Hey guys! I'm crypto Casey and I'm a
crypto currency expert. Today I'm going
to show you how to get started in
investing in digital assets like Bitcoin,
Ethereum, and Litecoin safely and
securely step-by-step. I'm going to make
this as easy as possible for you guys,
but before we get started I want to
share with you two important things you
need to know before transforming some of
your wealth into digital assets. Number
one: these types of investments are not
like anything else you may be familiar
with.
Unlike banks, credit unions, and
traditional stock exchanges there are
virtually no fail safes in place to
protect you if you make a mistake or if
you don't understand what you're doing.
There's no hotline you can call when you
get stuck; there's no corporate
headquarters you can reach out to if you
lose your funds; there are no FDIC
insured banks behind these investments;
and this all means at any time you could
lose all of your investments from
hackers or user error
with no recourse at all. Cryptocurrency
is cutting edge technology; it's the
modern-day Wild Wild West. So it requires
some time and focused energy to wrap your head around. Luckily for you, I've done a
lot of the legwork to compile this
step-by-step guide to ensure you receive
the knowledge and understanding you need to be successful in cryptocurrency
investments. The second thing you need to
know before going any further is the
golden rule of investing: NEVER invest
more than you can afford to lose. High
risk can lead to high reward, and we
humans have a natural tendency to want
to overreach, but you need to figure out
an amount you're comfortable with
investing and, more importantly, an amount
you can truly afford to invest. Then you
need to stick with that amount and be
patient in the process. Cryptocurrency is
a lot more volatile and unpredictable
than the stock market.
Unlike the nine-to-five in New York
Stock Exchange, cryptocurrency is traded
around the world 24/7. So if you want to
get a good night's sleep as a crypto
investor, you need to budget the amount
of money you're going to invest and
stick to it. I've broken down this
process into 10 easy steps. So let's get
started. Step 1: this may come as a surprise to
you because crypto stuff is pretty
high-tech, but the first thing you need
to do is get yourself some paper
notebooks. Yes, I realize some of you have
never used such ancient
recording techniques like a pen and
paper before, but seriously buy a couple
notebooks from Amazon. I personally love
to use these moleskin notebooks from
Amazon with grid paper. I'm a huge fan of
grid paper because it helps organize
information in a way that's easy to read.
You need at least two notebooks, but I
suggest three. Step number 2: use your
paper notebooks to store all of your
passwords, login credentials, and any
other sensitive information regarding
your crypto wallets, exchanges, and other
accounts I'm going to walk you through
setting up later on in this video.
Never store your passwords or login data
online with a password manager, on your
phone, or any device connected to the
Internet. You need to go old fashioned
and store all of your essentials on the
paper notebook with paper notebook
backups. This is why I recommend buying
at least two paper notebooks. You should
store all these notebooks in separate
locations to be safe. You never know if
fire may break out or with all of these
crazy hurricanes and flooding, your house
or your office could be affected and
your paper notebook could be destroyed.
Consider storing your notebook in a safe
place at your house and storing the
other one in a safety deposit box at a
bank. Remember there are no pre-built
fail safes in this technology and there
are hackers everywhere trying to steal
your funds. It's up to you to take the
necessary steps to protect your
investments. Also, if you decided to buy
the moleskin notebook I suggested, take a
moment to fill in the "in case of loss
please return to" section and more
importantly, the "as a reward" line. Think
carefully and consider how much would
you pay to incentivize somebody who
found your notebook to return it safely
where it belongs. Step number 3, let's
talk about passwords. Passwords related
to everything crypto need to be very
strong. I'm going to share with you some
tips that will help you create strong
passwords throughout the account setup
process.
Hackers are not just sitting on
computers trying to guess your password.
They use programs that automatically run
through massive databases of common
passwords and random combinations of
characters. So to combat this you need to
make very long passwords containing
random words and letters, capitalization
and special characters. Don't use common
phrases, famous movie lines, or a Bible
verse. And NEVER use the same password
for more than one account. We will be
setting up a lot of different
accounts later on in this video, so be
prepared to create several long, strong
passwords throughout the process. I don't
recommend ever storing passwords for
crypto accounts on a password manager.
