Hi there! I’m a successful logistics manager, who decided to join this thrilling world of digital currency. Recently I was looking for the best cryptocoin to invest around $10,000 in. This is a pretty decent amount, so I want to use it wisely and derive a profit. Here’s my research on the most appropriate exchanges and cryptocurrency, best ways to buy it and strategies of profit maximization.
Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Purchasing coins via exchange networks is a veritable means of owning and investing in digital currency. This method is regarded as one of the best ways to obtain cryptocurrencies given that you can pay for them through a number of means in these trading platforms.
Another reason why buying tokens from an exchange is recommended because it is secure and you can also store your virtual money safely there. Here I offer to look at the most reliable exchanges and methods of purchasing.
CEX.IO
CEX.IO is a London Based exchange that started operation in 2013. It began with cloud mining before evolving into a multiple-functional digital currency trading platform. CEX.IO has impressive features such as 24/7 support services, multiple payment options including fiat currencies, secure networks with enhanced technology, affiliate program and application programming interface.
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Binance
Binance was launched in July 2017 by Changpeng CZ Zhao in China. However, due to some unfavourable government policies, the company has relocated its headquarters and servers a couple of times, from China to Japan and Japan to Malta.
Binance is the only trading network that has its own currency known as BNB. Apart from the major tokens, the network also allows trading in a lot of digital currencies which are exchanged in pairs with BTC, BNB, USDT and ETH.
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Localbitcoins
Jeremias Kangas established LocalBitcoins during the mid-month of 2012 in Helsinki, Finland. Localbitcoin has a function that facilitates person-to-person transactions. But customers that prefer online trading can also do that using their web wallet in the platform. It also provides BTC ATM as well as affiliate program to enable users to maximize profit.
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Changelly
Changelly was first introduced by a group of MinerGate in 2013 as a startup but in 2016 it was redesigned and relaunched. Working in partnership with a lot of companies such as Mycelium, Coinmarketcap and others, Changelly offers topnotch services providing them with its intuitive interface, customizable payment widget and API.
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HitBTC
HitBTC started operation in 2014 in unknown locations and founder(s) are not known. Today, over 300 digital tokens including the major ones can be exchanged on the platform. It has achieved popularity in the industry thanks to its impressive features such as its FIX API, REST API, Rebate system, over-the-counter trading, affiliate programme, price widget and others.
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mobile app.
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Available Payment Options on Exchange Platforms
The various payment options available in an exchange like Cex.io are as follows:
• Credit cards: You can pay for your digital coin using credit cards of Visa and MasterCard brands. Transactions paid for with any of these plastic cards will attract some fee which in cex.io is a commission of 3.5% plus $0.25. Users of this method enjoy quicker procession time which can be instant or may take few minutes to be processed.
• Wire and bank transfers: Wire and bank transfer is another option of paying coins in Cex.IO and other exchanges. It is a good method for people that are purchasing a large amount of coins because they have a higher minimum and maximum limits.
CEX.IO does not charge anything on this method but you may pay some fees to the intermediary bank(s) that get involved in the transfer. On the negative side, wire and bank transfer take a longer time to be processed. Normally, it is within 5 business days.
• E-wallets: Many trading businesses offer e-Wallet payment options like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and others. For this method, you will also pay commission ranging from 3% to 5% depending on your preferred method as well as on the exchange used.
This makes it an expensive option especially if you are purchasing a small amount of bitcoin or altcoin. But transactions are completed instantly or in a couple of hours if there are delays.
• Other cryptos: If you own cryptocurrencies, you can swap them for anyone you don’t have or you want to invest in if there is a pair of both tokens in the platform you are transacting on. You can also purchase bitcoin or any other altcoin and trade it with the one that you want to purchase.
Main Steps of Buying Crypto
Buying digital coin is very easy involving few simple steps described below.
Choose a network to use their services and then create your account on the platform. Ensure that you verify your account and complete your profile so that you will be able to access all services.
Fund your account using your preferred depositing method. Before making a choice, consider the fees, transaction time and pros and cons of the option you want to use. And then, the next step is available for you.
Once your account is funded, you can place your order for the amount of cryptocurrency you want.Decide where to keep your cryptocurrency. You can store them safely on the exchange or continue trading with them there to make more gain.
Cloud Mining
Cloud mining refers to a method of producing digital coins that does not require you to invest in a mining hardware or a miner. It works like a traditional stock. You simply join a mining pool and pay for some shares there.
profit generated is shared to the pool members according to the number of shares each person has. Before joining a cloud mining pool, you will require a cryptocurrency wallet where you will transfer your share of the coins generated.
Cloud mining is of two types. First is called hosted mining in which you hook up your mining machine to supply you with configurations, cooling and electricity. If you don’t have a mining machine, you can hire one. The second type is purchasing hashing power. Here, you don’t have to invest in the purchase of any machine whether physical or virtual one.
TOP Cryptocoins Representatives
Here, I took a look at the most traded with highest market capitalisation in the industry. I am going to tell you their major features and strong points.
