How to start in cryptocurrency (and live to talk about it)

[BernyJB]

Alright, first of all, I’d like to make something very clear: this is not a “I know everything about everything” type of post. It’s just my story, in the hope it may help somebody.
Second: this is gonna be a long ass post. Sorry about that.

Up until October 14^th, 2021, I knew one thing about cryptocurrency:

IT’S A SCAM. PERIOD.

On that day, a former coworker of mine showed me a screenshot of his Bitcoin wallet. He had started on BTC a month earlier with 60 USD, and now had $ 1156. A 1900% increase in a month! That really got me thinking.

So on January 27^th, 2022, after almost three very long months racking my brain to come up with solutions to the many problems I’ve encountered along the way, I could finally start. What follows is an account of what happened along those 3 months. Hope it helps.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: THE CRYPTO SPACE IS FULL OF SCAMMERS, HACKERS, AND BASICALLY ANY KIND OF LOWLIFE YOU CAN THINK OF. LEARN TO PROTECT YOURSELF!

Now, for starters, cryptocurrencies are some very technical stuff. Learn about them. You can’t expect to be able to understand the finer points of cryptocurrency investing and/or trading if you don’t understand what a blockchain is.

So next day I started researching. There are a lot of good quality courses on Crypto trading and investing out there. In some cases (I can only vouch for Udemy.com, which I have used), you can get great courses for about $10 when they’re on sale (which happens very often), in some other cases (like Tutsnode and The Pirate Bay), you can get the same courses, and/or courses from other sources, for free. Of course, if you get those free courses you will not get the support (which may or may not be important to you), so keep that in mind.
So, since I didn’t have $10 to spare (nor a way to spare them), I went to The Pirate Bay. Got my very first cryptocurrency course, and started watching it.
Two weeks later (and because it was mentioned in the course, and in another course I was taking) I joined this forum.
Then I started asking questions here. Many of them (I’m sure) were pretty stupid (my apologies), while I was starting my third course.
By the time I felt I was somewhat ready to start, I had 5 courses in the bag. Then the really difficult stuff started: things that had to do with my circumstances and my country, so nobody could help me with.
First was the money: 10 bucks may sound like peanuts in the US, but it’s not elsewhere, especially when you’ve been unemployed for almost 2 years. Either way, I did take care of that.
Then I came up with a really hard one to crack: the law. In Argentina, the law doesn’t allow you to make transactions in USD, unless you have an account in USD (which is not easy to get), and you can’t make transactions online unless you have an international credit card (which is even harder to get than the USD account). So that effectively limits access to cryptocurrencies to a very small group of people.
I didn’t have either, so I was screwed. Twice.
Then Binance started accepting ARS, and money transfers directly from your bank account. Great!
Turned out it was just marketing bullshit, and they only accepted ARS for p2p transactions.
But that gave me a bit more knowledge, so I started looking for another exchange that would take ARS, preferably without KYC. Came across Kucoin. Signed up, and next day I couldn’t get in any longer. I still can’t.
In the meantime, I kept on asking questions here: signature campaigns, bounties, airdrops, faucets…
So on January 16th I joined Cointiply. They have a minimum withdrawal amount of $5, and pay you directly on BTC (or a few other coins) to your wallet.
In the morning of January 25th, 8 ½ days after joining, I finally had reached the $5 minimum withdrawal requirement, so I made the withdrawal. Excellent! That gave me some money, while at the same time bypassing the legal requirements in my country! In the morning of January 27th I got the deposit.
As of now, I’m working to get the second $5 batch, so I can start operating on Binance. The path has been far from smooth, but I’m moving forward, and loving every minute.

So, what’s the moral here?

1. Learn. And once you’re certain you know everything you need to know, keep learning.

2. This is important: wake up, and understand Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
What do I mean by that? The safest way to avoid getting scammed is to be realistic. I have seen sites offering 1 BTC to click on a link. Do you really think somebody is gonna give you 30 or 40  grand just to move a finger?
On the same token, I have seen “Complete Cryptocurrency” courses that last less than an hour, with others providing over 50 or 60 hours of video. Which one do you think is gonna be more “complete”?
 
