Cryptocurrency for beginners - start here

There's been increasing interest in cryptocurrency and like or not everybody reading this will be using crypto in the near future, if you aren't already. It will be done in some ways that have no observable impact on your life. Other things you'll notice as new or changed, but the blockchain portion will almost never be apparent.

Why should you listen to me? Don't. Fact check me, look up your own information, and come to your own conclusions. I recommend you apply that universally.

Here's some helpful hints.

Pretty much everywhere is full of unethical shills that are pushing their own crypto, getting perks for pushing a crypto, or they are simply generating clicks. This applies to projects I like too. This isn't rocket science and crypto is not immune to the same forces as everything else. These people are like political pundits or sports commentators. When you see a thumbnail of some moron's face with veins popping out of his forehead and a big green arrow on the chart, you know you've gone astray in where you get your financial advice. These are 20-somethings who grew up with Jim Rome clones. Forgive them, but don't encourage them.

It's difficult, but not impossible, to learn technical analysis without hands-on help. I came into crypto having been licensed by the NFA 20 years prior and having passed the Series 3. Without the prior time and experience in markets, even in crypto hard and heavy for two years, I still would not be able to find my backside with both hands and a map. A better idea for getting started is to learn how to read the charts and partake of lots of other people's technical analysis. You can find chartists you like or find specific preprogrammed charts on TradingView or other sites that you feel comfortable and confident with. Do not rely on a single source or a circle-jerk of sources saying the same thing.

The whowhatwherewhenwhy&how is actually just as important as that chart you're looking at. Charts are showing you the trends that are mostly driven by speculators and manipulators, not utility. This is going to change, soon. The answer to 5W&H is your utility. Who is going to use this? What are they going to use it for? Where will this token be used (industry, retail, tech, logistics)? When will this token become a viable product? Why do they need this token? How does the token actually do it at scale and at reasonable cost? A good idea doesn't mean that there is a practical application. How they deliver is important. Crypto requires developers to be advancing the project. BTC was created by Satoshi, but without the continued development and support of others it would have been dead in the water years ago. It's only still relevant because people are working on ways to expand the use-case. Just keep asking questions and looking for answers. Dig.

Almost everything you hear is at least partially incorrect. Welcome to reality. In my crypto experience during internet encounters the more outwardly confident and certain the person is the more likely they're misinformed on something critical. Unironic memecoin shillers are almost all completely misinformed because the people they listen to are unabashed scammers. The best and brightest I've encountered are all wrong often. You will be wrong, often.

The first thing you should be doing once you put money in is trying to prevent catastrophic losses. You don't have to make a ton on every trade. You DO have to prevent huge losses on every trade. Start with throwaway money. If you're the kind of OCD that can manage to keep up with mock trading then do that on the side. Along with my regular trading and reviewing I've tried different tools, without spending real money, to assess if they work and how best to use them. Once you're confident you can manage to not lose your shirt then you can start improving your profit.

Time is your friend in crypto if you've invested wisely. If you stick with utility tokens that you've vetted then time is on your side. We're in the early days and utility is going to be here to stay. There will be overall market trends like the stock market. Dollar cost averaging by buying during price dips is a popular strategy for people that aren't short-term traders and those without the time to research optimal positions for large investments.

You can check in any time you like, but you may never leave. Unlike most traditional stocks, futures, and other derivatives, you have to pay attention to volume and liquidity. If there is no volume nobody is buying and selling. This is exchange specific for each token it supports. Most of the centralized exchanges maintain a certain level of liquidity for coins they list. Decentralized exchanges with custom pairs and orders may have nothing in place like that. The more obscure your token the more likely you will need to keep an eye on this. There are several jokes here about liquidity and getting painfully screwed. I'll let you discover your own punchlines, just mix and match.

Crypto isn't just for buying and selling. I am currently in a staking pool that is paying just over 250%APY, paid daily. It works out to about a .75% return daily. If you stake 10k, you get 75$ a day. This is a particularly good staking reward, but in general the potential residuals in crypto blow away regular finance. Your tokens are taking the place of banks, facilitating contracts and processes, loans and escrow, providing liquidity to exchanges, and providing signal services. Your rewards are high, the user's costs are low, and everybody can get fat and happy. Fow now. These opportunities will slow down over time and returns will average lower. It's still probably the most accessible way for a person with fairly average means to begin building a base of residuals to support their lifestyle in the future.

