Getting Crypto

Back in the early days buying Bitcoin wasn’t easy for the everyday person. Since 2013 several “exchanges” have been created to facilitate trading US dollars for Bitcoin and essentially any other cryptocurrency like Ether, XRP, and Tether. I have used quite a few exchanges over the years and have compiled a list of the ones I trust the most.

-Coinbase/Coinbase Pro

• Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ersham

• 2017 Revenue exceeded $1 billion

• Broker exchange for over 15+ cryptocurrencies

-Gemini

• Founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss

• Exchange/custody regulated by New York State Department of Financial Services

• Obtained digital asset insurance for customer funds brokered by Aon

-Metal Pay/Metal Vault/Metal X

• Founded in 2017 by Marshall Hayner

• Released Metal Pay in 2018 as a “Crypto Venmo” and “Crypto Marketplace”

• Metal X and Proton Chain launch in 2020 will connect banks to blockchains

Where to Store Crypto

Most, if not all, exchanges allow users to store their cryptocurrency with them. Some like Gemini have an insurance product to protect users funds while others like Binance have their own “SAFU Fund” in case of a hack. To this day exchanges are hacked quite often but each with their own lesson to learn from. Coinbase has the privilege of being able to say they have never been subject to a hack of user funds.

Although exchanges make a great place for users to store funds due to the trading platform and knowledge of security procedures, they also hold your private keys which some argue means you don’t actually own your Bitcoin or cryptocurrency. It is very similar to holding your money in a bank rather than in your wallet or a safe in your house. If you hold your private keys, only you can access your cryptocurrency which is in part of what makes an attractive money.

If you are skeptical of exchanges and don’t want a company to hold your funds there are plenty of options for you. Wallets have come a long way over the years and now provide holders desktop, mobile, hardware and even paper wallets. Desktop wallets can be downloaded to your local machine which gives you a public key and private key for your wallet. A mobile wallet (Android and iOS) can be downloaded in the App Store of Google Play which will do the same as a desktop but give you more mobility. A hardware wallet is often a piece of hardware like a USB stick which provides you with a public and private key. Paper wallets are not as commonly used but are always an option for those interested. One important thing to note about these “wallets” is that the application or device never actually holds the cryptocurrency. All it does is provide a gateway to the blockchain so you can use your private key to access your cryptocurrency that is always stored on the blockchain.

Here is a list of popular wallets:

• Coinbase Wallet (Mobile)

• Trust Wallet (Mobile)

• ImToken (Mobile)

• Ledger (Hardware)

• Trezor (Hardware)

• Blockchain Wallet (Mobile)

• Exodus (Desktop)

How to Use Crypto

As the space matures over time, more and more use cases for cryptocurrency emerge. In the early days Bitcoin was mainly used as a Peer to Peer digital cash but now serves a few more purposes. Now you can spend your Bitcoin, lend your Bitcoin, and trade your bitcoin. There are also options to earn Bitcoin through companies like Lolli who give you Bitcoin back when you shop online instead of cash back.

When it comes to Ethereum there are a few more use cases for Ether and ERC-20 tokens. Not only can you spend, lend, and trade but you can also collateralize your assets to borrow a blockchain dollar-pegged stablecoin called Dai. Along with that you can provide liquidity to decentralized exchanges in exchange for a percent of trading fees.

Below is a list of companies and protocols that enable these activities:

• Celsius, BlockFi, Compound Finance (Lending & Borrowing)

• MakerDAO (Collateralization)

• Uniswap (Provide Liquidity)

• Lolli, Brave Browser, Coinbase Earn (Earn Cryptocurrency)

• Crypto.com, Metal Pay (Spend Cryptocurrency)

Hopefully this post helps anyone interested become aware of how to purchase or earn cryptocurrency, safely store cryptocurrency, and then use your cryptocurrency to your advantage!