3. Use the forum. Not only there’s an ungodly amount of information already written in here, but there’s also a whole bunch of very knowledgeable members that are ready and willing to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, nobody was born knowing.
Incidentally, if you’re not comfortable typing/reading in English, the forum provides boards in different languages, so you can participate. In any case, if you do wish to communicate in English, you’d be truly surprised as to the levels of “broken English” these guys are willing to deal with. Just try it.
That said, despite all their knowledge and their willingness to help, there are things nobody can help you with, especially if you live in the 3rd world. Each country has its own rules, and each person has their own circumstances to deal with. Keep that in mind, it’ll make a world of difference.

4. Solve your problems as they appear, one at a time. Things may seem insurmountable if you try to fix everything at once.

5. DO NOT EVER GET DISCOURAGED! It’s just your life we’re talking about here. Trust me: there's always a solution waiting to be found.

6. (Thanks to maydna): Be grateful. Be grateful for the help you get, and you will be helped more. Be grateful for what you have, and start using it to your benefit. Cryptocurrencies wouldn't exist if some bozos at IBM hadn't created the PC in 1981, or if some school kid didn't steal some operating system from his classmates and called it "Windows", or if some nerd mathematician hadn't set up to decipher the nazis' "Enigma" machine, some 80 years ago. 

EDIT: Thanks to the advice provided by Maus0728 and hatshepsut93, I came to realize I've provided bad advise above. Here's my truth: I've been using The Pirate Bay for well over a decade. Thanks to them I have saved probably hundreds of thousands of dollars, and, while I have heard from the very beginning some of their torrents may carry malware, I have NEVER had the slightest problem with them.
But the truth can be partial, and at that it can be misleading.
Here are some other truths: I run Linux. That alone means a huge difference, in terms of security, with Windows. But most importantly, I haven't used TPB since I got my BTC. I don't know why, maybe just luck.
In any case, while I still recommend you to use TPB as a great source for free stuff, DON'T USE IT in the same computer you have your wallet(s) on. Just get an extra hard drive or SSD, and run another OS from there. Above all KEEP YOUR WALLET SAFE.

When I started with computers (1989, I think), the very best antivirus software was F-Prot, and it had a HUUUUGE database of 464 viruses, and they were all viruses, nothing else. A couple of days ago I ran ClamAV on my computer, and had a database of some 650 thousand viruses. And we have malware, spyware, ransomware, adware, and whatever fu*kware one can think of. Point being the lowlives I mentioned above are getting ever more sophisticated, and my experience of years (or of yesterday) may be completely useless tomorrow. It's up to you to protect your stuff. Be paranoid. It's much better than being broke, trust me.

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[Odusko]

Thanks for your advice, it is true,it is good to learn and understand something before you venture into it,I learnt one or two things from your experience, 1, not to give up and be perseverance, 2, to have idea and make research about anything you want to do not only about cryptocurrencies so that you can succeed in it,and don't look for free things or sharp sharp things so that you will not be scammed.

[Scripture]

5. DO NOT EVER GET DISCOURAGED! It’s just your life we’re talking about here. Trust me: there's always a solution waiting to be found.

This is already part of human nature, I got discouraged before fortunately I was able to rise again.
I guess, its ok to feel discouraged sometimes, its just that you have to solve that problem and remain optimistic despite of what happened.

A great life lesson comes from a mistakes I guess, and I always be thankful that I experience those negative things on the early stage of my life and now, I'm doing my best to be better. Keep learning things, cryptocurrency grows a lot we should be able to adopt change.

[Maus0728]

So, since I didn’t have $10 to spare (nor a way to spare them), I went to The Pirate Bay. Got my very first cryptocurrency course, and started watching it.

I strongly advise you to avoid downloading content from PirateBay; while it may appear that you are not paying ten dollars, you are putting your device's security at risk, which makes it a more serious problem in the long run, especially now that you are in cryptospace, where virus/malicious content is one of the main reasons why people are losing a lot of money. Well, if you know how you can protect yourself then I don't think that would be a problem because I see that you are a fan of using PirateBay.

[NeuroticFish]

3. Use the forum. Not only there’s an ungodly amount of information already written in here, but there’s also a whole bunch of very knowledgeable members that are ready and willing to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, nobody was born knowing.

