January 2023 Update – This post is now out of date. Please check out the newer version: Best tools for crypto trading
Now that you are in the cryptocurrency world, there’s so much more to learn. And if you’re here to make some money, you’ll want to find the next valuable and hyped coin so that you can catch it on the pump. Here is a list of the best tools available to you and why you would use them.
TradingView
Pretty much any trader that you see on Youtube or on Twitter is using TradingView. That’s because it’s an amazing tool, that allows you to chart both cryptocurrencies and regular stocks. It’s both desktop friendly and mobile friendly, and is super easy to use. I highly recommend it.
Metamask
Metamask is a very useful Ethereum wallet. It’s one of the gateways into Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Most of the people that I’ve talked to or seen currently are using Metamask for ETH transactions.
Metamask is a Web 3.0 application that connects to your browser. You’re able to connect it to compatible websites and decentralized apps like Uniswap, to interact your crypto with the connected app.
Check out my article on How to set up a Metamask Ethereum Wallet for instructions on getting started.
CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap
CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap are the places that you will go to research the different coins out there to see things like their market cap, what exchanges they’re traded on, and what is trending.
I personally prefer CoinGecko and use it way more often. I’ll only use CMC if I can’t find the coin on CG. This is usually only the case if the coin is very new. CMC is owned by Binance now, and that’s the reason why some people stay away from it. They’s a potential conflict of interest here.
Here are some of the secondary pieces of information that I look at other than price info:
On the top right there’s the contract address, and it also shows its metamask compatible as it’s an ERC20 token. And on the bottom if you’re looking to trade a coin, you can click into Markets and you can see where it’s currently being traded.
Discord and Telegram
Discord and Telegram are great chat applications to get to be a part of the crypto community. It’s where many of these Crypto projects communicate to its users and make announcements. If you want to get in on presales, and hear about some of the breaking news, you’re definitely going to want to be a part of a coin’s community chat.
Social Media Platforms
Youtube, Twitter, Reddit, and 4chan are all good places to get real-time information from other people in the cryptocurrency world. There’s a lot of information out there so this is a bit harder to manage. But if you want an edge over the masses, knowing information first is a huge advantage. Generally a lot of the Crypto information out there cannot be found in mainstream media. Check out this article on the best social media accounts to follow from all of the different platforms.
Youtube
Youtube is my favorite place to get crypto information as video is one of the easiest mediums to consume. Most of the time you don’t even need to watch the video, and it can act like a podcast that you can listen to while doing other tasks.
Twitter is great because it’s a huge platform and the information is truly in real time. If you learn how to use it, it can be really powerful. It took me a while to make the jump, but now I’ve realized that Twitter is super useful for many things, crypto included.
Reddit is good because it floats up all of the best information to be the most visible. However, it’s not as much in real time as it takes a moment for people to vote on it and for it to hit the front page.
4chan
4chan is its own beast, as you have to decide if you want to be on an anonymous board where many people use very obscene and racist language. I think that there’s some advantages because not as many people are on it, so you can get some tips before the rest of the masses know. I’ve used it in the past, but haven’t visited the site in a while.
TikTok
I don’t personally use TikTok, but I know this is another great place to get some tips and info on new cryptocurrencies and many of the influencers I follow also have a TikTok account.
Centralized Exchanges
Also called CEXs, these are Cryptocurrency exchange platforms that are custodial and hold the private keys to your crypto.
I use Coinbase the most and have an article on how to make your first purchase through the Coinbase Pro platform. Some exchanges, like Binance.com, don’t allow US citizens to trade on it. They offer a second Binance.us site that doesn’t have as many coin options.
Decentralized Exchanges
DEXs are cryptocurrency exchange platforms that let you keep your own private keys and provide a platform where you can swap your coins for others without ever giving up those keys. This is done through smart contracts. Each smart contract chain has its own DEX that is used.
- Uniswap – ETH
- Sushiswap – ETH
- Pancakeswap – BNB
- Quickswap – Matic (Polygon)
$ETH Network
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) – Uses $BNB
- Pancakeswap
- ApeSwap
- Poocoin – Charting tool and aggregator, links to Pancakeswap and Apeswap