Description

Maximize your money while avoiding the potential pitfalls of investing in cryptocurrency—this handy guide shows you how to get in from the bottom up in this hot new market. 

Cryptocurrency—a digital asset that uses cryptography to secure all of its transactions, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit—is moving into the mainstream, receiving coverage from major financial websites such as Forbes and Bloomberg, as well as increased attention from serious financial institutions, and experiencing wider availability in trusted markets, such as the world’s largest futures exchange, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

As the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to fluctuate and and news stories of cryptocurrency hackers increase, investors have to be more conscious of the huge opportunities and large risks in this market. Understanding these risks and rewards of cryptocurrency is vital for everyone wanting to make money on this exciting new form of investing.

The Everything Guide to Investing in Cryptocurrency is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to help you safely jump into the lucrative world of e-commerce. You’ll learn:

• The different major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, litecoin, and ethereum
• Where to buy and sell cryptocurrencies safely and securely
• Setting up and managing your cryptocurrency wallet
• Properly analyzing their investments

Leap into cryptocurrencies with a full understanding of what you’re investing in. With the help of The Everything Guide to Investing in Cryptocurrencies, you’ll maximize your gains and minimize your risks in this radical new frontier.

Table of Contents

• 1 Welcome to the Cryptocurrency Craze 13
  • What Are Cryptocurrencies? 14
  • An Origin Story 17
  • The Blockchain 19
  • Where Do Cryptocurrencies Fit? 21
  • How Do People Spend Them? 24
  • The Mining Process 25
  • Is It Like Gold? A Stock? 28
  • I’m Investing in What Exactly? 30
  • The “Store of Value” Complaint 31
  • The Prototype of a Successful Investor 32
• 2 Reality Check 33
  • Why You Shouldn’t Invest in Cryptocurrencies 34
  • No, Seriously, Don’t 37
  • Why Aren’t You Listening? 39
  • Okay, You’re Ready to Gamble 41
  • Can You Afford to Invest? 43
  • Defining Realistic Goals 44
  • The “Should You Invest in Cryptocurrency?” Test 46
• 3 Taking Those First Steps 47
  • The Xs and Os 48
  • Finding the Right Exchange 51
  • Selecting the Right Crypto Wallet 54
  • Wallets Abound 55
  • The Difference Between investing and Spending 57
  • Initial Coin Offerings 58
  • Does an ICO Make Investing Sense? 60
  • Other Ways New Coins Come onto the Market 61
  • A Hard and Soft Fork 62
  • Other Terms to Know 63
• 4 The Blueprint for Success 65
  • How Do You Pick a Winner? 66
  • The information Hub 72
  • Evaluating Individual Currencies 73
  • A Three-Point Mark to Judge Crypto Credibility 77
  • When to Hold 77
  • When to Sell 80
  • The Dangers of Evaluating Cryptos Like Stocks 83
  • There’s Much More Volatility 84
  • How I Do It 85
• 5 The Mark of a Losing Bet 87
  • How to Avoid Losers 88
  • You Don’t Ignore the Hype 93
  • The Day-Trading Mistake 96
  • There’s Nothing to See Here 99
  • Selling the News 100
  • Yes, These Were Once Real Cryptocurrencies 102
  • How I Lost It 103
• 6 Knowing the Players 105
  • The Importance of Management 106
  • Have They Proven Their Technical Acumen? 109
  • Who Is Vitalik Buterin? 110
  • Who Is Charlie Lee? 112
  • Who Is Chris Larsen? 114
  • Who Is Brian Armstrong? 116
  • Who Is Nick Szabo? 117
  • Who Are the Winklevoss Twins? 118
  • Don’t Overweight Management 120
• 7 The Basics of Bitcoin 123
  • Bitcoin’s Origin 124
  • What Makes Bitcoin Unique? 126
  • The Bitcoin Fundamentals 129
  • The Problems Lurking in Bitcoin 132
  • The Bitcoin Forks 135
  • Investing in Bitcoin Cash 138
  • Investing in Other Bitcoin Forks 138
• 8 The Basics of Ethereum 141
  • Ethereum’s Origin 142
  • What Makes Ether Unique? 144
  • The Ethereum Fundamentals 147
  • The Problems Lurking in Ethereum 149
  • The Ethereum Forks 151
  • Ethereum Hacked 152
• 9 The Basics of Ripple Xrp 153
  • Ripple XRP’s Origin 154
  • What Makes Ripple, the Company, Unique? 154
  • What Makes Xrp Unique? 157
  • The Xrp Fundamentals 159
  • Following XRP’s Roller-Coaster Ride 162
  • Will Ripple Fork? 163
• 10 The Other Altcoins 165
  • Defining Altcoins 166
  • The Wild Ride of Altcoins 168
  • The History and Fundamentals of Stellar 169
  • The History and Fundamentals of Litecoin 172
  • The History and Fundamentals of Cardano 175
  • The History and Fundamentals of Neo 178
  • The History and Fundamentals of NEM 179
  • 11 Sleuthing Out Scams 183
  • The Dark Side of the Crypto Market 184
  • What Does a Scam Look Like? 187
  • The Dark Money Flowing Through Cryptocurrencies 191
  • Real-Life Crypto Scams 191
  • The Five-Step Security Checklist 193
  • Protection from Hackers 193
  • Who Can You Turn to if You’re Fleeced? 195
  • Why It’s Getting Better 195
• 12 Okay, You Have a Lot of Money to Play With … 197
  • The Budding Crypto Markets 198
  • Accessing Cryptos Without the Security Concerns 199
  • The Bitcoin Investment Trust 200
  • The Coinbase Index Fund 203
  • Calculating the Fee Impact 205
  • Alternative Ways to Play 207
• 13 Okay, So You’re Like Most Investors … 211
  • Crypto-Picking Remains Best (Among Few Options) 212
  • You Can Go the ETF Route 215
  • Finding Complementary Investments 217
  • The Build-Your-Own Index Guide 218
  • Remember Fees 221
  • What to Do If Your Cryptocurrency Folds 221
• 14 Remember Your Purpose 223
  • Remember Why You’re Investing in Cryptocurrencies 224
  • Don’t Forget to Diversify 225
  • Reinvesting Gains 227
  • Give It the Portfolio Treatment 229
  • Regularly Test Your Investing Assumptions 230
• 15 The Tax Man Cometh 233
  • The Tax Conundrum 234
  • The IRS Cracks Down 235
  • Short-Term Investors 236
  • Long-Term Investors 238
  • Tools to Track Taxes 240
  • Don’t Get Caught in the Wrong Tax Strategy 241
  • You Might Want to Consider a Tax Advisor 243
• 16 The Laws Are A-Changin’ 245
  • The World’s Outlook 246
  • China’s View 248
  • Russia’s View 249
  • South Korea’s View 250
  • Japan’s View 251
  • The US’s Evolving View 253
  • Regulation’s Doubled-Edged Result 254
• 17 Cryptocurrencies 2.0: What’s Next? 255
  • The Evolution to Come 256
  • How Technologies Must Improve 258
  • Legal Clarity Will Help 261
  • Options for All 262
  • The Hope of Indexing 263
  • The Long-Term Hope 265