If you’re a cryptocurrency newbie looking for a place to call home, then Cryptopia could be a worthwhile solution. This particular exchange offers the benefit of allowing investors to create an account without any lengthy verification process. Unverified accounts will be allowed to withdraw up to $5,000 NZD per day without documentation or lengthy approval processes. The only information required is a username, password, and an e-mail address. This has the added benefit of allowing users of all countries to be accepted here.
One of the biggest appeals of this exchange is the large number of alt coins which can be traded there such as Ignition Coin, Deep Onion, Flash Coin, and monero. In this article I'll be going over the basics of this exchange, including their many features, and a quick tutorial regarding the basic operations here. Let's get started!
The first thing you should do after registering is to secure your account. It’s incredibly common for people to get their exchange account information phished, and Cryptopia is no exception. Many new investors bypass this option, but you’ll be glad to have these protections in place if your account is compromised!
Cryptopia offers a few different security options which you can utilize. You can choose to use a pin number, e-mail authentication, Google authenticator app, or the Cryptopia hardware device. These settings mostly function the same way, and it’s up to you which to use. When you login to your account to try to withdraw your coins you will be asked to verify this action using a secondary verification step using one of the above methods.
This is a second layer of protection that can help prevent unauthorized access to any funds you may have on the exchange. You can also set your account to only allow withdrawals to go to pre-authorized wallet addresses. That means that a thief will be unable to enter their address into the withdraw screen if they do happen to get past your other security blockades. It’s best to avoid anything that requires your API information, this is a good way to get your account compromised.
⦁ Utilize a two factor authentication option.
⦁ Use the address book to protect your withdrawals
⦁ Avoid using APIs, these can be unsafe.
This step is not required to trade on Cryptopia, but if you would like to have your withdrawal limits extended you will need to verify. If you are interested in verifying simply visit the verification page and enter the requested information. You’ll then need to wait for a staff member to approve your documents, after which your account will be upped to $50,000 per day in withdrawls.
⦁ Enter your name, birthdate and address.
⦁ Submit a photo of a valid ID card.
⦁ Submit a photo of yourself holding the ID to prove it’s you.
Unfortunately, sometimes wallets on exchanges go down, and it’s typically an unknown as to when they will actually get fixed. However, before you make a withdrawal or a deposit you can visit Cryptopia’s coin info page, and it will inform you as to the status of the wallet in question. You can find the link to this page up at the top menu bar in the same place where your account settings options reside.
As you can see in the above screenshot, our wallet check for Ignition coin is good to go! The wallet status is marked as okay, and there are active connections. If these areas read zero connections or state that the wallet is in maintenance then you will not be able to deposit or withdraw coins until this is fixed. If you make a transaction without checking first it’s possible for your coins to get stuck in exchange limbo!
Coin info does offer some other interesting information if you’re on the hunt for new investments. You can also use this section to sort all of the coins listed on Cryptopia by various criteria such as algorithm, rating, network type, ect. This information can be useful if you’re looking to perhaps easily identify proof of stake coins which could add to your passive income, or maybe you’re looking for proof of work coins of a certain algorithm to mine.
⦁ Use Coin info to check that the wallets you need are functioning properly.
⦁ Utilize this feature to sort coins by algorithm and network type.
Okay, now that we’ve secured our account and we’ve checked the coin info page to avoid any wallet mishaps, it’s time to make our first deposit! The process is pretty straightforward, and if you’ve made any other cryptocurrency transactions it should not be too difficult. If you hover your mouse over the Bitcoin symbol near your account information you’ll be able to go to your balances menu. Select deposit, and you’ll be brought to the deposit screen. Use the drop down or search for the coin that you want to deposit.
The next screen will give you the deposit address. This is the address for your exchange account for this particular asset. If you are new to cryptocurrency then take care to be sure you are sending to a compatible wallet! If you were to send Bitcoin to an Ethereum wallet for example, then your coins are gone forever. Always copy and paste the address, never type it out by hand to avoid errors, and be sure to double check that it is entered correctly before sending. If your funds are on a mobile wallet you can scan the QR code instead to make your deposit.
Once you’ve clicked done you can then go to your balances page and wait for confirmation. The time that this takes will depend on several factors such as the coin itself, network congestion, and even on the exchange if they are experiencing difficulties. So, don’t freak out if it doesn’t show up right away. The balance page will show you the deposits that are pending, and it will also show you the number of confirmations which will give you a clue as to how long you may need to wait. You won’t be able to trade until all of the confirmations are complete.
