August 24, 2023 3:57 pm in Crypto

Getting Started in Crypto? Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make!

The cryptocurrency market, marked by its pronounced volatility, presents unparalleled potential for returns and significant risk. This dual-edged nature has garnered the attention of traders and investors worldwide, lured by stories of meteoric rises and dramatic plunges.

However, beyond the headlines and market speculations, a complex landscape requires more than cursory knowledge. Before delving into trades or investments, individuals must have a robust foundational understanding of the market’s intricacies. Only with this foundation can one navigate the tumultuous waters of cryptocurrency trading with informed confidence.

1. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out):

In cryptocurrency trading, FOMO refers to the overwhelming urge to jump into a trade, driven by the fear of potentially missing out on potential gains or trends, often influenced by market buzz or the actions of others.

Decisions influenced by FOMO often lead to impulsive trading, resulting in buying at peak prices or selling in a panic during short-term price drops. These reactionary moves, dictated by emotion rather than rational analysis, frequently culminate in financial setbacks.

Mitigating FOMO:

By setting predefined rules for trading, one can avoid making impulsive decisions. This might include setting thresholds for buying, selling, or earmarking funds for long-term holding.
Regular and thorough research equips traders with knowledge, which can counteract the impulsive reactions spurred by FOMO. Understanding market dynamics, past behaviors, and prospects can provide clarity.
By deciding the price points or market conditions under which you’ll enter or exit a trade, you can adhere to a strategy even when market movements invoke emotions of fear or greed.

2. Insufficient Research:

In crypto trading, superficial research can result in significant financial pitfalls. Without a deep understanding, traders may inadvertently invest in dubious projects or miss out on promising opportunities.

Steps for Comprehensive Research:

Whitepapers: A fundamental tool in the crypto space, whitepapers provide in-depth details about a cryptocurrency’s technological framework, objectives, and operational dynamics.

Market Sentiment Analysis: By consistently tracking discussions across diverse platforms, traders can gauge a given cryptocurrency’s broader perception and potential trajectory.

Project Fundamentals: Scrutinizing the core components of a crypto project, from its team to its technological underpinnings, offers insights into its prospective longevity and success.

Importance of Reliable Sources:

Leveraging established platforms like CoinMarketCap or Glassnode ensures access to accurate, up-to-date information.

It’s paramount to avoid exclusive reliance on single forums or communities. Diversifying sources of information helps avoid falling into the trap of skewed perspectives or confirmation biases.

3. Overtrading:

Overtrading involves executing excessive trades in a short time frame, often based on short-term market movements. From a financial standpoint, this can increase transaction costs and expose the trader to greater market volatility. Additionally, it can amplify the psychological stress associated with tracking and responding to rapid market shifts.

Signs of Overtrading:

A significant increase in transaction fees due to the heightened trade volume.
Rapid depletion or capital fluctuation without a corresponding strategy shift.
A noticeable uptick in emotional responses to market changes, indicating decisions driven more by sentiment than strategy.

Preventive Measures:

Establish predetermined limits on the number of trades within specific periods, ensuring that actions are not just reactions to market noise.
Allocate non-trading periods to allow for market reflection and reduce the temptation of making impulsive decisions.
Regularly revisit trading strategies to ensure alignment with long-term goals and current market realities.

Discipline and Patience:

With its inherent volatility, the cryptocurrency market can often tempt traders to act hastily. However, sustained success in this domain leans heavily on maintaining discipline and demonstrating patience. Instead of chasing every market movement, successful traders often focus on strategic positions and allow their plans to mature.

4. Risk Management:

The cryptocurrency market is characterized by high volatility, potential for significant returns, and substantial risk of loss.

Effective Risk Management:

Spreading investments across multiple cryptocurrencies can reduce the potential negative impact of a poor-performing asset on the overall portfolio.
Determine predefined price points or market conditions for buying or selling, removing emotion from trading decisions.

Tools and Technologies:

Automated tools available on most trading platforms that execute trades at set price points, ensuring predetermined loss caps or profit captures.
Platforms like Blockfolio or Delta allow for real-time monitoring of portfolio balances, helping traders stay aware of overall exposure.
Platforms such as CoinMarketCap provide historical data, aiding in understanding past market trends and forecasting potential future movements.

5. Herd Mentality:

Herd mentality refers to investors’ tendency to follow and mimic the financial behaviors of a majority, often leading to exacerbated market booms or crashes.

Historically, market bubbles like the Dotcom Bubble and the Housing Bubble have been amplified by herd behavior, where excessive optimism or pessimism drives irrational market movements.

Cultivate Independent Thought:

Actively seek out and consider opinions that challenge prevailing market sentiments.
Regularly update knowledge on market dynamics, technological advancements, and industry trends.
Consulting industry experts or financial advisors can provide a balanced perspective and reduce susceptibility to herd behavior.

