A relatively new cryptocurrency Avalanche is getting a lot of popularity as an alternative currency. Currently, the market capitalization of Avalanche is over USD 6 billion. Avax or Avalanche has gained a place among the top cryptos in the market, and as such more and more investors are keen to try their luck. If you too happen to be interested, you need to know what we are about to share in the article here.
Understanding Avax
Before buying Avax, you must understand the reasons behind its speedy success and widespread popularity. Avax has several features that make it unique, and attractive to investors. To begin with, Avax supports more than 2 blockchains; the Contract Chain or C-chain. It also supports the X-Chain (Exchange Chain) and lastly the Platform Chain (P-Chain).
The C-Chain is most suitable for smart contracts such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized apps (Dapps), etc. While the X-Chain is utilized for creating new digital assets. Lastly, the P-Chain assists in coordinating validators and the creation of sub-nets.
Buying Avax
Binance.US, and Coinbase, are the two most popular exchanges where you can get hold of Avax. You can simply exchange the US dollar or other Fiat currency with Avax. Or trade other cryptocurrencies such as BTC, Ethereum, Tether, etc., for Avax
Tokens.
Avax can also be paired with stable currencies such as USDC, which is pegged with USD, however, not all exchanges offer this feature. KuCoin and Crypto.com are two places that allow pairing Avax with USD and other currencies. Another stablecoin that you can pair Avax with is Tether, and the exchanges that allow the pair are KuCoin and Binance to name a few.
Choosing an Exchange
An account on a crypto exchange is the basic requisite for investment. Digital exchanges are platforms that facilitate investment and trade by ensuring a secure environment and accessibility. While some exchanges are intuitively designed for novice investors, others may have added features that make them detailed and complex to use.
As a beginner, we would suggest that you should look for exchanges that support many currencies and have lower trading fees. However, no compromise should be made on security and user safety.
Different exchanges have different verification requirements; the most basic are proof of residence, bank statement, proof of income, etc. Keep these documents handy while the account creation process. Depending on the platform, verification may take from 24 hours to 3 days before your account is operational.
Funding your account
Once your account is operational, the next step is to define a payment method for your account. Payment through a credit card while being the easiest and fastest method may cost the highest. On the other hand, bank transfers are slow but cheaper. You can even choose to fund your account with other cryptos you might have before Avax.
However, if you wish to pay, ensure that you only provide a method that is supported and approved by the platform. Be sure to check the deductions, hidden charges, and transaction fees on every method before you decide on any one method.
Buying Avax
The actual step where you purchase the Avax tokens is child’s play, to say the least. Just enter the trading platform, choose the currency symbol i.e., Avax, enter the number of tokens you plan to buy or the amount you wish to spend, and hit the buy button.
You have the option to choose an order type; while market orders are processed immediately, limit orders are only executed when the token’s value reaches the specified value. Investors with a hunch that the prices may shoot up in the future prefer to limit purchases to maximize their profits.
Securing your investment
Unlike paper money that can be physically deposited in a bank or secured in a safety locker, cryptocurrency’s existence is completely digital. Hackers, phishers, and scammers are all lurking on the internet to steal whatever they can. Hence you should choose a secure wallet before you spend your first pennies.
There are several methods you can choose from to safely put in your investment. These methods are summarized below:
- Hardware wallets: A physical purpose-built device that stores keys to your assets are categorized as a hardware wallet or cold storage. They appear as flash drives and store keys offline, i.e. not connected to a network or the internet.
- Paper wallets: Another type of cold storage is a paper wallet. Simply a chit of paper that holds public and a private keys to your assets. The keys are in the form of a QR code. Trezor and Ledger are the two most popular paper wallets.
- Software wallets: Purpose-built software specifically designed to store assets securely are also available to investors. These may be paid or free of charge, however, the latter ones may have other accesses that investors usually prefer to avoid.
Soft wallets are considered less secure than cold wallets as they are connected to a network, however, they provide a few benefits that cold storages don’t. For instance, soft wallets are accessible online and ready to trade.