There are a number of ways your crypto can make money. Some crypto assets provide a benefit for anybody holding the token. You can either be paid gas fees, interest, or some other kind of reward for delegating your tokens to a specific purpose. Some tokens are utility NFTs. Yes, NFTs can be used for digital art and garbage. NFTs can also be used for nodes and oracles. NFTs will be how all titles are recorded eventually, proving ownership of physical objects along with all historical data. Some of these NFTs provide rewards.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Most of the FUD surrounding crypto applies 100% to traditional money. It isn't backed. They can blacklist you. You can get scammed. They can track you. All these things are possible already through existing banking and payment processors. The real issue is that people don't want to take responsibility for due diligence. If you want all your stuff handed to you after being vetted by somebody else then you should be happy with continued .1% annual APR, steadily decreasing purchasing power, and virtually no utility for your money other than spending it. Every person that generates their own wealth will tell you that you have to make your money work. Money needs to be working or it's losing value.

If an EMP happens you will not be worried about losing your crypto, nor will fiat be safe. Most of the money is already digital. The movement is electronic. It will go boom in an EMP. The banks almost ran out of liquidity just recently while fully operational, they will be completely useless after an EMP. Crypto will be far from your mind as you scavenge the wastelands looking for more people to kill and eat. I suggest you invest in metals, particularly lead. I know people say crypto isn't backed by anything, but my crypto is fully backed with projectile weapons. Good enough backing for the US Dollar, good enough for Ksihkehe.

If you have something to add feel free. This isn't comprehensive. I don't think there's much here to disagree with me on, but feel free to. If your experience differs that's fine. I don't really want to have coin shilling or involved discussions on specific tokens publicly. In fact, to discourage shilling I'll list every drawback of anything you shill and maybe even mock the team. I've held 40 or so and currently hold a couple dozen. I'll gladly discuss your tokens privately if you want to send me a PM. If you have general questions for the thread I may already know the answer, but more importantly I probably have a good idea where I can find it if I don't.

Do not allow the euphoria of a very strong market to cloud your judgement. The temptation is going to be to keep shoveling money in as prices rise. Most consider the market to be entering the final phase of this bull run, possibly stretching into the early part of next year. BTC may flow into ETH, then they will flow into lower cap tokens. It will end suddenly and it will likely catch newcomers by surprise. There will always be another chance to make more and there will be trillions entering this market over the next few years.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Great analysis chief, right now time constraints mean i've gone down the utility coin route, i feel this is the safe option for those who don't have the time to diligently adhere to TA strategies.

However, i've accumulated a fair little wedge of crypto, hopefully next year i find myself in a position i can quit my day job and go full time. At which point i need to generate regular and consistent profit so will need to put the time into understanding the charts and trade indicators.

Dropped you a little email with regards staking, if you can have a look when you get a chance.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Thanks for for your generous offering, to help us out.

Will be following closely, and looking forward to you and others contributing info on the total Crypto-for-dummies stuff.

Like : Hardware : need a reliable computer/phone, or an older one is fine sometimes ;
Entry-level exchanges and wallets ;
Safe-keeping tips for wallets, ledgers, and passwords ;
Backups - USB keys vs. external hard-drives vs. writing it-out on a piece of paper ; etc...

Thanks again for helping-out our community !

And now : for my offering of investment advice.
After a few decades of investing, here it is laid-out for all :

Find-out what Nothin is investing in : and do the exact opposite !!! LoL !!

a reply to: Nothin

It's not that generous really. It costs me nothing. I've been avoiding anything current events related on ATS for the most part and I'm a blabbermouth that can write for hours. I'm actually making out on this deal. Just wait, I'm gonna drop a referral link once I get everybody comfy and also PLEASE LIKE and SUBSCRIBE! Reeeee Doge reeeee moon.

Coinbase is "safe". It's pricey, but you have to get fiat into crypto somehow. Note that PayPal is not real crypto last I checked, just a gimmick.

If you intend to move from Coinbase select a crypto with low fees. I use XRP, but for Coinbase XLM would be it. Coinbase may also have free xfers in USDC, but other exchanges may not. XRP and XLM have universally low fees. Keep in mind any conversion between tokens is a taxable event, not just cashing out to dollars. You pay taxes on the profit of each transaction. You can take loses too, but those are capped at 3k I believe.

Security tips include universal internet security tips. I do not use a computer to sign into my exchange account unless I have to. My computer is one of the least safe places for digital security. I use my phone almost exclusively. You can buy a refurbished phone or use an old one you have. Factory reset, install wallet or exchange, airplane mode and no network card. Airplane mode turned off when connecting. That's a cheap and effective wallet. Within a fairly short timeframe you'll be able to pay directly from crypto wallets on your phone. It's "possible" now, but it will become integrated into POS hardware. Everybody will have a digital wallet ID and it will also end up delivering all government aid/SSI/pensions/salary.

