
Bitcoin's exponential growth exposed the world to a new form of trading and exchange system. Different cryptocurrencies have since sprung up, offering other use cases.
We've seen the explosion of smart contracts, decentralized finance, and governance platforms.
However, one of the main reasons for cryptocurrency's mass adoption is the market's profitability.
Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is a new way to make money. And with the market's high volatility, it's easy to maximize profit.
That said, it's also easy to lose all your money if you don't know when to sell a cryptocurrency.
With so many options out there and new crypto platforms springing up every day, things can quickly become overwhelming for casual enthusiasts who want to buy and sell bitcoin and other crypto tokens safely.
With the proper knowledge and a good understanding of buying-and-selling mechanisms, holders and traders can navigate the system more efficiently. Knowing what coins to buy and when and where to sell them will enable you to react to the market accordingly.
In this article, you'll learn how to buy and sell cryptocurrency easily.
You need to have a fundamental knowledge of cryptocurrencies before diving into trading them.
A cryptocurrency is cash that lives on digital devices. Just like physical cash, cryptocurrencies are designed to settle bills and make payments. Also, you can send them to friends and family anywhere in the world.
In reality, crypto payments work the same way bank transfers do. But cryptos offer more privacy, security, and ease.
Bitcoin was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. The project's whitepaper promised a digital currency that allows secure, anonymous peer-to-peer transactions.
Bitcoin is based on blockchain technology, a publicly available database that functions as a distributed ledger. It uses cryptography to record transactions and protect user data. Thousands of cryptocurrencies are based on this technology.
You can add new transactions to the blockchain (blocks) but can't delete anything, and it's easy to see every transaction that has occurred on the chain.
Blockchain technology has been used in different ground-breaking applications, not just crypto transactions. For example, the introduction of smart contracts made it possible to leverage blockchain technology in gaming, decentralized finance, and governance, among many other real-world use cases.
While you need to go through a financial organization such as a bank to send money to anyone or make payments, cryptocurrency transactions are done peer to peer. That means there's no middle man: just you and the recipient.
What's more, you don't have to hand over any personal information or sign up to any service to send and receive cryptocurrencies. All you need is a wallet. Cryptocurrencies are also not limited by international borders. You pay the same transaction fees (which are very low) to send tokens anywhere.
However, buying and selling cryptocurrencies is another kettle of fish. While the goal is to, one day, use cryptocurrencies to settle and finalize payments, we're still at a time where the easiest way to own cryptos is using fiat currencies to purchase them.
That's where trading comes in.
Just like fiat currencies and stocks, you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies and make profits and losses. They both involve price movement speculation.
However, unlike fiat currencies and stocks, cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. For example, daily percentage changes can spike or plunge in double digits.
So, you have to take your time to understand the market before trying your hand.
You can buy actual cryptocurrency assets via exchanges or use a CFD trading account to speculate price movements.
With CFDs (Contract for Difference), you're betting your money on a cryptocurrency's future price without buying the actual token. This type of trading is purely aimed at making a profit.
You can open a short position ("sell" or "go short") if you think a token's price will fall in the future or open a long position ("buy" or "go long") if you think it will rise.
You'll be leveraging a small deposit, known as a margin, to expose yourself to the real cryptocurrency market. Whatever amount of deposit you make, the total size of your position will determine your profits and losses, which amplifies how much you stand to gain or lose.
For example, if you open a $50,000 long position and use a 10:1 (10x) leverage, you'll have to commit a $5,000 deposit, which is your margin.
Going through a cryptocurrency exchange means you're purchasing the real crypto asset, which you can then transfer to a private wallet or sell at a later time. This is the best way to go about things if you're looking at keeping crypto assets long-term.
This form of trading is called Spot Trading. Each trade is settled when there's a price match between a buyer and a seller.
People regularly place buy and sell orders (more on that later) on exchanges, which are filled when the conditions are met. So, for example, a buyer's order of price X will be matched with that of a seller who placed a sell order at the same price.
You can trade cryptocurrency easily on the same day through exchanges.
Firstly, you have to sign up on the exchange and set up your wallet.
After signing up, you'll have to go through the exchange's process of depositing money. Some exchanges require some form of identity verification before you can deposit and start trading.
After depositing your fiat currency, such as Euro, Pounds, or Dollars, you can quickly go to the trading platform's spot market to buy a token.
However, some platforms allow you to buy crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple using your credit card.
Once bought, the token is transferred to your wallet. After that, you can withdraw the cryptocurrency to any other digital wallet or sell it whenever you choose to on the exchange.
Exchanges work with trading pairs. Each cryptocurrency has its unique abbreviation, known as a ticker. For example, Bitcoin trades with the "BTC" ticker while Ripple trades with the "XRP" ticker.
Trading pairs help you identify how you buy a token. They are assets that can be exchanged for each other.
When you open an exchange's spot market, you'll see many different trading pairs.
A typical example of a trading pair is BTC/USD. You buy the asset on the left with the asset on the right.
