Buying, Holding and Selling Cryptocurrencies

How do I get my first coin (or fraction of it)?

Keep in mind, each exchange has their own daily limits, KYC requirements, fees and market exchange prices – the list below are just the ones I am familiar with and have experience with. You can also move coins across the various exchanges easily as each exchange will generate a unique wallet for you.

Coinbase:

Allows you to purchase Bitcoin; Ethereum; Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash directly using a Visa or Mastercard
Weekly limits will initially be subject to $250 CAD once KYC verified, after some time you can increase this limit to $1,000/ week
Fees are ~3.75% which are quite reasonable in comparison to other exchanges
If you are concerned about daily price volatility, with Coinbase you can setup recurring transactions which can charge your credit card daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. This is a great solution to automate purchases if you are considering buying a little BTC and forgetting about it, almost like an “automated Bitcoin savings plan”. My suggestion would be to get a good cash back/ rewards credit card if you plan on making recurring purchases (unfortunately AMEX is not accepted)
Use my referral code to get $10 USD (in BTC) when you make a purchase of $100 USD or more
Coinbase YouTube Tutorial
Pros:

Very user-friendly interface
Ability to use credit card
Mobile App is available

Cons:

Customer Service is slow
Weekly limits of $250 and $1000 may be too low for some users
No ability to sell coins back to fiat currency

QuadrigaCX:

This allows you to purchase Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash using your Canadian bank account
KYC Requirements would need to validate your Driver’s License (can take a few days) and also do an Equifax check (instant)
You would first fund your account via EFT, Interac eTransfer or Bank Wire
The daily limits depend on your method of funding but can range from $4k/day to $10k/day to fund your account
Various fees for funding, withdrawal and trading, see website for details
QuadrigaCX YouTube Tutorial
Pros:

Daily limits much higher than other exchanges
Many funding options with Canadian Banks
Ability to sell coins back to fiat currency and transfer back to your bank account

Cons:

KYC might take time depending on how backed up they are
User-interface is not as clean as Coinbase
No credit card capability

Bitcoin Teller Machines (BTMs)

There are BTMs scattered across Toronto, be sure to check the Hours of Operations
BTMs typically charge larger fees than online exchanges for both the purchase of Bitcoin, and the sale back to fiat currency
The BTM in the Deloitte building is quite easy to use and allows you to both purchase and sell Bitcoins
BTM YouTube Tutorial
Pros:

Some do not require KYC
Convenient to use, like an ATM

Cons:

Each BTM will have a daily limit (typically smaller than online exchanges)
Usually more expensive than an online exchange
Some will only allow for purchasing BTC, not for selling back to fiat

LocalBitcoins

This is a person to person trading platform (similar to a craigslist or kijiji)
A seller of BTC will post an advertisement (like kijiji) and a buyer will scroll through the various ads to find a suitable one
BTC can be purchased through various funding methods: In-person Cash; Cash Deposit into Bank; Interac eTransfer; Moneygram; PayPal; Western Union; Gift Cards; Credit Cards; etc.
LocalBitcoins YouTube Tutorial

Pros:

Some trades do not require KYC
Funds are in escrow until transaction is completed
Various funding methods
No limits

Cons

No Comment (have not used the platform before)

Ask someone who owns BTC

More likely than not, someone who has BTC will either sell it directly to you or use their own methods to purchase BTC for you

I heard about this cool new alt-coin, how do I trade my boring Bitcoin for it?

For popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum, many of the above exchanges work well to directly purchase the coin using CAD. However, if you are interested in purchasing other alt-coins, you will likely need to first purchase Bitcoins and then use one of the exchanges below to convert BTC to that alt-coin.