Cloud-based password managers like
LastPass and OnePassword are vulnerable
to remote attacks. Even though those
accounts are encrypted, if your master
password is hacked then you're
completely exposed. So do not rely on one
single password to protect your
investments. Also never store passwords
in your browser because those are
vulnerable as well. That's why I
recommend only storing passwords in your
paper notebooks. Next, if any accounts
require security questions, treat the
answers like your passwords: create fake,
long complex answers. People can easily
find out what your mother's maiden name
was and where you went to high school on
things like Facebook. So keep that in
mind. Also, just like your passwords, store
the fake answers to security questions
in your paper notebook. Step number 4:
you need to ensure that your computer is
secure and free of any malware before
you start setting up any of the accounts
and wallets I will walk you through
later in this video. There are ton of
free tools and services available to
scan and secure your computer. In this
video I'm going to walk you through the
scanning, cleaning, and securing process
using Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes is a
high-quality cybersecurity solution that
will help you protect your computer from
hackers. First, if you don't already
require a strong password to access your
computer. So go ahead and make your first
entry into your paper notebook: your
brand-new super strong computer password. Next, let's do a full and complete
malware scan of your computer using
Malwarebytes. Open your internet browser
and go to Malwarebytes.com. Scroll down
to all products and under the "For Home"
section, choose Malwarebytes for Mac or
PC. In this video demonstration, we will
install for Mac. Click "Learn More" and
then click "Free Download."
Retrieve the downloaded file and open it
to start the installation process. Click
through the installation wizard until
the installation is complete and then
click "Close."
Next, open Malwarebytes on your computer
and click "Scan Now." If you are clean,
congratulations! If you have some threat
files, Malwarebytes will quarantine them.
Go to the quarantine section and click
"Show Quarantine" to view the files that
were quarantined. Then click the "Clear
Quarantine" button to permanently delete
all the threat files. Finally, you need to
secure your freshly-cleaned computer. I
personally recommend using the paid
version of Malwarebytes but there are
other computer security providers like
Trend Micro or similar that are just as
great. Make sure you choose a reputable
security solution to protect your
computer. If you have a PC instead of a
Mac and you want to go one step further
to take your security to the max, I
recommend downloading and installing a
key scrambler. Key scramblers are a great
tool that prevent hidden keystroke
logging malware from recording your
passwords to hack into your accounts by
encrypting everything you type in
real-time. I recommend trying KeyScrambler by QFX,
but again, there are other key scrambling
tools out there you can check out as
well. Or if you have an onscreen keyboard
on your computer, you can elect to only
type in your passwords using the
on-screen keyboard. This also prevents
keystroke loggers from recording your
passwords. Step number 5: you will not
be accessing crypto related accounts on
your computer alone. Smartphones play a
huge role in security and access as well.
So you need to take steps to secure your
phone. First, if you don't have one
already, require a password to unlock
your phone. That way if it's ever lost or
stolen, there is a barrier between a
potential hacker and your investments.
Make sure you log the password in your
notebook for safekeeping. Next, you need
to remove your phone number from any
public website in social media and try
to never publish your cell phone or cell
phone provider publicly or to people you
don't know or trust. I
know this is very difficult to do in our
social media-driven world, but this is an
imperative step you need to take to
ensure the security of your investments.
Cellphone numbers are used to access a
myriad of sensitive data including
banking crypto and two-factor
authentication applications we will be
setting up later on in this video. Using
your cell phone provider and cell phone
number, there are hackers out there who
conduct something called "sim theft." This
is where hackers steal your phone's
identity by calling your cell phone
provider and requesting a new SIM card.
If they steal your cell phone SIM card,
they can easily hack into your
investment accounts and drain your funds.
So the next thing you need to do to
prevent this from happening is set up a
passphrase with your cell phone provider
that must be disclosed before activating
a new SIM card. So get on the phone with
T-mobile, Verizon, or whoever your cell
phone provider is and set up a strong
passphrase that must be disclosed before
activating a new SIM card on your
account. Step number 6: it's time to
create a brand new unique email address
using a handle you've never used before
anywhere else. This includes your name,
nicknames, or user names you've used for
accounts anywhere else online or offline
in the past. This new email address
should be used exclusively for crypto
investments only. Do not use an email
address you use already and that people
know about to open up crypto accounts.
You need something completely random to
use for the handle for your new email
account, and do not use the new email
address for shopping or signing up for
newsletters. Only use your new email just
for crypto and don't tell anyone you
don't know or trust about it. I recommend
setting up your new email account using
ProtonMail or another similar email provider that
prioritizes security and privacy. I'm
going to show you how to set up a brand
new email account using ProtonMail.
Go to ProtonMail.com and click "Sign Up."
Select the free plan and click, "Select
Free Plan." Next, choose your unique
username you've never used anywhere else
before. Next, generate a very strong
password. Register a recovery email. Make
sure the email address you use as a
recovery has a strong password then click "Create
Account." Verify that you are human,
then click, "Complete Setup" and select,
"Finish." Step number 7:
using your newly secured cell phone, we
are now going to download some
two-factor authentication apps.
