Assuming you have been consuming any sort of media over the last two months despite the festive season and all the media committed to the different waves and new strains of COVID-19, Bitcoins’ latest highs must have filtered into your subconsciousness. The renewed interest and influx of newcomers to crypto has certainly been noticed by the blockchain and crypto industry so herewith a full guide to getting into the crypto ecosystem. 

First things first — you need a crypto wallet.

There are all sorts of crypto wallets — in light of industry developments over the last couple of years a DeFi wallet is recommended. Basic crypto wallets store security keys for crypto transactions — the actual currency is, however, not held by you but rather kept on the chain.

Typically, basic entry-level wallets are centralized — like described above — and are called custodial wallets. Custodial wallets mean the blockchain on which the wallet operates has custody of the funds. 

While basic crypto wallets certainly do suffice, DeFi wallets give you a broader scope of use (we will explore this below), are decentralized and non-custodial — the currency is under your control within the wallet. Usually, a DeFi wallet will enable you access to other Decentralized Apps (DApps). 

One of the best DeFi wallets around is the Eidoo wallet, accessed by the Eidoo DeFi wallet app, which is user-friendly, supports multi-currencies, gives you access to an hybrid exchange and also has a swap integrated with the most famous DEXes like Uniswap, Balancer, Kyber Network.

What is exceptional about this wallet is that there is an Instant FIAT on and off-ramp, so in a matter of minutes, you can convert your fiat money into crypto and start trading.

Knowledge is power.

Empower yourself with information. You can’t trade without knowledge of the industry and which digital assets perform and which don’t. Get clued up; the crypto market can be volatile. 

This is what you need to do:

• Decide what your crypto trading objective is and what currencies/projects you want to focus on. 
• Subscribe to reputable sources of information to keep track of the markets, whether it be via email, Twitter, or in-app push notifications. These are excellent sources:
  • DeFi Today
  • Cryptonomomist
  • Coindesk
  • News Bitcoin
  • Hackernoon 
  • CoinMarketCal 
  • Coinmarketcap
  • Cryptocompare
  • Defipulse
  • Cryptoindex 100
  • Blockfolio
  • Delta
• Watch the data that relates to capitalization, supply, and trade volume.

Let the crypto trading begin!

Once you have your wallet, and assuming you have done your research and homework, you will have an idea of what currency you want to invest or trade in.

There are hundreds of exchanges, and to a beginner, this can be daunting. Just as wallets have centralized and decentralized offerings, so do exchanges. 

Historically centralized exchanges (CEX) have been used more often and thus have higher liquidity. Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are starting to get increased usage as well — they offer a level of anonymity to the user. Regardless, exchanges are where you buy and sell crypto. 

Doing your homework around the exchange you will use is important, as hacks can occur, so using a reputable one is important. 

DeFi exchanges also exist, like the ones you can connect to using Walletconnect integration from inside Eidoo app. As the crypto ecosystem broadens and the popularity of DeFi grows, it is worthwhile considering DeFi platforms. 

DeFi exchanges, Defi Trading platforms, and aggregation layers make users’ and crypto asset managers’ lives easier as they can keep track of new and fresh blockchain projects, compare lending rates and even acquire tokens with built-in investment strategies in one space and on a single dashboard. 

Strategies like the Steroids yield farming program that gives users the opportunity to stake PNT or USDT in the PNT/USDT Uniswap liquidity pool in order to gain some serious rewards over time – as much as  42% APR in time. 

Now you have what it takes to go boldly into the crypto space. Good luck!