For about 13 years, the blockchain and crypto niche has been growing pretty steadily. At first, many people opted away because cryptocurrencies were incorrectly thought to have been developed to bring down the financial system. Because they are decentralized, central banks and governments felt they were likely to lose the financial and economic control in their respective jurisdictions. However, crypto coins were developed to address challenges that people faced when using traditional financial institutions.
When Satoshi Nakamoto developed Bitcoin in 2009, the goal was to offer people an opportunity to send money anonymously and at a lower cost. Furthermore, sending money using traditional financial institutions took so long, but cryptos have cut that into only a few seconds. Can you imagine sending money, say from Singapore to the UK, in only a few seconds? That is now a reality when using cryptocurrencies. To do this, plus a lot more, you need to start by acquiring some cryptos.
This article takes a closer look at blockchain technology to answer the big question, “How do you buy the first crypto?”
Start by Understanding How Cryptos Work
If you want to buy stocks, bonds, and property, the first step is to understand what they are and how they work. When venturing into the crypto world, you should also start by understanding how digital coins work.
Crypto coins are forms of digital payments that operate without the need of a central authority, such as a bank or government. They are designed using advanced cryptography that helps to protect them from changes. Note that, unlike traditional fiat money, crypto coins are not minted. They only exist in their respective blockchain networks. For example, Bitcoin (BTC) only exists in the Bitcoin network.
Another important attribute about cryptocurrencies is the consensus model of administration. Instead of using centralized organizations, such as banks, blockchains use nodes/ participants to confirm transactions. When a user initiates a transaction, such as sending funds, the nodes pick the transaction and check back to confirm there is enough coins to send and the recipient address is correct. In most blockchain networks, the transactions only take a few seconds or at most minutes.
What are the Benefits of Using Crypto Coins?
Now that you know how cryptos work, you need to appreciate their benefits before taking the first step to buy them. So, here are the top seven benefits of using crypto coins:
- Secure and private.
- Makes sending funds easy and super fast.
- Sending money using cryptocurrencies is cheaper than using traditional financial organizations.
- Allows you to send funds without administrative restrictions.
- You can use crypto coins to make passive income through staking.
- Crypto coins can give you impressive returns on investment when the price grows.
- You can use the crypto coins to make purchases from stores that accept them.
What You Need to Buy the First Crypto Coin on hi.com
Unlike in the past, buying cryptocurrencies today is easy, fast, and convenient. With platforms such as hi.com it only takes you a few seconds to buy the coins that you want. Here are the two main things that you need to buy the first crypto:
- A Crypto Wallet
This is perhaps the most important thing when it comes to buying cryptocurrencies. The wallet allows you to receive the coins that you will buy and safely store them. The commonest types of wallets that you can use are the hot wallets, which mean that they are always online. Although easy to access from anywhere, these wallets can be an easy target for cybercriminals. So, it is important to go for the hot wallet developed with advanced security features to help keep your coins safe.
If you do not want to store your coins in a hot wallet, a cold wallet will be another option. This means that the coins are stored completely offline. Good examples of cold wallets are hardware wallets and paper wallets.
A desktop wallet is the last option for you to store your coins. Unlike hot or cold wallets, the desktop versions are installed on your computer or laptop. So, they act as other programs installed on the computer. You will also need to install the respective blockchain client to use the wallet.
- A Budget for Buying Cryptos
To buy your preferred cryptos, you need to budget appropriately. Just like buying stocks or bonds, cryptos need you to set aside ample cash to buy them. The lovely thing about cryptos, such as Bitcoin, is that they can be broken down into smaller units to allow even those with smaller budgets to enjoy owning some coins. Indeed, you can opt to start with a few coins and buy more along the way.
As you can see, buying cryptocurrencies is an excellent idea because they come with a lot of benefits. Indeed, the benefits are about to increase because of the growing interest in cryptos and blockchain technology. Visit hi.com to learn more about cryptos. The platform is your best starting point to send, save, earn, and convert cryptos in the blockchain world.