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Cryptocurrency

How to buy Cryptocurrency?

By Praveen October 14, 2022

If you are new to crypto space and do not know how to buy cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano or Solana then we will guide you in this article as you keep reading.

Initially it will be confusing but we will guide on how to buy a cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and need to take a lot of care before choosing which one to buy.

There is a five steps process in buying a cryptocurrency, let’s start.

1. Buying through a Crypto Exchange or a Broker

You can buy cryptocurrencies either through a crypto exchange or a broker. There will be slight differences and comes with its own pros and cons.

What is a Cryptocurrency Exchange?

A cryptocurrency exchange (Digital Currency Exchange) is an independent business that allows customers to buy, sell and trade digital currencies. Exchanges will have its own app and web portal with more complex interfaces with multiple trade types and advanced performance charts which intimidates new crypto investors.

Exchanges charge relatively low fees when compared with the brokers. There are around 525 cryptocurrency exchanges as per CoinMarketCap.

The top 10 Cryptocurrency exchanges in the world are given below:

Binance
FTX
Coinbase Exchange
Kraken
Gate.io
KuCoin
Binance.US
Bitfinex
Bitstamp
Huobi Gloabal

We have an entire blog on Top 10 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in the World. The list slightly varies as the trading volume on the exchanges vary almost every single hour.

The most popular cryptocurrency exchanges are Binance, FTX, Coinbase and etc but it depends from person to person and the services provided by the exchanges at the user’s location.

Exchanges are very convenient to buy cryptocurrency but comes with a minimal cost and the cost varies from crypto to crypto. If you are new to crypto then you need to make sure that your exchange or brokerage allows fiat currency transfers and purchase made with it. If you are an existing crypto user, you can trade for other cryptocurrencies with the available crypto in your wallet.

What is a Cryptocurrency Broker?

If you do not want to go through the hazzle and complexity of understanding an exchange then you can opt for a cryptocurrency brokerage. A cryptocurrency brokerage will take all the complexity of buying crypto for you and will provide some guidance as well in most of the cases. Some charge higher brokerage fees than the exchanges.

Others claim to be free while selling information about what you and other traders are buying and selling to a larger brokerages or funds or not executing your trade at the best possible market price. The most well-known crypto brokers are Robinhood, eToro and Webull.

2. Create a Cryptocurrency exchange account

Once you decide you can sign up to open an account either with an exchange or a broker. Most of the exchanges and brokerage have a KYC (Know Your Customer) process which needs to be completed.

KYC process and Two Factor authentication helps prevent fraud and meet regulatory requirements. For the KYC process, the platform may ask you to submit a copy of passport or driver’s license or any other identification ID and also ask you to upload a selfie to prove your appearance matches the documents submitted.

Once the verification process is completed, you can start buying, selling or trade cryptocurrencies on your account. Make sure you save your login credentials safely.

3. Process to Invest in Cryptocurrencies

If you are new then you need to buy cryptocurrencies through fiat currency by linking bank account and authorizing a wire transfer or even making the payment with a debit or credit card.

Most of the exchanges and brokerage firms let’s you buy cryptocurrency instantly just after depositing the fiat currency in the account but few make you wait for few days before you can use the money.

Most of the new investors buy cryptocurrency through a credit card, doing so it’s extremely risky and expensive. Cryptocurrency purchases with a credit card are processed as cash advances by credit card companies and subject to higher interest rate than regular purchases and also charging additional cash advance fees.

For example, apart from the fees that your crypto exchange or brokerage charge you may have to pay 5% of the transaction amount when you make a cash advance. So, it’s not suggested to buy cryptocurrency through credit cards.

4. Placing Cryptocurrency Order

Once the fiat currency is deposited in your account, you ready to place your first cryptocurrency order. There are around 21,328 cryptocurrencies available for you to invest but do your through research or take professional guidance before start investing.

The top 10 cryptocurrencies are listed below.

Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Tether (USDT)
USD Coin (USDC)
BNB (BNB)
XRP (XRP)
Binance USD (BUSD)
Cardano (ADA)
Solana (SOL)
Dogecoin (DOGE)

You can also checkout our blog on the Top 10 Cryptocurrencies in the World, so that you that you know more about them. The most well known are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Dogecoin. You do not have to buy a full cryptocurrency rather a fraction as per the budget allocated for the expensive coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The top 10 list might slightly vary depending on many factors on the exchanges.

