Cryptocurrencies

How nagging FOMO drives my cryptocurrency speculating strategy

chanman · Aug 11, 2017 · Leave a Comment

I read somewhere that you’re either an investor or you’re a speculator.

I’m definitely a punter, so much more towards the speculator side of things.

In the past, I’ve loved financial spreadbetting and gambling. It appeals to me much more than investing methodically in index tracker funds and equities.

Speculating hasn’t worked out too well for me in the past. I once lost a fair bit of money on an oil explorer called Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), both in capital and in unrealised gains. It hurt a fair and I’ve learned not to risk too much of my overall capital on a speculative punt.

Why speculate on cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrencies have exploded in the last couple of years and I’m keen to get in now so as not to miss any gains in the future.

Naysayers have been predicting the bursting of the bubble for a while now but I don’t care.

I love a punt.

Bitcoin could go to zero in the next few years BUT it could go to USD 10,000 or even more.

What is the probability of it going to zero? It’s greater than the S&P going to zero. Is it greater than a FTSE100 company going to zero? Perhaps.

What is the probability of it popping to USD 10,000? It’s certainly possible.

It’s this second probability that makes me want to get into crypto.

Bitcoin has gone from USD 1,000 in February 2017 to USD 3,500 in August 2017. That’s over 200% in just six months! Who’s to say that it wouldn’t bag again? And again? We’re not even out of the early adoption phase. When it becomes more widely adopted, given it’s limited and finite supply, who’s to say that it won’t explode in price.

I’d be completely gutted if I didn’t have any exposure to crypto and it went to the moon.

Complete and utter FOMO.

So I’m getting in now. At least if it goes to the moon, I’ll have some skin in the game.

Are you a speculator or an investor? Do you get FOMO? Let me know in the comments below.

How I bought my very first Ethereum cryptocurrency (for complete beginners)

chanman · Jun 6, 2017 · Leave a Comment

In my last post, I wrote about how to buy bitcoins for a complete beginner.

Since then, I’ve wanted to buy other cryptocurrencies to diversify my exposure to cryptocurrencies.

I want a basket of cryptocurrencies.

Next on the list is Ethereum.

How to buy Ethereum

Now this wasn’t as straightforward as buying Bitcoins, possibly because it’s a much younger coin.

First up, like with Bitcoin, you need a wallet.

Googling ‘best ethereum wallet’ doesn’t yield good results.

Instead, go to the source again (as we did with Bitcoin). Go to Ethereum.org.

Here, download the Wallet:

Next, install it.

This isn’t that straightforward, so here are two great videos showing you how to do so for Mac:

Once you’ve installed and backed-up your wallet, it’s time to load it with Ethereum.

Where to get Ethereum?

Google will take you to Coinbase.

Unfortunately, I had the same problems with Coinbase as I did when trying to buy Bitcoin.

I couldn’t even get past the verification stage.

I’ve tried to upload ID documents to Coinbase multiple times and each time I fail.

It’s not user-friendly at all.

So I googled it again and I was delighted to learn that Bittylicious actually sell Ethereum along with other coins.

The only negative I read was that Bittylicious prices can be higher than other exchanges.

The price difference wasn’t enough to put me off though. The fact that I had already gone through the ID verification stage with Bittylicious and wouldn’t have to do it again was a godsend.

At the time of writing, the price on Coingecko for GBP was:

GBP price for ETH at 7.20pm GMT 6th June 2017 – Coingecko.com

Whilst on Bittylicious, the price was:

GBP price of ETH on the same date and time

That’s a difference of £10 or 5%. It’s not small, but it’s not terrible.

Anyway, follow the instructions for Bittylicious in terms of bank transfers to the seller and use the Ethereum wallet address for delivery/receipt, and you’ll have your first Ethereum.

Like with Bitcoin, start small with your buys and get comfortable first.

Good luck! Let me know how you get on in the comments below.

Next stop, buy some Monero.

This article was first published on my personal blog https://edmondchan.co.uk/how-to-buy-ethereum/

How I bought my very first Ethereum cryptocurrency (for complete beginners)

chanman · Jun 6, 2017 · Leave a Comment

In my last post, I wrote about how to buy bitcoins for a complete beginner.

Since then, I’ve wanted to buy other cryptocurrencies to diversify my exposure to cryptocurrencies.

