FYB-SG - Cashing out your Bitcoin (BTC) into SGD: Guide & Review

Thinking of cashing out your Bitcoin into SGD?
Alternative to Gemini? Yes, here you go.

Today, I will be doing a simple review of a local fiat-crypto exchange - FYB-SG.
I've actually created an account with FYB-SG some time ago, way before I've actually dipped my toes into the game of cryptocurrency. But I haven't been actually using this account till recently.

FYB-SG is a Singapore cryptocurrency exchange that have been operating since 2014. They have a really really simple platform, nothing much. No technical indicators, no funny pairs. Only Bitcoin (BTC).

For 2FA, you can use Google Authenticator for FYB-SG, simply click on 'Security' after registration and enable 2FA.

The price of Bitcoin does not differ too much from the big exchange in the market as well. It might even be slightly more after you've converted the price of BTC from USD to SGD due to the spreads.

It's actually pretty simple to navigate around and do simple transactions like depositing and withdrawing your fiat/crpyto.

Here's a simple guide for both people that are cashing in/out:
1. To those who would like to get into the crazy game, after you've created an account with them, click onto 'Deposit' as shown in the screenshot below:

Yes, you'll be able to deposit SGD instead of USD, hence it will save you pretty much on the shitty spreads. Do take note that it will take about 1 working day for your transaction to be reflected in FYB-SG.

To deposit SGD into your FYB-SG account, simply follow the instruction there which are pretty clear cut. The clear instructions to depositing via different banking platform is also shown when you scroll down.

2. To those that are planning to put some cash into your pocket after the exciting ride, scroll down after clicking on the 'Deposit'.

There will be a unique address that you can deposit your Bitcoin into from your wallet/exchange and also a QR code. Simply copy that address and paste it to whichever place you're withdrawing from and send. 

Next up, wait :)

Be patient. 

It's pretty fast, and requires only 3 block confirmation rather than some exchange that will require 12, 30 or so. 

After you've receive your BTC in your account, next you can proceed to sell them by clicking on 'Trade' that is just beside 'Deposit'. There you will be able to see the latest buy/sell price. You can choose to quantity to sell if not all of the BTC you hold in that account. 

The transaction fees is at 0.6% which I feel is very decent and not expensive.

I've personally tried by selling a small bit of Bitcoin for S$128.45 and I'm charged only $0.78 (0.6%)

 Following which, proceed to the 'Withdraw' Tab, there you will be able to withdraw the SGD after the sales of your Bitcoin to your Bank Account. Find your bank there and select your bank. Next, key in your account number and the amount to transfer.

You will be charge S$2 for withdrawal which I find it very cheap compared to the fees that are charged by Gemini (~S$20/withdrawal transaction).

Once again, you will need to wait patiently, which can take up to 2-3 working days to reach your bank :)

Buying Alt Coins - Crypto-Crypto Exchange (Binance)

I've receive some questions regarding crypto-crypto exchange recently. And today, in this post, I will be sharing about one good crypto-crypto exchange that I've been using personally. Binance is a crypto-crypto exchange that I've been using for months and there have been many bloggers writing about them.

Today, below, I will write briefly on my personal review of Binance. With Binance recently reopening their registration portal (link), I will also include the latest steps to creating an account with them. (tho there have not been any major changes since the last time I've registered my account with them in November)

Here's the link to Binance (link here).

Review
The beauty of Binance is that it does not require much verification and you're able to get your account done shortly with just your email and Google Authenticator. For transactions under 2 BTC, you will not require further verification. 2 BTC (as of 15/01/18) is priced at 27,000 USD which is roughly about S$35,100. Unless you have transactions that are greater than this amount, you will not need to send in your documents for further verification.

Deposits into Binance are free, whereas for withdrawal there will be a fee imposed. Earlier it was cheaper and they have recently revised the rates. You may wish to refer to the image below for the latest withdrawal fees imposed by Binance:

Apart from the withdrawal fees, transaction fees are relatively cheap at 0.1% for ETH, BTC or USDT and 0.05% for BNB.

BNB is a Binance coin, and you'll need to buy them using ETH or BTC first before using BNB to trade. It's rather impressive that BNB have shot up over 1000% from $2 when I've entered the game to $22 today (as of this moment I'm writing). Hence, if  I were to buy into BNB earlier in Novemeber and trading them, I'm sure my returns will be greater than what I have today. (I'm not advising anyone to get any coins) 

Security wise, so far so good. In fact, whenever you've logged in, you will receive an email from Binance informing you on your login with your IP address. Hence, when you receive an email when you did not login, please disable your account and contact Binance immediately.


Steps to creating an account with Binance
Step 1: After clicking on the link, the page below will display. Click on Register that is on the top right hand corner circled in red.

You will then be directed to the registration menu whereby you key in your email and password your account.

Step 2: Verification. Login to your email you've keyed and check for the email from Binance. There will be a link and click onto it to verify your email.

Step 3: Download Google Authenticator from Google Play Store for Andriod user (here) or App Store for IOS user (here).

Step 4: Login to Binance with your email verified. You will be prompt to activate your 2FA. In this case, the app here from Google Authenticator will be used as your 2FA. There will be a QR code which is on your account menu in Binance.

