1. You don’t have to buy an entire Bitcoin
You might think that buying a whole Bitcoin is the best way to go about investing in cryptocurrency. But there are better ways to do it. One option is to purchase fractions of Bitcoins. This is called fractional ownership. If you want to invest in Bitcoin, you could buy some fractions of a Bitcoin. For example, you could buy 0.01 BTC for $100 or 0.001 BTC for $1000. Or, you could buy a single Satoshi for $6,500.
In addition to being cheaper, you’ll also avoid paying taxes on capital gains. And unlike stocks, you won’t have to pay brokerage fees.
2. You’ll probably pay a fee to buy
Buying Bitcoin isn’t always free. A lot of people think they’re getting a deal because they don’t have to pay anything to purchase Bitcoin, but there are hidden costs involved. Here’s what you should know about buying Bitcoin.
3. It’s very important to protect your passwords
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are incredibly popular among people looking for ways to invest. But many investors don’t know how safe their money really is. In fact, most cryptocurrencies are stored in hot wallets — meaning they’re not protected by a password. This makes it easy for hackers to access your wallet and steal your coins.
In addition to storing your crypto in a hot wallet, some exchanges store your information online. Hackers could potentially hack into your exchange accounts, steal your login credentials, and gain full control over your digital assets. If you lose your login credentials, you have zero chance of recovering your coins.
If you do decide to keep your cryptocurrency on an exchange, make sure you use a strong password. Don’t reuse passwords across different sites, and never write down your username/password combination. Use unique, long passwords containing numbers, letters, and symbols.
The Ascent’s picks for the best online stock brokers
Whether you want to trade stocks, options, ETFs, futures contracts, cryptocurrencies, or commodities, there are dozens of companies offering brokerage services. But how do you know what works best for you? We’ve done the research for you and put together our list of the best stock brokers based on factors like fees, account types, commission rates, customer service, mobile app features, and more.
4. There are several ways to store Bitcoin
If you want to keep your money safe, there are several options out there. One way is to simply hold onto your coins in a digital wallet like Coinbase. But what happens if you lose access to your phone or computer? Or what if someone hacks your device? A hardware wallet solves those problems.
These devices essentially function like secure safes where you can store your Bitcoins offline. They come in many different forms, including USB drives, paper wallets, and even physical boxes. Some even offer multi-signature technology, meaning you can sign off on transactions while others verify your identity.
The best part about hardware wallets is that they don’t require you to trust anyone else. Your funds never touch the internet, so hackers can’t steal them. And since they’re stored offline, no one can hack into them either. In fact, some even allow you to generate new addresses and keys without ever connecting to the internet.
And because they’re so easy to use, hardware wallets tend to be popular among beginners. So if you’ve just got a few hundred bucks lying around and you’re looking to start investing, now might be a good time to pick up a hardware wallet.
But if you want to invest in Bitcoin long term, you’ll probably want to look into something more sophisticated. Software wallets like Mycelium let you control multiple accounts, monitor your balance, and even make payments. Plus, they’re easier to set up and less intimidating than hardware wallets.
5. Trading Bitcoin and investing in Bitcoin are different things
Bitcoin isn’t like traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. Some people say it’s like gold, but there are some key differences. For one thing, the price of Bitcoin doesn’t fluctuate much. Gold prices tend to rise and fall based on supply and demand. But the price of Bitcoin rises and falls based on what miners do. If more people mine Bitcoins, the price goes down. If fewer people mine Bitcoins, the value increases. This makes it hard to predict how much money you’ll end up making or losing over time.
Also, unlike most investments, you don’t actually own any Bitcoin. You just control a wallet address where you keep your coins. And when you want to trade or invest in Bitcoin, you send someone else’s coins to your wallet. In return, you receive something called a cryptocurrency transaction fee. That’s why you might pay $0.01 per transaction.
In short, trading Bitcoin is a lot less secure than investing in it. As long as you stick to exchanges that are regulated and licensed, though, you shouldn’t face too many issues.
