If you would like to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin or Ripple I suggest that you use Etoro. You can sign up to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin here. You can buy Ripple here.
With Cryptomania capturing the attention of the world I think it is time to briefly explain the top 4 currencies, let you know where to buy them and also give you a little bit of insight into how I am trading them.
If you are new to Cryptocurrency then in basic terms they are a form of digital currency that is created and held electronically. They are not printed like pounds, dollars and euros.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is one of the original Cryptocurrencies and more than likely the one you are already aware of. No one controls Bitcoins, they are produced by people, using software that solves mathematical problems. This means Bitcoin is independent of any central authority.
If you bought 1 Bitcoin on January 1st 2017 for $1000, you would be able to sell it today for $18000. The reason for the rise is up for debate however increasing amounts of corporates and governments are accepting Bitcoins use.
There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, these can broken down by one hundred millionth of a bitcoin. If you would like to buy Bitcoin, you do not have to spend $18000 you can buy as much as little as $10.
Buying/Trading Bitcoin
At the moment with the market being so volatile I am trading Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin via professional traders on a social copy trading network – Etoro. Basically I “copy” professional traders on Etoro and add funds to them, Etoro then copies every trade they make, you can see the traders history to be sure that they are making profits. You can see a snapshot of my current open copy trades below:
If you would like to copy the same professional traders I suggest using a practise account first. You can sign up to one here. If you sign up feel free to comment on my blog it would be good to see your progress.
The only position I have open myself at the moment is Ripple. I will be holding on to these into the new year as I believe the price will double by the end of January. You can see below the two positions I opened yesterday.
If you would like to chat about trading you can instant message me via Skype: innovseo or to receive my monthly updates and any new coin ICOs that I think will do well sign up here.
Ethereum 
The first thing about Ethereum is that it is not just a digital currency. It is a blockchain-based platform with many aspects. It features smart contracts, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and it uses its currency called ether for peer-to-peer contracts.
Ethereum’s smart contracts use blockchain stored applications for contract negotiation and facilitation. The benefit of these contracts is that the blockchain provides a decentralized way to verify and enforce them. The decentralized aspect makes it incredibly difficult for fraud or censorship. Ethereum’s smart contracts aim to provide greater security than traditional contracts and bring down the associated costs.
The smart contract applications are powered by ether, Ethereum’s blockchain based cryptocurrency. Ether, as well as other crypto-assets, are held in the Ethereum Wallet, which allows you to create and use smart contracts. The system has been described by the New York Times as:
“a single shared computer that is run by the network of users and on which resources are parceled out and paid for by ether.”
Litecoin (LTC)
One of the several clone cryptocurrencies that stemmed from Bitcoin, Litecoin “forked” off the Bitcoin ledger in late 2011. It was intended to be the silver to Bitcoin’s gold: a faster, more lightweight version of the Satoshi Nakamoto-created cryptocurrency. Instead of the approximately 10 minutes it takes for a Bitcoin transaction, a Litecoin transaction only takes 2.5 minutes.
While making transactions four times faster, Litecoin’s creator also Charlie Lee quadrupled the maximum number of coins that can be mined. While bitcoin has a total of 21 million, Litecoin totals 84 million. And the total market value of Litecoin is currently lower: $18 billion to Bitcoin’s $291 billion. It is the fourth largest Cryptocurrency market behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin cash.
Ripple (XRP)
While it wasn’t released until 2012, Ripple is actually older than Bitcoin. The original version of the company was created in 2004, according to Bitcoin Magazine. It never really went anywhere, though, until it put a professional management team in place, which included E-Loan co-founder Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb, founder of MtGox.
Ripple’s Cryptocurrency has been adopted by banks and other financial institutions. Those companies believe Ripple’s system offers both better prices and is more secure than other digital currencies, including Bitcoin. It allows users to send, receive, and hold any currency in a decentralised way via the Ripple network. The company is cash-flow positive and holds a vast store of XRP, which it periodically releases into the market.
