Safest ways to exchange crypto for fiat

There are literally hundreds of different platforms that allow exchange of cryptocurrencies for fiat money. Some of them are extremely reliable and have a solid reputation in the community, some are blatant scum and some are more similar to lottery than an actual exchange platform – you may or may not receive your money in the end. Of course, only the first category truly deserves the attention of crypto enthusiasts and their money. After all, all exchange platforms charge a fee for their service.

Besides pure reliability, one should keep in mind the balance between security, convenience and anonymity. For example, regulated platforms are generally more secure and reliable, however, they require passing a KYC procedure, so you can forget about privacy. As a general rule, p2p platforms offer a decent balance, but there are other sites also well worth considering.

As you can see, there are quite a lot of factors to consider, so we’ve prepared a list of exchange platforms that you can rely on (but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be careful when working with them). It includes both exchanges, exchangers and p2p platforms.

Binance

Binance is the largest, most influential and the most famous crypto exchange in the world. And while it started as a mere cryptocurrency spot exchange, today it is a huge crypto conglomerate of services, platforms and companies that deal with “all things crypto” – from trading and lending to mining and maintaining their own custom made blockchain network. And while it may not offer the best exchange rate or the lowest fees, Binance is one of the most secure platforms out there.

However, KYC is mandatory if you want to exchange crypto for fiat here, so the platform is not anonymous.

LocalBitcoins

LocalBitcoins is the oldest major peer-to-peer exchange platform on the market – it has been operating since 2012 and at the moment it is available in more than 200 countries. 

LocalBitcoins enables p2p exchange between users, while the platform itself is a guarantor and an enabler. Therefore, there is no limitation on which currencies or valuables are exchanged for Bitcoin. In addition the exchange rate can be quite different from the market average. Sellers are charged 1% fee, buyers don’t pay any fee at all..

The platform provides data on participants’ exchange history and has a reputation system, so it is possible to evaluate the other party’s honesty prior to the exchange.

KYC is mandatory only for regular sellers and buyers or for large trades. Smaller trades can be completed anonymously.

LocalCoinSwap

Basically, it is a very similar platform to LocalBitcoins, but works with other cryptocurrencies, not exclusively with BTC. It uses a similar approach to KYC (no need for identity confirmation until you exceed a monthly limit on the amount) and fees. You only pay a fee if you are the one who placed an offer on the market, not if you respond to one.

Paxful

Paxful is a major competitor of LocalBitcoins. Basically, it took all the good solutions from its older counterpart (no fee for buyers, low fee for sellers (1%). reputation system and security guarantees, etc.) and tried to improve everything besides the core concept.

Paxful supports not only Bitcoin, but also most popular altcoins. In addition, it boasts major UI and UX improvements over LocalBitcoins. However, it is still easier to find a good offer on the older platform and there is a fixed fee of 0.0005 BTC for withdrawing bitcoins, so it is better for selling than for buying.  

HiRiBi

HiRiBi is a unique platform that allows you to sell BTC for PayPal dollars. The thing is – PayPal doesn’t like crypto, so providing this opportunity is quite a tricky task to solve. But HiRiBi succeeded and has a great record of reliability.

Moreover, it offers the best rate for selling Bitcoin on the market. Due to its unique algorithm, HiRiBi constantly monitors the market and always gives its users the best offers available at the moment. On average, you can sell bitcoins 5-10% higher than the market average rate.

The platform also operates fast – only two Bitcoin network confirmations are required before USD will be sent to your PayPal wallet. In addition, the service is completely anonymous – you only need an email.

HiRiBi is a very specialized platform – it doesn’t support other exchange directions. However, it is bloody good in what it does.

Conclusion

Of course, there are many more reliable crypto exchange platforms on the Web, we have just the list of most reputable, most trusted and largest for you to start. Carefully examine every platform and check users’ reviews before trusting any platform with your crypto. Moreover, we would advise to start working with any platform that is new for you with small amounts, regardless of the platform’s reputation – you can never be too careful.

