Exchanges Wallets | Coin Tutor https://cointutor.org Crypto News and Discussion: Bitcoin and More! Wed, 14 Jul 2021 03:12:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://cointutor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/icon.jpg Exchanges Wallets | Coin Tutor https://cointutor.org 32 32 How To Withdraw Merchant Token (MTO) from Launchpad. https://cointutor.org/how-to-withdraw-merchant-token-mto-from-launchpad https://cointutor.org/how-to-withdraw-merchant-token-mto-from-launchpad#respond Wed, 14 Jul 2021 03:12:23 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=14472 Using MetaMask . .

Add MTO token to Metamask.

  1. Open Metamask.

  2. Scrow down to the bottom and click +Add tokens.

  3. Choose custom token

  4. 0xe66b3aa360bb78468c00bebe163630269db3324f

Add the MTO contract address above to “Token address” in the Custom token. Token Symbol key in MTO.

You can find the same MTO contract address in Etherscan website too: https://etherscan.io/token/0xe66b3aa360bb78468c00bebe163630269db3324f

After you do all the above; you will see 0 MTO in your Metamask account.

To link MTO launchpad to Metamask.

  1. Click MTO in Metamask.

  2. Click the “RECEIVE” in the MTO.

  3. Copy the address below the QR code. (this is your MTO receiving address)

  4. Go to Merchant token launchpad.

  5. Look for a blue box that say “set my withdrawal address”.

  6. Paste the address of the MTO receiving address you got from Metamask into Launchpad “set my withdrawal address”.

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]]> https://cointutor.org/how-to-withdraw-merchant-token-mto-from-launchpad/feed 0 BlockFi News! No Annual Fee, New Benefits for BTC Visa Credit Card https://cointutor.org/blockfi-news-no-annual-fee-new-benefits-for-btc-visa-credit-card https://cointutor.org/blockfi-news-no-annual-fee-new-benefits-for-btc-visa-credit-card#respond Thu, 03 Jun 2021 06:12:38 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=8479 The First Bitcoin Rewards Card Just Got Better!
Anyone who follows the cryptocurrency industry knows that the upcoming release of the BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card is set to be a game-changer. This brand new credit card pays cardholders 1.5% back in Bitcoin on every purchase they make and can be used globally, anywhere Visa® is accepted.

 

With the card rollout just around the corner, They have announced updated benefits designed to make the cardholder experience even better. First and foremost, they listened to their clients and have officially decided to eliminate the annual fee for the BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card.

 

Plus, there are no foreign transaction fees, so travelers can feel free to use their card abroad.

 

They have also increased the introductory earnings rate for cardholders. Clients who sign up for the card will now receive a 3.5% Bitcoin rewards rate for the first 90 days. In addition, they created a new rewards tier: Cardholders will earn 2% back in Bitcoin on every dollar spent over $50,000 annually.

 

Who doesn’t like getting even more Bitcoin?

Not Sure If You’ll Be Approved for the Card?

They’ve got you covered: applicants can see if they’re pre-approved without impacting their credit score before they apply. There’s a wide range of other bonuses they are offering to cardholders. They include:

 

      • Stablecoin Bonus — Cardholders with stablecoin assets such as GUSD, PAX, or USDC in a BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) can earn up to an extra 2% APY on top of the prevailing stablecoin APY. Over the first year of card membership, the stablecoin bonus will accrue based on cardholders’ average daily stablecoin balance.

     

      • Trading Bonus — The BlockFi credit card makes trading on BlockFi even more rewarding. Cardholders who trade cryptocurrencies on our platform will earn 0.25% of their trading volume back in Bitcoin, up to a maximum of $500 in BTC every single month. Trade more, earn more bonus bitcoin—it’s that simple.

     

      • Refer-a-Friend Bonus — We’re all about sharing the wealth. That’s why cardholders who make successful referrals to BlockFi earn an extra $30 in Bitcoin for each friend they refer, on top of our base Refer-a-Friend program. With this bonus, you can earn $40 in Bitcoin for each of your first four referrals and up to $50 in Bitcoin for each referral thereafter. Best of all, there’s no limit to how many referrals you can make and how much in bitcoin referral bonuses you can earn.

     

The Benefits Keep Coming!

“Our new credit card is going to be a major disruptor in the crypto industry, making it easier and more convenient than ever before for anyone to earn Bitcoin while engaging in day-to-day transactions,” said Zac Prince, Founder and CEO of BlockFi. “And thanks to our partnership with Visa, clients will enjoy the advantages of a product that can be used around the globe.”

 

On top of the rewards offered from BlockFi, cardholders will also receive a wide range of Visa Signature Benefits, such as:

 

        • Concierge — Cardholders will receive help to research and book travel, make dining reservations, find event tickets, and even help with shopping.

       

        • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver — Cardholders will receive auto rental coverage for physical damage, vandalism, theft, reasonable towing, and more.

       

        • Travel and Emergency Assistance Services — Cardholders will be connected to the right resources to help resolve a wide variety of travel emergencies.

