Halloween. No Better Time to Face Your Biggest Crypto Fears

This week we are celebrating Halloween. A holiday associated with all things spooky and mysterious. What does it have in common with the crypto world? Well, we are all afraid of something. Bats, ghosts, vegetables, financial risks. Sometimes fears are beyond irrational but they still hold us back from enjoying ourselves.

Halloween is the perfect time to face our crypto fears and stop being afraid. So how do you get the courage to face those fears and move forward?

Fear#1: Hackers

You can always say that hacker anxiety is totally normal and it is only reasonable to worry about being attacked by hackers. While this may be true, there is a major difference between staying alert and letting fear take over.

We at Guarda differentiate between awareness and fear and do our best to give you the right tools to protect yourself. Here are some basic tips:

1. Use a secure device to open your wallet It is advisable to have an updated operating system and protect yourself with a good antivirus. In case of a suspected or confirmed hack, DO NOT use the compromised device, use a different one and make sure it is secure.
2. Be attentive and carefully check the domain spelling Make sure the connection is secure, you are accessing an HTTPS web address and the web page has the SSL certificate (guarda.co has one) before doing anything.
3. Never share access with other people One of the basic fundamentals of security is not granting third parties access to your wallets. Otherwise, the funds may be stolen.
4. DYOR Doing research and learning about cryptocurrency is beyond important. The more you know about the way cryptocurrencies work, the less likely you are to fall for a scam.
5. Keep your crypto wealth a secret Being a known crypto holder surely raises your chances of becoming a target for hackers. Don’t brag about how rich you are.

Fear#2: Crypto Regulations

“Some sort of legislation intentionally crashed the cryptocurrency market and subsequently made me lose a bunch of money,” crypto user once said. Let’s take a look at why this is unlikely to happen.

Cryptocurrencies are simply pieces of computer code. They can’t be banned. Plus transferring crypto from one wallet to another is no different than sharing music via a USB drive. A regulatory ban does not actually limit people’s ability to make crypto transactions. But keep in mind that custodial wallets function similarly to traditional banks sharing all the disadvantages; non-custodial crypto wallets (Guarda is the perfect example here) give you complete control of your funds.

Non-custodial wallets never store your private keys and your personal information. You are the only party that has access to funds and you are in charge of managing it.

Fear#3: Emotions

Humans are emotional beings — we love, we hate, we fear (especially around Halloween), we experience greed and we question our decisions. A common saying goes: “In crypto, anything can happen”. That is why emotions are especially hard to deal with when it comes down to the crypto world.

Follow these steps to not let your emotions dictate your crypto decisions:

1. Stick to charts and fundamentals If a coin chart looks good and the fundamentals are there, stick to your strategy taking emotions out of it.
2. Know your limits After choosing a project to invest in or the asset to hold, make sure you are not investing all of your hard-earned money. Don’t spend more because of FOMO (see definition down below).
3. Don’t fall prey to news and social media Staying on top of the latest news and trends in the cryptocurrency space is crucial but too much information can definitely be a bad thing. Try to create a balanced outlook by using different yet reliable sources of information.
4. Find your people Being a part of the community is also beneficial. It can even be good for your mental health. Find a place where you can always share your thoughts and get 24 hour customer support. Our Telegram community for example.

Fear#4: Crypto Transactions

Do you get anxious when you send crypto? We do too. Here are some features that will definitely help:

1. AML checks If you don’t want to be at risk of facing actions from the supervisory authorities, only use trusted people or companies for cryptocurrency transactions. Choose a wallet that helps you screen addresses or transactions for connection to criminal activities.
2. Human-readable address Even a single error in the wallet address can cost you an entire transaction. While a wallet address consisting of a long combination of letters and numbers is near impossible to memorize, human-readable addresses supported by Guarda Wallet won’t let you make that mistake.
3. User-friendly interface Well designed service makes everyday cryptocurrency management feel seamless and free of stress. That is why it is important to choose a wallet with a friendly user interface and a straightforward buying-and-selling process.

Fear#5 Unfamiliar Meme or Slang

This part may sound funny but we can all agree: memes are literally everywhere. In fact, we find ourselves laughing at memes we find online more often than checking what our friends have been up to.

You have to be familiar with slang and have meme knowledge if you want to feel right at home when joining crypto communities. Memes help us connect with others but using a meme in the wrong place at the wrong time? You don’t want to do that.

Every meme might have a backstory or be related to a specific situation that happened a long time ago. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand how to decode a meme.

Let’s start with basics:

DYOR — the acronym of Do Your Own Research, encouraging investors to complete due diligence before investing.

HODL — stands for Hold, typed very fast as if in panic to indicate: Do not sell.

FOMO — otherwise referred to as Fear Of Missing Out — is a term that is used to express the anxiety you could feel if you don’t act quickly when making trading decisions.

FUD — short form for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt — is a strategy to influence the perception of the cryptocurrency market by spreading negative, misleading, or false information.

LAMBO — an exotic Italian car crypto investors dream of buying when their investment finally pays off.

Like this meme guide? See the full version here: halloween.guarda.com.

Conclusion

Buying and trading cryptocurrency can be exciting and potentially profitable. But it also comes with risk, emotional overload and sometimes obsessive fears. The comments above can help you overcome these fears and fuel your crypto success. And again, there is no better time to address your crypto fears than now.

Team Guarda is always here to remind you that you are stronger than your fears.