Cryptocurrencies. The very mention of the word is enough to spark a lengthy debate among any group of friends or colleagues. Public perception of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general has gone from euphoria to extreme fear several times over just this past year, helped in no small way by news like China’s central bank forbidding all crypto-related transactions. Currently, Bitcoin seems to have recovered pretty well from China’s crackdown news. Other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, such as Ethereum and XRP have also rallied in value this year. So, maybe all this excitement has got you thinking you might want to try dipping your toes into the cryptocurrency waters. Well then, this is a great place to start!

What’s Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies?

First, let’s get started with a brief explanation of cryptocurrencies. Basically, cryptocurrencies are similar in many ways to normal, or fiat, currencies but they only exist digitally. These currencies are given value by supply and demand, and are made secure via the usage of cryptography, or digital encryption of data via the amazing technology of the blockchain. A simple way to think of it is as using codes to enclose a hidden message, which can only be uncovered by someone on the other end who has the keys to unlock the code. We want to avoid getting too technical, so for now, let’s simplify it by saying that cryptocurrency is a digital form of asset that does not rely on banks or other central authorities (such as governments or Central Banks) to issue them or determine their value. Using these digital assets, everyday people can deal directly with one another, or peer-to-peer, instead of having to rely on a traditional centre of exchange. True power to the people!

Crypto assets can be used to buy and sell goods and services, with each cryptocurrency also having its own use cases and application. For example, you can also think of Bitcoin (BTC) as “digital gold”, in that it is limited in supply and it is divisible into smaller units (called satoshis) without diminishing its value. Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, is used by users to create and publish applications on the Ethereum blockchain. Think of it as a marketplace of sorts for all kinds of exciting uses such as financial services, games, NFTs, apps and more!

There are thousands and thousands of other publicly traded cryptocurrencies out there, from Litecoin to Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, all with their own use cases. However, don’t let this intimidate you! Just like how the stock market lists various kinds of companies, there exists a huge variety of coins available for public purchase. A very simplistic way to look at this industry is to think of cryptocurrencies as cars, and each coin as a particular brand of cars. For example, Bitcoin being a Rolls-Royce, Ethereum being a Mercedes, and so on. In Malaysia, there are 5 cryptocurrencies that have been approved by the Malaysian Securities Commission (SC). These are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC) and the latest addition, Bitcoin Cash (BCH). All of these can be bought and sold using Luno!

If you’d like to learn more about the various cryptocurrencies out there, we suggest heading over to Coingecko, choosing any coin that interests you, and reading all about the supply, use cases, and development teams. However, we must warn you, you could end up browsing for hours!

What Determines the Price of Cryptocurrencies?

Bitcoin (BTC), the most popular cryptocurrency by far, has the largest market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, BTC’s market cap comes in at approximately USD 1 trillion! That’s a higher market cap than the Coca-Cola Company! So what makes Bitcoin so highly priced, and what determines cryptocurrency prices in general? Well, to understand this better, let’s take a closer look at Bitcoin. Fundamentally, Bitcoin price boils down to supply and demand. Since BTC has a maximum supply of 21 million BTC, and new BTC generated gets less over time, an increase in demand causes Bitcoin's price to rise. This concept also applies in some way to other coins as well. At the end of the day, supply and demand is the most influential factor in determining cryptocurrency prices.

However, one has to consider that not all coins have limited supply, which is why understanding the concept of market capitalization is very important when gauging a good entry point for a particular coin. Basically, market capitalization (or market cap) is the total value of all the coins that have been mined. In other words, it can be calculated by multiplying the current market price of a single coin by the number of coins in circulation. Taking into account the max supply of a coin and the demand of that coin at a particular time is essentially what determines the price at any given time.

Is it Too Late to Buy Cryptocurrency?

Maybe you’ve already convinced yourself to buy cryptocurrency but the sheer unpredictability of it is making you hesitate. After all, you’ve seen the price of Bitcoin rise and fall like the tracks of a roller-coaster, and you can’t help but wonder of the possibilities and risks. If you take a look at Bitcoin’s price in USD today, it currently stands at around USD 55,000. This is probably enough to pique anyone’s interest, given that BTC was priced just around USD 30,000 at the beginning of the year. Even Ethereum has reached amazing levels compared to merely a year ago. In the beginning of the year, it had barely touched the USD 1,000 mark, and today it is floating around USD 3,500 levels. Seeing all this, you can’t help but wonder if all this is sustainable or if you’ve missed the crypto boat altogether, and are better off sitting on the sidelines as a calm observer.

Cryptocurrencies are still relatively new, and they have a long way to go in terms of development and maturity. Until the cryptocurrency markets start to mature, this space will certainly continue to be somewhat volatile. However, we don’t think that it’s too late for anyone to invest in cryptocurrencies as there are so many exciting innovations in the space every single day. We can’t help but be excited at the sheer possibilities that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can offer.

(Note: Investing in cryptocurrency is inherently risky due to the volatility that we mentioned earlier, so, a good rule of thumb is to start investing with what you can afford to lose.)

Let’s Buy Our First Cryptocurrency!

Let’s get down to business! You’re excited to buy your first piece of cryptocurrency. Before you get started, you would need to take note that there are only four Registered Digital Asset Exchanges (DAXs) operating in Malaysia. A DAX is simply a place which allows everyday people like you and I to buy cryptocurrencies! The 4 Registered DAXs are Luno (that’s us!), MX Global, Sinegy, and Tokenize Technology. We’d also like to address here that apps like Binance, Huobi, FTX Pro and others are not considered to be Registered Digital Asset Exchanges here in Malaysia.

Anyway, back to your first purchase of cryptocurrency. We’re going to take you step-by-step through the process of buying your first crypto via the Luno App! For the purposes of illustration, we’re going to be buying a small piece of Bitcoin together! However, you can follow these steps to buy any of the 5 approved coins available on Luno.

How to Buy Cryptocurrencies in Malaysia with Luno

Alright, so what you need to prepare is your Luno account (if you haven’t signed up, you can do so here!), your bank account, and some funds in MYR. Here are the steps :

1. Open up your Luno app, click on “Wallets”, choose MYR.
2. Click “Deposit”, type in the amount of MYR you want to deposit (at least RM10), then make an instant transfer via FPX. After a minute or two, you should then see your MYR balance in your Luno app!
3. Go back to “Wallets”, click “Buy” and select BTC.
4. Choose between a “Once-off payment” or a “Repeat buy”.
5. Once you’ve selected your payment frequency, select “MYR wallet”, input the amount of Bitcoin you want, and click “Next”.
6. You’ll then see the amount of BTC you are buying, the rate of BTC to MYR, and final confirmation on the amount you are spending. If you are happy with all three, click “Confirm”.

Congratulations! You’ve made your first purchase of BTC and should be able to see it reflected in your Luno app! It’s the beginning of an exciting new adventure.