If you were intrigued by cryptocurrencies and were thinking of investing in them in 2023, you should know a thing or two about them first. While they can be a great way to diversify your assets, cryptocurrencies are a lot different from things like stocks, mutual funds, and even forex. You have to learn about different exchanges, the differences between cryptocurrencies, and what moves the markets before you do anything. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to do before you try to make money with cryptocurrencies in 2023.
Learn about Cryptocurrencies in Detail
One of the most important things to understand before you start trading cryptocurrencies is how different they can be from each other. Bitcoin is the most popular crypto by far, followed by Ethereum (or Ether), and, while they may look similar on the surface, they are fundamentally very different.
Bitcoin was created for trading and mainly to store value. It is also used as an entryway to the crypto markets in general. Ether, on the other hand, is meant to be used on the Ethereum blockchain and is used to power apps hosted on the platform.
You also have crypto that was meant to replicate the movement of stable assets like the US dollar. These are called stablecoins and allow people to have easy access to the crypto markets without the volatility of regular crypto.
So, before you decide to invest in crypto, get familiar with the blockchain and learn about the project and the people behind them. Try to know what it’s trying to solve, its main purpose, and what people think about it in the community.
You will need to get the Right Tools
You cannot start investing in crypto without having a cryptocurrency wallet. You will also need to look at a few cryptocurrency news sites, sites that track the movement of prices, and a crypto converter that will allow you to quickly tell how much you can expect to pay for certain cryptos in fiat money.
The wallet will be extremely important as it will store your private key, which allows access to your funds, and a public key to allow people to send crypto to you and verify transactions on the blockchain.
You should never store money on an exchange under any circumstances, even if they let you. If they vanish overnight, which has happened before, so will your money, so don’t assume that your funds are safe. Instead, look for a reputable software wallet and start looking at hard wallets like the ones in Nano’s selection if you intend to store large sums of crypto off the grid.
Get Your Information from the Right Sources
Forget watching MSNBC for crypto news. They are not the people truly dictating the markets and are usually in the dark about crypto. You will need to dig deeper and find the most respected influencers on YouTube and other platforms and get familiar with a few subreddits too. You can listen to some of the information you get from major outlets, but you need to take them with a big grain of salt and counter-verify them within the community.
The crypto markets are very unique, and you need to understand them in depth before you spend a single dollar. Take the time to learn about crypto, and speak with as many people who are invested in it as possible before you start making investment decisions.