5. How to store a Cryptocurrency?

Most crypto exchanges are centralized and not backed by protections like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) and they are at a risk of hacking and theft. You can even lose your cryptocurrency if you forget your login credentials.

There are many who lost their millions of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin as they have lost the credentials or key phases. If the cryptocurrency is through a broker, you may have little to no choice on how the cryptocurrency is stored.

Buying a cryptocurrency though an exchange provides more options to the user.

Exchange

When you buy a cryptocurrency, it’s typically stored in a so-called wallet attached to the exchange. If you are not satisfied with the exchange, you can move the cryptocurrency to another exchange or a hot wallet or a cold wallet.

You can store or hold the crypto on all the exchanges like Binance and other.

Hot Wallets

Hot Crypto wallets that are stored online and run-on Internet connected devices such as Phones, Tablets and Computers. They are convenient but there’s a higher risk of theft as they are still connected to the Internet.

Exodus wallet is an example of hot wallet. A hot wallet has 12 word phrases and private keys secret. Anyone who has access to the private keys would have full access to your funds. Private keys are different from the public receiving address.

Cold Wallets

Cold wallets are the most secure options as they are not connected to the Internet. Cold wallets are best for holding cryptocurrency. They are in the form of external devices like USB stick or a hard drive.

You need to be extremely careful with the cold wallets as if you lose the keycode associated with the or the device break or fails you many never able to get your cryptocurrency back again. But some cold wallets are run by custodians who can help you get back into your account if you are locked out.

As cold wallets are not connected to the Internet, it makes funds stored in them harder to use but it’s one of the benefit for the owner and becomes difficulty for the hackers. The crypto stored in cold wallets are not used frequently but stored for longer periods of time.

Alternative Ways to Buy Cryptocurrency

If anyone of your friend, family member or a known person selling cryptocurrency of your choice even then you can buy through them. You can check the worth of the currency and you can provide then your cryptocurrency deposit address and they can send it.

Once you receive the cryptocurrency, you can pay the amount through the desired method. In this way, you can even avoid the transaction fee that the exchanges charge but it’s a very scenario.

At the same time, you can even sell the crypto directly to any and collect the worth of fiat currency or any other crypto in the form of payment.

Hope that you have an idea now on how to buy cryptocurrencies through exchanges or brokers. Happy crypto investing.

You can also check out our Gate.io review.

Cryptocurrency

Top 10 Cryptocurrencies in the World

By Praveen October 7, 2022

If you are new to Crypto or planning to add some more crypto to your portfolio and looking for top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world then you are on the right page. There are around 21,205 Cryptocurrencies in the world as of October 2022 and it’s really confusing all the time which one to buy.

You need to buy a cryptocurrency which has a use case thought it may not be in top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world. You need to strictly avoid the ones which doesn’t have any use case but very popular in the market.

If you follow crypto news then you might have come across big celebrities promoting a coin which we have never heard before. Those coins for sure doesn’t have any use case, it was released with an intention to scam people.

People even take advantage of the popular series and create a coin and release that on an exchange. The right example would be the Squid Coin. You need to be very careful before purchasing any kind of coin, please do your through research before investing.

Here is the list of top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world as of October 2022 and the list might be slightly get updated as per the demand and supply in the market.

The top 10 Cryptocurrencies in the World

1) Bitcoin (BTC)
2) Ethereum (ETH)
3) Tether (USDT)
4) BNB (BNB)
5) USD Coin (USDC)
6) XRP (XRP)
7) Binance USD (BUSD)
8) Cardano (ADA)
9) Solana (SOL)
10) Dogecoin (DOGE)

1) Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is the first and strongest decentralized peer-peer cryptocurrency in the world. It’s the top cryptocurrency which is considered as a store of value like gold.

Bitcoin is treated as digital gold as many people would buy the crypto and hold onto it for a longer term. It started with $0 price value in 2009 and has hit the all-time high of $64.863.10 on 14^th April 2021.

Satoshi Nakamoto published Bitcoin’s whitepaper on 31^st October 2008. He mined the first block on Bitcoin network on 3^rd January 2009 which was almost 2 months after publishing. The first mined block is called a “Genesis Block” and thus launching the world’s first cryptocurrency.

2) Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. It’s founder Vitalik Buterin first wrote the whitepaper in 2013.

Vitalik was writing for Bitcoin Magazine new website at 5 Bitcoins per article. There are 8 co-founders for Ethereum but Vitalik is best known and followed by Gavin Wood.

Ethereum’s price in the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) was $0.311 in 2014 and hitting an all time high of $4891.70 on 16^th November 2021.

Ethereum moved from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) on 15^th of September 2022. It’s said to reduce the energy consumption by 99.95% after the marge.

3) Tether (USDT)

Tether is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. It was initially launched in 2014 July by a Hong Kong based company under the name “Realcoin” and later it was renamed to USTether and finally to USDT.

In the recent times, stablecoins are used increasingly high as an inflation hedge compared to keeping fiat currency in a savings account.

The founders of USDT are Brook Pierce, Reeve Collins and Craig Sellars. Reeve Collins was the CEO of USDT for the first two years.

4) USD Coin (USDC)

USD is another stablecoin pegged to US dollar just like Tether (USDT) on a 1:1 basis. Every USD coin in circulation is backed up by $1 that is held in the US reserve.

It was launched on a limited basis in September 2018. USDC’s stablecoin mantra is “Digital Money for the Digital Age”. It’s designed for the new age world where cashless transactions are becoming more common with the smart technology.

Circle’s co-founders Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville created USDC. A major upgrade to USDC’s protocol and smart contract was collectively announced by Circle and Coinbase in 2020.

5) Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin (BNB) is an exchange-based token created and issued by the well-known cryptocurrency exchange Binance. BNB was migrated from Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token to Binance Chain in July 2017 and became the native coin of the Binance chain.

Changpeng Zhao is well know as “CZ” is the founder and CEO of Binance. It’s unique ecosystem of decentralized and blockchain based networks. BNB is an integral part of the successful functioning of many of the Binance sub-projects.

As the dedicated utility token of the Binance exchange, the easiest way and simplest way to purchase BNB coins would be through Binance exchange.

6) XRP (XRP)

XRP Ledger (XRPL) is the open-source distributed ledger that is created by Ripple. The ledger employs the native cryptocurrency known as XRP.

Ripple provides a global payment solution via its patented payment network called Ripple Network or RippleNet. Ripple was made to connect banks, payment providers and digital exchanges enabling real-time settlement expeditions and lower transaction fees compared to peer-to-peer cryptocurrencies.

XRP’s transactions are processed by a network of trusted validators on the XRP Ledger when compared to Bitcoin (BTC) which uses a distributed blockchain whose transaction are processed by secured proof-of-work mining.

7) Binance USD (BUSD)

Binance USD (BUSD) is a stable coin pegged to US dollar and has received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS).

It was launched on 5^th September 2019 and aims to meld the stability of the dollar with the blockchain technology. BUSD is a digital fiat currency and issued as ERC-20 and also supports BEP-2.

Stablecoin plays an important role in transactions, payments and settlement, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

8) Cardano (ADA)

Cardano (ADA) is a proof-of-stake blockchain network. It allows complex programmable transfers of value in a secure and scalable fashion.

It’s one of the first blockchains to be built in the highly secure Haskell programming language. It facilitates peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA.

It was founded by Ethereum’s co-founder Charles Hoskinson in 2015. It’s a greener alternative to proof-of-work protocols as it uses proof-of-stake blockchain.

9) Solana (SOL)

Solana (SOL) cryptocurrency is based on Proof of History (PoH) and Proof of Stake (PoS) high throughput blockchain. A team of network engineers built Solana and it aims to become the blockchain infrastructure for modern Internet applications.

Solana was founded by 4 co-founders. Anatoly Yakovenko leads the team and wrote and published a whitepaper on the concept of Poof of History in November 2017. PoH is a concept introduced to keep time between computers in a network in sync which forms the basis of scaling the number of transactions.

The applications in the Solana ecosystem includes decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT), games, marketplaces, ecommerce and much more.

10) Dogecoin

Dogecoin (DOGE) was created based on the popular “Doge” Internet meme on 6^th December 2013 and features a Shiba Inu on its logo.