Scan the QR code from Google Authenticator and key in the 6 digits displayed there. This will be used for subsequent logins.

Step 5: Your account have been successfully created. There's an app for Binance for which you will be able to do your tradings and all on.

For IOS user (link here), you will need to download this app from the link provided. After which, proceed to Settings>General>Device Management and authorise the app. Yes, it is a little strange to see Qingdao Endocrine and Diabetes Hospital as the developer for Binance app. Previously, it had also been some strange hospitals. This makes me wonder why too. Haha. But nonetheless, the app here for me had been working fine for the past few months and yes, they're legit from Binance (link here)

For Andriod users, simple download it from your Google Playstore (link here).

Step 6: From whichever fiat-crypto exchange that you're using, initiate a withdrawal request and send the coins to Binance. This wallets' address for Binance can be obtained by clicking on Funds>Deposits/Withdrawal on the top on your page. Click on the "Deposit" tab and you'll receive your address.

Likewise, when you want to initiate a withdrawal from Binance, please be reminded on the fees above. Just simply click on "Withdraw" tab.

PS: I have my referral link for Binance. But there will be no additional fees paid on your end.

FAQ for Beginners in Cryptocurrency

I've been receiving a number of questions offline from new entrants and hereby I hope that this post will be able to answer any query should you happen to have just as you entered this game of cryptocurrency. Also, from a recent comment from Budget Babe on my earlier post (here), I can't help to agree much that the situation is real here and it seemed that I'm not the only one having heard such questions

FAQ
1.  Why I can't guarantee the price of bitcoin?
This is very simple. No one can guarantee anything in investment. Every investment comes with a risk and cryptocurrency here today, belong to a higher risk investment vehicle. The rise/fall in price is due to the buying/selling of coins. When there is more buyer buying in, this will drive the price up, likewise when more sellers are selling, this will drive the price down. This is the basic of supply and demand and economics, which if you do not understand, you might wish to take a look and read more about this.

Apart from this basic factor, investor's mentality, news is equally important. As of today, cryptocurrency is still an asset that bears strong speculative flavor and I dare to say that MOST people that are involved today are clueless about this.

2. Why I cannot guarantee how fast they'll receive the transaction in their wallet?
Do understand that when you withdraw your coin from the exchange, they are sent into the mining pool whereby the miners will facilitate the transactions with their computer power.

When a withdrawal transaction is posted, it is in the mempool, and not mined yet. In a distributed system, it can take a few moment for the changes to propagate so that your transaction shows up everywhere. Do look up onto your particular blockchain explorer with your hash code or txid to view the status of your  transactions.

During certain exciting period, like token offerings, blockchain explorers will be behind due to the high level of activity. Hence, withdrawal may not show up in a blockchain explorer for hours.

So long you've confirmed and double check that the receiver is correct, you will be able to receive your transaction. But patience is needed.

Hereby, I will write down some blockchain explorer for common coins like BTC and ETH:

ETH:
1. https://etherscan.io/

2. https://etherchain.org/
3. https://live.ether.camp/

BTC:
1. https://blockchain.info/
2. https://blockexplorer.com/
3. https://live.blockcypher.com/btc/

For other coins' blockchain explorer, simply key in ' XXXcoin blockchain explorer' on Google and you'll be able to find them.

3. Why we can't reverse the transaction?
When your transaction is posted, it will be in the pool and there is no reversal. This is because the blockchain network are designed to be irreversible and there is no control over this issue. I don't think you will be asking me the question on why could your Honda Fit not fly won't you? It is designed to not do so and likewise for the Bitcoin network.

If you failed to double-check your transaction and had sent an incorrect amount or to the wrong recipient, there is no reversal for it. Hence, it is extremely important to make sure that the transaction details are correct before you click send.


4. Can I pay more to "jump queue" for "processing" if it gets delayed because network gets clogged up?

Unfortunately, no. You're not able to do so. As mentioned earlier, when you post your transaction, it is posted to the mempool and it will take time for the miners to do the work and during exciting period, this duration for 'processing' will take longer. What you can do here is, to either be patient to wait or choose a less exciting time.

To check on the current queue you may wish to visit the various blockchain explorers or key in 'Unconfirmed transaction for XXXcoin' on Google and select on your search result.

For now, allow me to use the all famous Bitcoin's unconfirmed transaction now for your reference
(link here)


Based on transactions/second of 4.31. They will be able to process 258.6 transaction/min and 15,516 transaction/hour.

With the current unconfirmed transaction at 171,593 it will roughly take you 11.05 hours of waiting time for your transaction to be facilitated. For now, if you post your transaction in, you'll be the number 171,594th in queue.

Another way to send dollars over is to find a coin with a less congested network to send your coin over. In this case, the time you take to receive your coins will be lesser. But yes, you're right. You'll be holding onto another coin.

ETH's network is too congested previously due to the crytokitties earlier. Hence, what you can do is to avoid this timings. 

5. Why there's a fee charged by the exchanges for buy/sell trades, a withdrawal fee, and also margin spread if they buy OTC?
This is definite. Don't forget that these exchanges are running a business too. If you've bought any investment asset before, I'm sure you'll be aware of these fees. For example, commission, SGX handling fees for Stocks.


