A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.
What is crypto?
A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.
DLT to Blockchain
- Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
- The decentralized control of each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database
Crypto Trading
Crypto trading is the act of speculating on cryptocurrency price movements. While trading you are able to exchange (buy and sell) a cryptocurrency for another, like Bitcoin or altcoins. This is one way of getting involved in the world of cryptocurrencies without having to mine it.
Crypto Mining
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of creating additional units of a particular cryptocurrency. In detail, it is a complex arithmetic operation in which transactions for various forms of cryptocurrencies are checked and added to the digital block chain ledger. Cryptocurrency mining is still very relevant both as a topic and as an activity, since on the one hand the use of the crypto currency itself has increased exponentially in the last years and on the other hand mining is one of the easiest and most interesting ways to understand crypto currencies in detail.
Crypto Gambling
Beside specialized crypto bookmaker, also more and more of the traditional bookmaker start to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrency within their betting ecosystem. Bitcoin is on the way to become the preferred sports betting currency, because of its safety, the fast transactions and its low fees. While bitcoin transactions continue to gain popularity, they have also enabled a new arena for gambling, gaming and lotteries through online bitcoin casinos. Through bitcoin transactions, these casinos offer a wide variety of options for players to bet their bitcoin money on.
We at Bitreviews.com have made it our intrinsic goal to analyze the complex cryptoscene in detail and to give our users a clear and transparent overview on all aspects of crypto. With the goal that both beginners and advanced crypto users can inform themselves about new providers at any time.
Unfortunately the crypto industry is often confronted with a large amount of fraud activities. Especially in the “ICO gold rush”, many dubious providers have cavorted on the market. We are working hard to introduce only the best and most reputable operators for trading Bitcoin and other altcoins to our users. This is our contribution to bring more transparency into the crypto world and to restore its reputation. We believe in the idea of creating a digital currency of the future, which will establish itself as an investment asset class but will also be used for payment transactions in everyday life.
Tips & Tricks for beginners
For beginners the Crypto world can be very confusing at first. It is important to understand the basics before you can really get started. Inevitably one is then confronted relatively quickly with the question where do I get my first Bitcoins and co. There are different providers with different characteristics out there. The best provider often depends on the planned use-case. You can see crypto currencies as a long-term investment, you can get more into the speculative way of trading or you need the currency for actual transactions, like betting or gambling with crypto. Which crypto platform you choose for trading is one of the most important decisions you will make and depends heavily for which of these applications you need them. The golden rule is that as soon as you want to keep the currency in your own possession for a longer period of time, you should transfer it to your own wallet in which you have full control over your assets. In case the intention is not to own the coins, but rather to speculate on the price, brokers who offer Forex and CFDs are particularly suitable. These providers generally offer an easier entry for beginners than the alternative to buy real currency through an exchange.
- Research to inform yourself – A few cryptocurrencies are more famous than others: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin top the list for tradability and usability. However, there are many other currencies that have a strong purpose because of their individual USPs. Do your homework and find out what makes each currency special, which ones are on the rise and focus your attention on them.
- Accept and embrace volatility – crypto currencies are known to be volatile. Large price jumps and price fluctuations can occur at any time. Make yourself aware of this. On the one hand, this means a high risk, but it also guarantees the chance of large profits and is a great incentive.Always remember to act cautiously and only within your limits.
- Understand blockchain –While you don’t need to understand the technical complexity in detail, a basic understanding will help you better interpret news and announcements and this will help you predict future price movements.
- Remember that some technologies / companies will fail – Remember that cryptocurrencies are basically software, created by people or companies. Some are Coins are completly independet and force the idea of democratic decisions whereas behind other altcoins there are companies in the background which business models bases on their currenty. But one thing that is important to remember that this is still a really new space and newly created startups / technologies can fail and as such the coins can loose their value
Trading options
First of all you should find out if the desired trading pair is available on the respective exchange / trading site. Not all cryptocurrencies are available on all exchanges. While Bitcoin is the leading currency and can be traded almost everywhere, for other currencies a short check is necessary.
Security
Always check our independent tests and other reviews to ensure that the crypto currency exchange is safe. If your account is hacked and your digital currency is stolen, they are gone forever. Therefore, please inform yourself thoroughly and transfer your coins to your secure wallet as soon as possible.
Location
In most cases, the best operator depends on where you are located. Since crypto exchanges are very new in most countries, the regulations for their use are still in their infancy. Therefore, please inform yourself in advance about the respective restrictions and your local legislation.
Fees
Each exchange offers different commission rates and fee structures. Especially in the case of frequent transactions or high volumes, you should take a close look at the fee structure of the respective provider. Two fees are the most important to look for:
- Trading / Transactions fees (how much you’ll have to pay per transaction / trade)
- Payment fees (What is the fee for each payment method (e.g. Credit Card can be up to 4%)
Payment methods
Crypto trading always starts with a single deposit. No matter what currency you want to buy, the first step is to create an account and deposit Fiat money using a recognized payment method. You should therefore choose exactly which deposit method you prefer and check whether the exchange supports the particular method.
Summary of points you should look for