How Do I Get Started in Cryptocurrency? Jumpstart Guide

[taxkellerman]

Getting Started with Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency

This is a guide that I have created for complete newbies to cryptocurrency. Show this guide to your friends and familiy who may be interested in getting involved in the market. This guide is mainly created for those living in the United States but has some general information that can likely apply to anyone. It's overall just a quick read that should give you a basic understanding of crypto and how to get started. I will continue to post more guides with more advanced things depending on feedback.

What is Cryptocurrency? Why is everyone talking about it?

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets similar to gold or silver. The first and most popular of these is Bitcoin. Bitcoin was created to decentralize financial transactions. There are many other cryptocurrencies but the market is largely based around Bitcoin. The explosive growth of the market has made alot of early investors alot of money and attracted many new ones as well.

Bitcoin is the currency with the largest market cap and is available to exchange with nearly any other currency. The down side to Bitcoin is that it's tranaction fees and speed can sometimes make transactions more difficult than they should be. Bitcoin is a good place to start in cryptocurrencies and then look into other options.

If Bitcoin is gold to the cryptocurrency markets, Litecoin is silver. Although there are many differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin the main ones are that it's cheaper and faster to send transactions. Litecoin however is not as widely traded as Bitcoin although it is typically a better alternative.

Ethereum is another leader in the cryptocurrency market that serves as a digital asset but also as a platform for decentralized applications. This is what separates Ethereum from an asset like Bitcoin or Litecoin its ability to essentially decentralize the internet in the way Bitcoin is looking to decentralize money.

How do I buy cryptocurrency and what do I do with it?

In order to buy cryptocurrencies you first need to get your cash (USD) into the market. For people based in the United States the two best options for this are Coinbase and Gemini. Both of these sites will require you to verify your identity and bank account in order to put money into the market or withdraw funds out. Coinbase is generally the easiest to use for people new to crypto. As you grow and learn more you may want to explore other options and Gemini is also a great choice. Once you have your money into the market you can do alot of things with it. You can invest in a new startup project in hopes of future returns on your investment. You can use your coins to conduct your own financial transactions. Or you can simply hold them. The choice is up to you.

This is one of my first official Steemit posts so I'd appreciate some feedback. I hope to add to this guide over time with more information. Add some ideas of other things that you would like to see here as well.

Share this guide with someone.

Follow - Upvote - Resteem if you found this helpful.

Comments

[cryptotaxadvisor]

Can you put your US dollars directly into GDAX, or do you have to start with Coinbase?

[taxkellerman]

Yes, you can put money directly into GDAX via bank wire or bank transfer. I believe GDAX still requires you to sign up for Coinbase.

[cryptotaxadvisor]

Thank you. I have been telling newbies to start with Coinbase, and then immediately add GDAX to avoid the fees. Wanted to make sure that is correct.

[gandalfthewhite]

Dear taxkellerman,
Nice work. Educate the uneducated so they can benefit as well.
Yours truly,
Gandalf The White!

[taxkellerman]

Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it.

[gandalfthewhite]

You are welcome my friend!

[minnowsupport]

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Beerus from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.

If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.

[postpromoter]

You got a 2.39% upvote from @postpromoter courtesy of @taxkellerman! Want to promote your posts too? Check out the Steem Bot Tracker website for more info. If you would like to support development of @postpromoter and the bot tracker please vote for @yabapmatt for witness!

[steemvote]

This post was resteemed by @steemvote and received a 25.31% Upvote

[morwhale]

This post received a 1.1% upvote from @morwhale team thanks to @taxkellerman! For more information, click here! , TeamMorocco! .
STEEM Price : 4.873 $ ID : 1516587594000

[jerrybanfield]

Thank you @taxkellerman for making a transfer to me for an upvote of 12.58% on this post! Half of your bid goes to @budgets which funds growth projects for Steem like our top 25 posts on Steem! The other half helps holders of Steem power earn about 60% APR on a delegation to me! For help, will you please visit https://jerrybanfield.com/contact/ because I check my discord server daily? To learn more about Steem, will you please use http://steem.guide/ because this URL forwards to my most recently updated complete Steem tutorial?

[pushup]

4.90% @pushup from @taxkellerman