       

        • Luxury Hotel Collection — Cardholders get the best available rate guarantee, automatic room upgrade upon arrival (when available), VIP guest status, and more.

And That’s Just the Tip of the Iceberg.

Cardholders will also be able to take advantage of auto rental discounts, golf benefits, food and wine programs, and much more.

 

If you haven’t signed up for the BlockFi Rewards Visa® Signature Credit Card waitlist yet, there’s no time to waste.

 

Claim your spot on the list today so you don’t miss out on amazing new opportunities to earn Bitcoin.



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]]> https://cointutor.org/blockfi-news-no-annual-fee-new-benefits-for-btc-visa-credit-card/feed 0 Beginner Crypto Lesson 03 – Hard Wallets & Getting Paid Interest https://cointutor.org/beginner-crypto-lesson-03 https://cointutor.org/beginner-crypto-lesson-03#respond Wed, 19 May 2021 05:38:47 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=4491 Recap So Far

In Lesson 01 you learned how to sign up for an exchange and purchase the Crypto of your choice.

In Lesson 02 we briefly discussed Understanding & Using Your Crypto Wallets and the importance of Understanding Custodial vs. Non-Custodial Crypto Wallets, we also talked about Where NOT to buy Crypto: (Robinhood & PayPal to Begin With)

Keep in mind  – coins are not stored in your hardware or other wallet. Your wallet only stores and protects your private keys. People are used to storing bills and coins in their wallets, but in the blockchain world, your wallet doesn’t contain coins – it contains private keys.

NEVER SHARE YOUR PRIVATE KEYS! 

So in recap – you followed lesson 01 and bought Crypto, you followed lesson 02, your crypto is still sitting on an exchange. So now we need to move your assets to bullet-proof safe locations.  Time to get get a hard wallet.

Hard Wallets

A hard wallet looks like a thumb drive. You plug it into your computer and move your assets from an exchange to your own device that can be disconnected from the internet and stored in a safe, a shoebox, or buried in the back yard.

As long as the hard wallet is disconnected, your crypto assets are 100% safe.

There are 2 industry-leading Hard Wallets. Pick One. Buy One.

The Devil in the Details – Earn Interest on Your Holdings

You bought crypto, you moved it off the exchange into a hard wallet that is 100% secure.

Good job. However – here is a twist, if you keep some crypto on an exchange you can actually get some amazing interest rates.

This is where you need to assess your risk tolerance. You can earn interest on some exchanges.

      • CoinBase – Horrible Rates, That’s a no from me, but it’s a low barrier to entry so a lot of people will just let it ride on that exchange.
      • Block Fi – Great rates but look at the tiers
      • Voyager – Seems to be the best as of this writing. Fewer restrictions and pretty straightforward.

BTC, ETH, LTC, etc. go up and down 9n value, but in the meantime, you are earning interest regardless of the price.

Finally – What Is Your Bank’s Interest Rate?

Take a moment to read A Basic Guide To Understanding Cryptocurrency Stable Coins

If you have $1000.00 in the bank, why not move that cash into BlockFi or Voyager as USDC and get an 8%+ interest rate?

More on that in the next lesson!

 

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]]> https://cointutor.org/beginner-crypto-lesson-03/feed 0 Crypto Trading Pairs – What Are They? How Do You Use Them? https://cointutor.org/crypto-trading-pairs-what-are-they-how-do-you-use-them https://cointutor.org/crypto-trading-pairs-what-are-they-how-do-you-use-them#respond Tue, 11 May 2021 05:19:03 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=5361 Cryptocurrency trading pairs are a simple way of comparing the cost of particular crypto with another.

Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs Explained

In crypto trading, the term “trading pairs” refers to trade between one coin to another. For instance, the “trading pair” ETH/BTC implies that you can obtain Bitcoin using Ethereum or sell Ethereum for Bitcoin.

Crypto trading pairs enable crypto traders to trade cash for cryptocurrency and trade cryptocurrency for cryptocurrency on a “coin to coin” exchange. The perks of crypto to crypto exchange are numerous so are the downsides.

Unlike fiat currencies, which are quite stable, cryptocurrencies are very volatile. Therefore, when exchanging two cryptos, you have to consider the two assets’ prices and the possibility of gaining or losing value based on the market conditions.

For instance, you’re exchanging $ 100 worth of ETH and $ 100 worth of BTC, and then ETH drops in value by a dollar and BTC increases in value $ 1, you will go at a loss if you trade ETH for BTC. However, there is a possibility of profiting if you trade BTC for ETH.

The coin price movements mean that you can either make a profit or loss when exchanging cryptos for cryptos.

In the crypto market, trading pairs are ideal for comparing a particular cryptocurrency value with the other. In most instances, BTC is used to compare the value of other cryptos as it’s the standard measure of value in the crypto space. The valuation of a particular cryptocurrency also involves statistical experiments (correlation function of statistics) and analytical results analysis.

Crypto trading pairs function to establish the value of an asset when it’s traded for another asset.

Benefits of Crypto Pair Trading

Pair trading in cryptocurrency comes with numerous benefits for both the crypto market and the traders. Here are the benefits of crypto pair trading.

