Security and risk management are the two most important elements for crypto traders to master.

 Cryptocurrencies are a high risk to reward industry so your first goal should be to keep your money secure. The biggest losses in the crypto ecosystem are predominantly due to hacks and user mistakes.If you take the time to do things right at the beginning then you may end up avoiding some very costly mistakes. Here’s a list of best practices for security:

• You will want to get yourself a hardware wallet. Your cryptocurrencies have private keys and if lost or stolen you will lose your money. Hardware wallets isolate your private keys from the internet, which prevents hackers from accessing them. You also get the ease of being able to quickly send money without needing to download complicated software.


• Never keep all your money on a single exchange. We generally only trade with 20% of our cryptocurrencies and keep the rest offline on a hardware wallet. Exchanges get hacked all the time, so you want to manage counterparty risk. We also spread our trading funds across multiple exchanges so that if one gets hacked our trading account isn’t wiped out. We’ll send you a list of exchanges we use in our next email.


• Always use 2-Factor Authentication for any online exchanges or web wallets. If someone gets access to your password then they need to also have access to your smartphone. 2FA acts as a second password that’s randomly generated from application like Google Authenticator.


• Use a non-public email account for all your sensitive financial accounts. Set up 2FA on that email and make sure it has a strong password. Also if you have your phone number linked to any accounts make sure that your phone provider has extra security questions available to get access.


• There’s no rush to make money so it’s better to be patient and start off very small while you’re learning. The biggest mistakes new traders make is to get greedy and trade more money than they can afford to lose. Trading is more than just strategy, it’s also managing emotions and only experience can help you with that. You will make many mistakes in the beginning so make sure they’re not very costly.


• There are many scams in the crypto industry so make sure you do your research into new projects and companies before sending anyone your money. Do not send money to anyone who’s starting a project and hiding behind anonymity. Only use reputable companies and services.


• When you’re in a trade make sure you look at both side of the market and manage risk. Risk management consists of position sizing, stop orders and only trading when you feel there’s an edge in the markets. Always have a well thought out plan before entering into a trade and define your rules to find quality trades.