?>

The Basics of Crypto Trading – What you Need to Know

2 k views
As easy as you may think that trading is merely buying and selling of goods, well, trading in cryptocurrency is the same but a lot harder

As easy as you may think, trading is merely buying and selling goods; well, trading in cryptocurrency is the same but a lot harder. Even so, the profits you can generate through crypto trading are worth all the hassles. But first, you must be familiar with and understand all the basics of crypto trading before deciding to invest highly. 

Many investors have testified to the benefits of trading in cryptocurrency. Thus numerous traders have flooded the market, hoping they can get a piece of the pie. Regardless, people invest all their money in the crypto trade without adequate cryptocurrency knowledge and have soared in their bank accounts. If you don’t take time to understand the risks involved in the trade, your idea of it being a lucrative business will only make you think otherwise. 

Now that you want to trade in crypto, you should remember some details before taking the driver’s seat in this business venture. InitialYouhoroughly research the cryptos you want to invest in the market. Luckily, you will get everything you need to know about cryptocurrency trading to start immediately. 

Cryptocurrency Trading

Before you trade in crypto, you should understand the following commonly used terms. That is;

  1. Cryptocurrency 
  2. Blockchain 
  3. Bitcoin 

Cryptocurrency 

Cryptocurrencies are like any other currencies that can be transferred from one individual to another. However, the distinguishing factor lies between encryption, decentralization, and the currency’s digital nature. 

This currency only exists in electronic form (as digital assets) and is not governed by a single body like the regular currency controlled by banks. Therefore, there are no middlemen when transacting in crypto, which means the transaction fee is usually minimal. 

Blockchain 

The cryptography that secures crypto’s financial transactions also links a list of records (blocks) to form a Blockchain. Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Blockchain as the public ledger of crypto known as Bitcoin. As a result, Bitcoin Blockchain is the first decentralized digital asset that solves all the double-spending issues in trading transactions. 

If you own a Bitcoin, you will have a copy of its transactions in a ledger, strengthening trust between you and the other traders involved with that Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin

Primarily, the term bitcoin is used interchangeably with cryptocurrency. However, Bitcoin is merely a digital currency that follows all crypto rules. It is not the only cryptocurrency in the market, but it’s popular because it’s the first in the industry. 

The value of Bitcoin varies depending on various factors. For instance, bad publicity in the press, news, and the media can lead to fluctuating Bitcoin prices, affecting cryptocurrency trade. 

How to Trade Cryptocurrency

There are two requirements you must have to trade in cryptocurrency. That is;

  1. One or two cryptocurrency wallets – Stores the passwords encrypting the coins. It’s like a bank where you can send and receive cryptocurrency. 
  2. One or two cryptocurrency exchanges – It’s where you can conduct your cryptocurrency trading deals. 

How Cryptocurrency Wallets Work

A crypto wallet doesn’t store cryptocurrency. It only keeps a digital code (private key) securely since it’s the source of ownership that proves your legitimacy for the coins you send and receive. A wallet is a transaction ledger for your cryptocurrency trading

How many Types of Wallets are there?

Like bank accounts, crypto wallets come in a wide range of varieties. On but contrary, wallets function under certain conditions specific to each type.  

There are still cryptos like bitcoin that can be accessed in more than one mode – mobile app and desktop application. 

The following is a list of all crypto wallets available in the market today;

  1. Mobile Wallet – This can run in a smartphone app.
  2. Desktop Wallet – An app on the pc lets you connect to your client’s coin directly. 
  3. Online Wallet – A web-based wallet requires a real or virtual server to host the data. 
  4. Hardware Wallet – These are USB drives solely designed to keep cryptocurrencies secure. You can use the USB device to trade cryptocurrency online and then take it offline once you transact. They are also safe for transporting crypto data. 
  5. A paper Wallet is a print of a QR code for private and public keys. 

Important Note: Always remember that, whatever type of wallet you use, once you lose the private key, you will lose all your money in that wallet. Therefore, you should consider securing your passwords with safer storage methods. For instance, you can store your passwords on your PC’s hard drive or a cloud. 

How Cryptocurrency Exchanges Work

A crypto exchange is a site where you can trade cryptocurrencies for other cryptos or common FIAT currencies like Euros or US dollars. This is simply the playground of cryptocurrency trading

Frequent crypto traders use an ID-verified exchange account to access essential trading tools for professional trading. But if you are an occasional trader, you can choose from plenty of platforms to do your cryptocurrency transactions. 