Although the title is imho somewhat misleading, although the formatting could be better, the story is interesting and the conclusions pretty good.
It's interesting to see that it was greed and not the technology that made you "give Bitcoin a second chance" and research deeper than "what's on TV". (please don't take it as criticism)

And although the point about hackers and scammers is there, I'd also add something to your point #3:
Like everywhere on the world, the forum has its fair share of scammers too. This means that one should be extremely careful about what info he shares, extremely careful about private messages and impersonation, even more careful about people inviting out to other platforms and even whatever is posted publicly, since not everybody's intentions are good.

The idea is to ask publicly, but while sharing as much info as possible gets the problem solved easier one has to be careful to not share sensitive info, and also wait for multiple replies and see which can be indeed helpful.



However, you seem to have gotten most of the things right (as already said, you still have to learn about the risks on your computer, for example) and I'm happy for you. Enjoy the ride!

I strongly advise you to avoid downloading content from PirateBay; while it may appear that you are not paying ten dollars, you are putting your device's security at risk, which makes it a more serious problem in the long run, especially now that you are in cryptospace, where virus/malicious content is one of the main reasons why people are losing a lot of money. Well, if you know how you can protect yourself then I don't think that would be a problem because I see that you are a fan of using PirateBay.

While movies are not malicious (from what I know), one can easily share there executable files which double-clicked can deploy Pandora's box.
So indeed, extra caution or even avoiding such platforms can be a very good idea. (Cold storage or hardware wallet are another option to consider, depending on the skills, funds, need for convenience).

[lovesmayfamilis]

And still, OP, I don't fully understand you. Why do you reject participation in subscription companies? I'm keeping an eye on you. You move fast with the promotion in rank. You have every chance to get more than 5 dollars. For 8 days 5 dollars, in my opinion, it's not worth your time. I also did not delve into the video that attracted you. Check out Antonopoulos' YouTube, it's interesting, Andreas explains everything so captivating, and the trick is that everything is free.
Why risk torrents when the forum has everything? I do not rule out additional sources, but if you are not sure who creates these sources, is there any certainty that they are correct?

[BernyJB]

Thank you all for the replies. I couldn't get connected yesterday (another rainy day in Buenos Aires), but reading you all today was a blast.

Odusko: absolutely! There's a Latin saying, fairly popular in the US (not in my country, unfortunately): "Scientia Potestas Est" (Knowledge is Power). Especially in something as technical as crypto, I'd say knowledge is essential.

5. DO NOT EVER GET DISCOURAGED! It’s just your life we’re talking about here. Trust me: there's always a solution waiting to be found.

This is already part of human nature, I got discouraged before fortunately I was able to rise again.
I guess, its ok to feel discouraged sometimes, its just that you have to solve that problem and remain optimistic despite of what happened.

A great life lesson comes from a mistakes I guess, and I always be thankful that I experience those negative things on the early stage of my life and now, I'm doing my best to be better. Keep learning things, cryptocurrency grows a lot we should be able to adopt change.

Definitely. And it's very easy to get discouraged (or otherwise turned off to crypto) by all the BS going around. But we're alive, there's always time. We just have to keep at it!

I strongly advise you to avoid downloading content from PirateBay; while it may appear that you are not paying ten dollars, you are putting your device's security at risk,...

Thank you Maus0728, but I'll have to disagree on this one. Of course, I'm far from an expert when it comes to online security (and that worries me. A lot), but I've been a customer of The Pirate Bay for more than a decade, and never, ever, got a problem with their stuff.
Even in the old times, when I was running Windows (and XP to boot, which could be considered an open door to viruses and whatnot), I used to scan every torrent I got, and never had a single threat.
Of course, it would be better to have a dedicated PC, just for crypto. In any case, I've heard most problems come from downloading porn. But I have downloaded software, ebooks, videos, movies, and never had an issue.

3. Use the forum. Not only there’s an ungodly amount of information already written in here, but there’s also a whole bunch of very knowledgeable members that are ready and willing to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, nobody was born knowing.

