Guide · for beginners
Crypto for beginners: start in 5 simple steps
The crypto market is growing fast and the technology behind it keeps evolving. Whether you're looking at Bitcoin, altcoins or the blockchain itself — taking the first step can feel overwhelming. This guide gets you started safely and responsibly.
Do your own research (DYOR)
In the crypto world you'll see the term DYOR (Do Your Own Research) everywhere. It simply means you don't blindly follow the advice of others or influencers. Before you put money into anything, first understand the basics:
- Market capitalisation (market cap)
The total value of all coins combined. A high market cap often means a more stable project; a low market cap carries more risk, but also more potential for rapid growth.
- Circulating supply
How many coins are in circulation now, and will billions more be added in the future? That has a major impact on the price.
- The use case
What problem does this coin solve? Does the project have real value, or is it pure hype?
Choose a reliable exchange
An exchange is the platform where you buy and sell crypto with euros. As a beginner, it's crucial to choose one that's safe, complies with European rules (such as MiCA) and is easy to use. Pay attention to these points:
- Trading fees
How much do you pay per transaction? This can differ significantly per provider.
- Ease of use
Does the platform offer a clear app that's also pleasant for beginners?
- Security
How does the exchange store customers' funds, and is the platform supervised?
Compare reliable, regulated platforms here
Take advantage of welcome bonuses
This is a step many beginners skip — and that's a shame. Competition between crypto exchanges is enormous. To attract new customers, almost all major platforms offer a welcome bonus or free starting capital.
CryptoCode tip: start with a head start. At some of our partners you get up to €20 or more in free crypto after your first deposit.
What trading crypto costs at each platform
Fees are the one part of crypto you can know in advance. The price is unpredictable; the rate is not. These are the spot trading fees at the platforms we compare:
- Finst0.15%One rate for buying and selling, with no spread. SEPA deposits and withdrawals are free.
- OKX0.20% / 0.35%Spot maker/taker without an X-Perps account; with one it is 0.08% / 0.10% and futures 0.02% / 0.05%. Card deposits cost 3–6%.
- Bybit0.10% / 0.25%Maker 0.10%, taker 0.25%; from 5 October 2026 it becomes one flat 0.25%.
- Kraken0.40% / 0.80%Falls as your monthly volume rises, so it sits at the high end for small amounts.
- Blox0.25%Per transaction, excluding spread. The spread comes on top of that rate.
- eToro1%Per buy or sell. Moving crypto to the eToro Money wallet costs another 2%.
On a €100 purchase the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive rate here is €0.15 against €1. That sounds trivial; buy for €100 every month and after a year it is €1.80 against €12.
Also look at what the rate does not include: the spread (the gap between the buy and the sell price), the network fee when you withdraw to your own wallet, and the surcharge for paying by card instead of by SEPA transfer.
Verifying your account: what to have ready and how long it takes
Every platform with a European authorisation has to know who you are before you can trade. That is called KYC. You cannot buy first and identify yourself later: without approved verification you usually cannot even deposit.
- What to have ready
A valid passport or ID card, your phone for the selfie or video check, and your tax number. Keep a recent bank statement or utility bill at hand for the address check.
- Why they ask about your income
Questions about your job, your income and where your money comes from are a legal obligation, not nosiness. Vague answers are the single most common reason an application stalls.
- How long it takes
If the check runs automatically it is a matter of minutes. If a photo is blurred, your address does not match or a staff member has to look at it, it stretches to a few working days. So do not start on the day you want to buy.
- Depositing
Pay in from an account in your own name. A transfer from your partner's or your parents' account is almost always sent back.
Do the verification when you are not in a hurry. A rejected attempt costs more time than getting it right once.
Exchange or wallet: what is the difference
Beginners use the two words interchangeably, but they are different things. An exchange is a trading venue and a custodian at once; a wallet only stores. The difference is who holds the keys.
The exchange holds it for you
You buy with euros, you see your balance in the app, and the platform keeps the private keys. Upside: a forgotten password can be fixed. Downside: you depend on that company, and during an outage, a hack or an account review you cannot reach your funds for a while. For the amount you actively trade, that is fine.
In a wallet you hold it yourself
A wallet is not a vault with coins in it but a keyring. The crypto lives on the blockchain; the wallet proves it is yours. Lose the 24 words of your recovery phrase and no helpdesk can bring them back. Write them on paper, never store them as a photo or in the cloud, and test the phrase once with a small amount.
Rule of thumb: anything you may sell again within a few months can sit on a regulated exchange. Anything you plan to hold for years belongs on a hardware wallet.
Make your first purchase
Once your account is approved and you've deposited euros (for example via iDEAL), you can make your first purchase. You often have a choice between two types of orders:
- Market order
You buy the crypto immediately at the price it's worth at that exact moment. Fast and simple.
