Topic: Need pointed in the right direction (Read 258 times)

that was all very helpful and pointed me in the right direction. thank you! not overwhelming at all. exactly what I needed to hear.


I'll check that one out first then...

a good rule of thumb... not any more than I'm willing to lose. thanks for the advice

I didn't know about GDAX... thank you. also, what is "small"
found Unchained here. http://unchainedpodcast.co/ I'll go through some of them tonight. appreciate the resources.. If you know of any good videos.. would also appreciate those.

Make sure you listen to the Nov 1, 2016 podcast which is:

Kathryn Haun put away the DEA and Secret Service agents who tried to make off with more than $800,000 in stolen bitcoin while investigating the darknet Silk Road marketplace.

It is one of my favorite podcasts with a DEA and SS agent of the US getting busted for stealing BTC....LOL.

A small percentage for me would be <10% of your investment portfolio. You will need to determine how much risk you are willing to take.

OK. Now you have been specific enough.

Let's start from very beginning. This forum is about BTC so I'll focus on this coin (but most altcoins are more or less similar)

About wallets:
- best (but not most convenient) is always use the original client for each coin. Problem is you have to download entire blockchain ( which e.g. in case of BTC is 180 GB at the moment).
- most secure are so called hardware wallets (search for ledger wallet that one supports quite lot of altcoins)
- more convenient are so called spv clients ( for BTC e.g. electrum, mycelium, ....) ... these i suggest you to start with
- most convenient are multicoin walltets (e.g.  coinomi, exodus ...) which supports vast amount of coins but at some security costs.

check this wallet overview https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet


About purchasing:
This is a bit tricky. You have to use exchange and there are two basic types.
- exchages that supports fiat (e.g. coinbase)  ... with these you mostly have to verify your identity and are not supporting much coins.
- exchages that does not support fiat (e.g. binance)  ... these supports lot of coins but you cant directly deposit fiat

some major fiat exchanges are bitstamp, kraken, coinbase, cex ...
major non fiat exchanges are bitfinex, bittrex, poloniex, cryptopia ...
(check each for it's fees and minimal deposit/withdrawal amounts)

I suggest you to visit https://coinmarketcap.com/ (search your coin and check market tab for supported exchanges)

To your questions:
Yes, exchanges will hold your coins (no need to have own wallet) ... but be aware exchange could get hacked in which case you most probably lose the coins ... so it's up to you.

Yes, each coin has it's own fee for transfering between wallets. e.g. BTC fee is currently very high and definitely not worth transferring smaller amounts ... better to use e.g. LTC ... it's much quicker and cheaper)

To sum up: I recommend you to purchase LTC (via any fiat exchange) move them to non-fiat exchange and purchase your desired coins.
Alternatively you can visit this section https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=53.0 and try to buy coins from other members.

Hope i did not overwhelmed you again.

sorry I wasn't clear.. It's probably because I feel like a fish out of water, which is a strange feeling for me being someone who considers themselves a "tech guy"... I'm interested in altcoins like ardor, verge, dragonchain and a few other altcoins. what I picked up on through search is coinbase is probably the easiest way to get my US currency converted into cryptocurrency but they're limited on what coins they have to buy/sell. so, my questions is, what's the most efficient way to get my $ converted to altcoins. I did notice that there are higher fees if I use credit cards instead of directly linking my bank. So, 1. link bank. I also thought I saw that each coin has their own fee.. so, would it be more efficient to buy a specific coin from coinbase if I'm just going to convert it to different altcoins?

should I be signed up to more than just those 3 sites? do those places hold my coins or do I need to have a wallet to store I if I just want to buy and hold? best wallet recommendations?


I didn't know about GDAX... thank you. also, what is "small"
found Unchained here. http://unchainedpodcast.co/ I'll go through some of them tonight. appreciate the resources.. If you know of any good videos.. would also appreciate those.


It's definitely not being lazy. It's being overwhelmed and trying to be efficient. Sometimes it's hard sorting through (google search) people who are actually trying to help with the people who are trying to scam. I haven't been around long enough to spot the difference yet. I thought that's what these forums were for.

If you that lazy, why not hire professional to teach you? There are thousands of Udemy type videos as well.

I'd say Coinbase is a good place to start your journey into BTC, ETH, LTC as the GUI is intuitive for just about anyone.  You can link your checking account and start a transfer.

The same logon is good for their exchange which is GDAX. If you do a limit order, they are free. (Instead of getting charged if you use their mobile app, or the CB website)

Start off small and remember that you are speculating.

I've mentioned in other threads that the podcast from Forbes named Unchained is a good resource. They have done Crypto 101 and a few others for newbs.

Well. I dind't actually understand what exactly you're asking for. Said you know what you are interested in so If you share it with us we might point you directly.

For start here's a good topic about terminology https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/terminology-126798

Coinbase is good start for beginners. Easy way to purchase BTC (and some other coins) but not so much for trading (if that's what you want). Might also try localbitcoins where you don't need to go through verification process.

Binance was also good choice if you want to start trading or purchase various other coins.


For me most helpful was just lurking around forum and reading other members opinions, questions and answers to them. Learned a lot and still learning.

I've recently signed up to Coinbase, Binance, and Kucoin.. (haven't linked my bank account or bought any coins yet.. not sure what's best to buy to get US$ circulating into my accounts to buy altcoins) I need to know where to go from here. I know what I'm interested in but some simple steps in the right direction would be great. Youtube videos. Searching becomes overwhelming and sometimes outdated. sometimes even hear of warnings of "watch out for so and so" "don't trust so and so" "so and so just deleted their whole site or videos"

Also, a good place for terms and meanings.. a good breakdown in explanation. nodes, wallets, tokens, blockchain ect.. video explanation always welcome.. I did find this which was a good step in the right direction https://cryptominded.com/glossary-cryptocurrency-terms-need-know/

so, I like directions.. like having good places to go for references.. would much rather have people let me know what has helped them or let me know what they think are good reference places instead of spending weeks going through the searches.

Thanks