Welcome to part 2 of our “How to get started with Cryptocurrency?” series. LOL!

In my last post, I discussed some of the things you need to know about investing in cryptocurrencies. It’s more like setting the expectation before getting into something so if you haven’t seen that post check the link below:

Part 1: How to get started with Cryptocurrency? | Mindset and Goals

Now suppose that you’re ready in facing the challenges of cryptocurrencies. This post is not about reading charts and giving strategies for making decisions. As you know, I’m just a regular person who’s been into crypto for a long time but I’m not a financial advisor or crypto millionaire. I wish I were though hahaha.

So what this is all about?

Get ready to make your first trade!

I mentioned in the previous post that there are a few types of investors in crypto. In this case, we’re talking about retail investors just to be clear. And in this part, we’ll focus on getting started as a crypto trader.

You can start without reading this but I just want to highlight some tools and platforms that you can use to help you with your trading decision.

Payment methods and buying options for cryptocurrencies

In the Philippines, we are limited to 2 or 3 payment methods and it’s growing.

Usually, it’s via card payment and crypto transfers. It’s quite rare to have bank deposits but good thing we have it now with Binance (although it takes some time) and CoinsPH.

It’s always cheaper to use bank deposits on Binance than any other else at least based on my experience. In my older post, I discussed the difference in paying between CoinsPH and Binance so you should check that out if you need further details.

So far, the best bank to use with Binance is UnionBank as it is supported for bank deposits at the same time you get to have a debit card without going to a branch.

How to Open a Personal Bank Account Using Unionbank’s Mobile App

Getting a debit card is necessary when buying crypto because it’s a lot cheaper to use than our local crypto wallets.

But the fees can also apply because most of the exchanges are using USD that’s why you’ll tend to get international transaction fees but it’s just 3$ based on my experience. It’s not ideal for small transactions.

Portfolio for monitoring

Some people may go with creating a spreadsheet to monitor their portfolio and whether they are getting positive or negative PNL(Profit and Loss). I used to create one but I finally found a better tool for that which gives me live updates on how my portfolio is working.

Currently, I’m using two one for regular exchanges like Binance and the other one for DeFi.

Coingecko for Portfolio

In the past, I only use Coingecko for checking prices until I realized that they have a feature where I can create a portfolio. You just have to sign up for an account and go to portfolio.

How to use coingecko for tracking your crypto portfolio! Crypto Basics