Since the rise of cryptocurrency trading, many platforms have hosted a variety of crypto exchanges for traders. Some of the favorable crypto exchanges include:

1. Gemini

Gemini is a fully licensed US-based exchange co-founded by Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler. This platform’s security is top-notch, mainly because it holds all the US dollar deposits in an FDIC-insured bank.

2. Coinbase

Trusted investors vouch for Coinbase as a reliable exchange platform, and the extensive fan base of millions of customers makes it ideal for interacting with potential buyers and sellers.

3. Kraken

Being one of the oldest found crypto exchanges (2011), Kraken is a partner to the first crypto bank. Through Kraken, you can trade with Bitcoins in various centralized currencies such as British Pounds, US Dollars, Euros, Canadian Dollars, and Japanese Yen.

4. Bittrex

Bittrex is the only exchange that accommodates newly established currencies. This platform constantly expands and broadens its proximity to support Blockchain technology, which is also ever-changing. It is an exchange that offers you diversity and investment opportunities in the crypto industry. 

Important Note: A crypto exchange’s entities, mechanics, and functionality specifics run entirely different from regular stock exchanges’. 

5. Binance 

Binance’s name speaks for itself. Founded in 2017, Binance has quickly become the world’s top cryptocurrency exchange by volume and continuously improves technology.

6. Poloniex

Poloniex is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges with the most secure trading environment. It was founded in 2014 and has more than 100 different pairings of cryptocurrency. Advanced crypto traders prefer this exchange because of its unique data analysis tools. 

Final Thoughts

Bitcoin coin symbol
Btc
Bitcoin
$62.547
price
red chart
decrease symbol0.84959%
price change
TRADE NOW

Trading in crypto is not a straightforward task. It involves some technicalities that can put your investment at risk if you aren’t careful. However, this guide has all the necessary information to get on the right track.  

Previous

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Gets SEC’s Nod to be Its Reporting Company

Next

Beginner’s Guide to Fundamentals of Cryptocurrency Trading

Written by

561 posts

A part-time trader with a fine eye for detail. Over the years, I have developed an intriguing interest in blockchain technology and enjoy writing about cryptocurrencies.

VIEW AUTHOR

More author posts

How SolidProof Ensures Transparency and Security through Audit and KYC Systems

Solidproof is among the most trusted blockchain security and smart contract auditing companies in the crypto market today. The Germany-based company aims to fix the security and transparency issues smothering the crypto space. But, unfortunately, as the industry attains more progress, so do the opportunities for bad actors to victimize honest investors. According to a yearly report on crypto crimes by Chainalysis, $14 billion of all transactions in crypto in 2021 were associated with scams or money laundering. These figures…

The Importance of Backtesting Crypto Investment Strategies

Crypto backtesting involves running and applying a specific trading strategy to historical market data to evaluate how it would have performed. The analytical method delivers a clear overview of qualified strategies that can be applied in a real-world environment using real capital. The mathematical simulation provided by crypto backtesting is an essential component that traders use to analyze past market data and ultimately develop an effective trading system. The process can empower investors to pick out a crypto strategy that…

aelf Announces Its First Metaverse-Themed Hackathon with Money Prizes

aelf network has announced its metaverse-themed Hackathon, “Top of OASIS,” which will take place on December 12, 2021. The platform encourages all potential participants to advance their project proposals by February 9, 2022. Additionally, aelf will offer full support to all the projects participating in the Hackathon. Developers can register their blockchain projects, including DeFi and GameFi proposals, and compete for spots in aelf's prizes pool. Top of Oasis Hackathon Main Dates Top of OASIS is aelf’s first metaverse-themed blockchain…

Institutional Investors who have Expanded their Portfolio in 2021

Cryptocurrency and blockchain investments from the first nine months of 2021 have surpassed last year's total. In the first half of 2021, the worldwide crypto and blockchain activity was $8.7 million, more than double last year's figures. It is a significant sign that institutional money is streaming into crypto. Furthermore, it increases the investor base, and thus the institutional awareness and knowledge of this sector are also surging. The "institutional adoption" of crypto is already underway. Today we focus on…

Understanding Cardano, IOHK, and EMURGO

Cardano is the first decentralized public blockchain platform developed on a research-first-driven approach. Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum, created it in 2015 and later launched it in 2017. It comprises a development team of global researchers and engineers. This platform's development continued thanks to academics, computer scientists, and their peer-reviewed papers. The Cardano ecosystem involves three founding entities that work together. These partners are EMURGO, IOHK Company, and The Cardano Foundation. Cardano in a Nutshell Cardano is a public…

Billionaires Who Have Publicly Showed Interest in Cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency boom of 2017 saw a rise in their acceptance from prominent economic figures. Since then, their volatility has continued significant investments in them. Today there's a push for their global mass adoption. Industry-leading lights and renowned celebrities have expressed their support for the assets. Nothing best captures this reality than Forbes's recent list of the world's wealthiest people. It indicates a growth in the number of crypto billionaires over time. From an asset that courted controversy and skepticism,…

Publish your own article

Guest post article. Guaranteed publishing with just a few clicks

START PUBLISHING ADVERTISE WITH US

Browse categories

Explore trending topics in the crypto community right now.