Crypto trading VS HODL

While the overall prospects of cryptocurrencies are undeniable and undisputable, there are lots of heated arguments about the best ways to make money in the cryptocurrency market. The two most polar approaches are active cryptocurrency trading and long-term investments or HODL. 

As usual, there is no side in this argument that is clearly right or wrong – both approaches have a lot going for them as well as a lot of negatives. Moreover, in essence both methods have the same basic idea – buy cryptocurrency low and sell it high. The difference lies in, for lack of a better word, in the tempo and frequency of transactions. So let’s dive deeper into the issue.

Trading

Trading is a much more active and involved strategy – it requires constant monitoring of the market, quick decision making and a lot of transactions. It is true even if we talk about relatively low frequency trading, with positions being opened and closed every couple of days or so. Intraday trading and scalping requires even more activity – sometimes traders open and close dozens of positions within a day.

The requirement for constant monitoring of the market essentially turns trading into a job. For most successful traders – into a full-time job. And trading bots and expert advisors are not of much help in this regard – bots automate a lot of menial tasks in trading, but they require vigilant supervision. Without supervision, any trading robot is perfectly capable of draining your deposit really quickly.

And let’s not forget – crypto trading is risky. While cryptocurrencies are inherently risky assets, it is traders that suffer most from their volatility. Unlike HODLers, traders often don’t have an option to “wait out the storm”. In addition, the more transactions you make, the more chances for making a wrong trade you get. Thus, the vast majority of traders actually lose money, rather than earn.

Risk and labor involved lead to great emotional toll of trading. Constant stress, pressure, nervous breakdowns and burnouts are the issues that virtually all traders admit to be quite serious. And a huge part of any trading course is devoted to dealing with stress. 

But if trading is time-consuming, stressful and risky, why do people stand by it? The answer is simple – trading offers huge potential profit. While it is riskier and harder than HODL, if you are successful, you’ll make money much faster by trading. In addition, a lesser initial capital is needed for trading – if you’re both lucky and good, you can multiply even $10 quite quickly.

HODL

HODLers take the completely different approach to making money on crypto. They just buy promising coins in their portfolio, hold onto them for at least a few weeks, often – months and even years and then sell the coins high.

Obviously, this approach offers less potential profit, since you have to wait for assets to grow “naturally”, you can’t really influence this process and without active trading, you can’t multiply your earnings. This is a huge, huge disadvantage, besides minor ones like “lack of involvement in the earning process”.

However, there are also major advantages of HODLing. First of all – it’s the lack of stress. You don’t have to worry about a sudden market movement (if you invest in sufficiently reliable assets) or about a missed trading signal – you just lay back and let the assets grow on their own. Accordingly, you also don’t have to spend much time on managing your assets and making transactions – checking the state of your portfolio every once in a while will be enough.

And there is also less risk involved. Of course, a general market fall will hurt you anyway, however, if you HODL major coins and have time – you can always just wait for another growth phase.

A universal trick

There is a method that allows you to squeeze out even more profit out of your coins regardless of whether you trade or HODL. After all, you do it to make money, so selling Bitcoin high is a very important step.

The HiRiBi platform aggregates offers from dozens of exchanges, ensuring that its users always get the best offer on the market. As a result, on HiRiBi you can usually sell your BTC 5-10% higher than the market average. 

Moreover, HiRiBi offers a unique opportunity to sell Bitcoin for PayPal USD, so it is not only profitable, but also a convenient platform.

Sign of growth: how to know when to buy and sell bitcoin

We live in a deterministic system where everything obeys fundamental physical and other laws. Each event is followed by another, and so on. Each event has a cause and effect, respectively. You probably know about the “butterfly effect”: even one small incident can dramatically change the course of history. And the crypto market is no exception. Any rate behavior can be explained by influence of any factor. For example, the collapse of the stock market in March 2020, associated with the introduction of quarantine measures due to COVID-19, was followed by a sharp decline in the value of cryptocurrencies.