While a collective move in one direction might indicate a market trend, it’s crucial to differentiate between decisions backed by research and those merely following the crowd. Evaluate the underlying reasons for a market movement and assess their validity before making investment decisions.

6. Build Crypto Knowledge:

Key Crypto Concepts for Beginners:

Blockchain: A decentralized and distributed ledger technology that underpins most cryptocurrencies.
Public and Private Keys: Cryptographic keys that ensure secure transactions and storage of cryptocurrency.
Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake: Different consensus mechanisms to validate transactions and achieve distributed consensus within a blockchain.
Smart Contracts: Self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code.

Resources for Foundational Knowledge:

Websites like Coursera, Udacity, and edX offer courses on blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Official documents released by crypto projects detailing their objectives, mechanisms, and technology. Bitcoin’s original whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto serves as a primary example.
Platforms like BitcoinTalk, StackExchange, and Reddit’s r/cryptocurrency facilitate discussions and are repositories of user-generated information.

Debunking Common Myths:

Myth:
Cryptocurrencies are anonymous.

Fact:
Most cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are pseudonymous. While they don’t directly reveal the identity of users, their transactions can be traced on the public ledger.

Myth:
Cryptocurrencies are only used for illicit activities.

Fact:
While cryptocurrencies have been used for illegal transactions, most use cases are legitimate, including remittances, investments, and as a medium of exchange.

Myth:
Cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value.

Fact:
The value of cryptocurrencies is derived from their utility, demand, scarcity, and the technology backing them.

7. Overlooking Fees:

Transaction Fees Across Major Exchanges:

Spot Trading Fees: These are fees charged for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. Exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken each have fee structures, often determined by monthly trading volume and whether you’re a market maker or taker.

Withdrawal and Deposit Fees: While depositing cryptocurrency is typically free, withdrawing it often comes with a fee. This fee varies across exchanges and can also depend on the specific cryptocurrency.

Futures Trading Fees: For those engaging in futures contracts, fees are often tied to contract execution. The fee can vary based on the nature of the contract and the exchange in question.

Optimizing Trades to Minimize Fee Impacts:

Instead of market orders, which execute immediately, consider using limit orders, which allow you to set a specific price and can qualify you as a “maker,” often resulting in lower fees.
Some exchanges offer reduced fees for users with higher monthly trading volumes or for holding the exchange’s native token.
Frequent, small transactions can accumulate substantial fees over time. Consider consolidating trades when possible.

Calculating Real Profit After Accounting for Fees:

Gross Profit: Begin by calculating the gross profit, which is the selling price of your cryptocurrency minus its purchase price.

Subtract All Fees: Deduct all associated fees, including trading, withdrawal, and any other charges you might have incurred during the transaction.

Net Profit: After subtracting the fees, you’re left with the net profit, clearly showing your actual earnings from the trade.

8. Long-Term Thinking:

Short-Term Speculation:
Typically involves buying and selling assets within short time frames, often driven by market trends and immediate news events. It can result in high gains but carries significant risk due to the volatile market.

Long-Term Investment:
It involves holding assets for extended periods, often years. This strategy is based on the belief in the asset’s fundamental value and potential for growth over time rather than quick profit from short-term price movements.

Historical Crypto Market Trends:

Cryptocurrency markets have historically experienced sharp price fluctuations within short periods. While there have been periods of rapid price increases, there have also been significant downturns.

Despite its volatility, the general trend for leading cryptocurrencies over the past decade has been upward. For instance, Bitcoin, since its inception in 2009, has seen substantial appreciation in value over the long run despite intermittent periods of decline.

Crafting a Vision-Driven Investment Strategy:

Understanding personal financial goals and risk tolerance is crucial. Are you investing for retirement, a major purchase, or another long-term goal?
Before committing to an investment, thorough research on the specific cryptocurrency or related project is vital. This includes understanding the technology, the team behind it, and its market potential.
Avoid putting all resources into one asset. Spreading investments across different assets can mitigate risks.
Periodically review and adjust your portfolio based on performance and changing personal goals or market conditions.

9. Security 101:

Vulnerabilities of Online Wallets:

Online wallets, especially those on exchanges, can be targets for hackers. Historically, several high-profile cryptocurrency exchanges have been hacked, leading to significant losses for investors.
Online wallets are usually managed by third parties. This central point of management can become a single point of failure.
Online wallets can be targeted by phishing attempts where attackers trick users into revealing their private keys or login credentials.

Setting Up and Securing Offline Hardware Wallets:

Ensure the hardware wallet is bought directly from the manufacturer or a trusted retailer to avoid pre-compromised devices.
Set up the hardware wallet using a secure and offline environment. During this process, the device will generate a recovery phrase.
Recovery should be written down and stored securely, preferably in multiple physical locations. It’s crucial to avoid storing this phrase electronically.
Choose a unique and complex PIN for the device.
Ensure the device’s firmware is updated to protect against any known vulnerabilities.

