The 5 Best Guides, Top Tutorials & Free Tools To Learn To Trade Crypto
Use the top five free resources to start swing and day trading cryptocurrency like a pro… or better
There is no ‘right’ or ‘perfect’ way to trade crypto
Or stocks, or forex (foreign exchange market), or anything for that matter. No “Ultimate Guide” exists. No shortcuts actually work. There are no guaranteed ways to make a profit. As commodities trader Roy L. Smith once said, “The perfect strategy works every time until you start using it.”
Learning the crypto market can be a bit like diving into a ball pit…
To find that green ball you’ll have to dig through piles of red ones, a handful of lost shoes and probably some random kids retainer.
So where do I start learning to trade, then?
While it’s definitely not the “be all, end all”… this curated collection of easy yet thorough online courses, tutorial videos and (surprisingly) free tools are a great place to start your trading journey. As most veteran currency traders (both crypto and otherwise) know, the wrong path is all too easy to find in this realm, but the right path usually starts with…
1.) The Best Free Online Course Overall:
BabyPips’ Forex Trading Course
BabyPips “Beginner’s Guide to FX Trading” is, by far, the best free online course to pick up the basics and a whole lot more. If you use nothing else on this list… complete this learning path start to finish.
You’ll start with the basics such as ‘What is Forex’ and familiarizing yourself with different chart types but quickly move into basic chart analysis (support / resistance levels, moving averages, fibonacci levels, etc.) Once you’re comfortable with oscillators and momentum indicators you’ll learn how to use that information to trade breakouts, fakeouts and divergences.
While most of your favorite Crypto TwitTraders likely stopped there, if you stay committed, you’ll find the course has so much more to offer. From gauging market sentiment to ‘Trading the News’ to developing your own trading plan to risk managment… it really is a complete trading course.
While the lessons learned in the BabyPips course are geared towards forex you’ll quickly find your knowledge spilling over into everything you trade. Whether it’s cryptocurrency, stocks, commodities or forex, you’ll be a better trader having completed this course. Honestly, as popular as it’s become (especially with aspiring crypto traders), I’m surprised yet thankful that it’s still free.
2.) The Best Way To Dive Deeper Into Trading Patterns:
Bulkowski’s ‘The Pattern Site’
Dont let the “Was this site made in 1997?” appearance fool you… The Pattern Site is a wealth of knowledge from a 30+ year veteran of market analysis and pattern trading. Focus on the ‘Research’ section for everything from fundamentals and candlestick charts to more advanced topics such as setup trading signals and even ugly patterns... yes, you read correct… ‘ugly patterns’.
3.) The Best Resource To Understand Volume & Master The Spread
Volume Spread Analysis
Understanding volume in currency trading is equally, if not more, important than mastering trading patterns. Crypto tends to be a very low volume / high volatility market especially compared to others like forex, stocks and commodities. Be sure to use Market Cap focused sites like CoinMarketCap to find out which exchanges have the highest volume for your trading pair of choice (see below for my personal recommendations). Sign up on Volume Spread Analysis is free, but required, and gives you access to every training video (plus two e-books) you’ll need to crush volume trading.
Liquidity (i.e. trading volume) is critical in all markets especially cryptocurrency. If no one is buying the digital asset you’re selling you’ll quickly find yourself in a tough spot. There are literally thousands of crypto exchanges to choose from so, as always, do your own research. I personally tend to use higher volume sites like Binance & Bibox for my altcoin trading & Coinbase.Pro for fee-free (when you place market-maker orders) buying of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash. Like I stated these are simply my preferences. Seriously… take the advice to look into them but, ultimately, make the decision(s) on your own.
4.) Start Actually Using Charts
TradingView
Now that you actually know a bit about charting crypto tokens it’s time to start doing it! Coinigy is an outstanding chart and trading platform if you’re; A.) only trading crypto and B.) are willing to pay the membership fee. The benefit to Coinigy is access to a larger variety of tokens and exchanges.
TradingView, however, is the most widely used free charting platform (and app) for many reasons. Most features, and access to all assets and exchanges (crypto, stocks, etc.), are completely free. Later you can decide if you need the perks that come with a paid subscription. Use the functions you’re familiar with to get started but you’ll quickly find it’s so full of features it deserves it’s own tutorial (you’ll find plenty around). Personally I use the app throughout the day as it has 90% of what I need. However, the website-only ‘Crypto Screener’ is extremely useful when you’re hunting for your next trading pair or are actively day trading in the moment.
5.) Use The Order Book Too
BitcoinWisdom.com
The one massively important bit of data missing from TradingView is the order book. Don’t you want to know who’s buying and selling Bitcoin, at what price and in what quantity? That’s what Bitcoin Wisdom is for.
The layout is straight to the point. No flashy logos… no unnecessary add-on’s… just the data. While not very exciting it’s the ‘stick to the basics’ design that makes it extremely easy to use. The number of crypto exchanges tracked are limited but it’s still much easier than logging into each one individually.
I hope you found these crypto trading tools useful! If so check out my most popular articles on Medium;
(Edit 12.5.2018: While I have not received compensation, and all opinions are my own, this post does include referral links to products or services I personally use where applicable)
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