by: JescaKW
Have you heard about the crypto company FTX? Well if you haven't, check it out here.
Long story short, the popular crypto exchange, FTX, was reportedly "hacked", and I say that lightly. FTX lost millions of user's cryptocurrencies. Think of it like this, most of us have used a popular crypto exchange, Coinbase. You probably just buy your crypto there and that's it, keeping the asset on their platform. That's a big no-no and the FTX cyber attack, proves just why.
I am kind of a newbie myself to the whole blockchain world. I have a million pieces to the puzzle and I am putting them together to really get a grasp on what they call the "largest transfer of wealth" through blockchain technology. What I do know for sure is that, cryptocurrency is being adopted as the "new money" and as an advocator for building wealth in the black community, I want to buy low, sell high and exchange the profits for tangible assets like land and precious metals.
My start is to invest in the ISO 20022 compliant cryptocurrencies, basically just follow what the international banks are investing in and go from there. There is much speculation that these cryptocurrencies will soar in price once the standard is implemented.
I want to keep my investments as secure as possible to where no one can access them unless I give them permission. That's where the Ledger will come in at. It's a cold wallet aka hardware wallet. A physical device, like an USB drive, where I store my cryptocurrencies off line, off the internet. Hacker who?
I bought a Ledger Nano almost a year ago just as another crypto wallet. I wasn't thinking of cyber attacks at the time. I was learning how to interact with blockchain networks and hardware wallets came on my radar. I reason I chose the Ledger over other hardware wallets was solely from a trusted source.
I have a few coins on Uphold like XRP and XLM and well as others on software wallets like MetaMask and Coinbase wallet. My goal is to transfer all ISO 20022 cryptos to my ledger. My investments will be small so I can understand the process without worrying about loss of assets due to inexperience of transfers and what not.
Here's the steps I took to buy every ISO 20022 compliant crypto and store them on my Ledger Nano.
Step 1: Setup Ledger device via box instructions and ledger.com help articles (This involves downloading the Ledger Live desktop app and connecting the Ledger device via USB cable to your PC)
Step 2: Add an "account" for each cryptocurrency via the Ledger Live desktop app and add that specific crypto to the related "account". For example: I created a XRP/Ripple account to add my XRP coins. Do this for all ISO 20022 cryptos.
I used this article as a guide in making sure I add all the required cryptocurrencies. I took some "notes" on my process.
ISO 20022 Cryptocurrencies
Ripple (XRP): XRP is a digital currency and acts as a bridge currency to other currencies, primarily for cross-border and international transfers. The XRP Ledger also features the first decentralized exchange (DEX) and custom tokenization capabilities built into the protocol. databases controlled by financial institutions to a more open infrastructure while significantly cutting costs. XRP transactions are trustless, instant and cheap, putting them at an advantage for cross-border movements.
This one was simple. If you have moved assets from one wallet to the next or from an exchange to a wallet then the steps are the same. If you haven't then, just make sure you verify the wallet address you are sending your crypto to. This is a good starter guide.
Steller (XLM): Although many types of cryptocurrencies are intended to replace current financial systems, that isn't the case with Stellar. It's designed to enhance the world's financial systems by providing a single network where they can all work together.
I had some issues with this one here. However, it was only because I had my XLM on the exchange, Uphold and they classify XLM as a Tier 4 asset which means you can only buy, sell or hold it on their platform. I ended up selling it and then buying some XLM from Coinbase to transfer it my Ledger.
Hedera (HBAR): HBAR is the native currency for the Hedera network. Essentially, Hedera is a DLT network that fundamentally differs from the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains but serves the same purposes. It's based on the security and validation mechanisms considered more efficient than those applied on blockchain networks. Hedera implements DLT on hashgraph instead of blockchains. Hashgraph technology offers a practical alternative to blockchains for leveraging an open ledger system. The technology presents multiple benefits compared with blockchains. For example, there is no mining, meaning the environmental effect of using it is significantly minimized, and in the case of Hedera, it's carbon negative.
Instead of buying from Uphold or Coinbase and transferring to Ledger, I decided to just buy from the Ledger desktop app using Moonpay, but they wanted a 300 USD minimum and I was on a budget. 300 USD per crypto was a little steep for me at the time so yeah, gas fees are not that high so back to the exchange I go.
IOTA (MIOTA): IOTA is a distributed ledger with one big difference: it isn’t actually a blockchain. Instead, its proprietary technology is known as Tangle, a system of nodes that confirm transactions. The foundation behind this platform says this offers far greater speeds than conventional blockchains — and an ideal footprint for the ever-expanding Internet of Things ecosystem. Because there’s no blockchain, there are no miners, and because there are no miners, there are no fees. Many established networks see costs balloon when congestion intensifies, but IOTA aims to provide limitless throughput at minimal expense.
After a bunch of running around, IOTA is not easy to buy especially in the US so I settled on eToro and will keep in there until I find out my issue. and yes, I have the firefly wallet. I am a market day trader and this platform is something that I can use outside of IOTA, here is my link to eToro where we both get rewarded for signing up. I may try KuCoin or Binance to purchase from but eToro caught my eye. I will later try to connect my Ledger and Firefly.
XDC Network (XDC): Xinfin Digital Contract (XDC) is the native currency of the Exchange Infinite (Xin Fin) platform. Xin fin is a hybrid blockchain protocol capable of switching between public and private modes with the capability of coding for smart contracts. XDC network provides SMEs (small to medium businesses) with a financial platform on which they may operate their company.
Ledger doesn't support XDC network. I ended up installing the Guarda wallet and transferred from uphold to that wallet. I'll keep it there until I find another option, because it's all about hardward wallet for long term investing.
Algorand (ALGO): The idea behind Algorand was to combine features of mainstream, well-established cryptocurrencies–such as decentralization, transactions without a central authority, easy-to-divide tokens–but with added speed and less computing power necessary to run the system. Algorand has been cited as a token that may challenge Ethereum’s status as one of the biggest and most significant altcoin. Rising fees on Ethereum had led DeFi developers to look to Algorand to develop applications. Transaction fees on Algorand tend to be lower than on the Ethereum network. Both Algorand and Ethereum 2.0 use a proof-of-stake method to generate new coins. However, participants only need 1 ALGO coin to participate in the Algorand network. Meanwhile, Ethereum 2.0 requires 32 ether–a much higher barrier to entry.
I bought from Coinbase because Uphold doesnt transfer these types of coins so Coinbase to ledger I go.
I'm watching all these on coinmarketcap.com to see price action and news on these cryptocurrencies.
Other cryptocurrencies I acquire will be from discovering the ecosystem and putting what I like in a hot wallet and only transfer to a cold wallet if I want to hold long term.
Resources: Altcoin Investor
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