- Limit order
You set a price yourself — for example: 'only buy Bitcoin if the price drops to €55,000'. The purchase only goes through when the price hits that point.
Safety first ("not your keys, not your coins")
You now own crypto — time to secure it properly. Hackers are always looking for easy targets. Two things are absolutely essential:
- Enable 2FA
Use two-factor authentication with an app like Google Authenticator. That way someone always needs your phone to log in, even if they guess your password.
- Consider a hardware wallet
Don't just leave crypto on an exchange if you want to hold it long term. With a physical hardware wallet (like a Ledger or Trezor) you keep your own keys offline.
What goes wrong on a first purchase
Most beginner losses are not caused by a bad price but by a wrong action. These five come up most often:
- Picking the wrong network
USDT exists on several networks. Send USDT over one network to an address that only supports another and the money is gone in practice. Always send a small test transaction first.
- Putting everything in at once
Convert your whole stake on a single day and you buy at exactly one price. Spreading purchases over several months removes most of the timing problem.
- Buying a coin by name instead of by contract
Around every well-known coin sit copycat tokens with the same ticker. Buy through the search function of a regulated platform, not through a link from a chat group.
- 2FA by SMS
SMS codes can be intercepted through SIM swapping. Use an authenticator app and keep the backup codes offline.
- The ‘support agent’ who calls or messages you
An exchange never asks for your password, your 2FA code or your recovery phrase, and never asks you to share your screen. Anyone who does is a scammer — even if they know exactly which platform you use.
Tax: what you have to keep track of yourself
Crypto tax rules differ per country and change regularly; we do not give tax advice. What is the same everywhere: you have to be able to show your own records.
- Keep your transaction history
Export the full statement from every platform you use at least once a year. Close an account and that export is often gone.
- Note four things per transaction
Date, amount, the price at that moment and the fee. Without those four you cannot support any calculation later.
- Swapping often counts too
In many countries swapping crypto for crypto, paying with crypto and receiving staking rewards are taxable events, even when no euro changes hands.
- The data reaches the tax office anyway
Under the European rules, platforms report customer data to tax authorities. Declaring nothing and hoping it goes unnoticed is not a realistic plan.
If you are unsure about your own situation, put it to a tax adviser in your own country. A calculation from a forum is not a tax return.
Frequently asked questions
The questions beginners send us most often, each answered in one paragraph.
How much money do I need to start with crypto?
Less than most people assume: you buy a fraction of a coin, so a €25 purchase works fine. What matters more than the amount is that it is money you can do without for a few years. On small amounts the fees weigh heavier: at 1% a €25 purchase costs you 25 cents, at 0.15% about four cents.
What is the difference between starting with crypto and trading crypto?
Buying and holding for years is not the same as active trading. A buyer only needs a simple platform with a predictable rate. Someone trading dozens of times a month pays the fee every single time and therefore watches maker/taker rates and liquidity. Start as a buyer; you can always try trading later.
Which platform is cheapest for a beginner?
Of the platforms we compare, Finst charges 0.15% flat with no spread; OKX lands at 0.20% / 0.35% unless you open an X-Perps account, while eToro sits at the expensive end with 1% per transaction. The cheapest rate does not automatically make the best platform: ease of use, the language of the support desk and the authorisation count as well.
How long before I can actually buy?
Opening an account takes minutes; verification is the slow part. With an automated check you can often deposit the same day; if a person has to review it, it takes longer. A SEPA transfer is usually credited within one working day, an iDEAL payment immediately.
Should I move my crypto off the exchange?
Not for the part you actively trade. If you want to hold for years, a hardware wallet is safer because you no longer depend on one company. Do count on a network fee when you withdraw, and test with a small amount before you send the rest.
What does MiCA mean for me as a beginner?
MiCA is the European regulation for crypto service providers. A platform with a MiCA authorisation is supervised by a regulator such as the AFM, BaFin or AMF, has to keep client funds separate and has to tell you up front what you pay. It is no protection against price falls — you can still lose everything you put in.
Is it better to buy crypto or to mine it myself?
For almost every beginner, buying is more practical. Mining needs hardware, electricity and a place where heat and noise are not a problem, and what you earn depends on your power price and the network difficulty. Work out the sums before you buy any equipment.
What do I do if the price drops right after I buy?
Nothing, if you decided in advance how much to put in and for how long. Falls of tens of percent are normal in crypto, even within a week. You sell on the basis of a plan you made calmly, not on the basis of this morning's chart.
Read on
Ready to start?
Now that you know the basics, it's time to act. Don't leave free starting capital on the table and choose a safe, regulated platform — our official partners.