It’s an open-source digital currency and the codebase of the project was a fork of Litecoin. The hash hashing algorithm was inherited from Litecoin’s features.

Dogecoin was created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer and introduced as a “Joke Currency”. It developed its own online community but the developers haven’t made any major changes to the coin since 2015.

These are the top 10 cryptocurrencies as of October 2022. You need to pick up cryptos which has a use case and has been stable for a very long time. Cryptos are extremely volatile in nature and you need to invest only the amount which you are ready to lose with no major impact.

It’s not just top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world but there are many other who didn’t make to the top 10 but comes with lots of use case and might take the position in the top 10 anytime.

I would strictly avoid meme coins or shit coins as they really do not have any use case. I would neither invest or mine these coins and I would suggest my readers to stay away from these kinds of coins.

The list of top 10 currencies would slightly fluctuate because of many factors. There are many projects which are extremely amazing. I have been a miner for quite sometime now. If you want to know my journey as a crypto miner, you can check out my link.

Apart from mining Ethereum, I have mined Raven coin and Ergo as well. I am speculating Ergo or Raven to pick up in the coming days. I was extremely bullish on Raven but it’s a heat intense algorithm and consumes more wattage than Ethereum in the past and currently Ergo.

Happy Crypto Investing!!!

You can checkout my article on “Top 10 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in the World“.

Cryptocurrency

Top 10 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in the World

By Praveen October 5, 2022

If you are planning to buy Cryptocurrency and looking for best centralized exchanges then you have landed on the right page. There are around 21,205 Cryptocurrencies and 527 exchanges in the world as of October 2022.

There are 2 types of cryptocurrency exchanges (Centralized and Decentralized). In this article we will discuss about the centralized crypto exchanges which are top 10 in the global market.

Centralized crypto exchanges are privately owned platforms providing services to users to buy, sell, trade and many more.

The top 10 Cryptocurrency exchanges in the world:

Binance
Coinbase Exchange
FTX
Kraken
Gate.io
KuCoin
Binance.US
Bitfinex
Bitstamp
Huobi Global

You may be thinking, which one is the best of 10. We will go in detail and will explain you so that you have complete information.

1) Binance

Binance is largest crypto exchange in the world currently by trading volume with $76 billion daily trading. They have above 90 million users all over the world. It was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, who is famously known as “CZ”.

CZ is a Chinese-Canadian developer who had previously created high frequency trading software. Binance’s headquarters was initially located in China but later moved to Japan in advance of the Chinese government banning Cryptocurrency trading in September 2017.

In February 2018, CZ was placed as third on the list of “The Richest People in Cryptocurrency” by Forbes Magazine.

Binance has an exchange score of 9.9 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

2) Coinbase Exchange

Coinbase is US based crypto exchange for trading and investment. The users can easily buy, sell, exchange and store cryptocurrencies on the exchange.

Coinbase was founded by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in the year 2012 being one of the oldest and largest exchanges for cryptocurrencies by trading volume.

Coinbase doesn’t have a physical headquarters as it’s a distributed company and all the employees operate via remote work and serving 100+ countries all over the world.

Co-Founder Fred Ehrsam left Coinbase in 2017 and in 2018 co-founded cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm.

Coinbase Exchange has an exchange score of 8.0 on scale of 10 as of October 2022.

3) FTX

FTX is the third largest crypto exchange after Binance and Coinbase. FTX was founded by two MIT graduates Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang in May 2019. Sam Bankman-Fried is an entrepreneur and investor and widely known as SBF in the industry.

FTX is headquartered in Bahamas making it a Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange which in incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda.

FTX claims to be “Built by Traders for Traders” and for the purpose of generating wealth to be used for charitable causes.

FTX has an exchange score of 7.9 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

4) Kraken

Kraken is another US based centralized crypto exchange and bank founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell. Powell has been associated with digital currencies since 2001.

The company was launched in 2013 offering Bitcoin, Litecoin and euro-denominated trades initially. The company is based out of San Francisco, California.

On Kraken users can buy, sell, trade assets with relatively low commissions. Staking crypto is another option where clients can earn rewards.

A user can trade over 120 crypto assets including BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, ETC, ZEC, USDT and more and 7 fiat currencies including USD, CAD, EUR, AUD, GBP, JPY and CHF.

