Have you been curious about cryptocurrency? Maybe you’ve been a little nervous or intimidated about getting set up? Well, worry no more, this article is here to help. I had personally wanted to get into crypto for years, but felt that it was a little overwhelming and confusing, so I put it off. Unfortunately, this cost me years of experience, and likely quite a bit of potential monetary gains. As of writing this, I have been a proud owner of cryptocurrency for about three months. With the potential struggles and questions of a new crypto user fresh in my mind, we thought that a handy guide for crypto newcomers would be helpful. I am going to try and keep this simple, and not super technical, mainly just a guide to help you get started.

Before we get into this, I need to say that I am not giving financial advice. I am in no way, shape, or form professionally qualified to tell you what you should do with your money. Those are decisions that we all have to make for ourselves. Throughout this article, I will reference or use particular crypto currencies, wallets, services, etc. This is not necessarily an endorsement of those products and services. I picked them mostly for ease of use and to keep things simple for the explanation purposes of this article. To my knowledge, the products I have referenced should be just fine, but they are by no means an all-inclusive list; feel free to explore other services, you may find ones you like better.

What is cryptocurrency? I know I said nothing too technical, so I promise this explanation will be brief. According to Coin Market Cap, there are over 6000 crypto currencies, and they may work in different ways. Cryptocurrencies are basically digital currency. They are secured by cryptography (hence, the “crypto” in cryptocurrency) which makes them near impossible to counterfeit, or to double spend. They are generally decentralized networks based on blockchain technology. Because they are decentralized, they are outside of the control of government and banks. Bitcoin was the first and most famous cryptocurrency, and the first digital currency based on blockchain technology. Blockchain is basically a term describing a public ledger that is timestamped and unchangeable. Here is a link to an article by Sal Mayweather if you would like to learn more about the technicals of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.

The first step on your crypto journey will be to download a wallet. A wallet is a program on your computer or phone that allows you to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. There are many of them out there; they are free and you can have more than one, so don’t worry, you aren’t committed to anything. Just make sure that you get a wallet that is compatible with the particular cryptocurrency you wish to obtain (perhaps the first step should be to determine what crypto you want, but we’ll get to that later). Let’s keep it simple and assume that you are going to be purchasing some bitcoin cash (BCH).

(Note: I am not advocating for any particular coin, however due to a few factors, including transaction fees, we will be working with BCH.)

Try downloading the Jaxx Liberty wallet onto your phone and/or desktop. I like this wallet; it’s super easy to use, handles dozens of different cryptocurrencies, allows you to purchase crypto right from the app, and they are responsive if you should have any issues. I also really like the bitcoin.com wallet, it is easy to use as well. Note: When purchasing crypto through Jaxx, and the Bitcoin.com wallet, they will require you to submit personal info for tax purposes. Once you have provided them with your I.D., those wallet addresses will be forever tied to the identity provided, and you will not be able to remain anonymous.

When you first open your wallet, you will want to click on “create new wallet”. You will be prompted to back up your wallet; you want to do this, it is very important. Backing up your wallet allows you to recover it at any time, from anywhere. By using your 12 word “seed phrase,” you (or anyone who has the phrase) can recover and access the wallet in the event you lose or break your device. It is very important to write down your phrase and keep it in a safe and secure location. If you lose it, you lose access to your wallet, and you will have no way of recovering your crypto; it is your responsibility. Also keep in mind that if anybody else obtains your phrase, they can use and transfer funds from your wallet.

Once you begin to backup your wallet, you will be given 12 words. Write them down, in order. You will then be asked to confirm your phrase by putting the words in order. It’s simpler than it sounds, they just want to make sure you have followed instructions and backed up your wallet. After you have confirmed your seed phrase, you are all set! It should take you to your holdings page, where it shows what cryptos you have, and how much they are worth in dollars. As of now, this should say zero. By clicking on the wallets tab on the bottom of the screen, it will take you to your different wallets. Here, you have the ability to turn the visibility of wallets for different coins on or off. This allows you to hide the clutter of wallets you don’t use, which you can edit by clicking the edit icon in the top right corner. Congrats! You’re now ready to accept crypto!