But the real appeal of Ripple’s XRP for banks is its liquidity.
“The liquidity needs of banks today is managed with literally ten trillion of float that sits in these nostro and vostro accounts. We believe very strong this is an inefficient model. You can use digital assets to fund liquidity, and Ripple is uniquely positioned to capitalize on that. Bitcoin takes four hours to settle a transaction. XRP takes 3.6 seconds,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told Fortune earlier this year.
Ok so that’s a round up of the top 4 Cryptocurrencies right now. If you are interesting in investing I strongly recommend you use a trusted network such as Etoro. If you would like to receive monthly updates on how my trades are performing you can enter your email below.
I’m interested in buying and trading ripple. I know you have suggested etoro but just wondering why etoro and not any of the other thousands that are out there. Thanks
Hi Theo
I bought Ripple (XRP) on Etoro because they are regulated and I also have my copy trades with them. If you are looking to make a good return via Cryptocurrencies I would suggest copying traders who have a good track record on Etoro, you can see the 3 I follow in this post. To put this in perspective my XRP trade is currently negative however i’m holding this trade until the new year, since opening this trade a couple of days a go Jaynemesis a trader I automatically copy has made 5% on the balance. This is because they are making many small trades per day as the price increases and decreases and since the Crypto market is volatile right now the traders have a lot of opportunities to make good trades.
If you have any other questions feel free to add them here or email me on me@james-duffy.com
Thanks
James
What’s your thoughts on Dascoin
Market cap is currently $12,236 USD trading at $0.0045. Considering at it’s height it had $819,000 market cap trading at $0.33 I think its safe to say it has flopped.
I’m new at this but I seriously want to buy ripple where do I start?
Personally I use Etoro for trading but you can use whatever platform you want. Remember trading currencies involves risking your currency, as the price may go down. I suggest you sign up to a practise account here if you are interested in trading currencies. Feel free to ask me any questions about the Etoro platform i’ve been using it for a few years now.
Hi James.
I’m a Danish man hoping to make a few bucks over the next couple of years. My idea was originally Bitcoin but everyone says Ethereum or ripple. Since ripple is affordable right now I’m planning on investing a mall amount, around $200.
So how does this idea sound to you: I put in $200 And then wait a year or two?
Hi Jakob. Its totally up to you. Holding has been working for people up to now however the Crypto world is so volatile right now anything could happen. Personally I am following traders on Etoro who trade Crypto they make many trades a week which for me is safer than holding. Remember your capital is at risk and you may lose so make sure you only use funds you are comfortable with. You can sign up to a practise trading account here to study the platform.
Hi James, I’m using etoro myself and just wondering what traders your following on there? Needing all the help I can get as I’m new to this. Thanks
Hi Dale you can see my last trader update here. http://www.james-duffy.com/2017/12/crypto-trading-update-why-i-sold-ripple-xrp/ i’m open about who I follow.
Can I actually purchase Ripple on Etoro and move them to a wallet? Or are you just trading like on plus500? Thanks
Hi Tom. On Etoro you are using CFDs, you do not own the coin. You can see a comparison between CFDs and owning the coin here: Why Use CFDs, I Want to Own The Cryptocoin!
Hi James
I would like to buy ripple – how do I get started?
Thanks
Jay
The minimum deposit on the platform I use Etoro is $500. You can sign up to trade Ripple here.
Hi James. I don’t understand trading at all. If I sign up to Etoro how easy is it to follow the top traders like you do? Do they tell you what their trades are? Any information gratefully received. Thanks.
Jim.
Hi Jim, Yes it is easy to copy traders, the system automatically copies their trades. Before committing any funds just sign up for a practise account here. Do not deposit anything until you are absolutely 100% on how to use the Etoro system. Find a trader and then do your due diligence, there is lots of information available, make sure you understand what each item of information means then you can identify the trader that suits how you want to trade.
Hi James what are your thoughts on using crypto robot 365 to buy Ripl,e?
