HOW TO TRADE CRYPTOCURRENCY FOR BEGINNERS

Today you can use USDC (a stable coin) in place of the dollar on Coinbase in some instances.

To trade coins, you need to go into settings and make sure your wallets are set up (each coin has a wallet; wallets can be found under “accounts”).

The benefit of a USD wallet on Coinbase is that you can put money in that and then, once the deposit clears, use it to buy coins immediately moving forward. If you try to buy directly with your bank account, the transaction can take about a week. Given this, it is smart to fund your USD wallet or buy USDC and then use that moving forward to buy crypto. You’ll still need to wait for the deposit to clear, but once it is cleared with your bank you can use the funds. You can buy coins on Coinbase.com via your USD wallet (just toggle to USD wallet instead of bank account when making a purchase).

You don’t have to buy a whole coin. You can buy fractions of coins. Whole Bitcoins can be expensive these days, so consider buying fractions of a coin to start if you don’t have a big bankroll. It has historically been a mistake to buy only other cryptos because BTC costs more. You need to think of which one will increase in and retain value, buying all three in equal $ amounts (and ignoring how many of each coin that amounts to) is one way to avoid making the wrong choice based on price tag per coin.

When you buy a coin, take a breath and review the information. An extra decimal place can mean big money considering a single Bitcoin can trade for over $4,000.

Sending cryptocurrency to other users is easy with Coinbase. You can send to the email address of another Coinbase user, or you can send to an outside address. Just make sure to review the information carefully. You can’t reverse a transaction if you send to the wrong crypto address!

Download the app. This lets you trade cryptocurrency from your phone. The market is volatile; transactions are slow. When it is time to buy or sell, you need to do it ASAP.

Set alerts. Alerts can help you decide when to buy or sell.

There is a feature that lets you buy incrementally over time. Averaging in a position on a weekly basis is a solid conservative move that Coinbase will automate for you.

Cryptocurrency is volatile! There is always the chance that the market will crash, or that you will face some other catastrophe. Cryptocurrency isn’t a centrally controlled and regulated fiat currency. If you lose a coin or someone cheats you, there is nothing you can do about it (which is why you want to have 2-factor authentication set-up).