Binance

This is a very popular exchange to use as it typically lists many new ICO tokens and also supports many of the coin hard forks
Once you create your Binance account, you will have a unique wallet ID attributed to each of the tokens supported by the exchange
To fund your account with BTC, simply go to check your Binance BTC wallet ID, and use that address as the recipient when sending BTC from another wallet (such as Coinbase or QuadrigaCX)
Trading fees are discounted by 50% initially (as low as 0.05%)
Binance also has their own token which you can purchase
Binance YouTube Tutorial

Pros:

Supports most of the tokens and new ICOs trading pairs with BTC and ETH
Supports most hard forks [ie. if Bitcoin forks you will retain your BTC and also get the benefit of the newly forked coin (like Bitcoin Cash)]
High volume for liquid markets
Works similar to a stock trading platform (candlesticks, market order, limit orders, etc.)

Cons:

No direct purchase capability (from CAD Bank account or Credit Card)
No direct withdrawal to bank account
Subject to risk of being hacked, as with any exchange
May look complicated for those who do not have “trading experience”
No margin capability

Poloneix

Similar to Binance however they also allow for trading cryptocurrencies using margin
Poloniex YouTube Tutorial

Pros:

Margin capability (purchase 2.5x your asset)
Ability to short coins
Highly liquid market for major coins
Works similar to a stock trading platform (candlesticks, market order, limit orders, etc.)
Low trading fees

Cons:

Supports fewer trading pairs
Less common to support forks
No direct purchase capability (from CAD Bank account or Credit Card)
No direct withdrawal to bank account
Subject to risk of being hacked, as with any exchange
May look complicated for those who do not have “trading experience”

How do I store my coins safe from hackers?

Each time you sign up with any of the exchanges above, you will automatically have access to wallets unique to that type of coin. For example, if you sign up for Coinbase, you will have access to 4 wallets which correspond to the 4 cryptocurrencies offered (BTC, BCH, ETH and LTC).

Keep in mind that you should not trust the security of these exchanges for long term storage of your coins. If you leave your coins on a “hot” wallet (a wallet connected to the internet) then you are leaving your coins exposed to hackers. Hackers understand that exchanges are like gold mines, and if successful, they can come away with a large pay day. A historic example was with the Japanese Exchange, Mt. Gox, which had over 850,000 Bitcoins stolen.

The safest way to store your coins would be using a “cold” wallet (offline from the internet). You can use paper wallets (QR codes printed on a paper) or USB wallets for this.

I highly recommend using the Ledger S Nano which is basically a wallet on a USB key

Ledger Nano S - The secure hardware wallet

Pros:

$130 CAD including taxes and delivery (well worth the price vs losing thousands of $$$ in a hack)
Small USB Stick (easily portable)
Supports many tokens outside of the basic BTC, ETH, LTC
Paper wallet backup if Ledger S Nano gets lost
You can send funds to your Ledger S Nano without actually plugging it in anywhere
Firmware updates which allow for continuous updates

Cons:

Can only be purchased on the official website (shipping from France)

Do not trust any Amazon sellers, as they could potentially be selling a hacked Ledger S Nano. Once you load your tokens on them, the hacker will use the paper backup and can steal your tokens. ONLY TRUST THE OFFICIAL RETAILER.

Ledger Nano S YouTube Tutorial

Time to Cash Out! How to sell Cryptocurrency back to CAD

Use the following services:

This was cool but I want more info!

UDemy: The Complete Ethereum Course: Get .001 Ether by Ravinder Deol (generally any course by him is pretty good as he covers Bitcoin, Ethereum and other blockchain courses)
CoinDesk: This site is perfect for staying up to date with big highlights in the industry
CoinMarketCap: Track cryptocurrencies market cap and valuations
CryptoCompare Newsletter: Highly recommend subscribing to this as you get valuable daily headlines and market prices sent to your email
Blockfolio App: Track your cryptocurrency portfolio profitability via mobile app

Hey T, this was useful info, let me buy you a coffee…

Bitcoin Wallet:
1BXbZV51QbyFaPnGxoHGqrZvYpD9rxqt1J

Ethereum Wallet:
0x24b7f5080e090d19d813a0f09a6b6015d05c1a14

Litecoin Wallet:
LaUAX5SijTy8BLJsiJBQDZHDKLycWYp7Er

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Cryptocurrency 101