This was not difficult to predict, if you regularly follow events in the world. It’s quite simple: people panicked, and they began to feverishly get rid of their assets: stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies. In times of crisis, people are in dire need of fiat currencies. For this reason, USD and Euro began to grow in price.

Today we will tell you how to identify signs of growth for cryptocurrencies, and understand when it is better to buy or sell bitcoin.

News

News analysis is the basics for any crypto analyst. You need to constantly monitor the news background to predict the price behavior. Depending on the situation, news can be a strong or insignificant factor. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account not only the nature of the news, but also the power of its influence. For example, the ban on mining in China may have a certain impact on the market. The same applies to approaching crises. But the ban on cryptocurrency trading in any small region is unlikely to have a significant impact on the crypto market. Follow the political and economic situation in the world to understand when to buy bitcoin.

Trading sessions

The market is cyclical, and all events are repeated. Moreover, there are events that repeat with a certain period. Read on the Internet about economic super cycles and pay attention to when financial crises occurred in the world, and you will find a certain pattern.

As for trading sessions, everything is very simple: depending on the time zones, there are certain times of trading activity. The largest amounts are concentrated in the Chinese and American markets. Try to track yourself on the charts, in what time periods the market activity is strongest. Use the Volume indicator as an assistant for this purpose.

Ratio of long and short positions

This indicator shows how many LONG and SHORT positions are currently open in the crypto market. This indicator is often used by margin traders. The point is that the big players direct the market movement, after which all other traders have to follow the whales. Many traders and investors consider this indicator to be the “Holy Grail”. Of course it’s not. But it can also be used for predicting the exchange rate.

How to use the indicator

When an overwhelming number of positions are open, it is profitable for large players to open positions in the opposite direction. For example, if the number of longs is 85%, and the number of shorts is only 15%, this means that the strength of buyers is beginning to run out, so it’s time to open short positions, thereby pushing many buyers out of the market and taking profits for yourself. The reverse is also true. But keep in mind that this is not a universal rule and there are exceptions. Sometimes sellers and buyers can wait a long time before they act, waiting for a better opportunity and acting against the expectations of the crowd.

What to do if you expect growth, but things did not go according to plan

Such situations on the crypto market are not uncommon. Even professional players make mistakes, not to mention ordinary traders. But if this situation happened to you, you can go at least three ways:

Option #1. Continue to hold the position, wait for the subsequent growth to sell at a profit or minimize losses. A good option if you plan to store bitcoin for several years. But over a short distance, the price may fall even lower.

Option #2. Average the position. If you grow, you will be able to offset the losses from the previous purchase and even make a profit. However, if the price continues to go down, the losses will be even greater. You can average it repeatedly, but you need to approach this strategy wisely, otherwise one day you will run out of money to average another losing position.

Option #3. Compensate for losses by selling at a higher price. Yes, you can do that. There are services that buy cryptocurrency at a higher price than that on many exchanges. They do this by interacting with platforms that are off-limits to many traders.

One of such services is the HiRiBi Bitcoin exchange. The service allows you to sell Bitcoin for PayPal at the highest price. You can sell BTC for 10% more than the exchange rate and thus not only fix losses, but also get a profit.

For example, you bought bitcoin for $31,210 and it fell by 5% to $29,650. In this case, with HiRiBi, you can sell Bitcoin to Paypal at the price of $35,210. This way you could get an additional $4000 even when the exchange rate drops. This is called inter-exchange arbitrage. Also, you do not need to register on the exchanges yourself. You just need to buy BTC on any crypto exchange or exchanger and sell it on HiRiBi.

We wish you all a profit!

How to pick a reliable crypto exchange platform

Proliferation of cryptocurrencies has some very interesting consequences. On the one hand, users’ interaction with crypto today is easier than it has ever been and there are plenty of platforms that allow you to exchange cryptocurrencies for fiat and vice versa. But on the other hand, this proliferation spawned lots of scam projects, shady platforms and just incompetently made services working with crypto. And using unreliable platforms is a great way to lose all your funds in a blink of an eye. So how can we figure out whether the crypto exchange platform in question is reliable, before actually trusting it with our money?