I want a basket of cryptocurrencies.

Next on the list is Ethereum.

How to buy Ethereum

Now this wasn’t as straightforward as buying Bitcoins, possibly because it’s a much younger coin.

First up, like with Bitcoin, you need a wallet.

Googling ‘best ethereum wallet’ doesn’t yield good results.

Instead, go to the source again (as we did with Bitcoin). Go to Ethereum.org.

Here, download the Wallet:

Next, install it.

This isn’t that straightforward, so here are two great videos showing you how to do so for Mac:

Once you’ve installed and backed-up your wallet, it’s time to load it with Ethereum.

Where to get Ethereum?

Google will take you to Coinbase.

Unfortunately, I had the same problems with Coinbase as I did when trying to buy Bitcoin.

I couldn’t even get past the verification stage.

I’ve tried to upload ID documents to Coinbase multiple times and each time I fail.

It’s not user-friendly at all.

So I googled it again and I was delighted to learn that Bittylicious actually sell Ethereum along with other coins.

The only negative I read was that Bittylicious prices can be higher than other exchanges.

The price difference wasn’t enough to put me off though. The fact that I had already gone through the ID verification stage with Bittylicious and wouldn’t have to do it again was a godsend.

At the time of writing, the price on Coingecko for GBP was:

Whilst on Bittylicious, the price was:

That’s a difference of £10 or 5%. It’s not small, but it’s not terrible.

Anyway, follow the instructions for Bittylicious in terms of bank transfers to the seller and use the Ethereum wallet address for delivery/receipt, and you’ll have your first Ethereum.

Like with Bitcoin, start small with your buys and get comfortable first.

Good luck! Let me know how you get on in the comments below.

Next stop, buy some Monero.

How I bought my very first bitcoins (for complete beginners)

chanman · May 15, 2017 · 4 Comments

The recent cyberhacks got me thinking about bitcoin. I also saw an old article on the brilliant Sprezzaturian website by Mikael Syding where he outlines becoming expert in a hot topic and consulting on that newfound knowledge (in this example, Bitcoin and Blockchain).

I watched a few videos on what Bitcoin and Blockchain are:

I looked at the price and historic prices were for Bitcoin:

Bitcoin chart IG Index — Credit: IG Index

My usual self would have ploughed into this kind of hockey stick action.

Luckily for me, it’s not that easy to buy the underlying assets.

Let’s look at how to buy bitcoins.

Bitcoin Wallet

You need a Bitcoin wallet in which to store your Bitcoins.

I looked on Google for best Bitcoin wallet and came to articles by 99 Bitcoin. This is a good website which recommended Coinbase.

I checked out Coinbase and Xapo and leant towards Coinbase because it was an exchange (where I could buy Bitcoins) as well as being a wallet. A one stop shop which was attractive to me as I am naturally lazy.

However, I tried to open an account at Coinbase but had issues uploading ID documents, which meant I couldn’t open an account at that time.

Frustrated, I did some searches on ‘Coinbase reviews’. There were lots of bad reviews about how people’s accounts being closed with no reason and people losing their Bitcoins.

Not getting an account with Coinbase was actually a lucky escape, so I decided to go back to the source.

The official website is bitcoin.org

Here it offers a selection of wallets and rates them according to 5 criteria.

Coinbase didn’t come out of it well.

Check out the page and click on the icons for each provider to see the most up to date assessments by the official Bitcoin page.

I went with Electrum.

Install your chosen wallet according to the instructions from the provider.

Bitcoin Exchanges

Again, I went straight to the source at Bitcoin.org and found a list of reputable exchanges. (Important because Exchanges can go tits up – look at Mt. Gox)

I decided to test each.

The first listed for the UK was Bittylicious.

This was straightforward to get up and verification of ID took under 24 hrs.

Before given the all clear, you’re allowed to make a very small trade.

So go to your wallet (above) and find your Bitcoin address.

Plug that into the address bar on the trading page.

I bought 0.025 of a Bitcoin (BTC) first.

Then I bought 0.2 BTC.

After each trade settles, check your wallet that the bitcoins have been received.

Final tips on how to buy Bitcoins

Start with a small trade. Don’t go sticking thousands of pounds into your first trade. Get comfortable with small trades first.

Try different exchanges and find one that you’re comfortable and that you trust with your gut.