[CHEAT SHEET] To investing in Bitcoin & Crypto as if you're 6 yrs old.
This is not, in any way, Financial Advice, this blog post is mostly for me to deepen my own learning - I learn best by doing, and then explaining that doing in a way people can understand. Please consult a Financial Advisor to direct you and your investment shenanigans. My series of articles on Crypto, Ai, Blockchain - are more for edu-tainment. Educational Entertainment.
Did someone say learning curve?
I have been on a swift learning curve for several months now. I've crafted a few articles already on the subject, including:
Crypto, AI, Blockchain - an (eager) Beginner's Guide includes:
1. The Crypto, AI, Blockchain (CAB) Glossary, Shannon Style
2. The psychology hacks I applied to learn about Crypto, AI & Blockchain (CAB)
3. Crypto, AI, Blockchain, Trends 2021
This will be the 4th article in the series - as I unpack the steps I resolved to figure out how to purchase a few pennies of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Going through the motions of figuring this out was largely so I could write this wee article you are reading right now.
Right, first things first!
Investor Beware! Crypto Fraud is at all time highs!
This space is over run with scams, fraud and tips and tricks to take our money.
Some of the ways this is done is by throwing up super sexy websites, that look like the real deal - but are only intended for collecting your personal details - which they will have you drop in during the fake-sign up step.
They will even ensure that you see your initial 50 quid investment go up 10 to 50% thus, people like you and I would throw in an extra hundred or two to maximise those returns- and over a few months, the climb in return makes us think - why not add even more?
This is where that super sexy website closes shop... and you and I figure out that we were not in fact buying crypto currency - instead we were putting cash into the pockets of shysters - and those charts showing us the return and rise of our investment? Made just for us - to get us to keep filling their coffers.
SO! Investor Beware - you want to use reputable sites - and you want to ensure:
1. You carefully type the URL of a reputable site into the URL space
2. Double check the URL that you land on by glancing at the URL domain address - they are so so good - if you land on ccoinbase.com for example - note that I added an extra 'C' in the url address for a reputable exchange - thus you are now on an imposter site - because of the incorrectly spelled URL- this imposter site will look exactly like the real version - but it is in fact a fake. A common way for us newbies to get scammed.
3. Also - make sure that site has an SSL certificate (Security Layer) showing in the domain name area. It's an icon that looks like a padlock.
I've dropped in an image above here (with a big fat red arrow) to show you the SSL icon - in a real live example that confirms that the site you are on carries an SSL certificate/ padlock icon.
Getting Ready to Buy Cryptocurrency!
1.Malware Check!
Check your laptop and mobile phone are in fact, malware free before you start venturing into opening accounts and buying, well, anything.
I ended up using this one, here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/pricing
2. Open a new email account!
I created a new email account for my Crypto currency learning exercise for security reasons. Most of us have been using the same email address since we were 13. I figured I would make the effort to keep up the level of security for this learning exercise. If you are planning to invest regular amounts, then may I suggest you absolutely take this step.
3. Pen and Paper!
I got a piece of paper and wrote down everything I was using for my crypto learning exercise. My new email, my new passwords, the allocated passwords assigned to me, all the different accounts I opened - I was simply exercising my right to security while making myself go through the motions of learning exactly how to do this.
4. Get your Wallet!
I opened a wallet to hold my crypto currency purchases - I did not want to buy my crypto currency on an Exchange and leave my funds in the Exchange account - so I simply opened a Wallet - and transferred my funds that I just purchased on the Exchange, into my own self-secure wallet.
(Which I paid a transfer fee for.)
Buying Cryptocurrency!
Buying does depend on which part of the world you are currently domiciled in.
I am now based in Dublin Ireland. So I needed an Exchange that operated, with and in, Ireland.
And being a crypto currency newbie - I wanted a mainstream, established Cryptocurrency Exchange to buy with. There are many Exchanges - I went with Coinbase.
Pick your Exchange - in this example - we are using Coinbase.
Open your account - this took a few days as the registration process needed me to upload passport photos, then wait for those to be verified by Coinbase. Then I needed to provide proof of address - so I uploaded a redacted bank statements - and waited for Coinbase to verify my home address. And job done.
My account is open - I needed to put a payment method in place. Debit card it was. Set that up no bother.
Then using my Euro funded debit card, I bought a few pennies of bitcoin, and a few pennies of Ehterium - two of the most established crypto currencies there are - and I skipped over the thousands of other coins - for now anyway. My intention was safe, secure and mostly for the purpose of learning.
So I had a few pennies of ETH, a few pennies of BTC - and I was now staring at my account showing my investment climbing and falling before my very eyes.
Connecting their Exchange, with your wallet!
I had a Coinbase Exchange Account, a Coinbase Wallet Account - and using the mobile app based Wallet - I clicked a button to link the two accounts. Easy enough.
Then I transferred funds from my Coinbase Exchange Account - to my self-secure Coinbase Wallet.
I paid fees for the transfer.
That's how I did it!
Being on this side of it, it feels rather simple.
Taking step one into this wee exercise a few days ago, was all sorts of frustrating.
Why did I bother?
I persisted simply because I'm not able to ignore Web3.0 being very much at our doorsteps - as I recall how and what I was doing to navigate Web2.0 twenty years back - I guess I wanted to be a bit more proactive this time round. End of.
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This article is for informational purposes only, it should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.
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About Shannon Eastman
