For My Friends and Family New to Cryptocurrency
Over the past couple of months, I've had a lot of friends and family members reach out inquiring about cryptocurrency and blockchain tech. This post is a quick list of tips for them and anyone new to crypto from my experience so far.
This is not financial advice!
My backstory:
- Got into crypto in mid 2016 (not too new but not an OG)
- I work currently in community management for blockchain projects
- Reasonably tech-savvy millennial
Recommendations from my experience:
- Don't invest in what you do not know or understand
- EVERYONE is biased including me. Please do your own research.
- Don't invest more than you can afford to lose. EVER.
- Buy a hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano S or use a wallet where YOU control the private key
- Get your crypto off exchanges (prone to hacking --- central point of failure)
- Look at CoinMarketCap or OnChainFX to see the top traded cryptocurrencies by volume and which exchanges they are traded on. (Side note: These websites can often contain errors such as an incorrect circulating supply or market cap so take that into consideration.)
- Do not day trade. It is a zero-sum game and you will lose. Buy and hold or 'HODL' is a plausibly effective strategy.
- Look at project github pages to make sure there is real activity and code commits.
- Use apps like Blockfolio or Delta in the app store to monitor the price of your crypto holdings.
- NEVER give anyone your private key or seed!
- You don't have to buy a whole bitcoin. It is divisible to 8 decimals places. You can buy 0.2 BTC.
All the Best and Welcome to Cryptoland!