Withdrawing coins works almost the same way. If you click on the balances section then you’ll be able to see all the coins in your account. Click on the red icon next to the coin, this is for withdrawing. You’ll then be taken to the withdraw screen which will tell you how much more you can withdraw for the day, and you’ll be able to select the amount you wish to remove from the exchange. After you’ve submitted your request make sure that you go to whatever you’ve selected as your two factor security feature and confirm the withdrawal. Otherwise it will not be processed.
⦁ Paste, never type out your wallet address to avoid errors.
⦁ Make sure you only send coins to the correct wallet type.
⦁ Check coin info to make sure wallets are functioning properly before sending.
⦁ Don’t forget to confirm your withdrawal in your two factor security option!
Alright, has your deposit confirmed completely? If it has then you should be able to go to your balances section, and see that it is available for you to use. This is a huge list of every coin that Cryptopia has available, and it’ll make it easier if you click “hide zero balances” at the top as this will get rid of any coins you don’t currently have in your wallet. Once you’ve confirmed that you have a balance you can use for buying or selling it’s time to go to the Exchange! You can see this link on the top menu bar.
Once you click on it you’ll be taken to the main exchange where you can trade your coins. The available pairs as of now are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dodge, USDT, and Cryptopia’s own New Zealand dollar cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is typically the best option here, because it carries the most volume. Unless you plan to trade coins with tiny marketcaps, and then you could utilize Doge. While you can make trades for Litecoin, it’s often more expensive to do so, and is not worth it in most cases. Make sure BTC is highlighted on the left, and then search for the coin that you want to sell. In our case it’s Ignition coin.
The above screenshot shows the main trading page for this coin utilizing the Bitcoin pair. That means you’ll be trading Ignition against the value of Bitcoin. The chart will show you the pattern that this coin has been following based on a time you specify such as 24 hour, 1 week, 1 month, ect. You can use this to decide whether or not it’s a good time to cash out your coins. If your asset is experiencing a dip, then it may be best to wait.
If we scroll down a bit, we’ll be able to see the order book. This is a list of all of the current buy and sell orders for this specified asset. If you want to sell quickly then you’ll need to match your asking price to that of a buyer with an open offer. If you don’t mind waiting a bit to get a better price then you could raise your asking price closer to that of the sell book to hope for a better offer. Since cryptocurrency often trades on varying ups and downs throughout the day it’s likely you could milk a little more profit from your trade if you’re patient.
There’s a box for both buying and selling. You’ll notice that there’s a number at the top of both boxes. The sell box will tell you how many Ignition Coin that you have to sell. The buy box will tell you how much Bitcoin you have with which you can buy the coin in question. The process for buying and selling is pretty much identical. Go to the appropriate order book, select the order that you wish to fill, and then select it. Once you’ve selected the buy or sell price you can either choose an amount of bitcoin or Ignition coin or click on the “available” section to auto-fill your entire balance of coins. Once your order completes your coins will appear in your account balance and can be withdrawn or traded again.
⦁ Cryptopia allows for the use of BTC, LTC, DOGE, USDT and NZDT trading pairs.
⦁ Your coins must have full confirmation before being tradable.
⦁ Match the order book to make quick trades.
Other Cryptopia features
Cryptopia does have a few more features that may appeal to account holders. It’s not just an exchange, but it’s also a community, and they do have a few more interesting tools which you might care to utilize.
⦁ The news section
This area will let you know about important Cryptopia announcements. This is a good place to find out about potential maintenance or wallet issues in addition to coins that may be delisting soon. This is also where they will inform users about new features.
⦁ Paytopia
Cryptopia allows for developers to pay to list or advertise their coin in the featured coin section here. Services are paid for using DOT, their native token.
⦁ Rewards section
This is a “rewards” section where coins that are looking to advertise themselves give away tokens to the community. It’s possible to be rewarded randomly by completing various activities on the site like trading or chatting.
⦁ Arbitrage section
This section simply lists the value of coins on Cryptopia against the price of the same coins on other exchanges. Some people make a profit by purchasing a coin on one exchange, and then selling it on another for a higher price, and this tool is meant to help facilitate that.
⦁ Forums
Need help or just want to hang out with the Cryptopia community? They have their own forums where users can ask questions, get help or just talk about whatever comes to mind.
⦁ Referral program
Cryptopia has a referral program, and if you happen to have a blog you can earn their native currency, DOT for spreading the word. Every account has a referral link automatically generated which can be found in your account details section.
In closing, the Cryptopia exchange platform has a lot to offer investors of all types. It’s easy to use, and their lax verification procedure makes it ideal for those looking to protect their privacy or those in countries where it is difficult to be accepted for an exchange account.
They offer adequate security features that will help keep your account safe, and they offer a wide range of assets outside of the typical high market cap options if you’re looking to make a more off beat investment in a smaller cap coin.
