App showdown: Best apps for dealing in cryptocurrencies

CRYPTOCURRENCY CAN SEEM LIKE UNCHARTED TERRITORY, BUT THIS APP MAP WILL HAVE YOU PANNING FOR BITCOIN GOLD IN NO TIME.

2017 WAS A big year for Bitcoin, moving from a mysterious tech hobby with a price of under US$1,000 dollars per coin to a peak of almost US$20,000 by the end of the year. While it’s unlikely the currency will ever see such dramatic growth again, its current size makes it a much more stable cryptocurrency for long-term investment, as long as it can reduce its transaction costs. But getting started with this new market can be a little daunting for anyone new to blockchain currencies or financial markets.

In this month’s App Showdown, we have some tips for taking your first steps into the Bitcoin gold rush, and from here, you can move on to investing in the many thousands of more obscure cryptocurrencies. A word of warning, the unregulated markets of cryptocurrencies are arguably more risky than gambling, so don’t put money in if you haven’t come to terms with the fact that you could lose the whole investment — and rapidly.