Best Platform for Cryptocurrencies?

245

Comments

  • Theta101
    Theta101 Posts: 140 Forumite
    I use Hargreaves Lansdown in my SIPP.

    XBT Provider AB Bitcoin Tracker One (BIT-XBT)
    XBT Provider AB Ethereum Tracker One (ETH.XBT)

    Good luck.
  • SamsReturn
    SamsReturn Posts: 2,489 Forumite
    I'm that old i haven't a clue what Cryptocurrencies are. I'm only just getting use to trying to get cash out of the-hole-in-the-wall. But i read this earlier. Kodak are to be the new BitCoin.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42630136
  • hels234
    hels234 Posts: 150 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Hi, first thing I would say is crypto is more speculation than investing, only put in what your 100% willing to loose. Crypto is unbelievably volatile with prices going up/down at various whims!

    Having said that I have coinbase/gdax (covers BTC ETH LTC) Binance and Cryptopia. I'm not liking Cryptopia at all, the fees are high and not clear enough for my liking. I mainly use Binance. I also use a Revolut card to make deposits into Coinbase to help avoid fees.

    My strategy was to withdraw my initial investment asap, which is what I've done so what is left is "free money". I was lucky and because of what and when I invested I'd achieved this in about a couple of weeks. The market has currently plummeted though and I read a lot of comments from people who are in negative.

    I would love to say I was some mastermind to have done ok but the truth was I was lucky!I'm still reading and trying to learn as quickly as possible and have made a few mistakes on the way.

    Don't take any of what I've said as a recommendation or advice though, its just what I've done. You really need to do your own due diligence and decide for yourself what your happy with.:)
  • Curos
    Curos Posts: 28 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    I've used Bittylicious (bittylicious dot com) to buy both Bitcoin and Ethereum and it's been easy and fast. I can't claim they're the cheapest exchange right now but the rate was pretty good when I bought some a few months ago.

    Have a look at Bitfinex to give you access to a much wider range of 'smaller' cryptos if you're interested in that.

    Personally, I've used some of the gains I've made on Bitcoin and Ethereum to take a punt on smaller cryptos. (I'm not going to list them as I don't want to influence you based on my very basic level of research/knowledge as it seems most other people seem to like to shoehorn a recommendation of buying X 'game changing' crypto on posts asking for basic advice on Bitcoin)

    In addition to the above I'd check out the Bitcoin UK subreddit r/BitcoinUK and read through the posts there as there's plenty of people in similar positions who have asked this question before.

    Having said all of that, I agree with the sceptical commenters above - only invest what you really can afford to lose and don't buy into the random recommendations of online posters on which cryptos to buy. If you want to invest anything more than 'pocket money' level funds then I really would recommend you taking a few weeks to research before buying anything.

    Also, no matter which exchange you use be prepared to offer up scanned copies of documents for proof of identity, address etc as this is a standard across the board and can take a few days to complete before you're allowed to use the exchange.
  • Naf
    Naf Posts: 3,160 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    I'm using Bitfinex on the advice of a friend. Seems good and offers a variety of different currencies. Pretty simple to use.
    Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
    - Mark Twain
    Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon: no matter how good you are at chess, its just going to knock over the pieces and strut around like its victorious.
  • ivormonee
    ivormonee Posts: 395 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Cryptos - what a minefield! I've read the comments/ advice on this and the other crypto thread about how to buy these currencies. It seems you need to open an account with an exchange (there were two very thorough replies on the other thread - which I've followed). So I looked at the exchanges and the main ones which have been mentioned are Binance, Bittrex, BitMex, BitFinance, Poloniex and a couple of others. When I looked at their websites/ faqs, it appears that some of these (maybe all, I'm not sure) are trading websites, ie. you buy and sell the currencies/ altcoins by placing trades, but you don't actually own the currency (ie. in a wallet). I'm not a hundred per cent sure of this, I could be wrong, but for example, BitMex says: BitMEX is a derivatives exchange that offers leveraged contracts that are bought and sold in Bitcoin. On the Bittrex website it states: Bittrex is the next generation crypto trading platform. etc.

    So are these just trading platforms (like CMC Markets, IG, City Index etc.) or can you actually buy the cryptocurrencies and stick them in a wallet? I'm finding the whole thing a great big mystery.
  • Eco_Miser
    Eco_Miser Posts: 4,708 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    malkie76 wrote: »
    venison wrote: »
    Always seems like a form of gambling to me and not very money saving.
    Same can be said about any investment anywhere.
    It can be said, but the difference with traditional shares (and funds of shares) is that the companies invested in actually make a profit by adding value, whereas cryptocurrencies (and gold) just sit there, being passed around at ever increasing valuations for exactly the same thing, until someone realises they've paid far more than the thing's worth, and it all crashes down.
    malkie76 wrote: »
    That being said, the time to invest in BitCoin (for example) was a very, very long time ago, coupled with them not paying traditional investor dividends makes it a difficult proposition at the moment.
    BitCoin pay the same dividends as gold - none. They're commodities, not enterprises.
    Eco Miser
    Saving money for well over half a century
  • ivormonee
    ivormonee Posts: 395 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Eco_Miser wrote: »

    BitCoin pay the same dividends as gold - none. They're commodities, not enterprises.

    Investments do not need to pay dividends in order for them to be used as investments. If you invest in gold, or vintage wine or fine art, film production, coffee, soya beans, livestock, or even bitcoin and other digital currencies, you are doing so with a view to seeing the valuation grow over time.
  • Bonnie151
    Bonnie151 Posts: 279 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Ditto to all the warnings about it being gambling and don’t put in more that you are happy to lose. I’ll also suggest localbitcoins for Bitcoin- very easy to use. You can leave your coins on localbitcoins, but don’t leave more than you are willing to potentially have stolen It’s much better to move them to a hard wallet.

    I wouldn’t recommend Coinbase just now. If you look at the Coinbase reddit, it’s full of people who are struggling to cash in their coins- massive backlogs.
    Hmmmm, need new siggie :cool:
  • ivormonee
    ivormonee Posts: 395 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Bonnie151 wrote: »
    Coinbase reddit

    What's a coinbase reddit? (I'm really behind on all this modern jargon!)
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