Bitcoin

SEC Greenlights Multiple Bitcoin ETFs, Signaling Major Leap for Cryptocurrency Markets

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made a landmark decision by approving 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This move represents a significant moment in the cryptocurrency industry, marking a shift towards greater institutional adoption and accessibility for investors. The approved ETFs include products from major firms such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust, WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin…

Bitcoin Should be Banned in the United States: Charlie Munger

Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, Charlie Munger, called for a ban on cryptocurrency in the United States on Monday, similar to the one in China.  In an op-ed published with the Wall Street Journal, Munger argued that Bitcoin isn’t a currency, commodity, or security, but simply a form of gambling “ with a nearly 100% edge for the house. As such, the enactment of a federal law should ban such things from happening. Munger cited the Chinese communist party’s ban on…

Tesla’s BTC Positions Remained Unchanged in Q4 of 2022

According to a new earning report from automotive manufacturer Tesla, the company did not sell any of its BTC holdings in the fourth quarter of 2022. Amid speculations that the company had traded BTC during the testing bears, CEO Elon Musk revealed it was yet holding on to its BTC stash. Tesla Maintains Holdings After Initial Sell-Off In Q2 of 2022, Tesla opted to sell 75% of all its BTC. The car manufacturer received close to $950M in exchange. Notably,…

Here’s When Grayscale Debates the SEC in Court on its Bitcoin Spot ETF

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has marked a date for when Grayscale and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may present oral arguments regarding the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF.  Each side will present its case at 9:30 am ET on March 7, with the SEC arguing against the product, and Grayscale arguing in favor.  Grayscale VS SEC The court date – revealed in a court order filed on Monday according to CNBC – is much earlier…

MORE ARTICLES

Ethereum

Ethereum’s Zhejiang Staking Withdrawal Testnet for Shanghai is Live

At 15:00 UTC on Wednesday, the much-anticipated Zhejiang testnet for staking withdrawal went live on Ethereum’s Beacon chain. Zhejiang will enable the testing of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895 which allows for staking withdrawals. This is in preparation for the network’s next major update, the Shanghai hard fork slated to launch sometime in March. Users Can Make Simulated Withdrawals with Zhejiang In a tweet yesterday, DevOps engineer at Ethereum foundation Barnabas Busa gave details about the Zhejiang testnet slated…

Ethereum Devs Disagree Over Technical Tweak as Shanghai Upgrade Nears

Post-merge Ethereum users have been eagerly awaiting the commencement of the network’s next major upgrade, Shanghai. However, after over 3 months of prep time, it appears the Shanghai rollout isn’t going as smoothly as expected. What Exactly is the Shanghai Upgrade? In September last year, the much-publicized Ethereum Merge also known as the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade went live. Ethereum underwent some significant changes as its consensus mechanism transitioned from proof-of-work to a cost-efficient proof-of-stake system.  However, since the Beacon launch…

FTX Hacker Converts 50k Stolen ETH to BTC

Per a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, the attacker behind the Nov 11 FTX exploit, is converting the stolen ETH to Bitcoin. There were muted fears the seemingly inexperienced perpetrator could dump all its ETH holdings. On Sunday, the attacker dumped 50k ETH on-chain, with ETH's price dipping by almost 7%.  https://twitter.com/chainalysis/status/1594349583416840199?s=20&t=pgvQHeVytI20eKQ1ls9bxw Hacker Moves 50,000 ETH to New Address Over the past week, the perpetrator had been steadily swapping the cryptocurrencies they had carted off for Ether tokens. This…

Censorship Concerns: 51% of Ethereum Blocks Now OFAC Compliant

According to new data, over half of the blocks on the Ethereum network now reportedly comply with the US Treasury OFAC’s standards. This comes roughly a month after the platform’s monumental merge update. Phasing Out Tornado Cash The Office of Foreign Assets Control is the intelligence and enforcement agency of the US  Treasury Department. Indeed, the OFAC administers and enforces US  financial sanctions. A prime example of this is the recent, highly-publicized ban on crypto mixer Tornado Cash.  According to…

