cryptocurrency - coinbase? etoro? Binance??

[littlelottieloubie]

Today I'm going to dip my toes into the cryptocurrency world and admit I don't really get any of it tbh. I'm talking experimenting with small amounts so I can learn on the go, I'm not thinking about sinking any savings or anything.

I have no idea which platform to do for. I'm looking for something that's easy to use, can hold currency in a wallet (right term?) and can transfer out into my bank account easily so I can spend it if I want. I have some vague notion that, when I actually understand, it I might buy and sell fairly regularly (or at least would like the option to do so) so will need something with low fees.

Can anyone help point me in the right direction???

Thanks in advance...

I have done something very similar and use Coinbase which is very straightforward for beginners (which I very much am!)

(PM me if you'd like a referral code -we both get a few pounds bitcoin free)

Yup, I'd also go for coinbase, by far the best for folk new to crypto.

Binance is also good, but a bit more sophisticated. Avoid eToro (you dont actually own the crypto there, it just tracks the price of crypto).

Also, if you are buying or selling crypto regularly, use Coinbase Pro (you get a coinbase pro account when you sign up for coinbase, same login details, just a different platform). Much cheaper fees and free to transfer between coinbase and coinbase pro.

I'm sorry to piss on your bonfire.

I've done this crypto shenanigan for a few years and have only lost money. It's a fad/scam. Honestly, just stuff your cash under your mattress and forget about it!

If you are dead set on wasting your hard-earned cash, etoro is sufficient. There are withdrawal fees, but they're not too bad and it's really easy to use.

You see, they make it easy to use so you're more likely to spend more money! Don't bother!

Tulips. South Sea Bubbles.

Binance is what I use. Read up before putting any money in, eg bear/bull markets, market cycles etc. Research a coin before investing in it-don’t invest blindly otherwise your likely to end up ruggpulled. It’s unclear what’s going on right now, meant to be in a bull market but everything has tanked in the last 3 weeks so tread carefully.

Coinbase Pro and Kraken for some Alt coins
Held on Exodus Wallet with cold storage on Trezor

@yupyupyup

I would not agree with this sentiment, I have done very well on my 18 month holdings.
I buy small amounts on a regular basis, averaging down my costs
I stay clear of any noise and nonsense on becoming a millionare.
I hold Crypto as about 20% of my total portfolio. I think it does have real long term (10 year plus) benefits to add diversifcation to my holdings.

It is not a get rich quick scheme, and yes, it may well end up worthless.

However, if you invest on the basis that you can

1. afford it
2. understand that it may be worth Nil
3. can cope with the huge volatility

Then I would suggest go for it

If you are investing for longer term growth as a newbie, then go for a cheap low cost index fund in an ISA

I like the Algorand coin. I buy through Coinbase and transfer it to the official Algorand Wallet. It earns 6% APY and is a more ethical coin due to less energy needed as it can be splitto a 0.0001 of a coin. Like others have said read up about it, study the market, familiarise yourself with the cycles and buy low and sell high

Don't invest for short term right now, I'm a crypto enthusiast and I've cashed out everything except my long term holds, which are EOS and 0x

And the spam scam begins!

Would you mind explaining more about wallets?different /safest types Transferring into them etc?

@Mossiebonbon

Would you mind explaining more about wallets?different /safest types Transferring into them etc?

First off, when you "purchase" crypto on Robinhood, e-Toro or Paypal, you arent actually buying crypto, you cannot transfer the crypto off. If you actually want crypto, dont buy from them.

Usually you buy crypto on an exchange (like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Gemini etc), and they will have an on-exchange wallet you can keep them in. They are fairly safe, but exchanges have been known to get hacked. Coinbase is probably the easiest for beginners.

To be properly safe you want to move them off the exchange. There is a "point and click" guide to wallets on bitcoin.org for bitcoin, other coins will have their own wallets - the standard one for ethereum is metamask.

In general tho, for low amounts that you want to directly spend, use a computer or mobile wallet. For significant amounts or money you want to save use a hardware wallet. Ledger and Trezor are the most widely used hardware wallets and will take a wide variety of cryptos.

If you do move them off an exchange, you are now fully responsible for them. Keep the seed phrase (or private key, if there is no seed phrase), this is 12 or 24 random words that gives you access to your crypto. Keep it on paper/offline, rather than in a digital format.

Thanks for your reply, Much appreciated. Is there any pros of e-toro - why would someone choose this over coin base? If you were buying without planning to trade in medium term is coin base still preferred exchange ?

@Mossiebonbon

Thanks for your reply, Much appreciated. Is there any pros of e-toro - why would someone choose this over coin base? If you were buying without planning to trade in medium term is coin base still preferred exchange ?

e-Toro is primarily a trading platform. I dont know all that much about it as I'm not a trader, but I can see that there would be advantages if you were regularly trading stocks and cryptos and wanted it all in the same place.

Coinbase is good, use coinbase pro tho (you get both when you sign up) to trade as the fees are lower. If you are planning to hold long term get a hardware wallet.

Thanks again for your time responding!