The first in a trilogy of personal experience ‘cryptocurrency for beginners' type articles. Aimed at those who aren't total newbies, who know a little, probably already have bought some crypto, follow crypto news etc., but are keen to know more and improve.

So, you've decided to get serious about getting into cryptocurrency investment - well done! Now that the initial excitement and frantic research is over, you've gotten yourself set up with a wallet, a crypto trading app, and are thinking of purchasing your first coins or chunk of Bitcoin...  what now?

Here I will give you some free knowledge of what not to do during those early days when getting started in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. From making those first coin exchanges, how not to get rekt by fees, and how to correctly store your newly prized crypto assets. 

Fees, Fees and more Fees

In my early days, I wasted a lot of time trying to avoid paying fees. I used to spend hours looking at various platforms, comparing which had the lowest rates - only to still get stung. 

Long and short: Just accept you will have to pay fees at some point and move on. Pick a reliable platform, with a good rep and get on with it. 

I also spent a lot of time on hypothetical calculation thinking along the lines of - ‘if I spend x amount of fiat, I will receive exactly x amount of Bitcoin’. This is unfortunately false.

After you have factored in card purchase fees, exchange fees, trading, and network fees, you actually end up receiving significantly less than you initially calculated. In fact, it's almost impossible to work out how much crypto you will get, so don’t bother.

The major takeaway here is: It's not the amount of fiat you convert/spend, but the amount of crypto you receive in return. Read that again and let it sink in. Took me a while to fully understand this, but this really helped. I will explain this further in a future post.

To save even more on fees, use SEPA payments (if in the EU, not sure the US equivalent) as they are free to make. Credit or debit card payments will always come with high surcharges.

Yes, SEPA transfers can take a few days, meaning you may miss out on buying dips, but it's the best way to avoid paying fees. Buying crypto through SEPA also means more crypto buying power for you and that's exactly what you want.

Use Trade Orders

When I first took the crypto plunge, I did what I imagine a lot of people do and bought Bitcoin via my wallets’ inhouse exchange - BIG mistake. 

Purchasing ‘in-house’ via your wallet will always incur higher fees than buying from a dedicated crypto exchange. Your wallet’s exchange service essentially acts as a middle man charging you a fee to carry out the transaction for you.

I know a cryptocurrency exchange can be intimidating at first, but they are actually very straight forward. And if you have never placed a trade order, do as I did and watch this bitcoin for beginners YouTube video (skip to the 10-minute mark) and you’ll be placing orders in no time. 

All exchanges are essentially the same, so if you learn how to use one exchange, you can use them all. I recommend placing ‘Limit Orders’ so you can set the exact price you want to pay. 

So if you aren’t already, start using a dedicated crypto exchange service. It will not only save you a ton on fees, but also helps you plan your buy-in strategies and ensures you never miss out on buying those sweet, sweet dips.

Be an exchange whore

Yeah, I said it. Once you have figured out how crypto exchanges work - whore it up a bit!

I have signed up for 6 different exchanges at one time or another. I started out on Coinbase, then BitPanda, now I mainly use Binance and KuCoin. Don't feel you have to be tied to just one exchange.

Make these exchanges work for you and not the other way round. If you aren't happy, vote with your crypto and close your account - I did this myself recently with Coinbase. 

Pro tip: Always do a quick search or check out your favourite talking head’s YouTube description for a promo or referral code before signing up for any exchange or service. You could save a tidy sum on exchange fees or get a nice referral bonus.

Take Crypto Trading Slow

Your first interaction with the blockchain will be a little daunting. 

Rushing in I made the mistake of doing a large transaction my first time out. Not understanding what had happened, where my funds had gone, or how long it was supposed to take, I almost had a mini heart attack waiting for them to reappear.

If I were to start out again, I would buy a small amount of some random coin on an exchange and just get used to sending them to my crypto wallet and back again. This way if you should make a mistake in the transfer then it's only a couple of cents gone, no harm done. 

Doing this will enable you to not only get a feel for interacting with a blockchain, but also and most importantly begin to build trust using this new system.

You will also get an idea of the fees involved, so you know what to expect in the future.

Secure Storage

I’m not going to get into which is the best crypto app for beginners, hot or cold, hardware wallets, etc., that’s covered plenty on this platform - I want to focus on basic crypto security.

Whichever cryptocurrency wallet you are using, you want to make sure you aren't taking any unnecessary security risks online. The crypto world is akin to the Wild West - assume everyone is out to get your coin stash. Trust no one.

Start by creating an email account purely for crypto use. Do not use your current personal email, create a brand new one instead, I use Protonmail. Taking this a step further you could set up a different email for each personal wallet / crypto trading platform you use - up to you.

Secure everything you do relating to crypto with multi-factor authentication. Download and use either Google Authenticator or Authy (I prefer Authy). For even more security, always, always use long-form, ultra-strong passwords, and forget using a password generator app. 

Never keep your passwords or private keys online, send them to yourself on social media or on store them on a USB stick. Write them all down on a good old fashioned piece of paper, with one of those things called a ‘pen’ and make multiple copies. 

And for whatever you do, don't use a public open network to check your balances, or make transfers, it's just asking to be hacked. 

I watched this How to Buy Crypto YouTube video a little too late and essentially had to start over. Don't be like me and take the time to set everything up before getting started investing. 

If all these steps seem a little unnecessary, then ask yourself, you can really afford to lose your investment? No, I didn’t think so either. You are your own bank now, it's time you started acting like one when it comes to securing your digital assets.


So there you have it. These are a few things I have picked up on my crypto journey so far, what about you? Anything that helped you navigate this crazy landscape when you first started out - let me know in the comments below.

Until next time.

All advice written here is just what I have learned, my experiences, and is purely aimed at helping others, and is in no way financial advice.