MORE ARTICLES

Trading

How to Leverage Arbitrage Opportunities in Crypto Markets

Cryptocurrency arbitrage has become an increasingly popular investment strategy as the crypto market grows and evolves. Arbitrage involves taking advantage of pricing discrepancies between markets or exchanges to profit.  Investors can leverage profit opportunities by understanding cryptocurrency arbitrage while managing associated risks. In this guide, we'll explore cryptocurrency arbitrage and how it works. A Bitcoin-related example will help us illustrate the concepts of this strategy. What is Arbitrage and How Does it Work in Crypto Markets Crypto arbitrage trading is…

The Different Types of Copy Trading in Crypto

Are you interested in trading cryptocurrencies but feel intimidated by the complexity of the process? Copy trading is a great way to get into crypto without needing to be an experienced trader. With copy trading, investors can benefit from the experience and knowledge of more experienced traders, allowing even beginners to succeed. How does copy trading work, and which tips do you need to know to succeed? In this article, we'll explore all aspects of copy trading in crypto. What…

How to Spot an Unsafe Crypto Exchange

Cryptocurrency exchanges have become increasingly popular as they provide a platform for people to buy and sell digital assets. Unfortunately, not all crypto exchanges are safe or reliable.  With the rise of cybercrime and fraud, you must learn to spot an unsafe crypto exchange before investing your money. This guide will help beginners identify and avoid potential risks when selecting a cryptocurrency exchange.  The Role of Crypto Exchanges on the Digital Assets Market Cryptocurrency exchanges play a crucial role in…

What Is Grid Trading in Crypto?

Crypto grid trading has become a popular strategy because of its ability to help traders capitalize on market volatility. Grid trading means you can produce consistent profits by taking advantage of price differences in different markets or time frames. By establishing buy and sell orders at predetermined intervals, you can take advantage of these fluctuations in an automated way. This guide will explore the different aspects of grid trading and provide an overview of its benefits, challenges, and more. Through…

MORE ARTICLES

Tech

Introducing una Messenger: A Paradigm Shift in Blockchain Connectivity

The digital landscape is set for an unprecedented transformation with the introduction of una Messenger, the latest innovation from web3 development powerhouse Wemade. This platform represents an evolution of the "PAPYRUS Messenger," serving as the cornerstone of the ambitious "unagi" initiative, aimed at catalyzing the mass adoption of blockchain technology. The "Unbound Networking & Accelerating Growth Initiative" seeks to bridge the divides between diverse blockchain services and networks, heralding a new era of interconnectedness. A New Frontier in Blockchain Communication…

Bit2Me Champions WEMIX Token in Pioneering European Listing

Bit2Me, Spain's premier virtual asset exchange, has recently broadened the horizons for cryptocurrency enthusiasts by listing WEMIX, the cornerstone token of the WEMIX3.0 blockchain ecosystem. This marks a notable achievement as WEMIX's inaugural venture into the European market, emphasizing the token's role in facilitating a range of blockchain-based activities, from gaming transactions to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Launched with the intention to democratize access to WEMIX for the 450 million Spanish speakers around the globe, this strategic move aligns with…

CryptoVirally Expands with Fresh Crypto Marketing Offers and Cointelegraph Upgrades

In an exciting update for the cryptocurrency marketing landscape, CryptoVirally has announced a series of new entries and enhancements to its already comprehensive range of services. These updates, aimed at providing tailored marketing solutions for crypto projects, include new limited-time offers and expanded options for Cointelegraph publications. Limited Offers: A Game-Changer in Crypto Marketing  CryptoVirally's limited offers section presents an enticing opportunity for crypto projects to leverage high-impact marketing services at discounted rates. These offers, available for a limited period,…

Breaking Boundaries in Blockchain: WEMIX’s ‘una Wallet’ Sets New Standard for Multi-Chain Asset Management

The WEMIX Foundation has unveiled 'una Wallet,' a revolutionary digital wallet designed to offer unparalleled convenience and security in managing digital assets across various blockchain networks. The announcement, made on January 17, 2024, signifies a new era in the seamless integration of multiple blockchain protocols, including Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum, Kroma, Optimism, Polygon, and WEMIX3.0. 'una Wallet' is more than just a digital wallet; it represents the culmination of WEMIX's innovative efforts in the blockchain space. It serves…

MORE ARTICLES