What to look for when choosing an exchange platform?

There are a few criteria that apply universally to crypto exchanges, exchangers and wallets:

– Legality. This is a very important, albeit optional point. Legalized and regulated platforms offer more security, but you can forget about anonymity – obligatory KYC is a feature of any regulated crypto platform. So whether to pay huge attention to legality is a matter of personal choice. If you don’t care about anonymity – better stay with regulated platforms, since the main disadvantage of such platforms is meaningless for you.

– Availability. A platform is of no use to you if it doesn’t offer its services in your region. It is not recommended to bypass such limitations, since it can be a reason for a ban and confiscation of your funds and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Moreover, while some countries block crypto platforms “just because”, some of the blocked platforms are clear scam. So if the platform you want to use is blocked – check the reason behind it carefully.

– Payment methods available. Not only the quantity of available payment methods but also their quality is important. A lot of shady services support only e-money systems like Skrill, Perfect Money or Payeer that have a reputation for use in “less-than-perfectly-legal” activities. Reliable exchange platforms usually support at least one major payment method like PayPal, credit cards, bank transfers or Advanced Cash.

– Speed of operations. Speed is not only the convenience factor, it is also a very important indicator of reliability. If the platform transfers money instantly or within 10-20 minutes – everything’s fine. If users regularly complain about significant transaction delays – there is something shady going on behind the scene.

– Reputation. You should rely only on services that have at least a six month history of full-scale operation – just to be sure that it is soundly designed. And don’t forget to check user reviews, especially on third-party sites. Of course, some of the reviews will be part of guerilla marketing campaigns (both by the service itself and by its competitors), but usually you can get a pretty good idea of the platform’s conduct. And pay special attention to how the service handles negative reviews and complaints, made in public. 

– Cryptocurrency exchange rate. The rate that the platform offers is obviously very important. However, you have to keep in mind that if the rate is too good to be true – you’re being scammed. The rate 5-15% better than the market average is normal and plausible, 25% better or even more – a definite red flag. Moreover, always take into account the fees. The more popular the exchange platform is, the lower the purchase/sale rate usually is, as well as the fees, due to large turnover of such platforms. Smaller platforms may attract users by more profitable rates, but charge much higher fees. So do some basic math regarding the amount you want to exchange, rate and fees before you commit to one platform or another.

– Support service. There are always some issues, accidents and questions in the operation of a large online platform. So pay attention to the support service: how quickly they respond (1-2 hours is a good standard), how helpful they are and how they communicate with customers. 

Example of a good exchange platform

Okay, that was the theory. But how does a good, reliable crypto exchange platform look in reality? Let’s take a look at HiRiBi – a platform that checks all the boxes mentioned above (except regulation, since it provides anonymous services).

HiRiBi is a specialized platform that allows you to sell Bitcoin for PayPal. Moreover, it offers a very favorable exchange rate (5-10% higher than the market average) due to a special algorithm selecting the best offers on a multitude of exchanges. Transactions are also extremely fast – you get your money just after 2 network confirmations of your Bitcoin transaction. 

The platform works successfully since 2017 and has made quite a name for itself – the users’ reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Throw fast-responding and professional customer support service into the mix – and you’ll get a perfect example of “how a good Bitcoin platform should work”.

Granted, HiRiBi won’t cover all your crypto related needs due to its narrow focus, but if you want to sell BTC and get PayPal dollars – there is no better place on the Web.

Where to learn crypto trading: useful resources on the Web

A lot of people just starting their way in the crypto world think that trading is a very complicated and very hard to learn activity. And that you have to be a genius to figure it out or at least find some “guru” that will teach you the secret and sacred art of trading (for a hefty price, of course). But that’s rubbish! The crypto market fundamentals are not really complicated and in order to trade successfully you have to just follow a very simple set of rules. There are, of course, some trial and error necessary and some tricks that you pick up over time to make your trading more efficient, but it is not difficult to start getting profit via crypto trading.

