To buy and store cryptocurrencies, you need a wallet. A wallet is a program that generates pairs of private and public keys. Each of the keys has the form of a unique character set of letters and numbers. The public key is the address to which digital money is sent and can be seen by other users. With the help of a private key, an electronic digital signature is created in the blockchain. This is a way to confirm your right to make transactions.

The address in the blockchain belongs to the one who knows the private key from it. If the private key is lost, the wallet owner will lose access to their funds. It is important to protect the private key from outsiders, since, with the help of this key, they will be able to transfer all crypto assets from the corresponding address to themselves. Private and public keys work together: without the public key, the sender will not be able to start the transaction, without the private key, the recipient will not be able to decrypt the transfer.

You can buy cryptocurrency on exchanges: centralized (CEX) or decentralized (DEX).

CEX exchanges are run by organizations that oversee all transactions and provide maintenance and security. User tokens are stored on exchange wallets. There is a commission for trading. When registering, you need to confirm your phone number and email. For work, as a rule - pass KYC / verification: confirm your identity with a passport / international passport / driver's license. Many of these exchanges make it possible to buy tokens for fiat (rubles).

DEX exchanges work differently. They exchange coins without intermediaries. There is a fee for the exchange. Registration is not required here, to use it you need to connect your wallet (click connect wallet and enter the wallet password). Coins will be transferred from wallet to wallet. With each transaction, the wallet will ask for permission to confirm the operation. DEX is harder to use.

Bitcoin and altcoins are volatile coins, i.e. their rate is constantly changing (like stocks). Therefore, there was a need for a cryptocurrency with a stable exchange rate. Stablecoins are coins with a fixed exchange rate that are pegged to and backed by some other asset. Most of them are now pegged to the dollar. The first stablecoin was USDT (Tether). Then USDC, BUSD, DAI, USDP and others appeared. USDT still holds the lead in terms of popularity.

After several years of observing cryptocurrencies, some governments are considering issuing their own central bank regulated stablecoins pegged to their national fiat currencies. Governments are interested in creating their own stablecoins, as they are easier to control and regulate. In the future, competition between existing stablecoins and "state" ones is possible.

Introducing the Crypto Exchange

Buying cryptocurrency is just like buying foreign currency for a holiday. It is just an exchange of one currency for another at an agreed rate - e.g Euros for BTC (the currency symbol for bitcoin) - which is why the most common place to buy cryptocurrency is called an Exchange. 

It might feel confusing when cryptocurrency like bitcoin is talked about as having a price, whereas for dollar, euro etc we are used to talking about an exchange rate. 

These two terms - price/exchange rate - are interchangeable and simply reflect the fact that currency values - especially crypto - are constantly changing. 

The price simply reflects the interaction between buyers and sellers on each Exchange, which organically maintain parity with each other. (again explained in detail elsewhere). An overall representation of price can then be reached by aggregating the price from the main exchanges.

How to buy your first crypto

The crypto and blockchain ecosystem offers myriad exchanges and platforms where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Navigating these services can be intimidating for first-timers; however, developers in the industry create and design products with everyone in mind, making buying crypto as easy as ordering something from Amazon or buying a plane ticket.

An excellent place to start for pure beginners is selecting a top-five crypto exchange—e.g., Binance or Coinbase. Once you’re set on one, all that’s left is to create an account and buy crypto by following a few simple steps.

There are, however, other ways to buy digital currencies besides Binance.

You can buy crypto on a decentralized exchange or a P2P market or mine it.

Where to store crypto

You can store your crypto in various ways:

▪️ Some users leave their crypto on centralized exchanges, such as Binance.
▪️ Some users prefer downloading a crypto wallet on their smartphones and keeping their crypto there.
▪️ Some users even buy hardware wallets, a flash drive that holds your crypto offline.

To the uninitiated, all of these storing methods may seem like viable options; however, each carries its own nuances. For example, the first two options mentioned above are less secure, but the third option has a few inconveniences.

We’ll tell you about the ins and outs of storing crypto in this article published on our site.

What determines the price of cryptocurrencies?

“What determines Bitcoin’s price, and what gives it its value?” is a top three question newcomers ask when learning about crypto.

Depending on who you talk to, answers to this question vary from “Bitcoin is a new digital form of gold of the 21st century” to “Bitcoin is backed by nothing and will crash to zero.”

In reality, the value of cryptocurrencies—much like any other asset, good, or service—depends on the dynamics of supply and demand.

The higher the demand for a certain microwave, the higher its price will be. If few people go to a beauty salon or barber shop, the prices for a haircut will be lower.

We’ve written an article explaining in an easy-to-understand way what determines the price of cryptocurrencies.

You can read the article on our site here.

Can my crypto accounts be frozen?

One of the biggest advantages that blockchain technology offers is that, under no circumstance, no one can ever “freeze” your digital assets if you store them properly.

There’s no such thing as a person or entity that can press a big red “Freeze” button to block your account—let alone the existence of such a button.

This is one of the many game-changing features of decentralized finance: Users have 100% control of their assets and can even do so anonymously, while their money remains secured on the blockchain.

Banks and governments are practically incapable of influencing blockchains—even if they tried.

However, you need to know where governments can apply pressure. If you’re using Binance’s hot wallets for long-term crypto storage, this would be considered a bad idea in the crypto community.

