Start your Cryptocurrency Journey and Build an Interest-Bearing Portfolio for Zero Cost
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Cryptocurrency is beginning to enter the mainstream. Square recently purchased $50 million worth of Bitcoin. Institutional investors such as Stone Ridge have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin holdings.
Some view digital currencies as a hedge against inflation similar to Gold. Others see Blockchain as a potential seismic, paradigm shift in financial markets.
If there were ever a time to get involved in the cryptocurrency markets, the time is now. Economists don’t agree whether Covid-19 related Stimulus programs will contribute to inflation but inflation and volatile markets are always a concern. And Bitcoin is way more portable and divisible than gold.
How to get started?
The Cryptocurrency and Blockchain space is rapidly evolving and has not reached a level of maturity that abstracts away the complexity as well as the traditional banking and finance system.
To get started, first you need a wallet. A wallet is just a unique alphanumeric address. There are many options for wallets and different flavors such as custodial, non-custodial online wallets and air-gapped hardware wallets.
While there are concerns with custodial wallets hosted with centralized exchanges, it remains arguably the most straightforward way to get started with Crypto and also provides a fiat on-ramp to convert your traditional fiat currency like USD into cryptocurrency.
There are many options for custodial wallets such as Coinbase, Gemini and Kraken. In the Crypto space, it is strongly recommended to always do your own research and keep in mind that a non-internet connected hardware or paper wallet is the safest option even if it is not as convenient.
In my personal opinion, Coinbase has the most easy-to-use UI and on-boarding for new users and also has extensive security measures. Coinbase has very high-profile investors and advisors that have a vested interest in keeping the Coinbase platform safe and secure.
Security
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The Cryptocurrency space just like the internet in general is rife with security risks such as phishing and scams. Again, do your own research and follow security best practices to help mitigate these risks.
Some steps you can take to increase security and mitigate risk:
- Use 2-Factor authentication on your email account, mobile phone and custodial exchange accounts.
- Use complex passwords or ideally a password manager
- Use complex passwords for account recovery questions or disable them entirely
- Use a paid VPN service
- Turn on number lock for your mobile phone number to prevent an unauthorized port of your number if possible
- Don’t store passwords or any sensitive information in a cloud service
- Do your own research and learn how to detect scams and phishing attempts
After you’ve secured all your accounts and done your due diligence security research you can move forward with setting up an account when you are comfortable.
For example, if you wanted to setup an account with Coinbase you can use the following link.
Gemini also follows extensive security measures, is SOC2 compliant and takes extra care to work with security regulators. You can create an account with Gemini here.
Earning some Cryptocurrency
After you create your exchange account and take all the appropriate security measures such as 2-factor auth, you now have some opportunities to earn some cryptocurrency for no cost.
Coinbase Earn
For instance, Coinbase has a program called Coinbase Earn where you can watch educational videos about various blockchain technologies such as EOS and Stellar. Upon completion of watching the educational videos and successfully answering short quizzes, your account will be credited various cryptocurrency assets.
You can hold these assets speculatively or you can convert them into assets that earn interest on the Coinbase platform such as Tezos, Dai or Cosmos. You can also install the Coinbase wallet app and use various platforms such as Compound or DyDx to earn interest on your assets. Please be aware that Decentralized Finance platforms like Compound carry significant risk and you should do your own research to decide if you want to take on that risk.
Brave Browser
Brave is a privacy-respecting web browser built on Chromium with a built-in ad-blocker that uses less battery on mobile and facilitates a faster web browsing experience. Brave is available on all major platforms and you have the option to opt-in to privacy respecting ads that are less intrusive then tracking cookies and traditional web advertising. Agreeing to view Brave ads will allow you to earn Basic Attention Tokens on a monthly basis. You can use these BAT tokens to support various websites and platforms directly and also have market value.
You can sell BAT tokens on Coinbase or other major exchanges and also use them to participate in DeFi platforms to earn interest.
You can download the Brave browser here.
Conclusion
In closing, stay safe, do your own research, secure your accounts, and always be aware of scams and phishing attempts. Cryptocurrency is an exciting, evolving space but it is very volatile and rife with security concerns so always stay alert and stay up to date with the latest security best practices.
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