptocurrency can seem really overwhelming, especially when you don’t know anything about it and are starting from scratch. However many investors start this way, so it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. So, we’re here with a few important steps you need to take when you’re getting started with cryptocurrency or NFT’s, from the initial education stages right through to buying your crypto and teaching yourself about common cryptocurrency scams. Take your time with this to help you become a successful and confident crypto investor!
Spend Time Educating Yourself!
The first thing you need to do when it comes to starting cryptocurrency investing is to spend time educating yourself. The likelihood of you making good or safe investments straight off the bat by just watching a video or two is extremely low. Instead, dedicate a good amount of time to learning all about the industry, understanding how everything works, looking into the different trading platforms, understanding what makes good and bad investments and generally being aware of all of the intricacies to help you keep your money safe and to get the most out of it.
You don’t have to sit there and read boring article after article. Look for well respected people in the crypto industry and listen to their podcasts or YouTube videos if you learn better that way. Our biggest piece of advice here is to vary your sources. Don’t take everything that one person says at face value, but instead, find a variety of different information so you can take everything in and form your own opinions. We’d also say to take everything you see on social media with a pinch of salt, as whilst people may appear to be super successful in the world of cryptocurrency and living a lavish lifestyle, you never know what’s really going on behind closed doors.
So, do your own research, find a style of research that you find engaging and don’t always take what you see on social media at face value.
Create and Fund Your Account
Next, you should create and fund your account. Once you know which exchange you want to use, simply set up an account and then fund it. When deciding how much to fund, it’s really important that when you’re starting out, as well as the whole time ideally, that you’re never investing more than you can afford to lose, as whilst cryptocurrency offers great opportunities, it’s also a very volatile market that can result in people losing quite a bit of money. So, be sensible and set yourself strict investment budgets to ensure that you don’t get carried away.
Keep Note Of Important Passwords and Private Keys
Once you’ve set up your account and funded it, you need to keep a note of important passwords and private keys. These need to be stored in a really secure way, where you can’t be hacked and they can be accessed, yet somewhere really safe as if you lose them, you will lose all of your investment. Using physical devices like USB, Smart Card or HSM’s to store your private keys are a good way to do this. Just make sure you keep them somewhere safe!
Buy Your Crypto
Now that your account is set up and verified, it’s time to buy your crypto. Take your time with this and make sure you stick to the budgets you’ve set yourself, as it can be so easy to get carried away and end up losing money. From Bitcoin to Ethereum and Dogecoin to Tether, don’t just rush and buy whatever is trending on social media, but do your research, take your time and make sure that you’re making wise investments. Although we’ll get onto scams in more detail, if at any point you feel pressured into investing after someone approaching you with a great opportunity, or anything doesn’t feel quite right, then make sure you take a step back away from the investment and stop communicating with the person.
Read: How are Fractional NFTs Changing The NFT Space?
Make Yourself Aware Of Common Scams
A really important part of getting started with cryptocurrency is making yourself aware of common scams. Whilst the technology used in the world of cryptocurrency can be fantastic, along with it also comes a significant number of scams. From phishing scams to impersonation scams, Pump and Dump scams through to classic investment scams, knowing the signs and what to avoid is so important.
Some common signs include:
- Poorly written white papers
- Feeling pressured to make an investment
- People offering something that seems too good to be true
- Someone approaching you out of the blue over email, phone or social media
People unfortunately lose a lot of money in crypto scams, and whilst investment fraud lawyers can help people to trace and recover funds, of course you want to avoid this wherever you can.
Author’s Bio:
Daisy Moss is a freelance writer who loves to write about investments and cryptocurrency. She also likes to help connect people with investment fraud lawyers if they have lost money through investment related scams.