What you can do now here is, either reduce on your transactions, or ensure that your transactions' return are great enough to not be affected by the fees imposed. Alternatively, you may wish to look for another more suitable market which may cater to your needs.


This spread is something that is very common in assets that deals with currency, ie. Forex. Hence to avoid this, a better instrument you might wish to take a look at might be the stock market.


6. Is my money gone? Shit
It would be if your transaction is sent to an incorrect account. Else, if everything is correct (amount, receiver), you will need to be patient to wait for that. Read point 2 for a clearer image of blockchain transactions.

7. Due to the long waiting time, I've lost money as Xcoin had fallen by X%!!
For this, please be aware that you can use other coins that are less congested/have a faster transactions. Or best, hold the coins and wait for it's recovery. If what you're holding is some shitcoins and that they are only at this price for a moment, before it crash back, my suggestion is that, you keep this shitcoin in the exchange and prepare to sell at any point of time when it hits your TP.

Yes, you're exposed to the risk IF the exchange is hacked.

8. Can you help me to buy X coin and send it to my wallet? I pass you cash ok? I'm not able to make an account as Binance have stopped accepting users and Gemini is taking a very long time. I'm not accepted yet!
I'm sorry. Due to the trouble and concern as well as I do not wish to get involved in your crypto affair, I'm afraid that I'm not able to help you. Do be reminded that, without a fiat-crypto account, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CASH OUT WITHOUT THAT ACCOUNT.

9. I've got my friend to get this coin for me and I want to cash out now. But I do not have a fiat-crypto exchange. Help!
If you're someone that is holding onto some coins because you've got your friend to buy them for you and they're sitting in your wallet or crypto-crypto exchange. This moment now, you want to cash out, but you're still not confirmed as a user yet by the fiat-crypto exchange.

What you can do is - Find the same friend of yours or whoever that has a fiat-crypto exchange. Send your coins over to sell and wait for the amount to be depositted into his/her bank. Do be aware of charges that will be imposed by the bank/exchanges and not think that your friend here is trying to siphon your money!



Nonetheless, should anyone continue have any questions for cryptocurrency. Please feel free to drop by my comment section or email. I will try my best to answer each and every of them.

Read:
1. Cryptocurrency for Dummies (Part 1, 2, 3 and 4)
2. Should I invest in Cryptocurrency?
3. Did I just upgraded to a crypto-fund manager? LOL
4. Buying Alt Coins - Crypto-Crypto Exchange (Binance)

Did I just upgraded to a crypto-fund manager? LOL

The cryptocurrency market had never failed to surprise me. With many fresh funds coming in today, the cryptocurrency market capitalization continues to scale higher. As I'm writing this today now, it is standing at $783,950,270,825.

Seriously? 783 billion?!

Yes. That is right. Please take a look:

From coinmarketcap.com

You know that this game is going to to get started when news all around are reporting about cryptocurrency. Now it's getting worse! People are all starting to get involved and throughout the past few weeks, I've been asked by many people the same few questions. The amount of funds coming into this game is unreal to the extent that Binance stopped accepting new users LOL! (link here)

'Have you heard of Bitcoin?'

'Do you play crypto?!'

My answer towards them are the same - No, I don't :)  

To be honest, it's not that I'm selfish to not share with them on my journey in cryptocurrency this far. I just do not want to be personally involved with their affair in cryptocurrency. 

Following which, I asked them a couple of questions. But it seems to me that the situation is starting to worsen as many of the 'new birds' in this game have no experience and is totally unaware of things that is going on which is rather frightening. 

Among those who have asked me, I would have believed that they have do some simple research to know about the different coins in the market. However, I'm very surprised to receive one common question - 'Ripple is so cheap. It's only $2, while Bitcoin is $16,000. It had risen 1000% over the last month, it's gonna be the next Bitcoin and I'm going to be a millionaire when I sell at $16,000 next year' 

LOL. Probably, I should do a write up on this issue soon. 

Anyway, back to being a fund manager..

I remember speaking to one of my friend earlier not long after I've started with this journey and I've written briefly about it in one of my post (link). Shortly after, something funny happened and I received a call from him telling me that he and some of his friend had pooled a sum of money for me to do the work for them as I 'have some experience' with cryptocurrency. 

LOL..Wait.. I've just upgraded to a funds manager?!!

Obviously, I've rejected the offer and told this friend of mine that I'm no longer involved in cryptocurrency anymore and feel the bubble will be bursting :) 

Right after the call, I'm laughing and scratching my head at the same time. 

Please take note that I'm not here to advocate on cryptocurrency and I DO NOT recommend investing in cryptocurrency.

Read: Should I invest in cryptocurrency?

Break from crypto-trading and back to crypto-trading

It had been a very busy month recently and I'm very occupied lately from work and the festive period. With my project and all coming to an end, this also means that I have more administrative works to be done.

Speaking of which, I've taken a mini-break from my crypto-trading. And what?
Ripple went up 1000% and many other crypto surging pass ATH?

