Before I start describing the main features of this trading platform, I would like to familiarize you with the company itself. Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency marketplaces in the world. The company began its activity in 2011 in the UK. However, later they have opened other offices in Luxemburg and New York. Crypto exchange Bitstamp received its license in Luxemburg.
Cryptocurrency exchanges are websites where you can buy, sell or exchange cryptocurrencies for other digital currency or traditional currency like US dollars or Euro. For those that want to trade professionally and have access to fancy trading tools, you will likely need to use an exchange that requires you to verify your ID and open an account. If you just want to make the occasional, straightforward trade, there are also platforms that you can use that do not require an account.
Take profits. Some investors think “taking profits” is a dirty phrase, but it is a rather conservative strategy none-the-less. Taking profits can result in you making less money than you would have if you did nothing and just “let it ride”… but that is only true if Bitcoin goes up over the long term. If you have hefty profits, consider taking them off the table, and then waiting for a lower price in the future. Worst case, you can buy back in at a higher price later (leaving some potential profits on the table). TIP: If a coin just went up 400%… consider taking some profits. Cryptocurrency almost always corrects at some point after a big run. I personally would say HODLing after making 400% gains is called GREED. I won’t ever sell my full stack in one chunk, but I’m going to start averaging out when the MACD turns bearish after a 400% – 1,000% run if the run was somewhat organic. If the run was the result of a pump and dump, then I will likely take it all off the table quickly. Pump and dumps are frustrating events, like I said, watch out for manipulation.
Consider Diversifying. With the above advice in mind, there is nothing worse than getting frustrated with BTC, moving to ETH / alts and missing a BTC price spike, then moving back into BTC and missing the ETH spike. This is very easy to do given the rotation, and the natural urge to “FOMO buy.” If you have some of your funds in all the coins you trade, you’ll avoid missing out on a unicorn (a term one can use to describe an odd event, like a giant price spike in a short amount of time). If you diversify, especially when prices are low across the board, you’ll avoid some of the urge to jump into one coin mid or late into a run and out of a coin just before it goes on its run. In other words, although it isn’t the most profitable tactic, diversifying is good for one’s sanity in a number of important ways.
Take this into account when holding Alts for the medium and long term, and of course choose them carefully. What kind of Alts are recommended for the long term? Remember, this is only when there is a reason for making a trade. The projects/coins that have a higher daily trading volume and which have a widespread community behind them, with continuous development, are here to stay with us:
Watch out for odd Altcoins and ICOs. The market is tricky enough with the major coins, it is even trickier with odd alt coins and ICOs. Yes, sometimes you can buy these low and see insane gains. In fact, getting it right is the best bet in crypto. The problem is, almost all the odd coins down the list and ICOs will spend the majority of their life being near worthless. Then, you may see a short time span in which these coins preform well. You would think that you would be able to take profits then, but so many people do not. After that one event these can end up in the graveyard. Yeah, you could make it big on low cost alts and ICOs… but I’ve seen more than a few people lose money. Be careful bottom fishing, Bitcoin might not make you rich, but it is a way less risky bet than coins further down the list.

The problem with this approach is that once you sell, you’ve actually lost money (you don’t lose until you sell), and while in some cases, cutting your losses does make sense, most coins will bounce back in days, if not hours, and then the same people, seeing a surge, buy back at higher prices, only to repeat the cycle. Buying high and selling low is a one-way ticket to going broke.
Cryptocurrency is volatile! There is always the chance that the market will crash, or that you will face some other catastrophe. Cryptocurrency isn’t a centrally controlled and regulated fiat currency. If you lose a coin, or someone cheats you, or your account gets hacked, there is nothing you can do about it (which is one reason why you want to have 2-factor authentication set-up).
Howling, expounding, hyping, none of this makes a difference to a market of any size. Markets are gigantic stochastic processes and it takes truly historic events to change or make the trends. If someone loses money investing there is no person to blame and that harsh reality needs to be embraced by anyone wishing to make money in the long term. Personifying the market warps the investor’s ability to understand the mechanism of buyers matching sellers and prices being made. “He said this, she said that” might make for tabloid journalism but it doesn’t make trends.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been engaged in a predictable up and down pattern where it absolutely crashes at the beginning of any year and then sky-rockets as the year nears its end. Bitcoin held steady at around $19,000 in December 2017, and then sure enough – crashed big time to around $6,000 at the beginning of 2018. At the time of writing, March 8th 2018, the price of Bitcoin is relatively stable between $10,000 and $12,000. In my opinion, the price will run again soon.
They can also be expensive. Whilst there are many options like BTC Robot that offer free 60 day trials, you will usually be charged a monthly subscription fee that will eat into your profit. They can also be expensive to set up if you have to pay someone to programme your bot. On top of that, you’ll need to pay to have your bot updated as the market changes.
So-called “hot wallets” make accessing your crypto easy – allowing you to transfer funds and complete trades quickly and with ease. Many providers now offer mobile apps so this can be done on the move. Meanwhile, “cold wallets” are stored offline – commonly on USB sticks – with some people even writing down their private keys on paper. The latter can work well if you’re looking to save crypto for a rainy day.
On top of that, the cryptocurrency market travels at lightspeed compared to other markets. New coins enter the market on a daily basis (in 2016, there were about 550 different coins, today there are about 1,500), and each one has news every day. I’m not doubting your ability to consume and analyze news, but that level of information bombardment will always be more effectively consumed as a group. In these communities, you’ll see members link news and relevant articles about coins you’ve invested in and coins you’ve never heard of. The community will definitely expand your knowledge much faster than doing it all yourself.