Two-factor authentication is an extra
layer of security that is absolutely
crucial to setup before investing in
crypto. This is how it works: when
accessing an account, after entering your
super secure password, you'll be required
to input a code that is generated on
your two-factor authentication phone app.
These codes constantly change every
twenty to thirty seconds, so no one will
be able to access your accounts unless
they have your cell phone at that
particular moment in time. There are two
different authentication apps we will be
downloading: Google Authenticator and
Authy. Some people prefer one over the
other and some people use both. In this
video, I will walk you through
downloading and setting up both so you
can get a feel for them. First, let's
download Authy. Go to the App Store on your
phone and type in "Authy" and download the Authy
app. When it's finished downloading,
enter your cell phone number and click
"OK." Next, enter your e-mail address you
created using ProtonMail
and click "Next." A window will pop up that
says "Get Account Verification via Phone
Call or SMS." Make a selection and then
enter the registration code in the space
provided. Tap the add (+) icon on the
accounts menu. You will be prompted to
create a backups password. Create a
strong password, log it into your paper
notebook, and enter it into the space
provided. Click "enable backups" and
confirm your password by entering it
again. It's important to set up a backup
to ensure you can restore your accounts
if you upgrade or lose your phone. The
next screen provides instructions on how
to set up Authenticator accounts. Once we
start setting up accounts later on in
this video, I will walk you through this
process. On the main screen, tap on
"Settings" and then choose "Protection Pin."
Tap the "Protection Pin" button and enter
a pin.
This will require a pin to be entered
before opening the application. Next, tap
the "Protect Entire App" button and enter
your PIN again. Your screen should now
look like this. Next, tap "Cancel" and then
tap "Devices." Turn the "Allow Multi-Device"
setting to "Off." Now no one else can
access your Authy account on any other
device except your specific cell phone.
Now you're Authy app is secure. Next,
let's download Google Authenticator. You
will need a gmail account to complete
this setup so if you don't already have
one,
create one with a unique handle you've
never used before and a strong password.
Go to the app store on your phone, type
in "Google Authenticator," and download the
Google Authenticator app. Once it's
finished downloading, open the app and
choose "Begin Setup." You will see two
options: "Scan Barcode" and "Manual Entry." Go
to your internet browser and open your
Google account security page. Next, scroll
down to the 2-step verification section
and click "Get Started." Enter your gmail
account password and then enter your
cell phone number. Choose to receive a
text or phone call to receive a
verification code. Enter the code you
receive in the space provided and click
"Next."
Once the code is accepted, choose "Turn On," then on the next page, scroll down and
choose "Setup Google Authenticator." Choose the type of phone you have and click
"Next." Now go back to your cell phone and
select "Scan Barcode." Lift your phone to
face the computer screen like this to
scan the code. Once it's successful, your
phone will show a six digit code that
changes every twenty seconds or so, along
with your gmail address. Now go back to
your computer and click "Next." Enter the
code currently displayed on your phone
before the time expires and the code
changes, and click "Verify." Once the code
is verified, click "Done." If you've been
using your gmail account for a long time
you're not sure if it's automatically
logging into old devices you don't use
anymore,
scroll down to the "Devices you trust
section" and choose "Revoke all." That way,
no matter what device you are using to
log into your Gmail, 2-step verification
will be required. Now you have two
different Authenticator apps. Most
accounts work with the Authy app, however, some accounts only work with Google
Authenticator. When setting up two-factor
authentication with accounts, you must
choose one Authenticator over the other.
You cannot set up two-factor
authentication for the same account
using both Google and Authy. Choose the
one you would like to use to set up
two-factor authentication for the
ProtonMail address you created in the
previous step.
Log back into your ProtonMail account.
Next, click on "Settings" and choose the
"Security" tab and then click "Enable
Two-Factor Authentication."
You can read their 2FA guide, and then
click "Next." Scan the QR code with your
two-factor authentication device to set
up your account. Then, click "Next."