It's alright.. *Ouch.. I'm pinching myself. Real hard!! :(

Guess what.. I'm back for a short while now :)

Since my latest post (here) on crypto trading, I've mentioned that I've withdrawn my capital as well as booking 100% profit along. Now whatever that I'm holding or trading around with are basically free chips. And if anyone does a simple calculation.. it's only a small USD200 that I left in the account after my withdrawal :(

On 02/01/18. Right after New Year, I've made a small return onto crypto-trading (yes.. as I'm on leave). And hereby, today, I will present my results for this 2 days. Before I go back to work tomorrow. Coming weekend is gonna be busy :(

I've initiated 3 trades (which I will not name them) in this 2 days. All the trades are held for less than a day and these positions are heavily dependent on technical indicators, which fortunately turns out well.


I remembered one wise senior has ever said this - Technical indicators or TA is all about the probability and not certainty. Hence, there will also be time when TA will incorrectly indicates the signal.

If anyone were to ask me what indicators or where I'm doing this analysis on..

You may wish to drop by cryptowat.ch (link here) and if you're using Binance, you may wish to go to click on 'Exchange' on the top left hand corner and select 'Advance'. From there you'd be able to use a number of indicators they provide ranging from MACD, StochRSI bla bla bla.

Here's a simple snapshot of the indicators Binance have:

Just a quick update on the result this far since 02/01/18. If anyone is using Binance, here's a quick snapshot from Binance. Oh yea. If crypto were to undergo a massive bear attack again. A small 60% slap will bring me back to my free chips :(

 

USD 549.04.. Hmm. On a USD200 cost. This will translate to a 274.5% gain over 2 days?!

*Ouch again. Pinch myself.
If I've not withdraw a single cent. This amount would have been bigger!


Remember what I said previously?

YES. That's it. Beginner's luck.
Today, many fresh funds are continuing to flow into the crypto-game. While this game might seem to come to an end as what many gurus see it. I'd say that. There should be some time more before a game over should it really happen.

However, I wish to emphasize that. In each different type of investment (be it gold, forex, commodities, stocks or anything), there is a certain risk involved. How big or how small the risk is, is up to the 'asset' type and your game play. Some may disregard cryptocurrency as a form of investment. It's alright.

So what's your game play?
Remember the difference between Investor, Traders and Gamblers (link)?
The participation in this 'crypto-bubble' or 2017 Tulip Mania anyone would call it has helped me and I believe it had helped many. As to when this will end and who will be caught as a bag holder, let's open our eyes wide and have some popcorn.

If this is written in the book of fate that cryptocurrency will end tomorrow, I'm still sitting on 100% gains from crypto in cash!


Do not forget the disclaimer and note below and yes, I'm prepared to lose all my free chips as well! :)

Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is very risky. Please do your due-diligence before any actions. Having that said, I'm prepared to lose every cents that I've input into the crypto world should anything fall through. I do not recommend investing in cryptocurrency.
 

Should I invest in cryptocurrency?

"No no no no no no no no no no. 
It's a bubble. It's speculative. It's fundamentally unsound!"

But how about the returns? I heard about Bitcoin having astonishing returns!
"Hmm.. Well..As of this moment of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $19,535. 
It's $959 on 01/01/17"

WOW? IS THIS IS A 20 FOLD RETURN?

"Yes. You're right you didn't see it wrongly. 2000% return.
$1000 invested means you'll have $20,000 today."

Oh my god. If I've invested $100,000..
"You would have $2,000,000 today!"

I heard about alternate coins too! What's that?
"Nothing much.. Just another ponzi scam out there that are named differently :)"

Can you name some?
"Sure. Why not? Ethereum, DASH, ZCash, IOTA Litecoin, Monero..."

I can't wait. I'm missing out too much now. FOMO game is strong here! I need to get started! Can you please tell me how?
"No..no..no.. Don't dip your toes in please. The bubble is going to burst soon!"

Many of my friends have started playing with Bitcoin recently. One of them even mentioned that he wants to quit school to go full-time in crypto investing. He profited close to USD 3,000 last month from crypto-investing. This is more than a fresh university grad salary!

I want to get started! Can you tell me about your journey this far?
"Nah. Better not. My journey is nothing impressive and I don't recommend investing in cryptocurrency."

Why don't you recommend investing in crypto when the whole world does and they're earning a hell lot from this crazy surging market? I understand about the risk. Tell me one investment that is risk-free!
"Invest in yourself :)"

Go big or go home! Low risk small return. High risk, high return. Tell me more please. Don't worry, I'll be able to sleep soundly at night. I will snore still! Can you tell me on the exchange you're using?
"Take a look at this here."

Wa. From the link you gave me, I saw another post by this fella. This guy smelly smelly play one month also got 143% return leh.
"This guy is out of his mind. Don't follow him."

Then follow you la. You tell me more.
"Nah. Told you to not invest in cryptocurrency already!"

Aiya.. you. Nevermind. I wait for this fella post. See whether got any lobang anot.
Anything happen, his fault!
 
