Crypto Investing – How?
By now, hopefully you have a basic understanding of the crypto space, and you can see the huge adoption and growth that’s coming.
So ‘how do I invest’ you ask?
Again, like everything we’ve touched on so far, it’s easier than you might think.
In this article, we’re going to explain how to invest into the Godfather of all cryptos, Bitcoin. The info in this article largely applies to any of the other cryptos out there. But, for ease of explaining, and because we wouldn’t advise spreading your investment too wide in this space, we’re going to focus on Bitcoin.
The easiest way to think of investing into Bitcoin is to liken it to having a bank account. If you’re going to deposit or invest cash into a bank account, you first of all need a bank account/bank account number, then you need the cash to deposit/invest. Pretty simple concept right? One that I am sure you understand and have done in practice many times over.
So, the first thing you need to set up to get started is what’s known as a ‘wallet’. A wallet is like a bank account. Somewhere to store that virtual asset, your Bitcoin in.
There are a number of options here, so again, I want to simplify this for you. I don’t take this lightly by the way, as the security of your Bitcoin is of utmost importance of course.
One known and trusted wallet is the ‘Trust Wallet’ (funnily enough!). As I say, there are others, but this one is well-respected and believed to be one of the most secure. This is purely for you getting started. And, having the ability to carry this wallet around with you on your smartphone.
Simply go to their website: trustwallet.com
When registering with Trust, it is absolutely imperative that you take note of the ‘Seed Phrase’ that they give you. This is generally a list of 12 random words. Write them down on a piece of paper and take note of the order that the 12 words are listed in. DO NOT place this list anywhere it can be found, like on your phone as a ‘note’, or stored on your computer. Don’t store it in a cloud service like OneDrive or Google Drive. Write down the order of the words in the order they are given, and put that piece of paper somewhere very safe. No other person on this planet will have access to those 12 words. You are the guardian!
Why the 12 words!?!?
Well, if you ever forget or misplace your password for logging back into your Trust wallet, these words will unlock, and recover your wallet. If you lose your 12 words, and you lose or forget your password, it is impossible for anyone to recover your wallet. It is gone, lost forever (one reason why they say that about 7 million of the total 21 million Bitcoin will never be used). Guard that list with your life! Perhaps putting it somewhere where it cannot be destroyed, stolen, or lost, like a safety deposit box for example.
Another ‘essential’ for setting up a wallet, is to ensure ‘two-factor-authentication’ is switched on. This means you can’t login into your wallet without two forms of password or evidence that it’s you. For example, when you login on your computer, a code is texted to your phone that you also need to enter to gain access. Or, Face I.D. or a pin number if you’re opening your wallet on your smartphone.
Computers etc can be hacked, passwords can be hacked. Having another factor for entry means hackers are stopped in their tracks.
This brings me to another important point in relation to having a secure wallet like this. It means you hold the ‘private keys’ to any crypto you’ve invested into. Only you have access to that crypto.
There is a saying that I live and breathe by: “Not your keys, not your crypto”…
In other words, if you hold your crypto in somewhere like an exchange online, there is a small chance that it could be hacked… Or, as has happened this year, exchanges have gone under, and people’s crypto may or may not be lost forever. I’m not saying this to be paranoid, I just want you to understand that if you control the ownership of your Bitcoin, and take the security of it very seriously, you have a far lower chance of losing it…. Having said that, the security surrounding the most well-known online exchanges should keep your crypto safe…. But… It’s not under your control if held in a wallet with an online exchange. If held in a private wallet like a Trust wallet, you hold your crypto, no one else.
The Trust wallet is capable of holding many different cryptos. But, for now, we just want you to get access to the Bitcoin address aligned to this wallet, so that you can invest into it.
If you wanted to go one step further for security, you could purchase what’s known as a ‘cold wallet’. This is a wallet that stores your crypto offline. An example of which is Trezor or Ledger.
If you have all of your crypto in a ‘hot wallet’ or an online wallet like the Trust wallet, and you’re starting to accumulate a lot of value, you may want to think about moving some of these funds offline. If it’s all stored in a hot wallet on your phone, and you have quite the substantial amount in there, this would be akin to carting around a treasure chest full of gold when you’re simply walking into the dairy to buy milk.
It’s really up to you as to how much you believe is ‘enough’ for you to need to think about putting your crypto into cold storage. If you’re getting into the tens of thousands of dollars in value, it may be wise to pull those funds from an online hot wallet, and into an offline cold wallet.
Going back to the bank account analogy, your wallet address is like your bank account number. Just like a bank account number doesn’t need to necessarily be kept private, your Bitcoin wallet address is something that can be shared with third parties. In fact, you have to, if you want them to move Bitcoin from their wallet, into yours. In other words, you don’t need to worry about keeping this number safe or written down anywhere. It’s easy to find in your Trust wallet ecosystem.
To get Bitcoin into your wallet, you need to find a term like ‘Receive’. Clicking on ‘Receive’ will reveal a long code (about 30 random numbers and letters), which is your Bitcoin wallet address. Most wallets simply allow you to click on it, or touch the screen, and it automatically copies that address to your ‘clipboard’.
Now you need to know how to buy the Bitcoin!
I use and recommend a Kiwi company called EasyCrypto to buy my crypto. Simply click on this link to be taken to their website.
You will need to go through a registration process with EasyCrypto before you can buy Bitcoin (or any other crypto) through their service. Go ahead and register… It’s there to protect you!
Once registered, it’s a very simple process. Click on ‘Buy’, enter the amount you want to invest (maybe start small with say $100 as a test amount), choose Bitcoin, paste in your Bitcoin wallet address, and walk through the system to your internet banking environment (secure of course – you will need your internet banking username and password). You then select the bank account the funds will be withdrawn from. Follow this process through to the end – It’s all very straight-forward once you’re in there.
Once the order is placed, you can track it through the ‘Orders’ section in EasyCrypto. Or, you can simply continue to refresh your wallet in the Trust wallet app, or online.
The Bitcoin then hits your wallet – And you’re now the proud owner of some Bitcoin!
You can even set up automatic weekly deposits through the EasyCrypto eco-system, if you want to take advantage of dollar-cost-averaging.
So….. You’ve done it! Good on you! Pat yourself on the back that you’re an early adopter, and you have holdings in an asset class that is absolutely taking the world by storm!
Boom!