Investing in the Crypto Currency market space could be a little daunting for the traditional investor, as investing directly in Crypto Currency (CC) requires the use of new tools and adopting some new concepts. If you do decide to dip your toes in the forex market, you will want to have a very good idea of how to proceed and what to expect.

Buying and selling CC's requires you to choose an Exchange that deals in the merchandise you want to buy and sell, be they Bitcoin, Litecoin, or any of the over 1300 other tokens in play. In previous editions we have briefly described the merchandise and services available at a few exchanges, to give you an idea of the different offerings. There are lots of Exchanges to choose from plus they all do things in their own way. Look for the things that matter to you, for example:

- Deposit policies, methods, and costs of every method

- Withdrawal policies and costs

- Which fiat currencies they deal set for deposits and withdrawals

- Products they deal in, such as for example crypto coins, gold, silver etc

- Costs for transactions

- where is this Exchange based? (USA / UK / South Korea / Japan...)

Be prepared for the Exchange setup procedure to be detailed and lengthy, because the Exchanges generally want to know a lot about you. It really is akin to setting up a fresh bank account, as the Exchanges are brokers of valuables, and they want to be sure that you are who you say you're, and that you will be a trustworthy person to handle. It seems that "trust' is earned over time, because the Exchanges typically allow only small investment amounts to begin with.

Your Exchange will keep your CC's in storage for you personally. Many offer "cold storage" which simply means that your coins are kept "offline" and soon you indicate that you want to accomplish something with them. You can find a number of news stories of Exchanges being hacked, and several coins stolen. Consider your coins being in something like a bank account at the Exchange, but remember that your coins are digital only, and that all blockchain transactions are irreversible. Unlike your bank, these Exchanges do not have deposit insurance, so be aware that hackers are always out there trying everything they can to get at your Crypto Coins and steal them. Exchanges generally offer Password protected accounts, and several offer 2-factor authorization schemes - something to earnestly consider in order to protect your account from hackers.

Given that hackers love to prey on Exchanges and your account, we always advise that you use an electronic wallet for your coins. It is relatively easy to go coins in the middle of your Exchange account as crypto well as your wallet. Be sure to select a wallet that handles all of the coins you intend to be buying and selling. Your wallet is also these devices you utilize to "spend" your coins with the merchants who accept CC's for payment. The two types of wallets are "hot" and "cold". Hot wallets have become easy to use but they leave your coins subjected to the internet, but only on your pc, not the Exchange server. Cold wallets use offline storage mediums, such as for example specialized hardware memory sticks and simple hard copy printouts. Using a cold wallet makes transactions more difficult, but they are the safest.

Your wallet provides the "private" key that authorizes all of the transactions you would like to initiate. You also have a "public" key that is shared on the network so that all users can identify your account when involved in a transaction with you. When hackers get your private key, they are able to move your coins anywhere they need, and it is irreversible.