    • Better Trading Opportunities– Pair trading in cryptocurrency offers better trading opportunities. The value of crypto tokens varies depending on the country. For instance, while BTC is quite valuable in America and Europe, it comes fifth in China, with EOS being the most beneficial. Therefore, cryptocurrency pair trading enables traders to exchange value based on their locality.
    • Maintains Market Balance– Pair trading in cryptocurrency maintains market balance, which is crucial for overcoming downside risk. Pair trading enables crypto investors to exploit other means or strategies of generating profits in the crypto space. Pair trading is also a market-neutral trading scheme with minimal investment risks.
    • Develops the Crypto Market– Cryptocurrency pair trading goes to greater lengths in designing the crypto market. This type of trading enhances the value of the cryptocurrency market and attracts potential investors. As a result, the value of “unknown” tokens grows as traders exchange them with more valuable coins such as BTC.

Risks Associated with Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs

Like any form of financial pair trading, crypto pair trading carries significant risk, which could easily compromise one’s investments. Some of the dangers of pair trading include:

    • Unstable Price Movements- As mentioned earlier, crypto pair trading carries significant risks due to digital assets’ volatile nature. Pair trading is also dependent on some theoretical aspects such as probability, correlations, and statistics. An unstable price movement occurs when there is a breakdown in the correlation between a pair of cryptocurrencies. Also, the pairs’ price depends on the market and changes rapidly based on various factors.
    • Long-Term Investment- Crypto pair trading is a long-term investment, meaning traders need to hold their crypto assets for a longer time to make substantial profits. Few traders can manage to keep their trades for a longer time. Besides, there are significant challenges and risk factors in storing crypto assets.

Choosing the Best Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs

Cryptocurrency trading involves technical and fundamental analysis. While these analyses are crucial for entering the crypto market, choosing the best crypto trading pair is necessary for making lucrative profits. If you select the wrong pair, you can easily make losses or generate insignificant profits.

To choose an ideal cryptocurrency trading pair, you first need to determine the pairs’ popularity on crypto exchanges. Popular crypto trading pairs are BTC/ETH, BTC/LTC, USDT/BTC, and ETH/LTC.

Usually, the popularity of cryptocurrencies on exchanges is driven by demand. High global demand for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin explains why the coins are popular on most exchanges.

After establishing popular coins, you’ll need to establish their trading volume and check their connection with other assets. Avoid trading pairs with little trading volume as there would be an insignificant market movement hence little or no profits.

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]]> https://cointutor.org/crypto-trading-pairs-what-are-they-how-do-you-use-them/feed 0 Eliminate Almost All Exchange Fees – Swapping Crypto Using XLM https://cointutor.org/use-xlm-to-almost-eliminate-exchange-fees-when-swapping-crypto https://cointutor.org/use-xlm-to-almost-eliminate-exchange-fees-when-swapping-crypto#respond Sun, 09 May 2021 07:01:23 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=5240 Want To Save Money Exchanging Coins?

XLM is almost perfect for moving between exchanges, here’s why…

You may be able to save yourself hundreds of dollars in fees if you apply this strategy.

It’s especially useful if you’re constantly moving around smaller amounts between exchanges and you’re a frequent buyer of smaller cap coins from exchanges like KUcoin.

Numbers Change – Stay Flexible!

As soon as I type this exchange rates and coin values are going to change so you have to be flexible.

The underlying principle is sound, the numbers will surely fluxuate.

Here’s Why. Some Math(s)

The current minimum on Binance for withdrawal for BTC is currently 0.001 which is $56.

Every transaction comes at a cost of 0.0005 BTC which is $28, meaning if you’re looking to withdraw around $280 you’re already around 10% down.

Over time, if you’re frequently looking to buy smaller coins not listed on major exchanges, this really starts to add up.

Similarly, with Eth, the minimum withdrawal amount is 0.016 which is about $63 with a fee of 0.005 on every transaction which is around $21 every transaction.

If you are looking to withdraw $280 there you’re down around 8%.

The Trick

Looking at XLM, the minimum withdrawal amount is 40 which is about $22 at the current prices.

What really stands out though is the transaction fee, you’re looking at an 0.02 fee every time which is less than $0.01!

The great thing about XLM is that it’s also available on the vast majority of exchanges, so converting it back after is super easy.

There are other coins that work with the tiny fees, but in terms of availability, they aren’t always listed across exchanges.

XLM may be the perfect middle ground!

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]]> https://cointutor.org/use-xlm-to-almost-eliminate-exchange-fees-when-swapping-crypto/feed 0 The Ultimate Guide to Banano. How To Buy Banano (BAN), Get Free BAN, & All Things BAN. https://cointutor.org/how-to-buy-banano-ban-get-free-bananos-more-about-banano https://cointutor.org/how-to-buy-banano-ban-get-free-bananos-more-about-banano#respond Fri, 07 May 2021 06:19:42 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=4871

Banano? Seriously?

I am very cautious about strange new coins, but I am having a lot of fun with BAN. I think it has the potential to grow in value, but what I REALLY like is that you can get free tokens by supporting Folding@Home. 