So, now that we have our wallet set up we can do a couple of things: we can’t spend any BCH yet, since we don’t have any. We do have the ability to receive though, so let’s go ahead and talk about that. Let’s say you’re having a yard sale, and you’re selling your old bike for 20$. The purchaser asks to pay with Bitcoin cash! Grab your phone and open your Jaxx wallet, select your BCH wallet in the wallet tab, then select the receive button. The app will display a QR code and an address consisting of a long string of characters. The purchaser will open their app, enter the amount (20$), and then scan your QR code…and you’re all set! Your BCH should show up in your wallet within a few minutes. If you were doing a sale where the purchaser isn’t present, you can copy and paste that long string of characters into an email or text, and send that to the buyer. They will be able to insert that address into their wallet and send funds that way as well. We will discuss purchasing crypto a little later, but let’s go ahead and talk about sending crypto with your wallet.

Ok, so the following week your neighbor is having a yard sale and you want to buy a fishing pole from her for ten dollars. Since you are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with so many other agorists, she is happy to accept BCH! Take out your phone, open your Jaxx wallet, and select your BCH wallet from the wallet tab. Press the send button to open your send menu. First, enter the amount you want to send at the bottom of the screen. You can enter the amount in USD or in BCH. Go ahead and enter $10.00 in the USD field; the app will show you the equivalent amount of BCH in the BCH field. Note that below these fields, it will show your total amount of BCH available, as well as the transaction fee that will be taken out of this purchase.

Next, you will need to tell the wallet where to send the crypto. At the top of your screen, you will see an address field. You can copy and paste an address here, you can select an icon to scan a QR code, or select an address from your contacts. Because this is an in person transaction, we will select the QR code option. Your neighbor will open her wallet and select receive; this will generate the QR code for you to scan with your phone. Scan it, and that’s it! Your crypto should arrive in her wallet within a few minutes. Alternatively, if you are making a transaction and the receiver isn’t present, you can copy and paste the address sent to you in the address line instead. It is also worth noting that the desktop version of Jaxx does not have the scan QR code option, as it isn’t really necessary.

NOTE: When copying and pasting addresses, it is a good idea to verify the first six, and last six characters of the address before hitting send. This helps to ensure the address was pasted correctly.

How to purchase cryptocurrency

Now that we have learned the basics of how to use your wallet, let’s figure out how to put something into it in the first place. If you’re lucky enough to have people lined up at your door to pay you for goods and services in crypto, this may not be important. For the rest of us, however, there are a few ways to go about this. Let’s explore some options.

First, what are crypto exchanges, and how do I choose one? We will keep this section as basic as possible, but there are some differences between exchanges that we have to cover. First, what are the different types of exchanges? (Note: this isn’t an all-inclusive list!)

-Centralized exchange: A centralized exchange is a crypto exchange run by a centralized company. Since they are regulated by the government, you are required to give up personally identifiable information (i.e. name, address, social(ist) (in)security card, etc.) before making purchases or exchanges. It may not be a big deal for some; however if you are looking for privacy, it is certainly worth noting. Also be aware that you are legally required to pay taxes on gains from crypto (that is, gains that the government is aware of).  They tend to be easier to use, and you can purchase crypto with fiat currency. Please remember to look at and compare fees and such before making purchases.

Pros include:

-Typically easy to use

-You can purchase crypto with fiat currency, via credit card or bank account

Cons include:

-Funds are controlled by the exchange

-More vulnerable to hacks or malfeasance

-Government regulated

-Not anonymous (require Know Your Customer (KYC) personal info)

-Centrally governed

-Decentralized exchange: A decentralized exchange (DEX) is a totally open source marketplace for cryptocurrencies. Instead of dealing with a centralized company, buyers and sellers deal more directly with each other for their transactions. These tend to be much more private and in some ways much more secure. They can be a bit more complex, and usually require that you trade crypto for crypto, as opposed to being able to purchase with a debit card.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that you take precautions such as using a VPN for online activity, but ESPECIALLY when using a crypto exchange!

-Pros include:

-Users control the funds, meaning you don’t have to entrust them to a third party

-Not subject to hacks like a centralized exchange

-No KYC so you can remain anonymous

-Less subject to government control

-Cons include:

-Are more complicated to use

-Do not take credit/debit cards

-Must trade crypto for crypto, therefore you must already be holding cryptocurrency

-Fees may be higher, therefore it may be good to use a DEX for larger trades

-Peer to peer exchange: A peer to peer exchange is a type of decentralized exchange where you will actually interact with the person you are trading with. These exchanges can allow you to have more control over your trade and allow for anonymity as well. When the two parties work out the arrangement, the funds and crypto are held in escrow and then released once the conditions are met. This way, you don’t have to blindly trust the person you are trading with. Also, there are rating systems and such so you can have an idea of the person’s reputation before commencing the trade.

