Cool. Are you targeting any altcoins at the moment?

I saw it!


Ermmm... don't understand. Why would linking to BTC be bad? Even if BTC dropped to USD 100, can still convert to BTC then to MYR. The problem is MYR can't be used to buy any altcoins!! For MYR to USD, also the hassle of conversion unless you have foreign currency account or earning USD.

Can you give an example of what coins you are talking about and how to go about acquiring those coins?

Yeah, not to mention the premium of buying MYR to BTC. Now I can't seem to get a good price in localbitcoins or remitano. Registered at Xbit Asia and found some BTC was already sold at comparatively lower price today but transferring MYR to Xbit takes 2 working days and liquidity is low. Bid sell price was sky high.

Also the hassle of selling bitcoins/altcoins to convert to MYR.......

Yup, that's the main problem, "in Malaysia, your choices are severely limited".

Luno too? So bad......

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 20 2017, 08:40 PM

Nice! Hope to see some movement on ETH and LTC.

On Poloniex, someone is lending out 175k ETH at 0.0001%!!??!! I can't even lend out my ETH. Wonder what's going on?

Shucks. Looks like I have to stick to localbitcoins and remitano for now.

Occasionally can get good prices but not recently. I prefer localbitcoin as you can communicate with the seller first before transferring money.

Yup. As described by 1wildcat1. Also have to check which bank they prefer. Instant interbank transfer is usually instant but I usually look for sellers with the same bank.

For remitano, there's no communication with the seller. You have to ensure they are online, then bank in the money, then wait for release. However, I sometimes am afraid that they suddenly go offline or is not at the computer. I usually checked to ensure they have phone contact registered with remitano so that remitano can summon them using phone after 3 minutes if BTC not released from escrow.

For localbitcoins, you can send message when buying. I will usually ask seller whether can proceed with the trade. There was one time the seller was online but was sleeping! Waited for 60 minutes then cancelled the trade. Luckily didn't transfer money.

I think for both sites, not a big problem as the BTC is kept in escrow should any dispute arises but I like to settle the trade there and then.

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 21 2017, 11:11 AM

The reason why altcoins are gaining : Bitcoin Falls to Lowest Share of Cryptocurrency Market, Altcoins Surge

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-fall...-altcoins-surge

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 21 2017, 04:34 PM

I believe so too as I'm also one of the previously non-crypto investors who entered cryptocurrencies because of the ETFs and its predictions.

Yeah, it looks like more and more funds are coming in, which is good for those already vested in cryptos. Everyday see altcoins being pumped, so nice for those holding them. I lost count but I'm holding quite a lot of different coins too.

My feeling is that more funds will go into altcoins until BTC issues are sorted out. Once that happens, money will flow back to the winner and altcoins may take a slight hit. Good to do some trading then!!!

Update : My Trezor is finally on the way!!!!

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 21 2017, 10:00 PM

I was also considering the Ledger Nano S due to different altcoins support but decided to wait for a device that can support more types of Altcoins. Luckily Trezor supports a few including ETH.

Have been doing a bit of research on other exchanges but they don't have so many altcoins like Poloniex. Wanna distribute my funds for security reasons.

Nice! Now the inconvenience of transferring money over, emailing them the proof and waiting 2 business days. Inconvenient!

Cool. Thinking of adding a bit more ETH tonight.... and maybe.... another... altcoin....

So fast? Hmmm.... will probably try it out these few days. Thx for the info.

Good to hear that. I though I saw the info in their website. Probably "maximum" 2 working days.

Damn, I want to start writing a guide on cryptos but everyday my eyes are glued to Poloniex's blinking numbers, red bars and green bars.....

Ya, not 24/7 like cryptos. inconvenient! Funds have to be parked inside to be readily available to buy in.

Wow! Localbitcoin and remitano this morning selling for more than 10% premium. Last night couldn't get good prices either.

Nice. I bought a bit last night which needs to grow 100000% to be considered a nice profit.

What do you think of Navcoin? On paper looks good. Good to accumulate?

Check prices and charts on computer and phone whenever I'm free. Luckily I don't allow myself to log-in to Poloniex on my handphone or when I'm at work.

Expect more money to be poured into cryptos!!!!

I'm addicted. Exciting to see double to triple digit percentage swings with overall rise in prices most of the time. From my crude observations, it seems that the general trend of most altcoins is up. I guess because money is pouring in and cryptos are in the bullrun stage. Compared to the stock market, the stock market feels like a tamed tiger. No worries and thx for the advice. I'm still a 90% low risk and a 10% crypto-crazy investor. Never did or intending to do margin trading because I know I will lose money.