Kraken has an exchange score of 7.5 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

5) Gate.io

Gate.io is a Chinese based crypto exchange founded in 2013 by Lin Han by located in Cayman Islands. It was initially launched as Bter but later taken over by Gate Technologies Inc.

Han wanted to create a secure trading platform for users who believe in Cryptocurrencies. The platform supports over 1400 cryptos with over 2500 trading pairs.

Apart from spot and margin trading, it provides services like options, futures and derivatives for investors.

The platform is available in almost all the countries except Cuba, Pakistan, Crimea, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Sudan.

Gate.io has an exchange score of 7.2 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

6) KuCoin

KuCoin emphasizes on intuitive design, simple registration process and high level of security. It’s known as “People’s Exchange” with the mission to “Facilitate the global free flow of digital value”.

The platform supports P2P exchanges and futures trading and also gives the ability to purchase cryptocurrencies with a credit or debit card.

The first price of KuCoin was written in 2013 by Michael Gan and Eric Don and later co-founded along with Top Lan, Kent Li, John Lee, Jack Zhu and Linda Lin. The exchange was officially launched in August 2017.

KuCoin provides services to countries such as UK, Canada, India, Japan, Turkey, Singapore and many others but it’s not licensed to operate in US.

KuCoin has an exchange score of 7.1 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

7) Binance.US

Binance.US is a separate exchange launched in response to U.S. regulations restricting the main Binance exchange. Binance.US is U.S. registered arm and of the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.

Binance.US offers users with fewer cryptocurrencies and trading pairs with just around 120+ assets compared to the main exchange of 600+ assets.

Binance.US was launched in September 2019 and independently managed by BAM Trading Services. Brian Shroder is the current CEO and a former executive of Ant Group Co.

Binance.US is based in Palo Alto, California but restricts it’s services to Hawaii, Texas, Vermont and New York.

Bianance.US has an exchange score of 7.1 on a sclae of 10 as of October 2022.

8) Bitfinex

Bitfinex was founded in 2012 making it one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges. It is operated by a Hong Kong based company iFinex Inc but registered in the British Virgin Islands.

To protect the assets on the platform, it offers both two-factor authentication and IP address monitoring. The exchange focuses primarily on professional traders and investors.

Bitfinex was co-founded by Raphael Nicolle and Giancarlo Devasini in 2012. Nicolle developed Bitfinex based on Bitcoinica trading platform code focusing on Bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitfinex restricts its access to major countries like US, Canada, British Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Italy, Austria, Iran, Crimea, Syria, Cuba, North Korea and Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic.

Bitfinex has an exchange score of 6.9 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

9) Bitstamp

Bitstamp was founded in August 2011 by Damian Merlak and Nejc Kordic and considered as of the long-standing centralized crypto exchanges. Their offices are located in U.S., UK, Luxembourg, Singapore and Slovenia.

It provides services to 100+ countries and complies with sanctions and restrictions imposed by the United States, Singapore and The European Union.

Bitstamps list 78 major cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, USDT, LTC, XRP, USDC and etc.

Bitstamp has an exchange score of 6.7 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

10) Huobi Global

Huobi Global was founded in China by Leon Li in 2013 and serving over 100 countries. It’s an international digital asset exchange handling over $4 billion in daily trading volume.

It’s one of the unique platforms offering insurance to its users to protect their assets. There are over 500 cryptocurrencies assets and 300 trading pairs listed on the platform.

The exchange was created in Beijing by Leon Li and the company is based in Seychelles with offices in United States, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Over 400 digital currencies and tokens are available on the exchange including all the popular currencies like BTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC, XMR, HT, HUSD, USDT and many more.

Huboi Global has an exchange score of 6.7 on a scale of 10 as of October 2022.

These are the top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges as per daily trading volume. The list might slightly shuffle as the trading volume on the exchanges. You can signup, check their interfaces and see how does it look as the interfaces are personal preferences.

I have been mining crypto since 2017 and if you wanted to know my journey, you can click on the link below.
My Crypto mining journey

Category Archive : Cryptocurrency

How to buy Cryptocurrency?

Top 10 Cryptocurrencies in the World

Top 10 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in the World