So, Yup – Banano. Here is the chart. Let’s talk about it.

Folding@Home (FAH or F@H) is a distributed computing project aimed to help scientists develop new therapeutics for a variety of diseases by the means of simulating protein dynamics. This includes the process of protein folding and the movements of proteins and is reliant on simulations run on volunteers’ personal computers.

Essentially, you get the FAH software and your computer becomes a part of a larger network that becomes a super-computer helping small labs around the world solve problems. Cancer Research, Covid-19, and a bunch of other research. Read the Wikipedia Entry and I know you will want to be involved.

So you can earn BAN by running FAH, that’s the way I do it. But, you can also purchase BAN, more on that below.

Banano Basics

    • Banano (BAN) is a fork of the cryptocurrency NANO and was started in April 2018.
    • Banano has next-generation tech, free and fair distribution, and a weirdly fun community.
    • Using Banano is intuitive and easy. Transactions are feeless and instant.
    • Banano utilizes a novel DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) based architecture, where each user possesses his own blockchain.
    • Official website: Banano.cc | Official Banano Blog

Get a Wallet to Store Your Banano

Install Kalium (mobile wallet for Android or iOS) – and now you have a wallet.

You can also create an online wallet online at BananoVault – But I recommend Kalium for a number of reasons I won’t get into

Your address should look like this:  ban_3giucfuwpwi5k8za8epyixpapybpg6oq6tyhfaj57d7haafnic4wgbjsmmhr

Get Some Free Banano To Test The Water

To date, the easiest ways to get free BAN (Just enter your address) are:

Research and Directions for BananoBust

      • BananoBust – The folks from the Banano Subreddit pointed out that you can get .03 BAN (a Banoshi) every hour without gambling. I was able to claim my first .03 but the interface is a little confusing and I haven’t been able to get any more.
        • So far I can log in, click on my username, see the “Get Free Banoshi”

But when I follow that link I get this screen with no free Banoshi:

That was confusing – But!

 SherbertSavings287 pointed out: 

You get 0.03 ban hourly. You can only claim it if you have 0 balance, so each time you claim from the faucet, just withdraw it immediately to your wallet. Then you get 0.03 after 1 hour again. It’s not necessary to bet.

So based on that info I tried to withdraw my 3 Banoshi:

Progress!  – But I got this error after I hit SUBMIT (Sad Trombone):

Stand By! Figuring it out! . . . . And Progress! 

The next day I can see the withdrawal actually came through so who knows what the error was all about.

And then I was able to click on PLAY NOW and the option to claim .03 BAN came up, Clicked it, and was immediately able to withdraw it this time I see:

So it looks like BananoBust is a legit faucet! I am not a fan of the gambling aspect but to each their own!

Work For It! Folding@Home

Where other crypto-enthusiasts HODL.  We FODL
“FODL” – Copyright 2021 – ME!

Once you have your Kalium wallet set up go to the Banano Miner page and enter your address. You will get two settings to plug into the F@H software:

After you download the F@H software use your User ID and Team ID to get free BAN for running the software.

Also, get a Passkey (just follow the directions) as you get extra BAN if you do so.

Once the F@H software is running you’ll be able to check your settings and make adjustments via the software on your PC, from this website interface,  and from Monkey2Monkey (Enter your User Id, not your wallet address)

How To Buy Banano

I am not cheerleading buying the coin, it’s a moonshot, I like getting it for free, but if you feel the need to:

      1. Create an Account at CoinEx
        As this is a Chinese company I DO NOT recommend adding the app to your phone, I haven’t read the TOS (Terms of Service), but I am not a fan of adding Chinese apps to my phone. (Looking at you Tik Tok! )
      2. Use whatever Exchange you are comfortable with such as Voyager, BlockFi, Binance, KuCoin, or Coinbase.
      3. Buy ALGO or exchange another token for ALGO
      4. Send the ALGO to your CoinEx account
      5. Exchange your ALGO for USDT.
      6. Exchange your USDT for BAN
      7. Send your BAN from CoinEx to your Kalium Wallet

Enjoy your sweet, sweet potassium.

How Many Banano Do I have?

You can easily see your Banano wallet balance by checking it here

Tip Banano in Reddit!

All setup?  Fun fact! There is a Banano SubReddit and you can tip people!

This Github page gives you the directions and terminology, but basically

To get started with Banano Tipper, either:

A) Create an account by sending a message to /u/banano_tipbot with ‘create’ or ‘register’ in the message body. You will receive a Banano address, to which you can add Banano*.

-or-

B) Receive a Banano tip from a fellow redditor, and you will automatically have an account made! be sure to activate it afterwards by sending a message to /u/banano_tipbot. Once you have funds in your account, you can tip other redditors, or send to any banano address via PM to /u/banano_tipbot.

