First, I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask, but I am very cautious about where I ask for help in the interwebs.
That said, does anyone have recommendations on where I could do some research, learn now/where to buy crypto?
I really appreciate the help and suggestions and apologize if this is the wrong forum.
TY!
...never take financial advice from a dog...
u/#howl
ok great....any exchanges you recommend or look at?
tyvm
My current go-to is Kraken. I'm sure there are better ones but it's a painstaking process to find any that are trustworthy. If there's one that won't be flagged by banks for crypto purchases that don't require KYC (know your customer) that would be idea.
XMR and other privacy coins are good for sending private payments
I personally wouldn't speculate on any crypto at this point, but bitcoin is probably the best
I do like Monero, and I hope it really kicks off. But Bitcoin is still the safest bet.
Don't use robbinhood. You want your own wallet and keys.
That's about all I know.
"That's about all I know."
...that is enough to keep out of trouble...
First, it's very important to understand your theory and get that foundation straight. Take a peek under the hood of Bitcoin and learn about the innovation that is the consensus algorithm.
Cryptocurrency is governance, not money
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx9zgZCMqXE
I use Gemini Exchange. It’s owned by the Winklevoss twins. The exchange is based is NY and subject to financial regulation of the state. Many exchanges are in other countries which I found unacceptable. Good luck!
I am nowhere near an expert but lots of people use Coinbase to make their purchase. When I was ready to make the plunge my son already had a coinbase account so I had him make the purchase for me and then he transferred the tokens into a cold storage wallet that I purchased. (which is highly recommended that you do) There are many different kinds of cold storage wallets but the one I ended up buying is Arculus. It was easy to set up and receive the transfer.
Don't
Be very cautious. Absolutely learn the topic, but this is the time in the cycle where newbies join in due to the hype and then inevitably get crushed when the bubble pops.
My advice to you is to study and learn, maybe invest a couple hundred bucks that you can afford to lose in the name of experience, but do NOT put large amounts in until the cycle has reset. If historical patterns repeat, that should be around summer '26.
If you let your FOMO take hold now, you will get caught up in the euphoria and you will lose money. Only veterans stand a chance at this stage in the cycle.
My question for you, OP is what are your intentions?
Are you looking to "invest", are you looking to just "have some" to have and learn about crypto firsthand, or some other reason?
Personally, I hold very little crypto, just because at this point in time, it's really no different than holding any other currency, like USD, GBP or Euro. Just like those, you'd have around for travel convenience, they aren't backed by anything and "investing" in crypto is not different than investing in say, GBP or Euro.
Because they're literally backed by nothing tangible, I've only held a small amount and have chosen to liquidate my excess USD for physical Silver and gold that I completely control.
My strategy is, if USD goes to 0, and crypto in whatever flavor (good luck picking a winner right now) - becomes the preferred currency, then I'd have no problem cashing in my physical PM for crypto. PM will ALWAYS have intrinsic value, which means it's going to be worth something no matter what, without any bearing on what crypto or another currency is doing...
Everyone has different ideas. I have chosen this position, because there are only two things in the entire world worth anything:
Skilled Labor
Things that come out of the earth (PM, minerals, food, fisheries, metals, etc)
Everything else is bunk ... Rich Dad, Poor Dad explained this well.
Good luck with whatever you choose for yourself.
To just get started: use Linux. Download the wallet apps for a few different cryptos. Bitcoin, XMR, etherium are good ones. Buy just a little bit (few dollars worth) to practice sending coins.
If you don't want to buy, Most wallets have a mining daemon that you can run. Mine on a pool, so you get a very small payment everyday for your efforts. Profit
Then when you are out on the hiking trail you can check your balance
These are just suggestions of course
Do not buy memes on Solana. Being as cheap as it is for TXNs, it brings tons of low integrity traders to the space.
You want to define "crypto," the various coins are not created equal. Bitcoin has all the attributes of decentralized money, and comes with a philosophy that really needs to be adopted if you want to be a Bitcoiner. BTC is money, other coins are investments, and are not looking to change the world for the better, though things like smart contracts may play a role in the emerging monetary system.
All coins I know of are centralized, and controlled by the originator and the development team, BTC is controlled by network consensuses. BTC is "proof of work" so there is no need to trust intermediaries, other coins are "proof of stake" which depends on middle men.
I started learning by reading the tutorials at river.com. They are the only exchange that has proof of reserves -- you can verify that they have the BTC for all the accounts on hand. On top of that they keep your keys in a cold (off-line) vault. They also only do Bitcoin. Finally, they encourage you to self-custody, though I haven't crossed that bridge yet.
Unchained.com offers IRAs, which involve satisfying government regulations, so it's not as quick to buy into as river. They also insist on multi-signature accounts with you holding two hardware wallets. This is a step up in complication (and security), but they give good guidance. I successfully rolled over an exiting Roth 401k with a minimal of hand holding, but a lot of learning. They do offer individual on-boarding for a sizable fee. They also only deal in Bitcoin, and offer a quality set of articles.
Lastly, Michael Saylor who is a big player in the BTC space, and a brilliant guy has started a 100% free academy offering full blown curriculum in several areas to which they are always adding. I am working through a specialized course (i.e., not part of a curriculum) entitled PRDV151: Bitcoin for Everybody. It covers everything needed for understanding BTC, as well as some practical topics like wallets and getting BTC. Highly recommended.
Xrp hedera and or xlm
The People who work the hardest for their money, should be the people floating & controlling the new stable currency. IMO. Americans never want to see similar abuses of their saved wealth, like the FED for the last 112 years.
Also, watch "solving the money problem" on screwtube
WeBull and Trust Wallet are good sites. I've not a problem with either.
I use Robinhood - mostly BTC and a little XRP. Why do some of you dislike Robinhood?
Coinbase. Look at the super cheap crypto and jump in. For a hundred bucks you can purchase 100,000 shares. This is a great way to start because you are not placing a lot of money on a bet, but use it as a learning tool on how to navigate the crypto world. And if that purchase of 100,000 shares goes up to one dollar per share, well you can do the maffs.