How to Get Started In Cryptocurrency with Coinbase
/GETTING STARTED BUYING CRYPTOCURRENCY WITH COINBASE
I got started 3 days ago with my first purchase of Bitcoin only three days ago at an entry price of $9675.81 for one Bitcoin. It was a super confusing process, and was very frustrating. But I fumbled my way through it after studying it for several days.
I didn't have an extra $9675.81 sitting around to buy one Bitcoin. Fortunately, you don't have to buy an entire whole "coin". You can buy a fraction of a coin with whatever amount of money you have.
I used my Mastercard to purchase $300 worth of Bitcoin, and after the 3.99% fee for transferring money from my credit card to my account, I had $288.46 worth of Bitcoin to begin with.
First, I registered an account at Coinbase.com. You can either transfer money from a bank account, or you can use a credit card. It's easier to use a credit card, even though the fee is a little bit higher. Connecting your bank account takes a little more time.
When you register for an account and deposit at least $100, Coinbase will give you $10 extra for free if you use a referral. I messed up and missed out on the $10 bonus, but if you use my referral code in the link above or by clicking on the picture, you can receive the free $10.
Via Coinbase, you can purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. These are three major cryptocurrencies. There are 843 other cryptocurrencies that you can purchase outside of Coinbase, and you'll need to use another exchange service to do that. But we'll get to that later.
After owning my first $288 of Bitcoin, the value has risen as high as $338 within the first few days because it is moving roughly 10% per day. The market price of Bitcoin jumps up and down, but the overall trend is growing upward at a rapid rate.
There is talk of Bitcoin growing from the current price of $10,483 at the time I am writing this blog post to somewhere between $25,000 and $40,000 within the next year. The reason this is happening is because there is a finite amount of Bitcoins available to be bought on the market.
As of June 2017, there were 16.4 million Bitcoins created. The limit is 21 million. Right now, new Bitcoins are being created by the process of "mining". You can read my previous posts to get an understanding of what that means, but this is the reason for the rapid rise in value.
Bitcoins cannot be inflated by governments. Nobody has the ability to "print" Bitcoin money like the government prints the US Dollar. As you are reading this, there is a huge shift of investment into Bitcoins taking place.
Banks, institutions, businesses, and individuals are buying up Bitcoins. The number of people coming into the Bitcoin market in the near future is enormous. It will cause the value to continue to be driven up into the stratosphere.
After you purchase your initial amount of Bitcoin on the Coinbase site, you can register an account with the exchange service at Bittrex. When you create your Coinbase account, you get a digital "wallet".
You also get a digital wallet when you set up an account at Bittrex. Once you complete that step, you can send money from one wallet to the other, and then purchase any of the other 843 cryptocurrencies from the exchange.
I am going to be putting away money on a monthly basis into my Coinbase account and loading up on Bitcoin. Then I will be able to transfer money at will to my Bittrex wallet, and for a very minimal fee I will have the ability to invest into the other cryptocurrencies.
In my next blog post, I will explain why there are so many other cryptocurrencies, and why there is a need for different types. But the first step you need to take is to buy your Bitcoin. When you buy your Bitcoins via Coinbase, you own actual currency that can be used to make purchases at over 100,000 retail services. It's not like investing in stocks. You are purchasing usable currency.
For example, you can actually buy Walmart gift cards using your Bitcoin balance and go shopping at a physical store, or buy goods and services on Amazon.com. You'd be surprised at how many local businesses in your home town are already accepting Bitcoin for purchases.
Get started with your first Bitcoin purchase so you can become accustomed to the process of using cryptocurrency. Then you will be able to move into trading currencies and create the potential for a very secure financial future.
If you have questions or suggestions, please post them in the comments section and I'll help out where I can. Get going now, and be a part of the "first movers". You don't want to have regrets 10 years down the road when you realize the massive opportunity that you missed out on to be a part of this in the initial stage.
Carlton Flowers
Crypto Coach
PS - There is RISK involved in any investment, and it applies to cryptocurrency. Do your own due diligence. This is a learning process, and I don't yet profess to be an expert. Keep in mind that with risk comes possible tremendous reward to those that are forward-thinking enough to do the proper research.