Hi Helen, I’ve never heard of them but that’s not to say they’re not genuine. The platform may trade crypto currencies but they are linked to a robot that they claim automatically trades. I would stay well clear of this, this sort of bot has been around for years and they always die off, it’s a marketing ploy. I may be bias because I use eToro but you can’t beat actual traders who you can do your due diligence on via the system.
Hi – we have just started trading and have some cash in bitcoin and ripple … interested in your idea above re: copying the good traders – how do we know who these people are to copy? Cheers for any guidance
Hi Donna. I have a guide available for download on this page its half way through the article.
Hi James,
Any advice on Coinbase?
Thanks
Aisling
Hi Aisling I have actually done a comparison on Etoro to Coinbase: Why Use CFDs, I Want to Own The Cryptocoin!
Hi James,
I am looking to invest in ripple. I am using the virtual version at the moment to get a feel or how it works. Can you suggest how long I should practice for and also recommendation of who to follow or what to look at most important when copying traders
Hi Monique, keep practising until you are 100% sure you know how the system works. I ask myself questions when looking at traders. What is their return over the last 12 months? How many months where profitable? What is their average return on a good month or bad month? What type of financial items are they trading (Cryptos, Currencies, Stocks etc)? Then finally would be I be happy if my money had been with them for 12 months compared to the other trader I am looking at. You should also look at risk score but for me I can gather this by their trading gain or losses and what they are trading. Remember don’t be rash with leaving a trader either because it will take some time until your trades exactly match theirs due to them already having trades open when you copy them.
Hi, what is the best site to use to but ripple where you can keep it in a wallet rather than buying a contract which expires after 24hrs?
Hi Nathan i’m not sure where you have read this but that is not true, I have had trades open for months with Etoro using CFDs. You can read this article to clear a few things up: Why Use CFDs, I Want to Own The Cryptocoin!
Hi James.
I’m new to this bought Ripple at .96 £364 investment2 days ago at the moment I’m 250 up so this morning I took £100 out paid £25 fees just to see what happened Pressed the taking it for profit tab, had an email saying give alternative bank or PayPal address in case they have trouble paying it in. Looking at my screen it’s stayed the same p/l, daft question where is the money coming from. Will my units decrease or stay the same, at the moment I took the £100 is that out of the P/L on the screen and does it affect the units. Please help as I had ago because one of the kids was talking about it.
Nigal.
Hi Nigal. Your profit or loss figure shown is what you would have if you cashed out the entire investment. So for example if you bought 100 units at £1.00 and the currency increased to £1.10 your profit would show as £10. You are sill open to fluctuations in the price and could actually go into loss until you close the trade. If your profit has not changed then the £100 you removed is probably from your available balance which was not invested. If using the above example you sell £10 worth and take the profit then you will be selling 9.5 units (£10/£1.05), so yes your units will decrease if you sell a portion. It’s standard for EToro to ask for a backup payment although because of anti money laundering legislation they must transfer to whatever payment source you have used to deposit first up to the amount you deposited.
Did you sell part of the trade before removing £100?
Hi James
No I put £364 in and watched go up and down like a yo-yo. This morning I thought I would take £100 out to see if it would let me and it did. Thank you for replying I have saved you in my favourites. It’s a bit of fun but the amount of swing either way made me realise I need to have some advice.
Thank you
Nigal.
No problem Nigal. As long as people understand that there is risk involved with trading then we should all have some fun!
thank you. quite an interesting and detailed article
HI James. please it is possible to buy a crytocurrency and store it for a long time. for example buy a ripple in 2018 and sell it in 2020. If yes how to proceed on Etoro platform. i m new on the trading.
Hi Jean, sign up for a practise account then you can switch between demo and real trading account within the system. You can sign up for a practise account by clicking here. I suggest you use the practise account first so you understand the Etoro system, also contact support for peace of mind with any questions you may have. It is possible to leave your trades open for long times until you close them on Etoro.