Although the title is imho somewhat misleading, although the formatting could be better, the story is interesting and the conclusions pretty good.
It's interesting to see that it was greed and not the technology that made you "give Bitcoin a second chance" and research deeper than "what's on TV". (please don't take it as criticism)

Yeah, I did get a bit creative on the title...
However, the title was the result of the extreme levels of frustration I've been feeling for these last few months, seeing that absolutely everything I tried took me nowhere.
Yeah, it was greed, definitely.  
I love technology, but cryptography is something I have always kept at arms' length, as my proficiency in math is sorely lacking. I would definitely like to know a lot more about it, but, so far, I don't.
And don't worry, I won't take it as criticism.  

About the forum, yeah, I agree you have to be careful. Everywhere, actually. But this forum has a feature I like very much, which is the "trust" thingy. Of course, there's always gonna be people who learn to "navigate" such measures for their own purposes, and you always have to keep an eye out.

Lovesmayfamilis: let me see if I can explain myself a bit. Incidentally, I know I'm "complicated", so don't worry much about it.  
I'm 56 years old. I live in a country where 20 y/o people have a really hard time to get a job. I have been literally job hunting since mid 2015, and as of today I got a grand total of "1" interview, and that ended in nothing.
I'm not some ignorant guy that's useless to work. I'm an electronics technician specialized in digital and industrial electronics. Been into programming in the '80s, used to program microprocessors in HEX. When high level languages started to become mainstream, I got turned off to it. High level programming languages just lack the elegance HEX had.
I also have several other skills, unrelated to computers. In any case, my point is nobody gives a damn what I know. All they care about is, for every guy like me, there's a gazillion young guys that will do the job cheaper.
3 months ago I started this journey. After fighting tooth and nail for what felt like an eternity, I had nothing. Then I started the whole faucet thing. I didn't join "a faucet", I joined almost a dozen of them (yeah, I'm hyper  ). Most of them ended up being scams, or at least a waste of time. However, Cointiply delivered. Sure, you can say I'm worth more than 5 bucks in 8 1/2 days, but the fact is, had I kept on dreaming, I'd have nothing, and it's not like watching videos and doing surveys is such a hard job.
Today, I have 5 bucks on BTC. That's nothing. By the end of the day, or maybe by Monday, I will have 5 more bucks. That allows me to start trading in Binance. I understand is not much, but it is what it is. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will be able to join a signature campaign and this 5 bucks will become just a funny story, but, right now, they're all I have.

EDIT: sorry, I forgot about the Antonopoulos thing. I don't use youtube for crypto, ever. I prefer Udemy's courses, and definitely this forum.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion youtube can be great (and I use it a LOT) when you already know your stuff and are looking to improve, but there's a lot of people selling "pee powered engines" and other dishonest shit like that. So, at least for now, youtube is really not an option for me.

[aysg76]

And still, OP, I don't fully understand you. Why do you reject participation in subscription companies? I'm keeping an eye on you. You move fast with the promotion in rank. You have every chance to get more than 5 dollars. For 8 days 5 dollars, in my opinion, it's not worth your time. I also did not delve into the video that attracted you. Check out Antonopoulos' YouTube, it's interesting, Andreas explains everything so captivating, and the trick is that everything is free.

I also think that Andreas is underrated at this time like you would find his YouTube channel with only 305k subscribers and 705 videos and he is one of the best teachers out there giving away free knowledgeable guides in depths to the newbies and also who knows about bitcoin.

His masterpiece Mastering Bitcoin is must read for all the members who have started their Bitcoin journey to become some pro who have technical knowledge also if he cares to read about it.

Why risk torrents when the forum has everything? I do not rule out additional sources, but if you are not sure who creates these sources, is there any certainty that they are correct?

This forum has made some members expert from scratch and you would find guides on each topic like trading, bitcoin and altcoins but you only need to spend time on them.But people are finding ways or say shortcut to get rich with trading like these paid sites and also risking their security which is no fun.Make this forum best place for your learning abilities and keep on gaining experience with time.