.... -.-

A month as a cryptocurrency trader - Results

The crypto world today is getting more and more chaotic with big amounts of fresh funds coming in driving the price of Bitcoin up to 17k last Friday. Just a month ago, it's hovering around 7k mark before dipping to the 5k region. So to those who purchase a month ago in the dip, selling it last Friday will gives you a handsome return of 340%!! Impressive isn't it?

The rapid rise of price in Bitcoin has caused market capitalization of BTC has ballooned up from 120 billion to crossing 280 billion! Hold on right there!! Before making any rash decision, remember - whenever you buy something. It will means that someone is selling it :)

By saying this, I do not mean that the crazy bubble is about to burst or anything. But I'd like to take this opportunity to caution everyone that this is a high risk investment and please do your due-diligence before entering any positions.

Bitcoin

Unfortunately, I did not hold onto it. How nice would it be if I'm holding onto it right?
Let's not be greedy :)

I've been rather busy lately and my frequency of trading around is getting lesser and lesser. Allow me to remind myself for another time here - "The initiation of Crypto-investing/trading comes with 2 intention - to build a bigger war-chest and at the same time learning from the crazy and volatile alternative market. (Though, there's no guarantee that it will be assisting me with building a bigger war-chest.)"

I've embarked on this adventurous journey a month ago on 12/11/17. And weeks ago, I've posted on the results of being a cryptocurrency trader for a week. Today, in this post, I will be writing about my results for this month (ending 12/12/17).

One important lesson that I've learnt is to never chase the boat. Once it left the port, wave good bye to it! Another one is to never be emotional to your trades. There will always be a better time to buy or sell. Do not chase for the perfect timing.

However, as I'm taking a small little break from the crazy trading or speculations what many is calling it, I've decided to write about the results this far, today.


This time round, I will not go into the detail of the lengthy crypto-crypto transactions. So let's jump straight into the summary.


Here's the summary for this month: 

*the ending funds are in consideration of the withdrawal fees. Pre-withdrawal ending funds stands at USD1,234.41

DBS forex rates

*Buying TT rate of 1.3439 is used in the calculation above










For verification on the cost of withdrawal as well as taking back my cost along with booking 100% profit, I've initiated a partial withdrawal from Gemini and received the funds in my DBS MCA the next day. Also to confirm, Gemini does "charges" a USD7 for the withdrawal (despite the official site claiming that withdrawal is free) and at the same time DBS charges approximately S$10 for the handling fees. Hence, the "withdrawal fees" worked out to roughly S$20. Pretty expensive here.

I'd advise those that are using Gemini to not withdraw as and when you like and to keep the USD there to save on the cost.

With my initial injection of USD500 at the rate of 1.3694, my starting funds stays at S$684.70
Through the tradings, the funds at the ending of the month comes at USD1,219.97

This comes up to a profit of 143.99% / USD719.97 (in USD) or 139.45% / S$954.82 (in SGD).
The difference is due to Forex spread between the buying/selling if I convert the funds back to SGD.

Now, the game changes as I'm playing on my free chips. Let's see how the game goes now. However, I believe that the pace will probably slow down as I'll having more schedules in the coming weeks as well as the reduced capital.

At this very point of writing, I hold no positions in any coins and funds are all in USD. For now, I'm more than contented, should I miss out on more "potential profits". Till today, I'm still very amazed by the crypto world and again, it must be beginners luck :) The crazily volatile market has also taught me a lesson. Nonetheless, this performance is nothing compared to many out there who is holding onto them.

With this event, my warchest is successfully "bumped" up.

Read:
A week as a cryptocurrency trader - Results 

Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is very risky. Please do your due-diligence before any actions. Having that said, I'm prepared to lose every cents that I've input into the crypto world should anything fall through. I do not recommend investing in cryptocurrency.
 

USD Tethers Seriously?

Ok wait. Just a moment. What is Tether? 
 
Please pardon me for my strings of crypto post recently. But let me simplify it, so what on earth is Tether?? Tether is a cryptocurrency that has the representation of 1 USD and "backed by a U.S Dollars held in the reserevs of the Tether Limited and can be redeemed through the Tether Platform" is used for transaction.

Using USD to buy USD..? What??

Now, it is said to be backed by U.S dollars held in the reserves of Tether Limited??

Please take a look at this:















Now here's a joke. The market capitalization of USD Tether is standing at $646 million, a 43x increment since January 2017. Which in another words, 630 million (43x) more USDT are created in this short duration.

To my knowledge, USDT are used in some exchanges like Bitfinex. A number of customers actually cashed out from their trades, and receive USDT instead of USD! The best part that I've not known anyone that has successfully cashed out from USDT!

This is Tether's response towards the issue mentioned above:

Incoming international wires to Tether have been blocked and refused by our Taiwanese banks?! On April 18 2017?! And the supply of USDT is still growing? Does it mean the issue had been resolved? 

Or people are willingly pumping in money knowing that they won't be able to cash out? Wait. Or is this printing money out of the thin air? 
Maybe their "Taiwanese Bank" has a really high interest and is offering 4300% interest rate for their deposits!! I don't know. But sounds really fishy here. 

Fortunately, I have not been in any encounter with USD Tethers so far. However, I've find that this is a ridiculous joke in the crypto market. Why would anyone take USD to buy a representation of USD when all of the coins here can be represented by USD??

