If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you want to learn more about cryptocurrency – one of the fastest growing areas of tech today, and perhaps one of the most confusing and misunderstood ones as well. That’s why we’ve written this guide to help you learn about cryptocurrency in one day – even if you have little or no knowledge on the subject.
How to learn cryptocurrency in one day
Cryptocurrency background
Cryptocurrency, a word that is being thrown around quite often these days and it’s not hard to see why. With new ICOs happening every week and prices skyrocketing, it is extremely important for investors or beginners to understand how things work.
Although we won’t be able to cover everything today I think we can give you an introduction that will help you take your first steps towards cryptocurrency. What are cryptocurrencies? Most people get confused about what cryptocurrencies actually are and think they are trying to create money or digital currency out of thin air. But that couldn’t be further from reality!
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and many others are called Altcoins. They are designed as alternative digital currencies to help improve upon or replace existing currencies that we use today such as USD, CAD, EUR and many more.
Although these digital currencies aren’t currencies per se they are still commonly referred to as such which is why we will continue calling them Altcoins instead of Cryptocurrencies.
The easiest way to get started in cryptocurrency
Read an intro guide and join a crypto chat room. The cryptoworld is still quite new, but there are already tons of valuable resources out there, ready for anyone interested in getting involved.
To help beginners get started with learning about crypto, we compiled a few of our favorite resources that will help you answer all your initial questions about what exactly cryptocurrency is, how it works and why you should be paying attention: –
CoinDesk: CoinDesk is easily one of our top picks for general education on blockchain technology, cryptos and how everything fits together into a big picture. The website features daily news updates from around industry (and also some great charts) as well as useful explainers on everything from altcoins to ICOs.
Technical Analysis / Day Trading
Read books on Technical Analysis. These are short, free-to-read books that explain trading analysis from both a beginner and advanced perspective. Don’t worry about understanding everything immediately, just read it and come back over time as you grow more familiar with trading.
If you’re looking for a good place to start, here are some favorites: The original Market Wizards by Jack Schwager is a collection of interviews with professional traders who explain their strategies for everything from stocks and futures, bonds and options.
What is Technical Analysis? Technical analysis is a method of trading based on statistics and graphs. It’s used by technical traders (also called chartists) to predict price trends, or identify when an asset is undervalued or overvalued. It’s usually used for stocks,
but it can also be applied to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. These graphs provide predictions about future prices based on previous prices, moving averages and historical trends.
Understanding wallets, exchanges, and trading pairs
Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or trade Bitcoin, it’s important that you understand how wallets work. Think of a wallet as your own digital bank account, with cash stored and tracked digitally.
Your wallet contains Bitcoin addresses that look something like 123456789. These are all of your public Bitcoin addresses—the way other people send Bitcoins to you—and they’re what you give out when someone wants to send money (or other cryptocurrencies) through your wallet.
Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency, which means that its value is determined by public demand rather than government-set values. Crypto exchanges are platforms where people can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies.
Many exchanges support many different cryptocurrencies so you’ll be able to choose from a wide range of coins when deciding which ones you want to buy or sell. When it comes time to actually make a transaction and you want Bitcoin (or any other coin) out of your wallet,
you need what’s called a trading pair. A trading pair is how two digital currencies interact with each other—in essence, they’re how your Bitcoin gets exchanged for another coin or vice versa.
Setting up your first wallet/exchange
If you are new to cryptocurrencies, there are a few things you will need to do before getting started. First and foremost, it is recommended that you set up two wallets: 1) A hot wallet, which contains your daily trading funds.
This wallet needs to be accessible from any device with internet access (your phone or desktop computer). 2) A cold storage wallet, which contains your savings and is not easily accessible (like a USB drive in a safe). Next, create an account on one of several exchanges that trade cryptocurrencies.
I recommend Coinbase if you’re only buying Bitcoin; otherwise Coinbase also allows purchases of Ethereum and Litecoin as well as Bitcoin Cash.Next, you will need a way to pay for cryptocurrencies. To do so, you can set up your credit card as a payment method on whichever exchange you use.
Some exchanges also accept other forms of payment such as PayPal and bank transfers. Once your account is all set up, it’s time to start trading! Depending on which exchange you use, you may have different options for purchasing cryptocurrencies.
If Coinbase is used, most purchases can be made using fiat currency (USD). If another exchange is used however (such as Bittrex), then purchases are made using Bitcoin or Ethereum and those coins are exchanged for whichever coin(s) needed.
What’s a hash?
You don’t need to know how a blockchain works to invest in cryptocurrencies, but it helps. At its core, a blockchain is just a shared database populated with entries that must be confirmed and encrypted.
Think of it as a ledger that everyone has access to—an open book of records that you can trust because nobody can edit it without following strict rules. A hash is part of blockchain’s security; it’s an alphanumeric identifier created by running data through algorithms and functions.
When you send someone bitcoin or another digital currency, you’re sending them those coins along with their unique hash key so they can be authenticated on entry.
People use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a way to move money quickly and securely, without involving banks or other financial institutions. Cryptocurrencies do that by creating a digital public ledger that is available for anyone to see but cannot be altered (hence crypto, from Greek words meaning hidden).
The ledger includes all of your transactions. Whenever you send someone some bitcoin, you’re telling the network how much of your bitcoin you want them to have, along with their unique key and a digital signature.
Trading strategies
Cryptocurrency trading is complex. There are a lot of advanced strategies traders use and even more that are still being developed. The best way to learn about these strategies is by starting with a simple strategy and master it before moving on.
Make sure you stick with a strategy until you’ve gotten good at it because its not easy to reverse an investment decision once you’ve made it. There are plenty of resources available but here are two places you can start: Reddit has some great subreddits related to cryptocurrency trading.
The first is /r/cryptotrading where you can find active discussions on different strategies and a helpful community that’s happy to answer any questions you have. The second is Investopedia, which has an excellent beginner’s guide as well as articles written by industry professionals who are willing to share their own experiences.
How to Start Your Cryptocurrency investment Click Here
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency can be a tough subject for newcomers. It’s something that many readers are interested in learning more about, but it can feel daunting—especially when there’s such a steep learning curve involved.
That’s why it helps to start at the beginning: learning how cryptocurrency actually works. Thankfully, there are a lot of great resources out there for beginners; here are four we recommend checking out.
1. Investopedia – The first step toward learning about crypto is understanding some of its key terms, and there’s no better resource for that than Investopedia. This online dictionary provides clear definitions for a range of crypto-related topics, including key phrases like initial coin offering and blockchain technology.
Best of all, it walks you through a few real-world use cases along with definitions for some terminology related to cryptocurrency investing.
2. Coindesk – The second resource on our list, Coindesk, offers a comprehensive guide to crypto investing that also includes plenty of articles covering current events and developments related to digital currencies.
If you’re looking for something a little more up-to-date than Investopedia, but still easy enough for beginners, this is a great place to start.
How to learn cryptocurrency in one day