Bitcoin
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Exchange symbol: BTC Launched: 2009 Anonymity: Low |
Max Supply: 21,000,000 Algorithm: SHA256 Proof Type: PoW |
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency as well the first blockchain to be developed. It is a virtual currency with the highest acceptability when compared with other digital coins. The token was created in 2009 by an unknown programmer simply identified with the pseudo-name Satoshi Nakamoto.
It is P2P network that is under nobody’s control. Unlike fiat money, the coins are mined and not printed or minted.A unique feature of this system is its blockchain which is a shared public ledger with a record of all the completed transactions. As designed, the block protocol is mined within 10 minutes.
Bitcoin protects the identity of the users because the wallet has no link to any personal data of the users. However, it is a transparent system as any person can tell the amount each users have. Another feature of this crypto coin is that transactions completed are not reversible.
Ethereum
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Exchange symbol: ETH Launched: 2016-07-20 Anonymity: Low |
Max Supply: Infinite Algorithm: Ethash Proof Type: PoW |
Ethereum is an offshoot of Ethereum Classic, with a blockchain that generates a digital coin known as Ether. The development of this altcoin was the brainchild of Vitalik Buterin in late 2013. But the system was built and launched in 2015 with funds generated through a crowdsale.
It was proposed as a veritable means of compensating investors that lost their money in the failed DAO project. Today, it has the second market cap and experts project that it will soon overtake bitcoin. As with Bitcoin, the system is not under the regulation of any central authority.
It is a public service in which smart contracts are processed and trade carried out using a blockchain technology with no middleman mediating the process. Developers are able to create various kinds of Dapps (decentralized apps) using the network.
With ether, developers can get paid in compliance with the Ts&Cs of smart contracts. The token also helps to keep the system functioning as it recompenses the mining full nodes powering the system.
Ripple
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Exchange symbol: XRP Launched: 2012 Anonymity: Low |
Max Supply: 100 billion XRP Algorithm: RPCA Proof Type: Proof of Correctness |
Ripple XRP is a product of Ripple founded in 2012 by a team of professional developers, namely, Ryan Fugger, Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto and David Schwartz. Today, the token has the third largest market cap after BTC and Ether.
It is designed to serve as a quicker and more economical system of transferring money. The digital currency transferred through this system is also known as Ripple and symbolized as XRP. Unlike Bitcoin and other altcoins, all the required XRP has been mined already though not all have been released for trading.
The network is also decentralized. Ripple transactions are said to be free(ish), a term to show that they are not completely free as many think. However, only 1/1000th of a cent is charged. This is quite small and negligible.
Bitcoin Cash
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Exchange symbol: BCH Launched: 2017–08–01 Anonymity: Low |
Max Supply: 100 billion XRP 21,000,000 Algorithm: SHA256 Proof Type: PoW |
Considered as a type of Bitcoin, bitcoin cash was introduced on August 1, 2017, by a group in the Bitcoin management team that wanted more block size against the wish of other members that want the original size to be retained.
Bitcoin cash is quite similar to Bitcoin in many aspects. The major distinction is its 8MB blockchain, the absence of segwit and “replace by fee” feature. One of the strongest selling point of this network is that it has successfully prevented a replay attack.
Litecoin
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Exchange symbol: LTC Launched: 2011-10-07 Anonymity: Low |
Max Supply: 84,000,000 Algorithm: Scrypt Proof Type: PoW |
Litecoin is a non-centralized open source software project as well as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency which is forked from bitcoin. Consequently, its technical features are almost the same with those of BTC. The major difference between the two is that the former has more coins and lesser block generation time.
The creator also adjusted its GUI a little bit and utilized a different hashing algorithm. A former employee of Google, namely, Charlie Lee was the creator of this virtual currency which was launched in 2011. It is rated among the top 5 cryptocoins with the highest market cap.
3 Strategies to Make Money with Cryptocurrency
Though cryptocurrencies experienced some hiccups during the early months of 2018, the market still presents opportunities for earning income.
Investing in ICO
Initial coin offering is a veritable investment option. But you should apply caution in this present market as many fraudulent ICOs has sprung up and are spreading like a wildfire. Put your money only in an innovative and creative project with lots of benefits, introduced and managed by a team of professionals in the field. Finally, try to determine whether or not the programme is popular and ensure that it will continue for a long time.
Speculating on Market Trends and News
You can also do a thorough evaluation of investment opportunities that make headlines on newspapers or that are in vogue online. This is what happened with a number of altcoins like XVG (Verge), DBC (DeepBrain Chain) and XRP (Ripple) that increased in value within a short time period as a result of John McAfee tweet which endorsed them.
Hosting Master Nodes
Hosting is an option for any person wanting to make extra income. It is a veritable means of making a large investment on digital coins by hosting a master node’s platform.
There are some requirements to meet before one will be able to go into this. First, you will need to set up your server or pay for server hosting service. Second, you should ensure that you have the required number of virtual money that will circulate on that platform. For example, a minimum of 1000 dash is required to operate a Dash master node.
When your master node comes live, you will get a certain percentage of all the tokens hosted on it. You will gain a voting right on projects or issues concerning the digital coin you are dealing with.