Got a Sketchy Crypto Email? Here’s What to Do (and What Not to Click)

Just last week, it blasted very close to $112,000 mark for the first time ever, lighting up the crypto world and catching the attention of traders everywhere.

Sure, we saw a little pullback afterward (that’s normal after a major milestone), but overall, the trend remains strong—and the bulls are still in charge.

That said, I know not everyone here is a crypto expert. In fact, I’ve gotten a flood of questions recently about Bitcoin, blockchain, and how to trade this space – the RIGHT way.

So in today’s special Mailbag edition, I’ll answer several crypto questions I’ve gotten from the Patterns & Profits family.

Here we go…

QUESTION: How can I keep my cryptocurrencies safe?

There are a lot of ways to store your coins safely – especially compared to the early days of crypto back in 2018. Here are a few:

• Hardware wallets – physical devices, like Ledger or Trezor, and are the most secure
• Software wallets – apps, like Trust Wallet or MetaMask
• Cold storage – offline storage for long-term safety

Whichever one you choose, I recommend enabling the two-factor authentication – and NEVER share your private keys.

QUESTION: I’m new to crypto (largely wrote it off until now) and live in Canada. Can I still trade?

Yes, you can. Crypto trading is legal in the U.S., the E.U. (European Union), Canada, and Japan. It’s restricted in India and South Africa, so any residents there will need to check regulations before opening an account. And it’s banned outright in China, Algeria, and Bangladesh.

QUESTION: What are your favorite cryptocurrencies to trade aside from Bitcoin?

Great question! And I’m not going to give you a full answer… yet. I’m actually putting together an updated watchlist of my top coins to follow post-election, which we’ll get into soon. But one of the coins on my list is the one we discussed on Wednesday – Ethereum (ETH).

ETH is the second-largest coin in the crypto market, now representing just 14% of the market. Launched in 2015, ETH is more like a “digital infrastructure” rather than digital money. It introduced the concept of a programmable blockchain, allowing developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts (self-executing contracts that run automatically when specified conditions are met).

And for how bullish and great BTC has been so far this year, ETH has been on an impressive – and important – run itself.

In the short term, whether ETH is underperforming or outperforming BTC tells us the state of how many other altcoins are performing. Simply put, altcoins are smaller, alternate digital currencies, with many of them based on Ethereum’s network. Dogecoin (DOGE) is an example and is one of the few major proof-of-work coins besides Bitcoin that recently saw a 20% price jump.

Q: I keep hearing the term “smart contract.” What is that and how does it work?

In very basic terms, a smart contract is a crypto version of a simple purchase agreement between a buyer and a seller – a much more modern version.

For example, say you’re a big industrial company like Hitachi, Ltd. (HTHIY)…

One of the things Hitachi is famous for is heavy equipment… like huge excavators used in mines.

And if you’re going to manufacture these excavators quickly and efficiently… you need the right parts at the right time. So, if one supplier provides the bolts for the excavator, Hitachi can pay them directly with a smart contract. If another supplier provides the steel for the excavator, Hitachi can pay them directly with a smart contract.

And here’s the key…. they can buy all these parts without a middleman. In other words, they skip right over the crazy expensive distributors… and go right to the source. That means Hitachi gets the goods right when they need them – saving billions of dollars.

With digital smart contracts, the contract and the enforcement are all built on the crypto token (specifically blockchain).

Q: What is blockchain?

The blockchain is the advanced technology built into and powers cryptocurrencies. It acts as a decentralized ledger – like a perfect book-keeper – that can record everything to a “T.” The record can never be altered, erased or compromised, which means that corporations can track their purchase agreements without human error – and a heck of a lot faster!

So, in terms of smart contracts, whatever is written in that contract sticks like glue – automatically. That’s why many cryptocurrencies, specifically altcoins, would never exist in so many industries without them.

QUESTION: What do I do when someone emails me saying that my account is breached… that I got a new NFT gift… or that they need help moving a huge account from Binance (or any other absurd email like that)?

Now this is important!

First – NEVER CLICK ON ANYTHING in an email you don’t recognize or looks suspicious. It’s more than likely a phishing expedition to get your private data, including your contacts.

Next – VERIFY THE SENDER. If the sender says COINBASE for instance, make sure the reply address is actually from Coinbase. You can verify that by checking the contact information on the website itself (and this applies to ANY company). Also check the smaller details for discrepancies, like a missing (or added) period, misspellings, and odd breaks in the text. If it doesn’t match… down to the ‘T’ – then chances are, it’s a scam. DO NOT REPLY.

And finally – BEWARE OF FAKE TRANSACTIONS.  Scammers are getting better at tricking people into clicking on emails that claim a transaction was just made. If you don’t recognize the date, amount, merchant – or if the email looks strange in any way – DO NOT CLICK. It’s likely an attempt to get you to call a company and extract money from you. The best way to verify any purchases is by contacting your bank.

These were excellent questions! Remember… you message me at any time at memberservices@gulfportanalytics.com. So, don’t be a stranger.