Looks like this in action:

 

Key Reddit TipBot Commands

      • DM register to get an account address
      • DM address to see your account address
      • DM balance to retrieve your current balance
      • Comment !ban 100 – on the Banano subreddit to tip 100 BANANO to the author of post or comment.
      • Comment /u/banano_tipbot 200 – on any subreddit to tip 200 BANANO to the author of the post or comment.
      • Comment /u/banano_tipbot 40 /u/dancurranjr – on any subreddit to tip 40 BANANO to a user.
      • To send BAN from Reddit to your Wallet (Kalium, etc) -Type  send 7 ban_3giucfuwpwi5k8za8epyixpapybpg6oq6tyhfaj57d7haafnic4wgbjsmmhr
send <amount> <address>

Example to send 200 BANANO:

send 200 ban_3giucfuwpwi5k8za8epyixpapybpg6oq6tyhfaj57d7haafnic4wgbjsmmhr

Swap Reddit MOON for BAN and Vice Versa

Kuyumcu is a cryptocurrency Atomic Swap Service.

It allows you to exchange Moon to Banano and vice-versa. The balance will be available in your personal wallet instantly.

There are no transaction fees. Transactions are carried out at the current exchange rate of Kuyumcu, which can be seen on the buy/sell buttons and on the deposit page.

More info is available on their FAQ Page.

What is a Reddit MOON You Ask?

Moons are a way for people to be rewarded for their contributions to r/CryptoCurrency.

Claim your Moons in the new Vault section of the Reddit iOS or Android app – won’t work on the website – has to be the mobile app.

They represent ownership in the subreddit, they are tokens on the Ethereum blockchain controlled entirely by you, and they can be freely transferred, tipped, and spent in r/CryptoCurrency.

Moons are distributed monthly based on individual contributions (comments, posts, etc.) that people make in r/CryptoCurrency. Reddit karma provides a basis for measuring people’s contributions, but the final decision is up to the community.

Full details here

What is the Deal With wBan Wrapped Banano?

In June of 2021 Wrapped Banano (wBan) hit the scene. See What are Wrapped Tokens for more info

I am working on step-by-step directions with a few reditors, in the meantime, this is a good video I was sent from a fellow Monkee – AnthraxBite

Final Thought. Your Thoughts?

There are a lot of shitcoins out there.

Banano is fun and it will be interesting to watch it grow and evolve.

I love the Folding at Home aspect. The community around the coin is growing as are the various websites and services.

What do you think? Comment below!

And Send Me Some Tasty Bananos!

ban_3giucfuwpwi5k8za8epyixpapybpg6oq6tyhfaj57d7haafnic4wgbjsmmhr

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]]> https://cointutor.org/how-to-buy-banano-ban-get-free-bananos-more-about-banano/feed 0 Beginner Crypto Lesson 02 – Understanding & Using Your Crypto Wallets https://cointutor.org/lesson-02-understanding-using-your-crypto-wallets https://cointutor.org/lesson-02-understanding-using-your-crypto-wallets#respond Wed, 05 May 2021 05:51:49 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=4450 Continuing our beginner’s guide, in Lesson 01 you learned how to sign up for an exchange and purchase the Crypto of your choice.

Once you have made some purchases, what are some best practices and strategies to maximize your purchases?

Let’s dive in.

First of all, if your crypto is on an exchange that is called a “custodial wallet” which means you don’t have the keys to your wallet – the exchange does. I wrote about that in the posting: Understanding Custodial vs. Non-Custodial Crypto Wallets

If you created a BlockFi or Voyager account as I recommended, those too are custodial wallets. But don’t forget – the message to be heard loud and clear is:

Why? Let’s look at an exchange from the past.

The Lesson of MT. Gox (Full Wikipedia Article)

Mt. Gox was a bitcoin exchange based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Launched in July 2010, by 2013 and into 2014 it was handling over 70% of all bitcoin (BTC) transactions worldwide, as the largest bitcoin intermediary and the world’s leading bitcoin exchange.

In February 2014, Mt. Gox suspended trading, closed its website and exchange service, and filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors. In April 2014, the company began liquidation proceedings

Mt. Gox announced that approximately 850,000 bitcoins belonging to customers and the company were missing and likely stolen, an amount valued at more than $450 million at the time. Although 200,000 bitcoins have since been “found”, the reasons for the disappearance—theft, fraud, mismanagement, or a combination of these—were initially unclear.

New evidence presented in April 2015 by Tokyo security company WizSec led them to conclude that “most or all of the missing bitcoins were stolen straight out of the Mt. Gox hot cryptocurrency wallet over time, beginning in late 2011.

I had just created an account in 2014 before the breach happened – but luckily never moved coins to it. Point being, I am going to make some recommendations about keeping coins on exchanges – I think they are much safer today – but buyer beware.

Ok, so you created your accounts at BlockFi and/or Voyager (As a reminder, Voyager has better interest rates but a waiting list, BlockFi has good rates and can be set up in a few minutes.) and connected your bank account.

And a quick reminder about Where NOT to buy Crypto: Robinhood & PayPal to Begin With.

Now you can buy the coins you are interested in and they will be in your online exchange wallet.

The next step is to get a non-custodial wallet – one that exists on your computer/phone where you have the private key (Seed Phrase) you WILL NEVER SHARE WITH ANYONE EVER.

I am going to recommend Exodus. Download it, install it, save your private key (Seed Phrase) that you WILL NEVER SHARE WITH ANYONE EVER. 