Moreover, there are a lot of great resources on the Web that offer plenty of extremely useful information on how the market works and the crypto market fundamentals. And today we will talk about a select few such resources.

Disclaimer

Before we will start talking about resources where you can get the best information out there, you have to remember three rules that are truly universal.

  1. Trading (any trading) is inherently risky, and crypto trading is even riskier (higher profit margins always come at a cost. All traders, even the best ones, make losing deals on a regular basis. The trick is to learn from losing trades and follow the rules of risk management, so you won’t drain your deposit.
  2. Trading is not gambling. So you have to carefully calculate every single trade in order to be successful, gambling on trades will quickly drain your deposit. This also means that you should expect to make a fortune quickly on a few successful trades – in trading, just like in any other field, success comes with methodical work, time and experience.
  3. Keep your emotions under control – never make a trade based on fear, anxiety, frustration or excitement. It may seem obvious, but in fact that is the rule most traders struggle with.

Investopedia

This is a great starting point for anything related to money, trading and investment, not only in the crypto market, but also in traditional markets. There are a lot of  informational and educational articles covering pretty much every topic imaginable about investment, trading and crypto. There are also plenty of guides that will help you to get started in crypto trading or in traditional assets investments.

Another great feature of the platform is their Academy where you can learn the basics of crypto trading, pick up some tricks from pros and gain a lot of skill pretty quickly.

TradingView

Another more “generalistic” resource, dedicated to “everything about trading”, both in traditional and in the crypto market.

The main feature of TradingView is sharing of trading ideas, analytics and forecasts between users. Moreover, traders not just give their forecasts, but also provide extensive explanations, so newcomers can not only receive relevant predictions, but also pick up market analysis skills.

However, it isn’t a great place to start learning about the market, since TradingView supposes that the audience have at least basic knowledge of trading and basic understanding of market processes. So maybe come here after Investopedia.


Coindesk: Crypto Trading 101

Coindesk is one of the most popular crypto news resources on the Web. This is useful for any crypto trader by itself, since a lot of price movements are caused by the news. But Coindesk also has a great section specifically tailored for beginners: Crypto Trading 101.

This section offers a lot of educational articles, that will help new traders to learn a lot of aspects of the trade, including, but not limited to:

  • How to read and analyze price charts
  • How to determine support and resistance levels
  • How to trade on specific cryptocurrency exchanges

There are also plenty of podcasts and other hands-on materials.

And the unique feature of the Crypto Trading 101 section is a curated news feed that contains only the news pieces most useful for market analysis.

The BitMEX Blog

BitMEX is one of the popular platforms dedicated to cryptocurrency derivatives trading. And just like many other exchanges, it has its own blog. But unlike many other platforms, education of new crypto traders is the main focus of the blog.

Here you’ll find not only the basic information about crypto derivatives (what is it, how it works, etc.), but also invaluable advice on trading derivatives and market analysis. 

The blog also contains useful articles on secure handling of cryptocurrencies, wallet selection and guides for other aspects of the crypto world.

Udemy Online University: Cryptocurrency Wealth: How to Trade and Invest Like the Pros

Udemy Online University doesn’t really need an introduction – it is that famous. So if you want a slightly more formal and academic education on crypto – Udemy is a perfect solution for you. 

There are plenty of courses on crypto trading for beginners,experienced traders and professionals. All courses are created by experienced lecturers and successful traders that have a lot of practical experience in the market.

The beginners course is enough to start trading and making money. More advanced courses, in their turn, will help you improve your trading efficiency and predict market movements much more precisely.

This is just a fraction of resources offering information on crypto trading on the Web, so don’t feel intimidated by the market – there are plenty of people ready to unveil its secrets.