Printing money from thin air, then injecting it into other crypto to inflate the market capitalization of the coins? Many today are starting to realize this thing about USD Tether. Will Tether blow up? I don't know.

But should Tether blow up now, I do not think that the impact will be that big at this moment as $600m is actually a small sum in the crypto market. I don't think that it will be affecting the big coins much (Tho, I hope that it will actually cause the market to blow up!)

Let's assume that most of the Tethers are pumped into almighty big daddy Bitcoin and with BTC's market cap today is standing at $136.645 billion @ at price of $8,183, with a circulating supply of 16,698,075 BTC. If I were to strip 600m off it's market cap, it will barely shave anything off Bitcoin. The revised price after shaving 600m off BTC will stands at $8,144. Nothing much isn't it?

Now, let's assume only half of it is pump into some other coins. Let me take ZCash (ZEC) for example.At a price of $306.22 with a circulating supply at 2,688,006, it's market capitalization stands at 828m. Shaving 300m off it's 828million will mean that the price would be tumbling by 37%. 

How about the other coins like DogeCoin with a market cap of 200m? Just half the tether in and evaporated, it will send them straight to hell!

So will a market crash because of Tether? I don't think so. But I actually believe that there is a chance. This is coupled with investors' mentality towards it. Once scared, everyone is rushing to sell their coins, worrying that their holdings/life savings will turn worthless soon and inevitably spark off a big sell down, just as how it's reflected in the multiple financial crisis! But well. That's just be 2 cents. Who knows? This is a completely different world we're in today, and this is the all-time-famous cryptocurrency yea? Maybe it's time for some taste and look into the dot com bubble?

For those holding USDT, the best way to cash out, is to change your Tethers to another coin (Bitcoin/Ethereum) and cash it our from the fiat-crypto exchanges.

Earlier this week, it's also announced that Tether got hacked and lost $31 million , just after GMGH's post on Tether.

Let's take a look what Tether is saying about it

Alright, alright. You're a privately held corporation with significant asset and has one of the big fifty auditors to audit for you. Nice point there you've got for yourself.

"Printed" due to the demand. Alright. Blame me all you want :(


Read:
The BIGGEST risk in crypto right now
A week as a cryptocurrency trader - Results
Cryptocurrency for Dummies Series

Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is very risky. Please do your due-diligence before any actions. Having that said, I'm prepared to lose every cents that I've input into the crypto world should anything fall through. I do not recommend investing in cryptocurrency. 

A week as a cryptocurrency trader - Results

Yes. Trader. As mentioned earlier, I've not exactly been a trader and not very well versed in TA. To prepare myself, I've taken plenty of time recently to understand the crypto market, technology behinds it and picking up various TA skills, discipline and risk management before my foray into the crypto world.

Hopefully, that this will be a rewarding journey. The initiation of Crypto-investing/trading comes with 2 intention - to build a bigger war-chest and at the same time learning from the crazy and volatile alternative market. (Though, there's no guarantee that it will be assisting me with building a bigger war-chest.)

The week had been a really interesting week for the crypto world. Seeing BCH battle out with BTC earlier and the rise of several alt coins.

Earlier this week, I've made plans to devote some time into crypto-trading after weeks of practicing and monitoring. And hereby, now, I'll be writing about the results, thoughts and lesson from based on the trades executed. Do note that for the trades executed in the past week, 95% of the analysis done is based on TA, and I will not go into detail of showing/explaining with charts for the transactions that had already been executed.


So how's my week in "timing the market" ?

Here's the transactions done in this week:

Note: Transaction fees are factored into the price of buying/selling.

I've executed 2 day trades for USD/BTC and BTC/ETC and a short term trade for ETH.

Summary of transactions
Do note that I've no stop-loss as I'm prepared to lose every single cent. 
A fluctuation of 10-20% in an hour is pretty common for cryptocurrency.

Traded pair: USD/BTC
Entry Price: 5,750.00
Target Price: 6,250.00

Entered at 5,750 with a TP of 6,250. As I believe that BTC will be bouncing around and might settle for a lower price. However, just after I've sold, Bitcoin actually rallied and moving towards the 7000 mark.

If anyone realize, BTC today is hovering around the 8000 mark and this will translates to about 39% gain if I'm holding onto BTC.

Traded pair: BTC/ETC
Entry Price: 15.01
Target Price: 17.80

Entered at 15.01 with a TP of 17.80. TA was done on ETC right before exiting position with BTC and heavy support was seen at 15 range with positive divergence. Another note to add on, is a small speculative flavor for the ETC Summit that is taking place back then.

Traded pair: ETC/ETH
Entry Price: 316.96
Target Price: 360.00

Entered at 316.96 with a TP of 360.00. Ethereum is something that I had been monitoring for some time and with several attempt of breaking the 310 and 315 resistance earlier, they finally succeeded in breaking the wall and went as high as 320. Consolidation can be seen at the 315 range and symmetrical triangle are seen prior to entering the trade. ETH seem to be awaiting for a breakout. A day after the trade, ETH is looming around 33X range. Was planning to take profit and move onto LTC, which is displaying a similar pattern at the 6X range. However, I stayed onto Ethereum, believing that there should be another breakout in days. Exited at 360.00 on 19/11/17 after another breakout.

