Start in the right order
The best way to invest in crypto,
in the right order
How to start investing in crypto: protect the money, understand the market, learn to verify anyone, decide where your assets will live and how much goes in. Then pick what to buy. Most beginners start with what to buy... and that's the LAST question, not the first.
How do I start investing in crypto?
In this order. And yes... the order is the whole point.
Get your finances in order and decide how much you can commit without strain; learn what you're actually buying and how volatile it is; learn how to verify any platform or person before you send money; decide where your crypto will be held; choose an allocation and a method for buying; set a realistic timeline. Only then pick the assets. Each step below links to the page that covers it in depth, and the whole path from beginner to advanced is laid out in our crypto trading roadmap.
So who's this for? The person who wants to start like an adult: a written plan, money they can genuinely leave alone, and the patience to set it up right. If you're here because a friend's coin ran last week, this page is going to feel slow. Good. Slow is the point.
Why does the order matter so much when you start investing?
Because the expensive mistakes happen at the start. People who begin with a coin tip tend to buy in the middle of a rally, leave everything on the first app they downloaded on a Sunday afternoon, size their position by excitement, and judge the result after a few months. Each of those is a decision made by default. The foundation turns them into decisions made on purpose.
Why does nobody tell beginners this? Because "build a budget first" never sold a single course, and a hot coin tip sells itself.
As I put it in our portfolio course: "You come to this market and treat it like a hobby, you get hobby results."
The foundation, step by step
Seven steps. Most people skip the first five, and then wonder why it hurts.
- 01
Get your finances in order
Know what comes in and goes out every month. Keep an emergency buffer. Commit only money you won't need for bills, often a quarter or less of your real monthly surplus.
- 02
Understand what you're buying
Bitcoin is its own category. Everything else is an altcoin with more risk. Bitcoin fell about 84% in the 2018 bear market and about 77% in 2022, and most altcoins fell further. Expect it before it happens, not after.
- 03
Learn to verify anyone
Never deposit on a platform someone else picked for you, and be wary of anyone who contacted you first about an investment. Run the due diligence check before you send a dollar.
- 04
Decide where it will live
Buy on a regulated exchange in your country, then move anything you plan to hold for months into a wallet you control. Protect the seed phrase offline.
- 05
Choose an allocation and a method
Weight your holdings by risk tier, and buy either on a fixed weekly schedule or from a reserve set aside for major corrections. Pick one method and stick to it.
- 06
Set the timeline
A portfolio needs years, not months. Our teaching puts it at two to three market cycles, with an exit plan from day one.
- 07
Then pick the assets
Choose within the weights you already set. If you later want to trade, learn risk management before strategy, and start small.
Coin first or foundation first?
Coin first
- Starts with a tip, a headline or a friend's recent gains
- Buys whatever is moving right now, in the middle of a rally
- Leaves everything sitting on the first app they downloaded
- Puts in more money than they can really afford to leave alone
- Expects life-changing results within a few short months of starting
- Trusts whoever online seems to know what they are talking about
Foundation first
- Starts with the amount they can commit without any strain
- Buys on a fixed schedule or from a written plan, not a whim
- Moves long-term holdings into self-custody wallets they control
- Sizes the commitment from the real monthly surplus, not hope
- Plans in market cycles, with an exit plan written in advance
- Verifies every platform and person before sending any money
Protect the asset before you pick the asset.
The most expensive beginner mistakes in crypto are rarely about the coin. They're a fake platform, a phrase typed into the wrong website, a position sized by hope, or a panic sale in the first bear market.
Every one of those gets prevented by the foundation. Not by picking the right coin.
Pick the coin last. By then, it's the least important decision you'll make.
If you don't have your personal finances in order... you don't even have an environment set up for success.
Where each step leads
How much money do I need to start investing in crypto?
Less than most people think, and never more than you can leave alone. Start with an amount you can commit every month without strain. In the worked example from our portfolio course, someone with about $2,000 left over each month invests $500 of it. Not $1,000. Why? Because a surprise car repair shouldn't force you to sell.
The habit matters far more than the starting figure.
How do you avoid scams as a beginner?
Three rules, no exceptions. Treat any unsolicited investment offer as a red flag. Never deposit on a platform someone else picked for you. Never share a seed phrase with anyone. Our due diligence check walks through the questions to ask about any platform, person or offer.
Where should you keep your crypto?
Buy on a regulated exchange, then hold anything long-term in a wallet you control. The rules for what goes on an exchange, in a hot wallet and in cold storage are in hot wallet vs cold wallet. When you move funds, check that the networks match and send a small test first. Every single time.
How should you split money between coins?
By risk tier, not by story, using the example allocations in how to build a crypto portfolio. For the method of putting money in, compare dollar cost averaging and value cost averaging, and pick one. Just one.
Watch out for the cheap coin illusion, too. People buy cheap coins so they can own lots of whole units, and a big number of coins feels like a big position. It isn't. Finding a long-term winner among hundreds of thousands of micro caps is a needle in a haystack.
When's a good time to start investing in crypto?
The timing matters less than the method. Steady buying on a schedule takes most of the pressure off calling the moment, right? For context on where the market might be, see the crypto market cycle.
Should a beginner trade or invest?
Invest first. Trading, especially with leverage, stacks a second skill on top of the first. Want to learn it? Learn crypto risk management before strategy, and keep any trading capital to a small, separate share of your portfolio.
Common questions
Start with your finances, not a coin. Decide what you can commit each month without strain, learn how volatile crypto is, learn to verify platforms and people, choose where your crypto will be held, pick an allocation and a buying method, then choose assets within that plan.
Only what you can leave alone through a large decline, often a quarter or less of your genuine monthly surplus after bills and an emergency buffer. Bitcoin fell about 84% in 2018 and about 77% in 2022, and most altcoins fell further.
It can be part of a portfolio for someone who understands the volatility, sizes the commitment carefully, holds for years and protects their assets. It's a poor fit for anyone who needs the money soon or expects quick results.
Through a regulated exchange in your own country, reached by typing its address yourself, with app-based two-factor authentication turned on. Then move anything you plan to hold long term into a wallet you control.
Only what you're actively using or trading. Anything you plan to hold for more than a few months belongs in self-custody, with the seed phrase stored offline in more than one secure place.
Buying on tips, keeping everything on an exchange, investing more than you can leave alone, using leverage before learning risk management, chasing meme coins and trusting anyone who contacts you first about an investment.
Start with the foundation.
If you want to learn custody, security and risk before any strategy, join the Crypto Renegades Skool Community. It's free for a week, then $97/month. Crypto is volatile and can fall sharply, and nothing on this page is financial advice.
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