How To Invest In Bitcoin for Beginners | 5 Things To Do Before Investing in Crypto

How To Invest In Bitcoin for Beginners in 5 Simple Steps. 

Hello, I’m Blooming Umoren. In today’s tutorial, I’m going to walk you through what you need to do before you start investing in Bitcoin. The goal of this crypto tutorial is to make the process of investing in Bitcoin & cryptocurrencies as easy as possible for you.

Investing in Bitcoin can sometimes be quite intimidating, confusing and overwhelming, but not to worry, at the end of this tutorial, you will learn:

• How To Buy Bitcoin
• Where to Buy Bitcoin
• What To Do Before Buying your first crypto &
• How To Secure Your Crypto Investments

So whether you’re in Canada or Nigeria or the US, Ghana, Kenya, UK, Europe, Singapore or whatever country you are, it’s important to understand that the process of investing in Bitcoin is universal and takes about the same logic.

If you have any question(s), leave them in the comments section below and I will answer them. Feel free to connect with me on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

So let’s go straight into today’s tutorial:

First, I would like you to grab a notepad or writing material and pen as it’s essential for you to document the steps and follow them in order. 

Background & Context

So before we talk about bitcoin, let’s talk about money. What is money exactly? Money at its core represents value. Over the centuries, money has taken different shapes and forms: cowries, salt, wheat, shells, gold and many more. As you can imagine, carrying bars of gold or cowries is quite cumbersome. So paper money was invented.

Money deposited at the bank is safe, secure and insured by the government. So when you deposit your money at the bank, you are rest assured that it’s safe. Simply put, your wealth is insured by the government. For instance, if you discover fraudulent or suspicious activities in your bank account, you can simply call your bank to resolve the issue. 

However, investing in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies is a completely different beast of its own. There are no customer service lines to call should there be a suspicious activity on your account. Furthermore, your crypto investment is not backed by the government and there is no one you can call if you lose your funds by error or to hackers. So you’re technically your own bank. 

Since you’re your own bank, your first priority is to secure your crypto investments and keep it safe.

Step 1: Get A Crypto Hardware Wallet 🔒

In order to ensure the safety and security of your crypto, you need to get a crypto hardware wallet.

What is a crypto hardware wallet? A crypto hardware wallet also known as a cold wallet or cold storage is an encrypted device that allows us to store our Bitcoin and crypto offline safely and securely.  The first rule in investing in crypto is to never leave your crypto on any exchange, if you do, you leave yourself vulnerable to hackers.

So before you even buy your first Bitcoin, you need to buy your crypto hardware wallet. There are several crypto cold hardware wallets and the best are the Ledger Nano X or the Ledger Nano S Plus.

It’s important to buy your crypto hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer and not on any third party websites such as Amazon, eBay, Costco etc. This is to ensure the authenticity of your device and to prevent storing your crypto on a compromised device.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR LEDGER NANO X

​

Step 2: Get Paper Notebooks 📚

Next, you’ll need to get paper notepads/books. You will need at least 3. You’ll use your paper notebooks to record and store all your passwords, username, recovery codes, login credentials and other sensitive information about your crypto-wallets, exchanges, emails, and detailed instructions on how to access or retrieve your cryptocurrencies. Make it simple and easy to understand. Ensure your handwriting is legible and easy to read.

• Never Store Your Password & Username Online

Crypto Investing Rule 🙂 Never store your passwords, username, or login credentials online with a password manager on your phone, laptop, computer or any device connected to the internet. You need to go super duper old school here.

Remember you’re your own bank and you need to put adequate safe measures in place to prevent hackers gaining access to your digital wealth.

• Store Notepads in Different Locations

Store your paper notepads in different locations in case your house or one of the locations is affected by water, flood, fire, hurricane or natural disaster. 

You can have at least one of the notepads stored in a safety deposit box at your local bank. It’s usually less than $100 annually. 

• Fill Out Your Contact Details

Remember to fill out the first page of the notebook with your full name, address, email, essentially your contact details in case you lose the notepad.

Also fill out the “in case of loss: please return to. Ensure to fill in the reward part to incentivize someone to return to you.

Step 3: Secure Your Devices💻📱

Before you start setting up your crypto exchange accounts, emails, username, password and hardware wallet, you need to ensure that your devices – such as your phone, laptop, tablet or any connected devices you will be using to buy any cryptocurrencies is safe, secure, and free of any malware.

• Password Your Devices

First, require a long, complex, hard-to-get password for your laptop. Make sure you use upper case, lower case, numbers and special characters. I recommend 16 to 24 character passwords.

Now, document this long password for your laptop into your notepad. Make sure you title it. For example, password for laptop. You have to keep the instructions in your notepad easy to read and understand, legible and detailed that a 5-year old will understand.

Next make sure your phone, tablet and any other connected devices for crypto investing are passworded and document these details in your notepad. Alternatively, ensure your phone can only be accessed using your fingerprint or facial recognition.

• Scan & Protect Your Devices

Next, you need to do a full and complete malware scan of your laptop, phone and tablets. I use Malwarebytes to scan, clean and protect my laptop and phone.

To download Malwarebyte, click here 

Make sure you do a complete scan and once the scan is complete and your laptop is clean. Congratulations! If threats were discovered, click on the quarantine tab and click clear quarantine.

Malwarebyte has both the free and premium version as needed.

• Encrypt Everything You Type

Next, download KeyScrambler. This is free to use. This prevents your computer or hackers from recording your username, password or email to hack into your account. So the way KeyScambler works is that it encrypts everything you type on your computer real time. I recommend Keyscrambler by QFX

Alternatively, if your computer has an on-screen keyboard, you can also type out your password and any sensitive data using only the on-screen keyboard. This also prevents keystroke loggers from recording and storing any of your vital and sensitive information such as password and username. 

• Never Publish Your Cell Phone Number Online

Never publish your cell phone number online. Remove it from public websites and forums as with your phone number, you can gain access to a lot of sensitive and private information. We use our phone numbers to access our banking, investments, school and a host of information.

Hackers can steal your phone identity by what is called SIM Card Theft. Hackers can call your cell phone provider and request a new SIM card. With this new sim card, they can have access to your banking and investment accounts and drain your hard-earned money and investment. 

And you wont realize this until you discover you aren’t receiving any calls or text or notifications on your phone. It’s advisable to set up a strong passcode with your cell phone provider that anyone requesting for any information about your account needs to provide before gaining access or activating any sim card.

Once you set up the passcode with your cell phone provider, document it in your notepads. You can also change the passphrase as often as needed.

Step 4: Create A New Encrypted Email 📧

Now, it’s time to create a brand new, strong and encrypted email. When creating the email, create a username that is completely anonymous. Use a handle that isn’t connected to you in any shape or form. Don’t use your name, nickname, common phrases, or any username that you’ve ever used online or anywhere else. 

Here’s an example: hkghkg74sjgwrlh87t2gh37jsoqw@protonmail.com

You see that it contains random numbers and letters and it’s difficult to guess. Remember you are your own bank and your goal in crypto investing is to secure your digital assets and wealth. 

This is an email that you will use exclusively for crypto investing only. No other purpose. Not online subscriptions like newsletters, discount codes, shopping, banking or school.  Never reveal this email to anyone. 

I recommend using ProtonMail as they prioritize privacy and security. No adverts and spammy contents. You can set up a free account below using the link below. 

CLICK HERE TO OPEN A FREE PROTON MAIL

Step 5: Set-Up 2 Factor Authentication 🔐

Next: How To Buy Bitcoin

Questions?🤔

If you have any question(s), leave them in the comments section below. Feel free to connect with me on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

See you in the next class! 👋