I have no advice on physically securing back-ups or devices. My methods aren't compatible. I've seen some others mention it though and maybe one of them can answer. Some people use deposit boxes.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Excellent thread. Could you tell me which utility crypto you currently invest in? You can PM me it if you don't want to discuss that here. Very good thread, I'll add to the thread later after work, thanks Ksihkehe!

a reply to: Alien Abduct

This is a pretty good place to start for utility coins -



All the coins (the blue squares) on this chart are compliant and already part of the IMF/WEF master plan. Pick a few or even better get all of them. My portfolio has a bit of all, with XRP being my largest investment.
Good luck!

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Excellent thread sir. You are correct about not letting your emotions or, I'll just say it, greed drive your decisions. It's super super easy to get wrecked chasing pumps or jumping on the latest hyped trend without doing some research. Believe me I learned that one the hard way! Stick with some tried and true projects, then branch out as your learn the lay of the land.

This clip is old but still funny, and its lesson doesn't just apply to Bitcoin

a reply to: Alien Abduct

PM sent.

a reply to: underpass61

Okay, that graphic gets a pass on my token shill threat, or maybe it gets an underpass.

If your XRP isn't on the XRPL you should put it there for Dec 24th or see if Sologenic has alternative methods on how to claim the airdrop. They're dropping to all XRP and SOLO holders. I believe you mentioned the SNG snapshot, but I don't think I've seen this one mentioned.

a reply to: Ksihkehe
Does this apply to all XRP holdings or just the ones from the previous Dec 12th 2020 snapshot? Haven't heard about this, I'll check it out for sure thanks!

a reply to: underpass61

All XRP and SOLO held on the ledger. All new snapshot.

Guidelines blog.sologenic.org...

ETA: The details were just posted yesterday, but with 6 weeks to go just about everybody will be in on it.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

I understand the inherent risk with any investment.

However, I am a little confused by the advice.

On one hand don't day trade
On the other hand if you hold long you also may end up with nothing.

What is your suggestion then?
Holding for weeks/months?

Also just from my short time looking at charts/graphs.
I know there is some manipulation going on, probably people with a lot (A LOT) of money

Buying low, selling high, buying low, selling high. I see articles saying to buy, and then the price crashes.
Seems very similar to the equities market but maybe even more transparent.

I think it is human nature to get scared and want to sell on the ride down, this is exactly what some people want.
It also solidifies that I would not put anything I can't risk on losing totally in there right now.

We'll see in 2 years or so if that changes.

a reply to: JAGStorm

No matter what you invest in you can be wiped out tomorrow or five years from now. I don't suggest anybody risk anything they can't afford to lose. While this is risky, I feel more secure in crypto than I feel in a bank. I'm not certain my bank account won't be blacklisted in our current political climate. I've been staying out of current events for a reason.

Day trading is kinda a misnomer for crypto unless you're doing some kind of leverage or option trades that expire. Day traders in stocks got the name because they had a daily close to work against and I'm fairly certain the options expired at close. It's been a while since I talked to a day trader though. Many people outside the SEC seem to feel that much of the crypto space should be regulated as commodities.

Scalps are short term trades trying to capitalize on high volatility. They can go either direction, into or out of the target token at a target price. Those short trades can be pretty low risk because of short time in the market, but will just bog you down watching the ticker unless you have a solid plan on price targets. People make and lose money with all strategies. Some are just harder than others.

It's actually a fairly well established fact that high profile articles about buying BTC and crazy projections on price are frequently made just before a retracement or crash. The articles will almost always be a 180 from reality. It's almost a forgone conclusion that people just getting exposed and investing for the long term right now will ride the wave to the top soon, then ride it back down to their cost or lower, the sell in a panic. Every blue check on Twitter and YouTube account is all the proof you need that there's manipulation. Once you see the behind the scenes on the movement of order books it's even more clear. It's not even illegal, but scummy.

Human nature is to panic sell and FOMO buy. It's not a game for everybody.

a reply to: underpass61

Very nice thanks!

a reply to: Ksihkehe

As I watch the crypto market I wonder how many have lost their shirts!
Luckily I know better than to put all my eggs in one basket and I just put "playing" money in it.
The wild swings I've seen just in a few months are unbelieveable....

No matter what you invest in you can be wiped out tomorrow or five years from now. I don't suggest anybody risk anything they can't afford to lose.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Ksihkehe

As I watch the crypto market I wonder how many have lost their shirts!
Luckily I know better than to put all my eggs in one basket and I just put "playing" money in it.
The wild swings I've seen just in a few months are unbelieveable....

No matter what you invest in you can be wiped out tomorrow or five years from now. I don't suggest anybody risk anything they can't afford to lose.

I didn't want you to think I was avoiding you. The market is definitely volatile, but I'm still quite happy. It's all a matter of preparation. If you're spending a lot of time on it it's still quite profitable.

Diversification is always the smartest way to go though. I don't recommend anybody does what I do.