Oh ya, also fun lending out coins!!!

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 23 2017, 10:20 AM

True. I only trade with those who have done multiple trades and has good feedbacks. Besides, if any dispute, the BTC is held in escrow until everything resolved. That's why I prefer localbitcoin as I can communicate with the seller during trade. Also prefer those who provide phone numbers.

Even when I buy Bitcoins, I will triple check to ensure I transfer the correct amount of money. I'm afraid I send the wrong amount and seller refuse to release the BTC. With ability to communicate, can just say sorry and send the balance.

In addition, localbitcoins allow sending images so in any dispute, can send screenshots of transfer, etc.

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 23 2017, 11:48 AM

Ok, I better stop procrastinating and start on the guide to complement those in v1.

In progress........

A friendly warning before you proceed
If you're new to cryptocurrencies, then welcome to the world of cryptocurrencies!!! Before you proceed further, if your intention is to invest in cryptocurrencies, please be informed that cryptocurrencies are VERY high-risk high-return investments. If you have the money, you can earn a lot but you can also lose all and CRASH & BURN! You need to do your own research and make up your own strategy including the important exit strategy i.e. when to cut loss.

In general, for safe conservative investors, it is advisable to only allocate 10% of your funds to high-risk instruments such as cryptocurrencies.

Enter AT YOUR OWN RISK and if you lose your money, it is NOBODY's fault but yours! You have been warned!

With that out of the way, let's begin!

How to buy cryptocurrencies (bitcoins and altcoins) in Malaysia (using MYR)?

Note : This guide doesn't cover obtaining cryptocurrencies through mining.

In Malaysia, using MYR, there are limited options to buying bitcoins (BTC). Unfortunately, at the moment, altcoins can only be acquired using BTC.

Let's start with buying BTC.

You can buy bitcoins from these platforms (click to go to the website):
1) Localbitcoins
2) Remitano
3) Xbit Asia
4) Luno

Do note that BTC prices in these websites are generally more expensive but you can sometimes get a good price if the seller is desperate to sell.

Important : If you use any of the websites, it is of utmost important to activate 2-factor authentication (2FA) for better security.

Localbitcoins
- Peer-to-peer exchange (P2P) where the website serves as a platform for you to deal directly with a seller (or buyer)

- Since you are dealing with a stranger, it is very important to :
----- a) Deal with verified trader who has very good reputation/feedbacks and has done many deals. You can check -------------- their profile by clicking on their ID.
----- b) Ensure they are online
----- c) Read the traders terms & conditions before you trade
----- c) Ensure you can do instant bank transfer especially for different banks and ensure instant interbank transfer is -------------- instant! I usually prefer using the same bank to avoid delays.

- the good thing about localbitcoins is that you can send messages (and pictures if needed) during your trade. Say you want to buy 1.0 BTC, you click the "Buy" button, indicate the amount you want to buy, and type the message. I usually type something like "Wanna buy BTC. Can proceed?" and wait for them to respond.

- once you have transferred the money, you have to click on the "I have paid the seller" button. The seller will be automatically notified and will release the BTC when he confirms the money is in his bank account. You must NEVER accidentally press the "Cancel trade" button when you have already transferred the money or you will lose your hard-earned cash!!! The "Cancel trade" button is only used when you really want to cancel the trade and have not transferred any money.

- for safety purposes, once you initiate a trade, the BTC is kept in escrow (kept by the website) until the trade is complete. In the event that there are problems with the trade, the BTC will be held until the issue is resolved.

- your BTC is kept in the websites BTC wallet

Remitano
- P2P exchange

- operates similarly to localbitcoins except you can't communicate with the seller

- your BTC is also kept in the website's BTC wallet.

Xbit asia exchange
- (never use, need more input)

- Xbit asia is a bit different as you need to transfer money directly into your "account" in Xbit asia before you can buy BTC.

- Transfer of money is not instantaneous. You need to bank in money to Xbit asia's designated bank account and then email them the evidence. Once the staff confirms your bank in, it will be made available in your "account" and you can then buy BTC. Confirmation can be quite fast but only occur during working hours and working days.

- The disadvantage of xbit is that there are not many buyers/sellers.

- your BTC is kept in the website's BTC wallet


Luno
- (no experience, need input)

How to buy altcoins?

As previously mentioned, at the moment, there's no way to buy altcoins using MYR. You have to buy BTC and send your BTC to an exchange that can convert BTC to altcoins.