1. Lessons learnt: Be discipline. If you miss the boat, so be it, do not chase after the boat.

In the process, I've lost several opportunities to buy into others rising pairs spotted as I'm rather hesitant. And quite honestly, there's this few moments, I actually had the thoughts to chase after the boat that had left the port! Fortunately, I remained discipline and reminded myself to hold onto my pants. Hours later, the boat started rowing back. Some even knock onto the pier and sank!

Thinking back now, if I were to really chase after the boat. I would have probably drowned or get smacked by the boat when the boat is coming back!

2. Lessons learnt: Having a game plan, do not be greedy.
Have a game plan. Set your target price. Hit and run.

I've received a notification from Blockfolio on Sunday morning that ETH had crossed the 345 mark. Shortly after, I've set my selling order at 360.00 for ETH. However, after I've sold it, ETH continued to rally to the 370 range, before a small correction to the 35X range, and currently it's hovering around 360.

How nice would it be if I set my selling order at 370? 

Do not fall into the trap of waiting for the highest point to sell and lowest point to buy. There will always be a better moment to buy or sell. 

3. Lesson learnt: The Bull helps, and be less emotional towards your trades
This week had been a bull-market for the crypto world. Should the bear come out, I do not think that I will be getting the same results. 

At a point when ETH dived back into the 32X range, correcting from the 34X range on 15/11/17. I was actually contemplating to lock my profit and jumping onto another ship, fearing that the sell-down is actually coming. 

Ethereum continues to be a good candidate to hold onto for the future of technology. However, as this is a short term trade, it's best to take my profit.

Just as I wanted to jump into for another trade.. a sentence flashed pass my mind.
"If we don't take money off the table, unrealized profit will soon turn into losses very quickly!"


Now time for some results:

I've remitted 500 USD to my Gemini account via DBS on 27/10/17 at a rate of 1.3694 before the execution of any trades this week. As such, my capital in SGD is $684.70.

The spread is pretty high for banks. Rates for buying back today stands at 1.342









As such, converting my ending funds to SGD. 

I'll be receiving S$979.73 worth which translates to a gain of 43.09% or S$295.03 over the week of trading! To be honest, my performance is not impressive at all when being compared with many out there. However, I'm still contented with the performance and lessons learnt this far. 

Beginner's luck I believe, and definitely the bull does play a big part in helping me.

And yes. You can see right on top that the Forex spread is actually eating into 3% of my profits. Really bad rates yea?

You can check on DBS forex rate here. 

Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is very risky. Please do your due-diligence before any actions. Having that said, I'm prepared to lose every cents that I've input into the crypto world should anything fall through. I do not recommend investing in cryptocurrency.

Read:
Transaction cost - Are you a trader or an investor? 
Cryptocurrency? I'm in too
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 1 and a short story
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 2 (Rules for crypto-investing?)
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 3 (When do you start?)
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 4 (Guide to start investing in Cryptocurrency)

Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 4 (Guide to start investing in Cryptocurrency)

Ok... Now you've breeze through the past 3 parts and got yourself mentally prepared. And you want to get started? Alright. Let's waste no time.

Step 1: Get your wallet ready and make a game plan
Just like your chosen hero, do remember to hatch a plan! If you're healer, please do not go charging to your enemies! Likewise, if you're a charger, please do not hide behind a healer >.< 

Ah yea. Just before I forget wallet. There's many wallets available in the market. You may wish to google more about it. I feel that the safest still, is still Hardware Wallet like Trezor and Ledger which cost $200 and $110 respectively. There's also software wallet available like Jaxx, Exodus etc. whereby you can download the application onto your desktop and smartphone and that's where you store you coins! 

Step 2: Fiat to Crypto Exchange
What's a Fiat-Crypto exchange? It's just like any brokerage houses out there, which serves as an exchange for you to change your cash into stocks. In this case, you're cashing in not for stocks, but for cryptos. 

There's quite a range of Fiat-Crypto exchange that you'd be able to find online such as CoinHako, Coinbase, Luno, Gemini and more. Do check on the fees for the various exchange, some exchanges are charging their customers a big price tag for each transaction (I'll be kind to not name them out)

Personally, I'm using Gemini and among the other contenders they're currently offering the lowest charges. However, deposits are only allowed in USD. This also means that you'll have another step in between, which is to remit USD to your Gemini account, which personally I'm using DBS for the remittance. It's also really fast, taking less than a day for the sum to be reflected in your Gemini account.

Gemini allow you trade with USD/BTC, USD/ETH, ETH/BTC, BTC/ETH, ETC/USD, BTC/USD.

How to read XXX/XXX?
Example 01: USD/BTC
In this case, it means that you're selling USD and buying BTC

Exmaple 02: ETH/BTC
This means that you're selling ETH and buying BTC

Here's a simple guide for you if you're planning to use Gemini and have no idea on how the remittance can be done!

1. After you've created your account on Gemini, select "Transfer Funds" on the top and click on "Deposit into Exchange, USD (Bank Transfer)

Do check your email as Gemini will be sending you an email on the account to transfer to and the reference number to key in for your remittance.  