Learn how to secure your crypto fully in our course.

What is mining, and how do you mine crypto?

You’ve most likely come across different definitions of the word “mining,” so we’re going to explain it in an easy way without going into details.

Who are miners?

Miners are people and companies that run the blockchain’s processes in exchange for crypto as a reward. The more miners there are, the more decentralized and secure the blockchain will be.

Unlike the current version of the internet, blockchain networks have no centralized servers collecting everyone’s data. Miners are independent and agree on the blockchain’s information collectively, instead of being led by a central authority.

How does it happen?

You use a special mining software on your computer. The blockchain sends “tasks” to your computer, which, if completed, earns you rewards.

Can I mine crypto from a regular computer?

It depends on the blockchain. Mining Bitcoin on a regular computer won’t work because the tasks given by the network would be too complex. Bitcoin tasks require industrial-scale hardware.

However, newer blockchains can be easier to mine with regular PCs as the tasks there are simpler.

You can learn more about mining and the Bitcoin network in this article.

What is play-to-earn, and what do I need to know about it?

The blockchain industry has had a profound influence on many aspects of our lives over the past few years. In the gaming sector, blockchain technology introduced a brand-new form of entertainment.

Gamers will be familiar with a modern concept of gaming, called pay-to-play, which means you have to buy the game to play. However, blockchain made possible a new gaming model called play-to-earn (P2E), where gamers can earn crypto or NFTs by playing the game.

Although the idea sounds promising on paper, the reality is that it isn’t simple or easy to earn significant sums from P2E games. Many projects require large up-front costs, others are aggressive and unfair with their tokenomics, and some are outright scammers.

Want to see what a P2E game looks like, without coughing up money? We’ve put together a list of free P2E games that don’t require money down to start playing, giving you a chance to start earning right from the get-go.

We also go over some things you need to know about blockchain-based gaming.

Trading and investing: What’s the difference?

Crypto newcomers often get these two terms mixed up. So, let’s learn the difference.

The two are quite distinguishable: Trading is short-term investments, and investing is the same but for the long term.

Traders open and close a lot of deals in a single day. For instance, they buy a cryptocurrency only to sell it a few hours later to lock in a profit.

Trading is highly time-consuming—and can fray a lot of nerves😅

Investing, meanwhile, focuses on the long game. Investors usually analyze a project’s fundamentals while considering its potential in the market. Thus, investors buy a digital asset specifically to hold it for a long time, from a few months to a few years or longer.

In short, investing is a better strategy for crypto beginners than trading.

However, neither of these strategies insulates you from losses. Always remember to invest at your own risk!

Whales, crabs, and shrimps

Every crypto enthusiast knows who the whales are in the crypto sea, but most likely, you don’t know the full list of its inhabitants =)

In the community, there is a specific classification of holders by the number of their coins.

They are:

Humpbacks — holders with over 5,000 BTC
Whales — over 1,000 BTC (or altcoin owners with a portfolio of at least $10 million)
Sharks — from 500 to 1,000 BTC
Dolphins — from 100 to 500 BTC
Fish — from 50 to 100 BTC
Octopi — from 10 to 50 BTC
Crabs — from 1 to 10 BTC
Shrimp — less than 1 BTC.

There are also “planktons”: BTC addresses with a balance of less than 0.01 BTC.

Most Crypto Twitter users only discuss whale activity, but knowing these classifications can help you flex your crypto knowledge.

Crypto scam: Trading bots and “multipliers”

Often, various persons offer to buy “trading robots” or bots that “know how to bring a stable profit” of 100%–500% per month.

Also, some projects offer to send a random amount of crypto to a certain address (for example, 10 USDT) with the promise to “multiply” it by several times — e.g., to return as much as 100 USDT instead of 10 USDT.

There are trading bots, but they are used for specific tasks: large investment funds, market makers, and trading companies. The prices of such bots are measured in millions. They are not universal, and no one exactly sells them in the public domain.

Therefore, never trust promises of quick and easy profits.

Crypto Speak: Faucet

In the cryptocurrency world, a “faucet” is a website or app that gives away small amounts of cryptocurrency for free, usually in exchange for completing simple tasks such as watching ads, completing captchas, or participating in games. The goal of a faucet is to introduce new users to cryptocurrency by giving them a small amount to experiment with.

But be careful: Some faucets can be fraudulent and used to collect personal data.

Crypto Speak: Exit scam

This is a scam in which the developers of a project disappear with the collected investments without fulfilling their promised obligations.

This can happen in different forms: Developers can disappear after an ICO, collapsing the market value of tokens, or after raising funds for the development of the project without launching it.

The key signs of an “exit scam” are a lack of transparency, promises of unrealistically high returns, and the anonymity of the project’s creators.

An exit scam resembles exit liquidity, and exit liquidity resembles a rug pull. In general, scams related to liquidity collapse are common in the crypto world.

Crypto Speak: Burning

Coin burning in cryptocurrency is the process of destroying tokens or coins so that they disappear from circulation forever. This mechanism is used in the cryptocurrency world for several reasons, but the main one is to reduce the supply of coins.

If the demand for a token remains the same (or increases) and the supply decreases, it will inevitably trigger an increase in its price.