There are many exchanges available. Take a look at this link : https://www.cryptocompare.com/coins/btc/markets/USD

You can use any exchange but different exchanges have different altcoins. Some unique ones worth mentioning are as below (click to go to the website):

Note : As of 23/3/2017

1) Poloniex
- Poloniex is the only exchange that carries MANY altcoins. At the last count, around the figure of 80 types of coins!!!

2) Bitfenix
- currently the largest exchange in terms of volume
- only carries Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTC), and Dash.

3) GDAX
- carries BTC, ETH, LTC

4) Shapeshift
- a unique platform where you can easily convert cryptocurrencies into the ones you want. With fees of course.

Personally, if you want to acquire lots of different types of coins, Poloniex would be the best platform for this.

Where should I keep my BTC and altcoins?

Yay! You bought your first BTC or your first altcoin. If you plan to hoard coins with high net worth, it is important to keep them in a safe place.

Here are some articles on coin wallets:
https://www.weusecoins.com/en/find-the-best-bitcoin-wallet/
https://99bitcoins.com/best-bitcoin-wallet-...parison-review/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/bitcoin-wallets/

In general, you would want to keep your coins out of reach of hackers and the best way to do that is to keep it offline i.e. your coins are not connected to the internet. Hardware wallet is a very good option.

Currently, there are two hardware wallets that are popular:
1) Trezor - https://shop.trezor.io/
- supports BTC, ETH, ETC, LTC, ZCash, Dogecoin, Dash, Namecoin and Testnet

2) Ledger nano S - https://www.ledgerwallet.com/products/ledger-nano-s
- supports BTC, ETH, ETC, LTC, ZCash, Dogecoin, Dash and Stratis

The only problem is that it is quite difficult to get these wallets locally as cryptocurrencies are still not popular in Malaysia. Probably easier next time when it becomes more popular here.

Sending bitcoins/altcoins to exchanges/addresses and wallets

There are a few things you have to keep in mind when you transfer cryptocurrencies:
1) It is not instantaneous. It may take a few minutes to hours!
- take a look at BTC's confirmation time : https://blockchain.info/charts/avg-confirmation-time
- there's a whole lot of issues on this but it is hoped that the long confirmation time will be resolved soon

2) Ensure the address is correct
- This is VERY important. If you send to the wrong address, you may lose the coins!

3) Ensure the address is correct for the type of coin
- Also very important. You CANNOT send BTC to an ETH address. Altcoins addresses are not compatible with each other

4) There's a transfer fee for all transfers but it is usually negligible.

5) You can always track your transfer. Just enter your receiving address into the link and you will be able to see the status of the transfer : https://blockchain.info/

What is the current price of BTC or altcoins?

There's a lot of ways to check the prices. www.cryptocompare.com is one of the best sites where you can see:
- prices of any coins across different exchanges : https://www.cryptocompare.com/coins/btc/markets/USD
- overall prices of coins : https://www.cryptocompare.com/coins/#/usd
- and much much more! Explore the website to see the wealth of information it provides.




fees
prices

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 23 2017, 11:35 PM

Thx. Yes, please add some more!

Hope to get suggestions and contribution from others too!

I'm almost finished. Will post the last bits later on.

Was thinking about that too but that would make the guide too bloated. I have a tendency to do that so I try to keep it short this time. However, I think providing links to the coin's website and coin's news would be better. I can do that in the 2nd post as it is my post. I guess we only do for major coin's?

Please provide important links and I will update on the 2nd post. First post we will reserve for the guide which wengherng has to maintain. Haha.

Say, what's the implication for Storjcoin if it migrates? I bought a bit of Siacoin which seems to function like this coin. Was actually thinking of getting some of storjcoin when it started shooting up.

This post has been edited by kmarc: Mar 24 2017, 08:18 AM

Interesting. Makes ETH more valuable. Ok ok let me buy some ETH..... (checks ETH prices)..... WHAT??!!??? USD 46.8!!!!! ETH always like to do that to me.

Personally, I think it will be worth it but you need to be prepared to lose the money too if it doesn't work out.

Thx thx. Hope everybody can contribute if any other info.

Thx. Oh, so Luno is good? I thought liquidity was a problem? Mind sharing how it works so that wengherng can update the info on Luno? In search of good prices, I might even try out Luno. See how....

Checked out the bot, looks quite accurate. You made money from it?

I see. Same with localbitcoins and remitano. Really have to wait patiently for a good price.