Cryptocurrency Guide

WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?

A cryptocurrency (crypto) is a tradeable asset that is built on blockchain technology. Crypto can be seen as the investment of the future if you think the future revolves around blockchain. Blockchain is essentially the foundation of crypto - the technology consists of a large database securing transactions while keeping a decentralized record.

The idea is to become independent in terms of ownership. Blockchain allows the idea of ownership through decentralization, no one "runs" blockchain/crypto. Your money is yours, not the banks. Crypto can be used as a form of payment as it has monetization value.

WHY CRYPTO CAN CHANGE THE WORLD OF FINANCE?

Blockchain can change the world of finance as we know it. Crypto has the ability to offer similar features to what traditional banks can offer. Including, but not limited to; payments, savings (store of value), lending and borrowing of crypto assets (credit), trading value (similar to stock exchanges). Additionally, blockchain gives us this form of anonymity which we wouldn't normally have with traditional banks. This allows us to be the true owners of our money with complete ownership. We know we have complete ownership of this asset as the blockchain can prove it.

HOW TO BUY CRYPTOCURRENCIES:

It is suggested to use either Coinbase or Binance - these are the most reputable exchanges.

How to set up a Coinbase account:

As a trading platform, you'll need to be of at least 18 years of age. You'll also be KYC'd (know your customer) in which you'll be asked to upload a government-issued photo ID.

Join by using this link https://coinbase.com/join/sandhu_0zy?src=ios-link by using the referral link above, we both will get £7 for free in Bitcoin. No brainer.

Click 'get started' -> this will initiate your account creation. Fill in the fields accurately and make sure to verify your email address & phone number.

Add your personal information; include all information on your chosen government photo ID. You'll be asked to upload this in the next step.

Upload your preferred government-issued photo ID to ensure ID verification, follow the steps carefully.

Finally, link your payment details in order for you to start buying cryptos with your deposited GBP & enjoy your £7 in free Bitcoin!

THE RISKS OF CRYPTO:

There are many risks that come with crypto, some of which will be stated within this guide to protect you and your funds. First of all, crypto is extremely volatile, this means that the value of your portfolio can quickly increase and decrease in value very quickly. The reason for such volatility originates with the issue of regulation. There is little-to-no regulation within the crypto markets - as crypto is so early, governments have not fully dived into how crypto should be regulated. This results in market makers and 'whales' (people who own a large amount of crypto assets) controlling the price movement as they so wish.

Scams and what are known as 'rug pulls' are also very common within the crypto space. As crypto is very anonymous, it allows scammers to easily trick you into giving them your money. More specifically, rug pulls can be projects that may look legitimate on the outside, however, there are hidden motives to run away with the investor's funds. It can be difficult to spot this, but a good start is to look at the team and reputability, see whether they are doxxed, if not, I wouldn't risk putting an investment into the project.

Another risk within crypto are scammers accessing your funds. If you are not using a hot wallet on a centralized exchange, you may have made a wallet that creates a random string of numbers which is considered your "seed phrase" - this acts as a private key to get into your wallet. If a scammer has access to this private key, then you may have lost your funds which are irretrievable. Write down your seed phrase on a piece of paper and make sure it is not on your computer or phone to prevent scammers gaining access.

CRYPTO VS STOCKS:

As previously stated, crypto is far more volatile than stocks due to the lack of regulation in the crypto market. This makes crypto more dangerous to your portfolio and stocks much safer. Although the gains to be made in crypto are much larger than the ones in stocks. You have a higher risk of losing all of your investment in crypto than you do in stocks. Generally, the idea is to invest in crypto if you see blockchain as the future of technology.

Crypto is generally not backed by physical cash or company assets like stocks are. These two assets are very different from one another, so weighing up the pros and cons of both is worthwhile in finding your preferred investment.

BEST CRYPTO YOUTUBERS:

BENJAMIN COWEN:

If you're looking into crypto from a technical analysis point of view, Ben is your guy. He looks at the market for what it is. He's a data scientist and analyses the market without an "up only" - he provides honest opinions on market sentiment and where the market is going.

ALTCOIN DAILY:

This man covers crypto news daily in a very digestible and engaging manner. A great channel to keep up to date with what's going on in the crypto space, some news can cause price movements so it's worth staying in the know.

Channels to stay away from: BitBoy Crypto - shills any coin that'll give him money TechLead - created a controversial coin consisting of many lies