There has been a massive wave of conversation surrounding cryptocurrency but, some people are still a bit confused by the whole phenomenon. Here are the major keys that you need to know if you are interested in investing in bitcoin.
Bitcoin
The mother coin is bitcoin, the first decentralized digital currency created by, “Satoshi Nakamoto” which is actually an alias. To this day, no one really knows who that is. Think of bitcoin as the gold standard, because it came to market first so it is seen as the most valuable. All other coins are considered altcoins or alternative coins to bitcoin.
Coinbase
Coinbase is the largest secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing digital currency. Here, you can purchase bitcoin, and other coins such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and most recently added Bitcoin Cash. Do your research before purchasing. Each coin supports different technologies in the market and was created for very different reasons. Example, bitcoin was created as a response to the centralized banking system, giving the power of currency back to the people. The other coins were created with other purposes in mind. Find their whitepapers and read them.
Setting up an account on Coinbase is a fairly straightforward process but it can take anywhere from several days to a couple of weeks to get approval because the systems are so backed up with new registrants. Additionally, when you make your first investment, it will take several weeks to post for the same reason so the name of the game is patience.
Coinmarketcap
If you are interested in following the market and seeing the fluctuation of this very volatile coin and other coins on the market, you can visit Coinmarketcap.
Cryptocurrency gets much deeper than this, but this is some surface-level information to get you started. Remember to only invest what you can afford to lose. Ready to take the dive? Head on over to Coinbase and get started.