How to Buy Cryptocurrency Safely and Easily
With the seemingly endless rise of Bitcoin as of late, you’re probably interested in investing. However, the world of crypto can be a daunting one. Where do you go to buy crypto? Which types should you invest in?
Fortunately, we can help you. In this guide, we’ll go over the best ways to safely buy crypto — and without a struggle at that!
What to Look Out for When Buying Crypto
When you’re searching to buy crypto, you generally want to head to a trusted platform like Coinbase or Crypto Exchange. These are vetted groups that manage your funds safely and securely. They generally have good customer service and even provide some education when it comes to trading.
That said, be careful in your search. There are loads of scam exchanges and fake traders out there. All of them sport convincing copy to try and get you to give them your money. Of course, there are valid ways to trade one-on-one with users if you don’t want to use an exchange. But make sure you do so via an escrow service, rather than a random online trade.
If you don’t want to use the internet, you can buy crypto at a Bitcoin ATM, assuming there is one in your area. While these are few and far between, heading to one can save you many risks. However, be careful when at a machine. Spending time there signals to others that you’re involved in crypto. Being involved in crypto comes with the stigma you have a lot of money. Any bad actors around might catch wind of this.
If you use an ATM, head there quickly, do your business, and leave. It’s similar to using a traditional ATM. Don’t make yourself known. Maybe bring a trusted friend or family member to help ward off any thieves.
What to do When You’ve Bought crypto
Once you’ve used any of those above methods to buy cryptocurrency, it’s time to store it. How? Well, there are many ways to do so — each of varying degrees of safety.
If you’ve bought on a crypto exchange, you can easily store your assets on the platform in its online wallet. However, there is an inherent risk to this. If the exchange goes under or is a scam, your assets might be gone forever. That, and the platform always has a risk of being hacked. While an online wallet is great for a short time, you don’t want to hold assets there for long.
If you’re planning to hold long-term, hardware or paper wallet is the best way. A hardware wallet is basically a USB stick with a screen on it that can safely store your crypto. What’s great about this is the wallet isn’t connected to the internet. When it’s not plugged in, no bad actor can gain access to your assets. They’d need the wallet itself to grab them.
This way, you’re also putting the security of your assets into your own hands. You can place the wallet in a safe or safety deposit box, and rest assured.
There’s also the paper wallet method. This involves printing a QR code onto a sheet of paper — one that stores the keys to your assets. Most people create a paper wallet then laminate and bury the sheet. Considering these assets are only accessible via scanning said QR code, there’s no risk of theft here.
That said, if you lose or even tear that sheet of paper, there’s no way of recovering the assets. It’s also a pain to trade or manage this crypto otherwise. Only use a paper wallet if you plan to hold it for a very long time.
Now you know how to buy and store your crypto assets safely. As always, do your research before investing and know what you’re getting into. That way, you can head into the crypto space while minimizing risk.
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