If you're like me, you have finally pushed yourself past the wall of thinking that crypto is a ponzi scheme (in short, it's somewhat like a scam that "pays" existing investors when new investors invest their money, and at the end of the day, this cycle cannot be sustained and everyone makes a loss). I started down the spiralling rabbit hole by coming across articles on cryptocurrency while browsing personal finance blogs. The more I read it, the more interested I got.

The world out there is crazy - with lingo that only the insiders will understand (my own understanding, do not take them as gospel).

• "fiat" = money/cash that normal people use

• "NGMI" = not gonna make it

• "hodl crypto" = what's with the typo? But yes, it's spelt that way

• "to the moon" = the exponential increase in value that seems to only exist in crypto world

• "DYOR" = do your own research

• "FUD" = fear, uncertainty, doubt

• "whale" = persons with high holdings of crypto

• And last but not least, the laser eyes in people's profile pictures (alright, this is not a lingo)

I had enough, it was time for me to dip my toes in.

From Fiat to Crypto

I have my money, how I wish I could just walk up to a store (with the Covid situation now, it really is a privilege to be out strolling) and ask them to take it and give me crypto. Alas, steps I have to follow.

1. Find a fiat-to-crypto exchange of your liking, below is a link to some of the best exchanges currently: https://coinmarketcap.com/rankings/exchanges/ (disclaimer: you see Binance at the top, but there's a couple of versions of Binance available for sign-up so do look out on this. On another note, there seem to be quite a bit of regulatory issues faced by Binance in recent times. DYOR)

   1. Some key points to look out for on a platform:

      1. Trading fees - this will eat into the amount you get to purchase

      2. Withdrawal fees

         1. Withdrawal to fiat/cash - aside from knowing the fees, it'll be great to know how to cash out

         2. Withdrawal to a crypto wallet

      3. Type/range of cryptocurrency they support

2. Sign up for an account on the exchange

3. Transfer my money onto the exchange (do check as not all currencies are accepted; the more popular one being USD)

4. Learn to place an order (market = being the price for the fastest order fulfilment or limit = being the price that you set yourself) while facing all the bunch of "codenames" for cryptocurrency

   1. BTC = bitcoin

   2. ETH = ethereum

   3. USDC = USD coin (but actually, it's worth a dollar each)

5. Once the trade goes through, I own crypto!

Crypto World of Cefi

Well, now that I owned some crypto, it was time to put it to use. I'm a conservative person (I know, conservative but in crypto?) so I started out with USD stablecoins (in short, it's a stable cryptocurrency that doesn't fluctuate too much in value as it is pegged to the dollar. Do note that stable is subjective.)

Now before I move on, just some basic terms to cover:

• Cefi = centralised finance

• Defi = decentralised finance

• Tradfi = traditional finance. Our lovely banks!

There's a saying in the crypto world that goes, "not your keys, not your crypto". Well, I was too noob to plunge straight into the Defi world, where you're expected to guard your own keys. Being the forgetful person I am, I can't imagine forgetting my password and not being able to click the "Forget Password?" button to reset it. And so I headed into Cefi, specifically the lending arm of Cefi. The interest rates that they offer in exchange for the crypto being deposited is enticing - some platforms offer 7%-10% on stablecoins!

1. Find a Cefi, below is a link with a great explanation on lending crypto and also some of the top lending platforms: https://p2pempire.com/en/crypto-lending

   1. It'll be great to do some background research. Reddit (this is like a forum of sorts) is your best friend.

   2. Some key points to look out for on the platforms:

      1. Interest rates they offer

      2. Type/range of cryptocurrency they support

      3. Payment period - could be daily, weekly, monthly

      4. Accrual basis - most offers daily accrual (i.e. they calculate your interest on a daily basis)

      5. Deposit fees onto the platform - most do not charge a fee for this, I mean, it's business to them

      6. Withdrawal fees - some are pretty exorbitant if you are just dabbling with a small amount, so this was a key consideration for myself

      7. Special tiers/member system if they offer the rewards in their own cryptocurrency

2. Register for an account - pretty stringent KYC (know your client) process whereby you are highly likely to be asked for a photo of your identification documents

   1. You can consider using a 2FA (two-factor authentication) app such as Authy

3. Wait to be approved

4. Once approved, learn how to deposit using the QR code transfer or copy-and-paste the wallet address. Pay special attention to this, as transferring to the wrong address usually means you lose it forever.

   1. Key points to note: the addresses are different for certain coins.

      1. For bitcoin, it usually starts with number 1, 3, or bc1

      2. For ethereum, it usually starts with 0x (zero, followed by an x to be clear)

5. And yes, my first deposit! Depending on the platform, some of the interest starts accruing automatically, while some may require additional steps for you to set it up to earn interest.

And so, my journey begins. If you're decided to dip your toes as well, congratulations on taking the first step with me. If you're interested, below are the referral links for the platforms I personally used:

• Fiat-to-crypto / crypto-to-crypto exchange: Gemini

  • https://www.gemini.com/share/8y7dv79u9

  • $10 (paid in BTC within 30 days of account creation) for buying/selling USD100 worth

  • I did not have much luck with getting a response via e-mail on a query I had, though my experience with the interface went smoothly

• Crypto lending: Celsius

  • https://celsiusnetwork.app.link/1153361c4a

  • $40 (paid in BTC) for holding $400 worth of crypto (1 transaction) for 30 days

  • This can be stacked with other promo codes, do look out in their Twitter account as they change up the promo codes frequently

• Crypto lending: Nexo

  • https://nexo.io/ref/fooyq5fnda?src=android-link

  • $10 (paid in BTC) for transferring and holding $100 worth of crypto (1 transaction) for 30 days

• Crypto lending: BlockFi

  • https://blockfi.com/?ref=f71ce1b9

  • $10 (paid in BTC) for transferring $100 worth of crypto

  • I did get a response from BlockFi when I e-mail them on onboarding matters. Do note BlockFi did made the headlines previously for some blunders/compromise, as mentioned, DYOR.

In summary, the above covered the below points:

• Learning about crypto lingo

• Changing fiat to crypto

• Using crypto on a cefi platform

• Doing your own research! The crypto community can't stress enough - do your own research. The above are the steps that I went through myself, and is not financial advice.

*Image credit: lovevery