So, for example, to buy Bitcoin using the USD (US Dollar) you deposited, you'll have to select the BTC/USD trading pair, enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to purchase, and click on Buy.
To sell, select the trading pair, enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to sell, and click on Sell.
As we mentioned, there are many different trading pairs. You can exchange one cryptocurrency for another. For example, the ETH/BTC trading pair allows you to exchange ETH for BTC and vice versa.
Stablecoins are crypto tokens that are pegged to the value of a fiat currency. A well-known example is Tether (USDT), which is pegged to the US dollar. Other examples include USDC and USDT. You'll find that trading with stablecoins helps simplify things as you're exposed to more USDT and USDC pairs.
So, after depositing your fiat to the exchange, you can convert your funds to a stablecoin without worrying about its value dropping.
As we mentioned earlier, you have to go through spot trading to buy or sell a crypto asset in a centralized exchange, and spot trades involve setting buy and sell orders.
There are different types of orders that allow you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies at a specific price.
These orders serve as tools to help you manage risk, maximize profit, and minimize your loss.
Placing a market order allows you to sell or purchase a token instantly. It tells the exchange to fill your order at the best available price.
When you check your order detail, you might notice that your coin was sold in batches at different prices.
This order type works for people who want to buy or sell as quickly as possible without waiting for a specific price.
While the market order is the fastest way to buy or sell crypto assets, it's not always the best option. Depending on the market's volatility, the trade could be filled at a much worse price than what you anticipated.
A limit order instructs the exchange to buy or sell a crypto asset at a specific price. The asset won't be bought or sold until its price falls or rises to the price you entered.
Suppose you want to buy a token at $9,000, but it's currently trading at $9,500. Then, you can set a limit order of $9,000. This way, your order will only be filled whenever the cryptocurrency's price falls to $9,000.
To set the order, you have to enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to buy. In most cases, the exchange will automatically fill in the price in USD (if you're buying with USD).
You can't set a limit order above a token's current market price since a better price is already available. However, in most exchanges, the cryptocurrency will be bought immediately after you set such an order.
The same goes for setting a sell limit order. Your asset won't be sold until its price reaches the specific price you set, and if you place a limit order at a lower price than the current market price, it will sell immediately.
You should note that there's no guarantee that the exchange will fill your limit order. For example, the limit order will not be executed if the token's price never falls or rises to your set price. Also, in some cases, the exchange might fill the order partially or not at all if the token's price grows too fast and there are no matching orders to execute your buy or sell order.
A stop order instructs the exchange to set a limit or market order when a specific price is met.
There are two types of stop orders: stop-loss order and stop-limit order.
When you set a stop-loss order, a market order is triggered. That means, when the token reaches a specific price, the exchange is allowed to sell or buy it at the best available price.
For example, if you set a sell stop-loss order for Bitcoin at $9,000, the exchange will fill the order at the current market price whenever Bitcoin reaches or crosses $9,000. Note that the order will be filled whether the price goes up or down.
The downside of using a stop-loss order is that the order could be filled at a worse price than you expected.
The exchange will set a limit price order once your stop-limit order is triggered. That means you have to put a stop price and a limit price separately. While you can use the same price for both orders, setting the limit price slightly above or below the stop price increases your chance of filling the order.
For example, if Bitcoin is currently trading at $9,500 and you want to buy it at $9,000, you can set a stop price of $9,100 and a limit price of $9,000. Then, when Bitcoin's price falls to $9,100, the exchange will automatically place the $9,000 limit order.
Unlike the stock market, the crypto market trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a result, you can buy and sell crypto at any time.
That said, your exchange might suspend spot or margin trading due to maintenance or upgrade. Server downtimes can also affect trading.
So, if you've been asking the question, "Does Bitcoin trade 24 hours a day?" you now have your answer.
Day trading is a convenient way to buy and sell crypto for profit. As long as you know the best time of day to sell Bitcoin after buying, you can easily make a lucrative career out of trading cryptocurrencies on the same day.
Crypto prices are highly volatile. Price movements within one hour can make a huge difference in profits and losses. That is why the cryptocurrency market is a fertile ground for those who know what to do.
Day trading allows you to take advantage of the substantial price changes of any crypto asset. That said, you have to be careful as you could also incur huge losses if the market takes a different turn from what you anticipated.
Since you want to profit from cryptocurrency price movements, the best time to sell is when the token rises above your entry price. You have to determine how much profit you want to make and stick with it.
Now that you know how to use the different order types, you can easily set your entry and exit prices.
If you're day trading, make sure you monitor price movements closely. You could also delve into learning Fundamental Analysis and Technical Analysis, tools that advanced traders use to understand and speculate the state of the crypto markets.
Another way to determine when to sell your cryptocurrency is by following the news. First, learn everything there is to know about a token and its project development. Then, follow updates about new changes coming to the project, especially collaborations, that could sway a token's price.
News about government regulations, crypto comments from influential individuals, and security breaches can significantly impact the cryptocurrency market.
So, take all these into account when trading cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency trading is risky. Trade carefully and make sure you're ready to bear the risk of losing your entire deposit.