[hatshepsut93]

Thank you Maus0728, but I'll have to disagree on this one. Of course, I'm far from an expert when it comes to online security (and that worries me. A lot), but I've been a customer of The Pirate Bay for more than a decade, and never, ever, got a problem with their stuff.
Even in the old times, when I was running Windows (and XP to boot, which could be considered an open door to viruses and whatnot), I used to scan every torrent I got, and never had a single threat.
Of course, it would be better to have a dedicated PC, just for crypto. In any case, I've heard most problems come from downloading porn. But I have downloaded software, ebooks, videos, movies, and never had an issue.

Fact - people lose their coins to malware. Another fact - people put malware into files that they share on torrents. Put these two facts together and it's clear that torrenting is a huge risk for any crypto user.

I know you're saying that you've been fine so far, but this is a fallacy, all it takes is one virus to steal all your coins. One little mistake and it's all gone without even a tiny chance to get it back.

[cryptoaddictchie]

5. DO NOT EVER GET DISCOURAGED! It’s just your life we’re talking about here. Trust me: there's always a solution waiting to be found.

Actually thia is the most important. Yes we do have some failures indeed. But the most crucial there is when you gave up. No one succeed when giving up. I dont know but most people succeed comes from a lot of failures before they even make it. Mistakes can be overcome by solutions when were thinking straight and doing the right way ro make it right. Nice thread OP truly remarkable statement.

[maydna]

It's an inspirational and emotional story from a person who wants to struggle to have crypto by himself and use any knowledge he has to get his reward in crypto. It is just an example for us to see that it is not easy to try to have crypto because we see that is easy to earn $5 the first time, but not for people out there, especially if they do not know much about crypto and how they can earn crypto.

I guess you should add one more thing which is Always Being Grateful for what you earn and believing that tomorrow will be better than today. That will keep you surviving and will not stop before you reach your goals.

[BernyJB]

Lovesmayfamilis: I just now realize I didn't even pay attention to  your initial question. Why do I reject participation in subscription companies? Well, because until now, I didn't have a clue they existed... What are they?

aysg76:  gonna have to check him out. All I hear about him are good things...

Maus0728 and hatshepsut93: you're both right. Now I realize, with the enthusiasm and my eagerness to finally post something remotely useful, I ended giving bad advice. I will edit my OP as soon as I finish typing this.
It's true that I've been a TPB "customer", probably since 2007 or 2008 (don't remember), and never had an issue. But it's also true that I run Linux (which, while not perfect, it's a huge difference, security wise, from Windows), and it's also true that, for  some reason, (I don't know, call it dumb luck) I haven't touched TPB at all since having my BTC. Thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated.

maydna: thank you, I will add it to my OP.

[nurilham]

To entering the crypto world, we must know about the risks involved as it has been said that there are scammers, hackers and the crypto market that goes up and down. It becomes an obstacle for some people and makes him give up. actually crypto is not a scary thing because if we can manage it well then it will be profitable so it depends on our attitude and strategy in managing crypto. to be able to manage and find the right strategy requires knowledge, skills and also experience in it, therefore if we have entered the crypto world it means we have to be prepared to continue learning and advancing.

[Maus0728]

It's true that I've been a TPB "customer", probably since 2007 or 2008 (don't remember), and never had an issue. But it's also true that I run Linux (which, while not perfect, it's a huge difference, security wise, from Windows), and it's also true that, for  some reason, (I don't know, call it dumb luck) I haven't touched TPB at all since having my BTC. Thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated.

Just to add, if your main concern is to download resources such as cryptocurrency books, trading courses or any other crypto learning materials, then I think you should be sticking with youtube^[1] and legally distributed crypto ebooks which can be found in github^[2] and to well-known bitcoin enthusiast websites^[3].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/c/CryptoCred
[2] https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook
[3] https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information.html

Those are just my go-to resources; it wouldn't hurt if I shared them with you so that it can help you realize you have all the resources you need to learn about crypto without exposing yourself from risk of losing your hard earned money/privacy/files. I repeat, if you can manage to protect yourself from these malwares, then it's fine but highly discouraged for people who doesn't know about what they are doing.

[BernyJB]

It's true that I've been a TPB "customer", probably since 2007 or 2008 (don't remember), and never had an issue. But it's also true that I run Linux (which, while not perfect, it's a huge difference, security wise, from Windows), and it's also true that, for  some reason, (I don't know, call it dumb luck) I haven't touched TPB at all since having my BTC. Thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated.