Now that you have your own private wallet. If your laptop catches on fire you can get a new one, re-install Exodus, and rebuild your wallet with your seed phrase.

You can now send/transfer crypto from the exchange to your Exodus wallet.

  • In Exodus go to SETTINGS (Top right gear icon)
  • Search for the Assets you own on the exchange you chose
  • Tick the box to the left to make it show up on your “homepage” list
  • Go back to HOME (Top Left Blue X)
  • Click on a coin
  • Click RECEIVE to get your wallet’s address for that coin.
  • Go to your online exchange and send the coin of your choice to that Exodus address!
    • Keep in mind, you need to send ETH to ETH, BTC to BTC, etc.
  • Once you initiate the transaction it will take a few moments until you hear “Ca-Ching!”
  • Your coins are now in your own wallet.

As long as your computer doesn’t get hacked (unlikely) and you have your private key/seed phrase stored safely, your assets are pretty damn safe!

To make them even safer, in the next lesson I will talk about Cold Wallets. Literally, a fob (Thumb Drive) that you connect to your PC, transfer the coins to, disconnect and put in a safe place.

I will also talk about not moving all of your coins off of the exchange – because you can earn really good interest rates by storing them there.

If you have read the first two lessons and have questions please leave a comment below.  I can update the existing posts as necessary or be aware of things I should address in the next few posts.

Lesson 3? Here you go! 

 

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]]> https://cointutor.org/lesson-02-understanding-using-your-crypto-wallets/feed 0 Where NOT to buy Crypto: Robinhood & PayPal to Begin With. https://cointutor.org/where-not-to-buy-crypto-robinhood-paypal-to-begin-with https://cointutor.org/where-not-to-buy-crypto-robinhood-paypal-to-begin-with#respond Tue, 04 May 2021 05:52:12 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=4256 There are a lot of new “investors” entering the market recently because of word-of-mouth suggestions and an increase in the price of Dogecoin – so I think this needs to be said again.

Many people within the crypto space are very aware that you must hold your own keys for true ownership and access. This is exactly what stock exchanges and payment processors that have begun offering crypto trading are preventing.

YOU DO NOT own any Crypto Currency that you buy on Robinhood or PayPal, you can not withdraw (Send to someone else) any cryptocurrency you buy on those platforms and it defeats the whole purpose of cryptocurrency.

Robinhood has shown in the past that it is willing to halt the trading of securities and certain cryptocurrencies which has caused users to lose thousands of dollars.

If you have purchased coins on these platforms sell them, and after that, you can start thinking about buying cryptocurrencies from several popular exchanges/platforms such as Voyager, BlockFi, Binance, KuCoin, or Coinbase.

You can then either choose to keep your coins on the exchange or the preferable option to create your own wallet (I like Exodus) and transfer your cryptos there. See: Understanding Custodial vs. Non-Custodial Crypto Wallets 

You should note that there will often be a transaction or a ‘gas fee’ when moving most cryptos off of an exchange and into your wallet which – depending on how much crypto you own – might not make it worth it to move off an exchange.

Read more in my Beginner Guide to Crypto Series (A Work in Progress)

Hey Visitors – Comment below on where else NOT to buy Crypto.

EDIT: A lot of people said to stay away from REVOLUT, WEBULL, and ETORO as well.

Cheers!

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]]> https://cointutor.org/where-not-to-buy-crypto-robinhood-paypal-to-begin-with/feed 0 Understanding Custodial vs. Non-Custodial Crypto Wallets https://cointutor.org/understanding-custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets https://cointutor.org/understanding-custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets#respond Wed, 28 Apr 2021 06:11:34 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=3716 What are Custodial and Non-Custodial Wallets?

Having custody means being in charge of someone or something for their/its safekeeping.

So how does this relate to cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency wallets? Well, the difference between a custodial and non-custodial is who has custody of your private keys.

Private keys are cryptographic keys that allow people access to their cryptocurrencies. They’re kind of like house or car keys—they allow you to access something that’s yours. However, there are instances where you don’t necessarily trust yourself withholding those keys—maybe you’re forgetful or careless (and hopefully, you know it). So instead, you have a family member, a loved one, or a friend hold the keys.

The same is true with cryptocurrency wallets. Whoever has custody of these private keys plays an integral role in a person’s trading style.

 

Custodial Wallets

Custodial wallets store your crypto, but you don’t hold your own private keys. Instead, they’re held by a third party, either the exchange that you’re trading on or the company that created the wallet.

You may be wondering: “Why would I let anyone else hold my private keys?” And don’t worry, it’s a valid question. Although it may not sound ideal for a third party to hold your private keys (therefore limiting your control over your funds), it has its advantages.

The first advantage was mentioned above—if you’re forgetful or careless, then leaving your private keys with a custodian gives you little to no chance of losing your keys. Additionally, your funds are more accessible. All you need is a stable internet connection, and you should be able to manage your funds quickly and at any time.