Digital Wallet Hygiene:

Regularly backup wallet data to ensure access in case of device failures.
Implement 2FA for any online wallet or exchange accounts. This provides an additional layer of security.
Avoid accessing wallets from public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
When sending or receiving funds, always double-check the cryptocurrency address to avoid transactions with unintended recipients.
Continuously educate oneself on new security threats and recommended best practices in the cryptocurrency domain.

10. Avoiding Crypto Scams:

Common Crypto Scams:

Ponzi Schemes: Typically, these promise high returns with little or no risk to investors. They rely on money from new participants to pay returns to earlier participants.

Fake ICOs: Fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) that solicit funds for nonexistent projects or use plagiarized content to present original ideas.

Phishing: Attempts to obtain sensitive information by disguising it as trustworthy entities, often through misleading websites or emails.

Pump and Dump: Coordinated efforts to artificially inflate the price of a cryptocurrency to attract unsuspecting buyers, only to sell off en masse, crashing the price.

Cases of Scams:

BitConnect: A high-profile Ponzi scheme that promised significant returns but collapsed, causing substantial losses for many investors.
OneCoin: Falsely presented as a cryptocurrency, it was a pyramid scheme where returns were paid from new participants’ fees.

Security Measures:

Use 2FA for every crypto-related account. This offers an additional layer of security beyond just a password.
Set up filters to flag or move suspicious emails, especially those prompting for personal information or cryptocurrency transactions, to the spam folder.
Regularly review and verify the legitimacy of online platforms, especially before making any financial transactions. Look for signs of authenticity, such as HTTPS protocol, genuine domain names, and user reviews.
Stay updated with the latest crypto news to be aware of recent scams and tactics used by fraudsters.

11. Leverage:

Leverage allows traders to gain greater exposure to the market without needing the total amount of capital customarily required. This is often achieved in crypto trading through derivatives like futures or margin trading. For instance, using 10x leverage, a trader can control a position worth $10,000 with just $1,000.

Pros of Leveraged Trading:

Since leverage amplifies trading positions, it can lead to significant gains on successful trades.
Traders can maintain larger positions without tying up all their capital.

Cons of Leveraged Trading:

As potential profits are amplified, so are potential losses. Traders can lose more than their initial investment.
If the market moves against a leveraged position significantly, the position might be automatically closed, leading to the loss of the initial capital.
Leveraged positions often incur overnight funding fees, which can accumulate over time, especially for long-held positions.

Using Leverage:

For beginners, it’s advisable to start with lower leverage until they become familiar with how it operates.
Always use stop-loss orders to cap potential losses. Determine the maximum amount you’re willing to lose on a trade.
Continuous monitoring of open leveraged positions is crucial, given the crypto market’s volatility. Prices can shift dramatically in short periods.
Before engaging in leveraged trading, ensure a comprehensive understanding of the potential rewards and the associated risks.

12. Complexity:

Pitfalls of Intricate Trading Strategies:

Complex trading strategies often fit past data perfectly but may fail in real-time trading due to overfitting.
The more intricate a strategy, the higher the likelihood of making mistakes, especially for those unfamiliar with the strategy’s nuances.
It becomes challenging to pinpoint issues or areas of improvement in complex strategies when trades don’t go as planned.

Simplifying Crypto Investment:

Beginners can benefit from structured, rule-based strategies. For example, dollar-cost averaging involves buying a fixed dollar amount of a cryptocurrency at regular intervals, irrespective of its price.
Utilizing trading bots or automation tools that follow predefined rules can help avoid impulsive decisions and maintain discipline.

Value of Clarity:

Simple strategies are generally easier to implement and manage, reducing potential mistakes.
A straightforward approach provides clear criteria for entering and exiting trades, leading to more confident decision-making.
Simple strategies are often more adaptable to changing market conditions, allowing quicker adjustments.

13. Avoiding Order Errors:

Technicalities:

Understanding the difference between market, limit, and stop orders.
Ensuring the amount of cryptocurrency to be bought or sold is correctly specified.
Make sure the price you’re willing to buy or sell is accurate, especially for limit orders.
Familiarize oneself with terms like “Good Till Canceled” (GTC) and “Immediate or Cancel” (IOC) to determine how long the order remains active.

Checklist for Verifying Transactions:

Confirm if you’ve selected the correct order type for your intended action.
Recheck the amount of crypto in the transaction.
For limit and stop orders, ensure the specified price aligns with your intentions.
Some exchanges might have fees that get deducted from the order; ensure you’re aware of these.
Confirm any time constraints or limitations on the order.

Technology for Error Prevention:

Use exchanges/platforms that provide a final confirmation window before placing the order, allowing a last-minute review.
Some advanced traders use APIs to place trades, ensuring parameters are set programmatically to reduce manual errors.
Implement alerts for trade confirmations and unusual account activities to identify and rectify unintentional transactions quickly.