Just to add, if your main concern is to download resources such as cryptocurrency books, trading courses or any other crypto learning materials, then I think you should be sticking with youtube^[1] and legally distributed crypto ebooks which can be found in github^[2] and to well-known bitcoin enthusiast websites^[3].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/c/CryptoCred
[2] https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook
[3] https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information.html

Those are just my go-to resources; it wouldn't hurt if I shared them with you so that it can help you realize you have all the resources you need to learn about crypto without exposing yourself from risk of losing your hard earned money/privacy/files. I repeat, if you can manage to protect yourself from these malwares, then it's fine but highly discouraged for people who doesn't know about what they are doing.

Thank you, that's what I'm talking about!
For now, I'm taking a short break from crypto courses and whatnot, as I'm more focused on finding and installing a more suitable OS (I'm currently using Fedora 30, and it's way too long in the tooth), and later trying to learn python to program a bot, but those links are pure gold!

[BernyJB]

Alright, here's a bit of an update, this time about things NOT to do, as they can send your investment straight to hell.
So, you finally managed to fund your first investment, and you have a bunch of brand spanking new crypto in your wallet of choice to show for it. Congratulations!

Now (and this may sound  kinda rude), you didn't "make it". You just took a first step towards your future. BIG step, but just a step.

This is an account of my latest screw-ups, so it may help others not to do the same.

So I started with $5.04 of BTC on January 27^th. Big day. But I was stuck with BTC, and it hasn't been doing so hot as of late. I was itching to change to a coin that would be moving faster. A few days later, I got another 6 bucks and change. Great! Now I could really start.
So I saw at the moment XRP was gaining kinda fast, and went for it. The exact moment I did the transaction and was waiting for the confirmation, XRP price started to drop. I had, at the moment, a bit over $11. Now I have $9.72, and I'm as stuck with XRP as I was before with BTC, with the difference that XRP keeps dropping, and BTC is slowly gaining.

So, what's the moral of this story?

1. Don't be impatient. Think what you are going to do, before you do it.

2. Don't paint yourself into a corner. If you're in an exchange with a minimum of $10 to trade, don't trade when you get $10. Trade when you have extra money, so you can get out of that position (even at a loss) if things don't go as planned.

3. Don't trust exchange fees. Most exchanges will tell you which fee they have, but they will have higher fees (they are careful not to publicize) if you trade with small amounts of money. I traded with $11 on Binance, and the fee was outrageous.

4. Don't deplete your initial investment. If you want to get a second coin, do it, but do it to diversify, therefore minimizing risk. Don't move all your money to a different asset.

5. If and when you decide to get into a position, take your time and do your research. Don't get into a position just because the coin is "doing good". That can change in a heartbeat.

So that's about it, for now. Hope it helps. 

[TelolettOm]

FIRST THINGS FIRST: THE CRYPTO SPACE IS FULL OF SCAMMERS, HACKERS, AND BASICALLY ANY KIND OF LOWLIFE YOU CAN THINK OF. LEARN TO PROTECT YOURSELF!

I cannot deny about this and this is true enough. The first thing I knew about crypto, that is about something that is not valuable, and also this may be a fraud.
and this is actually true because we can find out so many scammers, hackers, fraudsters, and also other risky and harmful things sin the cryptocurrency. That is why crypto is considered negatively moreover with the FUD that is also around it.
Everyone who really don't know about how to be in crypto very well and carefully may become the easiest victim by scammers, hackers, and also others. Moreover the people who are too greedy, with the very high expectation to be rich overnight, to earn money instantly from the crypto investment, form the hype. And without learning and understanding, they are very easy subject to scam and deceive.
And what happens next is, the people will say that crypto is scam and they lost their money.

Actually, this is not the fault of crypto, but the people themselves. They are not willing to elarn deeper, thye onlywnat money instantly.
Crypto is full of negative things.
But on the other hands, crypto is also full of positive tings.
You are right, as long as we want to learn, understand, check and re-check, analyze, and also always become wise and smart, we can decreas ethe risks from those scammers and other parties.