-Pros include:

-More control over your trades, such as who you will deal with, prices, and method of payment.

-Usually has low transaction fees.

-Doesn’t require KYC documentation, allowing for a degree of privacy (although it’s not required to use the exchange, some sellers will want you to verify your identity)

-Generally easier to use than a DEX

-Cons include:

-Some sellers will only accept certain forms of payment, so you may be limited based on how you are willing to pay.

-Although reviews and rating systems provide a good degree of confidence, there is always a counterparty risk.

So which type of exchange should you use? Decentralized exchanges have a degree of difficulty, so they may not be the best place to start. You would also need to have crypto to trade with. Centralized exchanges, or just purchasing crypto through your wallet is surely the easiest. You can simply sign up and pay with a credit card, and they are usually pretty secure. You will have to give up a bit of personal info, so if privacy is what you’re looking for, it may not be ideal. Also keep in mind that centralized exchanges have to report to the IRS, so if you are buying large quantities, bear that in mind. Centralized exchanges may be a good place to start; you can easily get some crypto to play with, make a few purchases till you’re comfortable, then explore other options. I personally like the peer to peer exchanges. In my experience, they have been easy to use and the privacy factor is a big plus as well. Up next, we will go a little more in depth into the peer to peer exchanges, and how to use them.

Peer to peer exchanges, or sometimes called “local” exchanges, exist for most popular cryptocurrencies. Sticking with BTC for this, let’s check out Local.bitcoin.com. The first thing you will want to do is create an account. Once you do this, an associated wallet will be created. Coins you purchase will go here; and from this point, you can transfer them to another wallet, let’s say your Jaxx Liberty wallet we set up earlier. Also, don’t forget to keep your user name and password in a safe place! You should also back up your wallet, especially if you plan on holding funds there. Note: the backup for this wallet is not a seed phrase, rather a file that you download.

So, you have your account all set up; on the home page, click the “browse listings” button, and it will bring up all of the available listings. There are some drop down menus at the top to help you narrow your search. In the first one, select that you want to buy BCH, if you have a specific payment method, you can select it from the second drop down menu. I have a few ways that I am willing to pay, and the drop down is not an all-inclusive list, so I usually just leave that one alone.

Next, you have the location drop down, in case you want to specify a country. I usually select “USA” because it’s more likely I will find people who want to trade in dollars (under advanced search options there is a drop down for currency specifically). Now that we have it narrowed down a bit, you will see the available listings populate. Each listing will have the name of the seller, the payment methods they accept, their location, volume they are willing to trade, and finally a button with the price. When you see a listing that tickles your fancy, click on that button to get more details. Some things to look for: what payment methods they take, if they require KYC info, their feedback ratings, price etc. Once you make sure that you agree with the price and the terms, you can initiate the trade. Simply enter the amount you want to purchase, send them a quick message, and the click open trade and follow the instructions given. The sellers coins will be held in escrow until your payment clears, then the coins will be released to you! You can find them in your wallet, however they may take a few minutes to show up; but once they do, you can transfer them out to your preferred wallet. I have found that you may pay a little more for the coins using a site like this compared to some centralized exchanges, but the private nature of the trade is a definite plus.

If you have made it this far with me, you are well on your way to being a crypto master! Before we wrap up, there are just a couple more things I would like to go over.

-Privacy coins and considerations: Oftentimes, people are under the assumption that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are totally anonymous, and that isn’t necessarily true. Although you don’t need any personal info to open and use a wallet, remember that the blockchain is a public ledger. Even though your name may not be attached to your wallet, your wallet still has an identification itself. Over enough time, with enough transactions, it is possible for some software to pick up patterns and trace a coin’s journey from wallet to wallet. For this reason you should not just assume that all of your crypto transactions are totally private.

Why would someone who isn’t doing anything nefarious care about being anonymous? If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide right? (Of course, that last line should be read in a sarcastic tone.) While there are many answers to this question, my first is always, “Why the heck not?!” Why would you want a government or any other entity tracking where and how you spend your money? What good could come of that? Also, what a government deems as immoral or against the law may not actually be a crime in the sense that there is no victim. So, who cares if they don’t approve? This is a great place to point out that all sorts of illegal activity and substances are paid for mostly in Federal Reserve Notes (cash), so the idea that crypto is mainly a vessel for criminal activity is absurd; they (“criminals”) privately transact in cash every day, and in far higher amounts.