However, they also have their own disadvantages. First of all, you don’t have control over your own money. This means that if there’s a court decision that directly affects your third party (in this case, an exchange), your coins can be seized by the government. It also means that if the exchange gets hacked, your coins are as good as gone. And if a fork were to occur for the specific crypto you’re holding, there’s a chance you won’t be receiving your coins.

In essence, custodial wallets act like banks. You own the money inside, but you don’t have any control over it—it’s in the hands of another company. Generally, as compared to non-custodial wallets, the former is less secure. However, they’re more accessible and more ideal for beginners.

Examples include:

Great places to buy into crypto but for the most part – move your purchases to a non-custodial wallet asap.

Non-Custodial Wallets

Non-custodial wallets, on the other hand, give you full control over your money, meaning that you hold your own private keys. The keys are stored on your personal device.

There are several types of non-custodial wallets:

Web Wallets – your private keys are stored on the web browser.

Mobile Wallets – these are downloadable applications for your smartphone and tablet that are usually downloadable on your app store; private keys are stored on your device

Desktop Wallet – these are applications downloaded and installed directly onto your laptop or computer; private keys are stored on your computer or laptop.

Paper Wallets – these are literal pieces of paper that hold your public and private keys; although the storage system is offline, you can always enter your keys on any device and access your crypto.

These are more or less defunct now but if you have an old paper wallet and your crypto is stored there –  get it in a hard wallet!

Hardware (Hard) Wallets – these are physical devices that look like UBS flash drives, but with an OLED screen and buttons to navigate through the interface; arguably the most secure crypto storage system

Despite non-custodial wallets being a more secure option, it isn’t free from fraud. There are fake smartphone apps, downloadable applications, and wallets—so be wary of these.

Even hardware wallets, arguably the most secure crypto storage solution, can sometimes get infected with malware.

The gold standards are:

It’s Up To You!

With both custodial and non-custodial wallets having their own sets of pros and cons, it’s up to you to decide which better suits your trading style.

Ideally, the former is better for beginners—people who are still learning the ins and outs of trading crypto.

However, they’re not ideal for holding large amounts of money. That’s where non-custodial wallets are a better choice.

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]]> https://cointutor.org/understanding-custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets/feed 0 Beginners Guide to Understanding Decentralized Finance (DeFi) https://cointutor.org/beginners-guide-to-understanding-decentralized-finance-defi https://cointutor.org/beginners-guide-to-understanding-decentralized-finance-defi#respond Fri, 23 Apr 2021 01:20:04 +0000 https://cointutor.org/?p=2611

What is DeFi and How Does it Work?

In practice, DeFi is a network of DApps (decentralized applications) and smart contracts built on Ethereum blockchain that focuses on financial applications such as loans, derivatives, exchanges, trading, and more. DeFi focuses on the concept of “Lego” money. That is, the idea is for anyone to be able to create, modify, and match, connect, or build on top of any DeFi product permissionless.

DeFi protocols are modular, so they can interact with each other (similar to Lego constructors) to build an increasingly dense system of interacting parts. Anyone who can write a smart contract is able to create DeFi applications. For example, Insta DApp builds a DeFi product by simply building a better user interface on top of existing DeFi products. But in fact, the feature of open interdependence may also be DeFi’s biggest weakness.

If a key component like DAI (stablecoin, pegged to the USD and backed by Ether) becomes vulnerable or damaged, the entire ecosystem built around DAI may collapse.

Currently, the three biggest functionalities of DeFi are:

Creation of Monetary Banking Services

DeFi DApps allow you to create stablecoins (a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the US dollar). One such project for stablecoin is Maker. In it, each stablecoin (called DAI) is pegged to the US dollar and backed by collateral in the form of a cryptocurrency. Stablecoins offer the ability to program cryptocurrencies without reducing of volatility that you see with “traditional” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

Maker is more than just a stablecoin project, as it seeks to be a decentralized reserve bank. People who hold the MKR token can vote on important decisions such as the Stability Fee (similar to how the FOMC votes on the Fed Funds rate).

Providing Peer-to-Peer Lending and Borrowing Platforms

Open Lending Protocols are a digital money lending platform built on a blockchain. Borrowing and lending platforms are probably DeFi’s most popular and fast-growing sector. Thanks to the current widespread use of DAI, other peer-to-peer protocols such as Dharma, and liquidity pool designs such as Compound Finance in recent years. 

Like a bank, consumers deposit their money, and when someone else borrows the digital assets, they earn interest. However, instead of intermediaries, here the smart contracts dictate the terms of the loan, connect lenders and borrowers, and distribute the interest. And while you may think that lending to a stranger sounds risky, most loans made in DeFi are backed by more collateral than borrowed value. This reduces the risk for lenders.

BlockFi and Voyager have become common decentralized lending protocols recently. 

Enabling Financial Instruments Such as DEX, Tokenization Platforms, Predictions Markets, and Derivatives.

Another type of popular DeFi application is the so-called decentralized exchange or abbreviated to DEX. DEXes are cryptocurrency exchanges that use the power of smart contracts to enforce the trading rules and execute trades securely. When trading on a DEX there is no exchange operator, no registration, no identity verification, or withdrawal fees.

