How to Start Trading Cryptocurrency

Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

As cryptocurrencies skyrocket in price and popularity, words like blockchain, bitcoin, and altcoin have become increasingly more common. And if you’ve heard about potential gains in the cryptocurrency market (overnight millionaire, anybody?), you probably want in on the action. In this article, I’ll explain how to start using Coinbase, a popular wallet, and GDAX, a well-known trading platform.

How to Start Trading with Coinbase

Coinbase is a simple way to start buying, selling, and using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin. It connects to your bank account so you can exchange between digital and local currencies, and acts as a digital currency wallet.

Getting Started

1. Go to coinbase.com
2. Click on the Sign Up button in the top right corner.
3. Fill out boxes with your first and last name, email address, and password.
4. Click Create Account.

Verifying Your Account

1. Coinbase will send a verification email to the email account you used to sign up.
2. Go to your email and open the verification email from Coinbase. Click the blue “Verify Email Address” and you’ll be connected back to the coinbase website.
3. Coinbase will then prompt you to connect your phone and your account. Enter your phone number and wait for a text with the 7-digit verification number, then enter it into your account.
4. After you verify your phone number, you’ll be taken to the Coinbase dashboard. This is where you can see prices and growth of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and your own personal cryptocurrency portfolio.
5. From here, you can connect your bank account to Coinbase to officially start trading.

How to Start Trading with Coinbase Pro

Though branded for professional traders, Coinbase Pro is actually a fairly easy, secure, and less expensive way to buy and sell digital assets (such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin) on a regulated U.S. based exchange. You need a Coinbase account to easily trade on Coinbase Pro, so make sure you set that up first.

Getting Started

1. Go to pro.coinbase.com
2. Click on the blue box labeled Create Account, and input the name and email used for your Coinbase account. Coinbase Pro will automatically redirect you to the Coinbase website.

Link Coinbase and Coinbase Pro

1. Sign into your Coinbase account to authorize Coinbase Pro (you might be prompted with a 2-step verification code).
2. Accept the Coinbase Pro user terms and fill out your personal information.

User Identification

1. Upload a valid ID like a driver’s license or state ID. This is the step I had a little difficulty with. It took me a couple tries to take a clear picture with my webcam, so I’d suggest scanning your ID (the front and back) and uploading the pictures that way. If you still have difficulties, go to https://support.gdax.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2437862
2. Once you upload your ID, say cheese and take a picture of yourself, and then wait for account verification. Once Coinbase Pro has verified your ID, you’ll see the Coinbase Pro dashboard.

Making Your First Trade

You’ve set up your accounts and you’re ready to start trading cryptocurrencies. You can buy and sell currencies on Coinbase at the market price, but if you want to avoid fees and play the market a little more, Coinbase Pro is where you want to go.

1. On the top left corner of the page in the white bar, select the currencies you want to trade between (ex. Bitcoin and USD).
2. On the left side of the page, select deposit.
3. Choose your method for transferring money into your CoinbasePro account. You can choose between drawing funds from your bank account, a bank wire, taking funds from your Coinbase account, or depositing from a cryptocurrency wallet.
4. Select buy (meaning you exchange traditional currency for cryptocurrency) or sell (exchange cryptocurrency for traditional currency).
5. Choose between a market, limit, or stop order.
6. Input the amount of currency you want to trade (ex. 52 USD), and for limit/stop orders, set your limit/stop price.
7. Select Place Buy/Sell Order. If you placed a limit or a stop order, it’ll sit on the books until your order is filled. As soon as your order is filled, you’ll see it move from the “Open orders” section on the left-middle section of the screen to the “Fills” section on the right-middle section.
8. Congratulations! You just made your first cryptocurrency trade.

Neuryx Club

Cryptocurrency investment is an exciting world of opportunity, growth, and potential, and represents the future. Entering the cryptosphere is as much about learning as it is investing, and the important thing is not to invest more, but to invest smarter.

Neuryx Club is an AI-powered crypto trading assistant that offers exclusive analytics and advanced trading tools to help you stay on top of your crypto game and trade smarter.

Want to learn more about trading with Neuryx Club? Visit our website at neuryx.club