Recently, I've seen many beginners ask me the same question: "How do I start trading cryptocurrencies?" Honestly, this market has indeed created many stories of wealth, but for newcomers, the entry barrier seems quite high. Actually, that's not the case. Today, I want to share some of my experiences over the past few years to help everyone clarify their thinking.

First, understand why you should consider investing in cryptocurrencies. The most direct reason is—because the market is still very new. Compared to stocks, forex, and other mature markets dominated by institutions, cryptocurrencies have only been around for just over a decade, with high volatility and many opportunities. Think about it: retail investors can't really beat institutions in traditional finance, but in the crypto space, everyone starts on roughly equal footing. Plus, the entry barrier is ridiculously low—just $2 to $10 is enough to get started. And with 24/7 trading and no trading halt restrictions, anyone worldwide can participate.

Choosing a trading method is a crucial step. Basically, there are two paths: one is trading spot and derivatives directly on decentralized or centralized exchanges; the other is trading through CFD (Contract for Difference) platforms. The former requires real-name verification, while the latter is more strictly regulated, offering better security for your funds. I personally recommend that beginners who prioritize fund safety consider platforms with proper financial licenses, so at least you don’t have to worry about platform insolvency.

When it comes to choosing coins, my advice is to start with assets that have "high market cap, strong liquidity, and high consensus." Bitcoin is an obvious choice—largest market cap, strongest consensus—just like buying blue-chip stocks, the least likely to cause you to hit a mine. Currently, BTC is around $77.04k, with a 24-hour increase of about 0.30%. Ethereum is the second choice, not only because it ranks second in market cap but also because it already has a complete application ecosystem—DeFi, NFTs, on-chain games are all running, not just empty slogans. ETH is now about $2.12k, with a roughly 0.25% increase.

If you want stability, you can allocate some USDT as a "tool coin"—it’s pegged to $1, not for profit-taking, but as a safe haven to park funds when converting between different tokens. Also, BNB, which is tied to a major exchange ecosystem, can be held to enjoy trading fee discounts, and it has periodic token burns. Currently, it’s around $640.80. If you want to experience high-speed blockchains, Solana (SOL) is a good choice—transaction fees are extremely low, now about $84.80, but only if you already hold BTC or ETH and can accept larger fluctuations.

Next, let’s talk about common mistakes beginners make. Frequent trading is the biggest pitfall—once you master some technical analysis, you start staring at the charts all day, buying and selling frequently, and end up paying so much in fees that all your profits are eaten up. I fell into this trap myself in 2018—opening multiple positions, holding both long and short positions across various coins, and finally ending up dizzy.

The second mistake is disrespecting the market. No one can predict with 100% accuracy, but many people, once they make a wrong judgment, stubbornly stick to it and fight against the market. I personally experienced this during the March 12, 2020 crash—my 1x leveraged long BTC futures position, which I thought was safe, got wiped out in a flash when the market plunged.

The third trap is not setting stop-loss and take-profit orders. When you make profits, you want more; when you’re losing, you want to recover. This mindset is understandable, but doing so exposes you to huge risks. The purpose of stop-loss and take-profit is to keep your risk within manageable limits. When the market gaps, these orders will close your position at the most favorable price, preventing losses from snowballing.

Finally, be wary of two major traps. One is pump-and-dump scams involving trash coins—projects issued by teams with no technology or real application, whose prices are entirely manipulated. When you invest, they dump their holdings, causing prices to crash. If you see phrases like "double your money" or "listed with equity," it’s almost certainly a scam. The other is Ponzi schemes—claiming "blockchain innovation," but actually using new investors’ money to pay earlier investors. They might give you small profits initially to build confidence, but once you invest large sums, they say "system maintenance" and block withdrawals, eventually shutting down. These projects often promise "guaranteed profits," "fixed high returns," or rely on recruiting others to earn commissions—stay far away if you see these keywords.

So, the core principles are twofold: don’t believe in "high returns"—any promise of guaranteed doubling is just talk; and avoid "unknown platforms"—always choose large, reputable exchanges or platforms with proper financial regulation.

Honestly, making mistakes as a beginner is unavoidable, but the key is not to keep falling into the same traps repeatedly. After each mistake, stop trading and give yourself time to cool down, so you can truly learn from it. Remember: making mistakes isn’t scary; repeating the same mistake is.