Finally, it is apparent that governments want to control everything they possibly can, especially money. Therefore, having a private currency that they cannot control is key to breaking the chains of government oppression and that pesky inflation tax. In Wendy McElroy’s fantastic (free) book, “The Satoshi Revolution”, she does a fantastic job making the case for crypto and why it is an important tool in our fight for freedom, I cannot recommend it enough.

“Ok, we get it, privacy is important, how do we make it happen?” We have a few options here for what we can do. First, there are services called “coin mixers”. These applications take coins from several different users, mix them together, then re-distribute. By doing this you are getting different coins than you put in. This makes it much less likely, or even impossible, for coins to be traced once mixed. Check out the Electron Cash wallet, if you like, it has shuffle technology built in. Check out this article by Brandon Aragon for more info on this topic.

Another useful crypto tool are coin swap apps (I like Simple Swap, but there are many out there, and you may need to explore a few if you are looking for a specific coin). A coin swap allows you to very simply, and usually inexpensively, swap one crypto for another. I have found these apps handy when a vendor only accepts a crypto that I don’t currently hold. Also when I want a particular coin that is difficult to find on exchanges, or on exchanges that I find difficult to use, I can often find them available at a coin swap service. I’m putting this in the privacy section because of one other feature.

When you do a coin swap, the coins you receive are (usually) “airdropped” to your wallet. If you open a brand new wallet to have your coins deposited into, it is much more difficult to trace the connection between the input, and output of the swap. Let’s say you have your primary wallet that you use to store most of your crypto, and you send some to someone else, or another wallet; there is a record of that currency moving from one wallet to another. When it is instead sent to a swap app (unless you have your exchanged coins deposited in the same wallet), that will be where the trail ends. If you have your exchanged coins deposited in a new wallet, you can then spend that crypto without it being connected back to your primary wallet, therefore giving you some privacy with those transactions. Note: In respect to privacy, this method is similar to a coin mixer, but it is a different way of going about it.

Finally, let’s talk about privacy coins. Some coins are actually designed with privacy in mind. These are usually not found on the larger, centralized, and government controlled exchanges, as they are frowned upon by governments (I wonder why?). These coins are designed in a way that obfuscate some of the transaction data in the blockchain. They may do things such as create one time wallet addresses for each transaction so that your private wallet addresses aren’t visible on the blockchain. Some will simply only post updated ledger balances without actually tracing the path of each individual coin. Utilizing ring signatures is another popular method of obtaining privacy, or at least providing reasonable doubt. The most notable/popular privacy coin is probably Monero (XMR), but some others that are worth checking out are Epic cash (EPIC) and Devault (DVT). Please make sure to do your research about whatever coin you plan on using to make sure it is suitable for your needs.

Before we wrap up this article, we should talk about where/how to spend your crypto. While crypto is great for small personal transactions between two people, many businesses are also getting on board and accepting cryptocurrencies as well. There are many directories online to find retailers that accept crypto; here is an interactive map showing places all over the world that accept BCH. Dash (DASH) is a popular coin for retailers; here is a directory for businesses that accept it. You can search for a directory for whatever coin you want to spend and see what comes up! Another option is buying gift cards with crypto, which you can then use at stores that don’t accept crypto. Check that out, plus the option for a crypto debit card from BitPay.

One of the best things you can do to personally help promote crypto usage at large is talk to your local businesses that you visit. Try asking if you can pay with crypto at your local restaurant, Hair Cuttery, or farmers’ market. You never know, they might say yes, or at the least it may make them start to consider it. It also gives you a great way to start a conversation with someone about the benefits of using and accepting crypto. If you are a vendor or internet retailer, there are many programs out there that can facilitate those transactions. I use AnyPay for my personal business.

There you have it folks! This should be a good base to get started from on your journey into cryptocurrency. Try purchasing a small amount of BCH (maybe 50 or 100 dollars worth) and do some small trades with it. Try sending a dollar or two between two wallets, or between you and a friend. This practice will make you confident in larger transactions, and if you mess up, it’s just a buck! I will include some links below to some valuable reading that will help you become even more knowledgeable! Please don’t forget to check back with Agorist Nexus frequently for more content on crypto currency. Remember, when using non central bank controlled currencies, you are cutting the banks out of the picture, and showing them that they are not needed. Together we can make them obsolete.

-Dagorist

   •   Agorism And Breaking The Chains Of The State By Brandon Aragon

   •   How I Became My Own Bank & How You Can Too By Sal Mayweather

 •   On The State of P2P Cash By Sal Mayweather

    •  The Properties of Money and Cryptocurrency By Brandon Aragon