Enter your password, and then enter the
two-factor passcode that is displayed on
your phone in authy or Google
Authenticator. ProtonMail will also
provide you with several one-time use
recovery codes. Save these codes in your
paper notebooks. If you ever lose your
phone and are unable to access your
Authenticator app, these codes will be
the only way you can log back into your
account. You can enter these codes
instead of the six digit authentication
code. Note that each code can only be
used once and they must be used in the
listed order. So be sure to save all of
the codes. Now, two-factor authentication
should be required when logging into
your ProtonMail account. Step number
8. Now for the moment you've all been
waiting for, how to set up a wallet. There
are several different types of wallets
out there and some wallets only support
specific crypto currencies. Wallets
are a big topic in crypto and warrent
its own video altogether. So in this
video I'm going to walk you through
setting up a safe, easy-to-use, and
insured wallet using Coinbase. Coinbase
has wallets that support Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash), Ethereum,
and Litecoin. All digital currency that
Coinbase holds online is fully insured.
This means that if Coinbase were ever to
suffer a breach of its online storage,
the insurance policy would pay out to
cover any customer funds lost as a
result. The insurance policy covers any
losses resulting from a breach of Coinbase's
physical security, cyber security,
or by employee theft. Coinbase holds less
than 2% of customer funds online. The
rest is held offline in storage. However,
this insurance policy does not cover any
losses resulting from the compromise of
your individual Coinbase account or
individual error. So it's your
responsibility to use a strong password
and maintain control of all login
credentials you use to access Coinbase.
So let's get started. A quick note once
you start accessing wallets and
exchanges online: it's important to
double and TRIPLE check the URL you're
accessing to make sure it's the real one.
Always ensure there is an HTTPS protocol
in the URL,
not just HTTP. HTTPS means that the site
has an SSL or a Secure Sockets Layer
protecting the information passing through
the website by a user. Always ensure
that the actual URL is correct as well.
There are a ton of phishing sites that
pretend to be the real site in order to
steal your user name and password to
gain access to your account on the real
web site. Once you're a 100%
sure that you're accessing the right URL,
bookmark the page and only access the
site going forward using this bookmark.
That way you never become a victim of a
phishing site.
Once you're at HTTPS://Coinbase.com, bookmark the
page and then click "Sign up" in the top
right hand corner. You will have the
option to set up an individual account
or a business account. Type in your first
and last name, followed by your
ProtonMail
email address and an extremely strong
password. Verify you are not a robot,
click the check box to certify you are
over 18 years old and agreeing to the
user agreement and privacy policy, then
click "Create Account," and remember: NEVER
save any passwords on your browser or a
password manager. Log the information in
your paper notebooks. An email will be
sent to the email address you entered.
Log into your ProtonMail account and
open the email from Coinbase, then click
"Verify Email Address." Next, you will be
brought to a login screen to log in. An
updated user agreement may display. Read
over it and then click "Accept Terms." Once
logged in, you will be brought to a
dashboard that shows some information
about Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash), Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Scroll down to the "Complete Your Account"
section and click "Add your Phone Number."
Choose your country, enter your cell
phone number, and click "Send Code." You'll
receive a code via a text message to
your cell phone. Enter it into the field
provided online and click "Submit." Next,
scroll up to the top of the page and
click on "Settings." Choose the security
tab and scroll down, and choose "Enable
Authenticator." Another code will be
texted to your cell phone. Enter it into
the space provided and click "Verify."
Using Authy or Google Authenticator, add
the account by scanning the QR code with
the Authenticator. As the instructions
read on step 3 on the screen, write down
the 16 digit secret code in your paper
notebooks. If your phone gets lost or
stolen or erased,
you will need this code to link Coinbase
to a new Authenticator app once it's
installed again.
Do not ever share this code with
anyone. Keep it in your paper notebook
and only use it to link Coinbase to a
new Authenticator if your phone is lost,
stolen, or erased.
Once the QR code has been scanned, enter
the six digit code provided by your
authentication app, then click "Enable." Now
your two-factor authentication is set up
for Coinbase.
In this next section, I recommend keeping
the settings to require a verification
code to send ANY amount of digital
currency for an extra layer of
protection. Next, click on "Accounts" and
scroll down and click on "Vault." A vault
is a more secure type of wallet Coinbase
offers. It's ideal for large balances, but
it also delays any withdrawals and
requires multiple approvals before
transferring money out of it. If you are
planning to buy and hold Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash), Ether,
or Litecoin for a long period of time
and don't mind waiting a few days for
withdrawal approvals, this is a great
type of wallet to set up. Even if you're
looking to be more of an active trader,
let's go ahead and create a vault for
you as it is a safe wallet to store
Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash), Ether, and Litecoin for long-
term investing. So click "Create Vault" and
choose the currency you wish the wallet to
support. In this video, I'm going to
choose Bitcoin. Choose a name for your
Bitcoin vault and click "Next." You'll be
brought back to a screen that allows you
to choose whether you will approve your
own withdrawals or if you would like to
invite other people you trust to co-sign
on the withdrawals. In this video, I'm
going to select individual and click
"Next." Withdrawals from your Coinbase bitcoin
vault wallet need to be approved
using two email addresses. I suggest
using the Gmail account you created or
freshly cleansed during this video,
because if you followed the steps, a strong
password protects it, as well as
two-factor authentication. Next, enter the
email address and click "Next." Open the
email, click "Use this email to approve
withdrawals" and then you should be all
set. On the screen,
you will see the two email addresses you
will need to access to approve
withdrawals, as well as the email
addresses and a phone number that will
be notified when withdrawals are
requested, and you'll see a 48-hour time
delay is required before withdrawals
will occur. Now click "Continue to vault."