DeFi’s derivative markets trade almost any asset on the blockchain using synthetic pricing. For example, synthetic price feeds create derivative tokens for stocks, futures, and even Bitcoin using smart contracts. Similarly, prediction markets are another popular type of derivative market in DeFi. Prediction markets essentially allow consumers to bet on the outcome of any event.

Tokenized assets and asset management is another fast-growing sector of DeFi. Asset management protocols allow investors to invest their money in the hands of the smart contract. Other asset management protocols, such as Set Protocol, employ automated strategies such as periodic rebalancing or following technical indicators.

How To Use DeFi?

Anyone can use DeFi products by going to the website of the respective application and connecting with a MetaMask wallet or something similar. You can also use most of the DApps on your desktop. Most DeFi DApps do not require users to provide any personal information or registration. But ETH is needed to pay for transactions on the Ethereum network. 

Users can take out a loan or earn interest on stablecoins using MakerDAO’s Oasis app and Compound. Tokens and cryptocurrencies can be exchanged with or without registration in Kyber, Uniswap, and others. You can even buy tokens that automatically place trades for you using Set Protocol.

On the other side, Synthetix is a platform that allows you to create and exchange synthetic versions of assets such as gold, silver, cryptos, and traditional currencies like the Euro. The synthetic assets are secured by additional collateral locked into the Synthetix contracts.

Is DeFI Secure?

Secure handling of cryptocurrencies and finance instruments requires specialized knowledge. There is a risk factor involved. It is the user’s responsibility to keep their key and holdings secret, use a hardware wallet, and multi-factor authentication.

As a DeFi user, you should know the changing terms of services between different DeFi products, wallets, exchanges, and crypto projects. Some DeFi products can add new dimensions that are paired with DAOs. These are decentralized autonomous organizations that can manage the protocol or platform.

Decentralized applications are still in an experimental phase.

Influence of DeFi on the Traditional Financial System 

DeFi has many benefits for consumers to which traditional banks will either have to adapt, accept them or lose a lot. Nowadays, even the central banks are also studying the role of digital blockchain-based currency in their economies.

One of the biggest advantages is that consumers can earn anywhere between a 7-10% interest rate on their cryptocurrency. This is an extremely attractive option, especially in the current negative interest rates on bank deposits and increased QE. Keeping your euros, dollars, or yen in a bank account will cost you a loss of money over time.

Decentralized finance brings many others benefits compared to traditional financial services. With the use of distributed systems and smart contracts, the implementation of a financial application or product becomes much easier and more secure. For example, many DApps are being developed on top of the Ethereum blockchain, which provides reduced operating costs and lower entry barriers.

A payment system in which anyone could send money to anyone else on the planet was just the beginning of the crypto revolution.

Is DeFi the Future?

The DeFi system cannot be censored or shut down by governments or large corporations. On the contrary, it improves confidentiality and security because there is no centralized single data source whose hacking would allow a security breach to occur.

Unlike traditional banks, Defi eliminates all the types of intermediaries that would usually be involved through the use of smart contracts. A decentralized system also eliminates all high costs, and these benefits are passed on to the end-user. The user has full control over their money without a reliable third party.

DeFi will have a huge impact on the traditional financial system and the way we manage our wealth in the future. Traditional finance may feel threatened at the moment, but it is also impossible to ignore these compelling technology, cost savings, and legacy system improvements. All of these advantages make DeFi an inevitable next step in the financial world.

Where Are the Risks?

There is always some risk with any high-return product, and DeFi also has its fair share. 

The Legal Environment

So far, the legal financial system has been deeply intertwined in many countries around the world. As a result, any attempt to remove the financial system away from this interconnected setup should create a number of legal challenges. And they will have to be addressed in order to achieve large-scale adoption of DeFi.

Lack of Interoperability Between Blockchains

In the world of DeFi applications, where no permissions are required, the lack of interoperability between chains can be a significant obstacle. This means that an application built on one blockchain, say, Ethereum, could not easily transact with an application built on a different blockchain, such as Bitcoin. However, there are already some bridging chains and protocols that allow it. For example, there are some sidechains and layer 2 solutions that trying to scale Ethereum off-chain. Also other blockchains like Polkadot and Cosmos building their ecosystems to be interoperable.  

Transaction Speed 

Ethereum networks can process 25 transactions per second, but these numbers pale compared to Visa’s 24 000 transactions per second. Overcoming speed will be a crucial challenge for DeFi if it wants to gain even greater use. To fill the gap between theory and practice, DeFi will have to overcome some other major obstacles such as non-intuitive user interfaces and affordability, capital inefficiency, hidden risks, and regulation to some extent. 

In Conclusion…

Decentralized finance could be the next significant disruption to the financial system. By using blockchain technology, this new wave of applications and services will help reduce transaction costs and improve financial services, security while providing consumers with a seamless experience from anywhere in the world.

People no longer have to participate in a system that doesn’t work for them. The cycle can be interrupted by removing the central participants. And that’s exactly what comes in the form of DeFi with C2C lending, high-interest accounts, and staking as a form of return.

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