For some time now, I have been closely observing the performance of cryptocurrencies to get a feel of where the market is headed. The routine my elementary school teacher taught me-where you wake up, pray, brush your teeth and take your breakfast has shifted a little to waking up, praying and then hitting the web (starting with coinmarketcap) just to know which crypto assets are in the red.

The beginning of 2018 wasn’t a lovely one for altcoins and relatable assets. Their performance was crippled by the frequent opinions from bankers that the crypto bubble was about to burst. Nevertheless, ardent cryptocurrency followers are still “HODLing” on and truth be told, they are reaping big.

Recently, Bitcoin retraced to almost $5000; Bitcoin Cash came close to $500 while Ethereum found peace at $300. Virtually every coin got hit-apart from newcomers that were still in excitement stage. As of this writing, Bitcoin is back on track and its selling at $8900. Many other cryptos have doubled since the upward trend started and the market cap is resting at $400 billion from the recent crest of $250 billion.

If you are slowly warming up to cryptocurrencies and wish to become a successful trader, the tips below will help you out.

Practical tips on how to trade cryptocurrencies

• Start modestly

You’ve already heard that cryptocurrency prices are skyrocketing. You’ve also probably received the news that this upward trend may not last long. Some naysayers, mostly esteemed bankers and economists usually go ahead to term them as get-rich-quick schemes with no stable foundation.

Such news can make you invest in a hurry and fail to apply moderation. A little analysis of the market trends and cause-worthy currencies to invest in can guarantee you good returns. Whatever you do, do not invest all your hard-earned money into these assets.

• Understand how exchanges work

Recently, I saw a friend of mine post a Facebook feed about one of his friends who went on to trade on an exchange he had zero ideas on how it runs. This is a dangerous move. Always review the site you intend to use before signing up, or at least before you start trading. If they provide a dummy account to play around with, then take that opportunity to learn how the dashboard looks.

• Don’t insist on trading everything

There are over 1400 cryptocurrencies to trade, but it’s impossible to deal with all of them. Spreading your portfolio to a huge number of cryptos than you can effectively manage will minimize your profits. Just select a few of them, read more about them, and how to get their trade signals.

• Stay sober

Cryptocurrencies are volatile. This is both their bane and boon. As a trader, you have to understand that wild price swings are unavoidable. Uncertainty over when to make a move makes one an ineffective trader. Leverage hard data and other research methods to be sure when to execute a trade.

Successful traders belong to various online forums where cryptocurrency discussions regarding market trends and signals are discussed. Sure, your knowledge may be sufficient, but you need to rely on other traders for more relevant data.

• Diversify meaningfully

Virtually everyone will tell you to expand your portfolio, but no one will remind you to deal with currencies with real-world uses. There are a few crappy coins that you can deal with for quick bucks, but the best cryptos to deal with are those that solve existing problems. Coins with real-world uses tend to be less volatile.

Don’t diversify too early or too late. And before you make a move to buy any crypto-asset, ensure you know its market cap, price changes, and daily trading volumes. Keeping a healthy portfolio is the way to reaping big from these digital assets.