Under the accounts menu, you will see
your Bitcoin wallet your Bitcoin vault, an Ether wallet, and a Litecoin wallet.
If you plan on investing in Ether, (Bitcoin Cash), and
Litecoin,
I urge you to repeat the process and
create vaults for those currencies as
well. For long term investments, hold the
Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash), Ether, or Litecoin in the
corresponding vaults. For short-term and
trading purposes, hold Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash), Ether, and
Litecoin in the regular Coinbase
wallets. Great! So now you have a Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash),
Ether, and Litecoin wallet set up. In
another video, I will show you how to set
up other types of wallets like cold
storage for increased security, as well
as wallets that support other
cryptocurrencies like Iota, Stratis, and
EOS. Step number 9: now it's time to
create accounts for cryptocurrency
exchanges. Coinbase is the simplest and
most user-friendly exchange and since we
set up your first wallets on Coinbase,
let's go ahead and finish setting up
your account so you can use the exchange.
A quick note about using Coinbase as an
exchange: its ease and convenience comes
at a price. Buying and selling Bitcoin, (Bitcoin Cash),
Ether, and Litecoin on Coinbase is a
little pricier than other exchanges. In
another video, I will show you how to set
up an account with GDax, which is an
exchange owned by Coinbase that allows
you to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, and
Litecoin with lower fees. I will also
show you how to set up accounts with
other exchanges that allow you to buy
and sell other cryptocurrencies in
addition to Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin.
So let's finish setting up your Coinbase
account. Going back to Coinbase, go
back to the dashboard and click "Add a
payment method." You can choose to add a
bank account, credit card, debit card, or
set up a wire transfer to fund your
account. Bank account transactions can
take several days to hit your account,
however, the moment you buy using a bank
account, the price will be locked in at
whatever it was in that moment. However,
the trades can take up to four to five
days to process and hit your Coinbase
account. To add a bank account, select
your bank and link your account by
providing the login credentials to your
bank, account number, routing number, and
by confirming a small deposit and
withdrawal by Coinbase.
Credit and debit cards are good to make
small investments. You simply need to
enter your credit or debit card details,
however, only MasterCard and Visa are
accepted at this time. After entering
your credit card information, you will
need to confirm the withdrawal amounts
from Coinbase on your credit card
statement to verify the card for use.
Setting up a wire transfer requires
verifying your identity. Click "Verify ID."
You will need to enter your legal name,
date of birth, physical address, the last
four digits of your social security
number, select from a multi-select list
what you use Coinbase for - whether it be
investing, trading, or trading on some
other exchanges - disclose the source of
your funds - whether it be from an
occupation or other investments - and then
choose your current occupation. And once
your identity has been verified, click
"Continue" and you will be brought back to
the dashboard. When selecting wire
transfer, now you will see a reference
number you can use to set up a wire
transfer with your bank account. Once
your payment methods have been verified,
Congratulations! you're ready to start
investing in cryptocurrency... almost. Step
number 10: now that all of your accounts
have been set up and you're ready to
invest, there's one more step you need to
take. Most of the things covered in this
video are not easy to figure out on your
own. A lot of people investing in crypto
are young, single Millennials, and if
something were to happen to you, I'm sure
there's someone out there you would want
to benefit from your investments. However,
you know that your mom, grandma, boyfriend,
or whoever you would want to benefit
from your investments in the event of
your death would probably have a hard
time figuring it all out by themselves.
Using your paper notebooks, record
detailed instructions from this video on how
to safely access, transfer, and cash in
your funds if they ever needed to do so.
Try to keep it simple, but also detailed
enough so even your grandma could do it. I
also recommend that you go the extra
mile and create a will, trust, or other
documents that could be legally executed
in the event of your death to carry out
your wishes. So on that happy note, thank
you for watching my video
I hope you found this video helpful and
easy to follow. Be safe out there!