2. Login to your DBS/POSB iBanking. Hover your cursor around "Transfer" and select "DBS Remit and Overseas Transfer"  

 3. Key in the details as follow. 

**(EDITED: 22/12/2017 - Clearing Code is changed from 121042484 to 322286803)

(EDITED: 26/11/2017 - Thank you Foolish Chameleon for the input!)
*Do remember to add in the unique code given by Gemini during your transfer under "Reference"

Please revert to the email sent by Gemini. 
Here's a snapshot of the email sent to me earlier from Gemini when I'm doing the deposit. I've omitted the my code out to avoid confusion.

Gemini charges only 0.25% as exchange fee

4. Wait! Give them some time. Once it's ready, Gemini will send you an email to inform you when your funds are ready! If you've deposited in the morning or early afternoon, you should be receiving your funds in your Gemini account by 9 or 10pm when the US bank opens.

Here you go. There you'd be able to find yourself with some BTC and ETH to kickstart your journey!! It's best to start with ETH/BTC to 'feel' how it is like in the crypto world before venturing into some alternative coins!


Step 3: BTC/ETH - Alternate Coins
Once you're ready to venture into the alternate coins like ETC, Ripple, Monero, Dash, IOTA, NEMS etc. Similarly, there's a wide range of exchanges that offers such services like Bitfinex, Bittrex, Shapeshift.

Personally, I'm using Changelly.
It works by sending your ETH/BTC to their wallet. Next, provide your alternate coin wallet address and once it's ready, they'll deposit it into your alternate coin wallet.

Bonus:
You may wish to visit websites like
Coincap.io, CryptoCompare for the list of crypto, volume, price movements, market cap.
Blockfolio on App Store. I personally find the portfolio function pretty useful.
CryptoWatch for live charts

As the week is ending, I will soon write about my experience as a crypto trader for the past week. The journey thus far has been rather interesting, rewarding and I've learn pretty much stuffs, that I would have never learnt as an investor. So which hero did I choose?

P.S: I've an affiliate link for Changelly.

Another very good crypto-crypto exchange that I'm using is Binance (link here)

Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is very risky. Please do your due-diligence before any actions. Having that said, I'm prepared to lose every cents that I've input into the crypto world should anything fall through. I do not recommend investing in cryptocurrency.

Read:
Cryptocurrency? I'm in too
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 1 and a short story
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 2 (Rules for crypto-investing?)
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 3 (When do you start?)
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 4 (Guide to start investing in Cryptocurrency)
Buying Alt Coins - Crypto-Crypto Exchange (Binance)

Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 3 (When do you start?)

So part 1 and 2 seem too easy? Alright. You've planned to get yourself started and bought into the theory that it's just the start of cryptocurrency? Or you felt that there's some magical internet money here for you to grab, and why not grab some?

Now, It's time to decide your path. In every investment, there's 3 type of heroes for you to choose.

1. The Trader
2. The Investor
3. The Punter 

Do you enjoy looking at graphs? How about charts and a huge chunk of numbers? Support & Resistance? Indicators and Oscillators? MACD? RSI? Fibonacci Retracement? You know who you are :)

How about those who feel that there's ample of room for crypto to grow? Those who believe that there will be no more fiat and BTC will probably hit 100,000? Ha. I solved your problem. Now you know who you are!!

Those that like to read from others without doing your own homework? Posting and reading in forums? Buying into others belief? Here you go!

Wait a moment. Just before you decide whether to embark on this adventurous journey let's take a quick look back first!

BTC Price over the years:
Price for 1 BTC in 01/01/2011: $0.30
Price for 1 BTC in 01/01/2012: $5.87
Price for 1 BTC in 01/01/2013: $13.56
Price for 1 BTC in 01/01/2014: $761.11
Price for 1 BTC in 01/01/2015: $313.92
Price for 1 BTC in 04/01/2016: $431.73
Price for 1 BTC in 01/01/2017: $1,016.04

Price today: $7,194.03

When BTC is trading at $10, many are speculating that upon reaching the $100 mark, this bubble is gonna burst. Similarly when BTC crosses the 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 mark and now, possibly the 10,000 mark soon.

So is it too late now for you to join in the fun?

Remember Rule 01?
Rule 01: Invest in crypto with what you can afford to lose. 
This also mean that whatever you've invested in cryptocurrency, be prepare to lose each and every cents of it. No leverage. No CFD. Nothing. $500 invested? Prepare to lose that $500 invested. That's the mindset to have :)

If you're able to get through the past few parts, willing to lose each and every cents you've "invested" in the crypto world and chosen your hero.

Now, you'll be able to decide if it's time for you to enter the crypto market :)

Are you ready?

Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is very risky. Please do your due-diligence before any actions. Having that said, I'm prepared to lose every cents that I've input into the crypto world should anything fall through. I do not recommend investing in cryptocurrency.

Read:
Cryptocurrency? I'm in too
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 1 and a short story
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 2 (Rules for crypto-investing?)
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 3 (When do you start?)
Cryptocurrency for Dummies - Part 4 (Guide to start investing in Cryptocurrency)