How to buy The Graph online
This beginner’s guide explores how The Graph works and its future investment prospects. You can also find the top brokers to use and some key investment considerations that you should make.
Compare where to buy The Graph, and open an account
If you know everything about The Graph already and just want to get going, the brokers below are your best bet. If you want to know more about how the search engine works, scroll down to keep reading.
What is The Graph?
The Graph is the equivalent of a search engine for the blockchain. Apps can use The Graph to search the blockchain for data and then display it, so each app doesn’t have to create and store that data themselves. GRT is the token that powers the platform as the means of payment and an incentive for good behaviour.
Being able to index data rather than hold it yourself makes it much easier to build new apps on the blockchain. Ideally, The Graph sees itself playing a similar role to Google on the regular web, as the go-to place to find any data you need. Some practical examples already exist in the form of Uniswap and Curve, two cryptocurrency exchange platforms that use The Graph to source and display up to date price information.
How does The Graph work?
The Graph works by creating indexes of data that can be accessed by developers. The indexes are created thanks to a series of individuals working together within The Graph network, to source and organise data from across the Ethereum blockchain. Each individual is incentivised to produce the best results by rewards paid out in GRT tokens.
To participate in the process, everyone has to stake some GRT coins. That means the incentives can work both ways, as poor or malicious performance is punished by destroying those coins. All of the rewards come from the customer, who has to pay a fee to access the data.
Customers tend to be developers, who want to focus on designing their apps. Then they can use The Graph to search and display any information that already exists elsewhere on the blockchain, rather than creating it themselves.
How to buy The Graph online – a step-by-step guide
Step 1. Find an exchange
When you decide to get some GRT tokens, you should find an exchange and transfer your cash into a cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin) first. Once you’ve done that, you can use your new crypto to fund your account.
To save you some time searching for the best place to buy GRT in the UK or elsewhere, we have listed two of the best exchanges below:
- Binance: One of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency trading space, Binance allows users to trade hundreds of different cryptocurrencies, including The Graph. You can open an account right now.
- ChangeNow: Integrated with other prominent trading platforms, it enables instant trading of cryptocurrency, and supports nearly 200 crypto coins. You can open a ChangeNow account today.
Step 2. Sign up and fund your account
On most exchanges, you need to sign up and create an account before you can start trading. This is a simple process that needs some form of photo ID to confirm your identity. It varies between platforms but normally a passport or driving licence is all you need. Once you have created the account, you’re ready to get started.
Step 3. Purchase
If you used Bitcoin to fund your account, just search for the GRT/BTC crypto pair and execute your trade. The process is the same regardless of the crypto you have deposited, you just need to find the current GRT price and execute the transaction.
Step 4. (Optional) Get a suitable wallet
You can create a wallet to hold your coins securely. This isn’t necessary, most exchanges let you store your coins with them, but you may want to do it if you’re going to hold your Graph for a long time.
- KeepKey: KeepKey is an offline hardware wallet, where your coins are secured with a private key and kept away from an internet connection. Your coins are safe even if you connect to an infected computer. Get a KeepKey wallet today >
- Infinito Wallet: Infinito Wallet is a mobile wallet that offers storage for over 2000 different cryptocurrency coins and tokens. You can access your coins through its free mobile app. Sign up for Infinito Wallet now >
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How to trade The Graph – a step-by-step guide
Step 1. Find a broker
There are a lot of brokers out there and the top ones usually let you trade cryptocurrency as well as other markets, like stocks. You should make sure to check your broker offers The Graph before signing up. eToro and Plus500 are two of the top brokers available.
Step 2. Deposit money
You can fund your broker account with fiat currencies, but you should always check the trading fees before you start. These vary and you want to minimise fees to make sure you get the best value for money.
Step 3. Decide how you’d like to trade
There are different ways of trading cryptocurrency. Usually, you’re speculating on the price moves of your chosen coin rather than owning it outright. One example of this is spread betting, where you try to predict how the market is going to move.
Step 4. Start trading
Now that you’ve set up your account, you can start trading. If you’re new to trading or to cryptocurrency, it might be a good idea to start with a demo account to practice without the risk of losing money.
In terms of trading strategies, it depends on your outlook for The Graph. Positive traders who think the coin is going to go up in price can take a long position and try to profit from the increase. If you think the opposite, that GRT is going to go down, you can decide to ‘short’ it and back the price to fall.
Another option for more experienced traders is to use leverage. Trading with leverage can be dangerous for beginners because it significantly increases the risk of losing your money, but it allows you to trade much larger amounts while only putting up a percentage of the funds yourself. This is called trading with the ‘margin’ and can lead to extreme results in both directions.
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Still undecided?
It’s not always easy to make a decision when it comes to an area as competitive as cryptocurrency. Here are some of the pros and cons of The Graph you can use to help you make a choice. Finally, there are some questions to think about below as well.
Pros
- An inexpensive investment in the blockchain
- GRT will always be required to run the platform so there’s a lot of potential demand
- A decentralised search engine is a huge benefit to the ease and speed of developing new apps
- Very few realistic competitors
Cons
- Continual release of new coins could suppress its value
If those pros and cons weren’t enough, here are three more questions to think about before you decide whether to invest in The Graph.
1. Is now a good time to buy The Graph?
It depends on your investment horizons. With a long term view, GRT coins are a good way to invest in the blockchain as a whole. With more apps and data built on the blockchain there is going to be more demand for a search engine, especially as a way of making it more accessible to new users.
In the short term, you should think about the current price and see if you can use trading strategies to benefit from swings in price. GRT is a relatively new listing that hasn’t been very volatile so far, but cryptocurrency moves fast and you can find all the latest analysis to help you make a decision here:
2. What problem does The Graph solve, and what are the coin’s investment prospects?
The Graph makes developing on the Ethereum blockchain much simpler by letting developers access information without having to store and secure it themselves. A lot of apps on the blockchain are isolated and The Graph is a way of linking them together while keeping it all decentralised.
GRT’s investment prospects depend on the continued growth of the blockchain. As more people start to build on it, there’s likely to be more demand for services like The Graph. And as every indexing query on the platform needs GRT coins, that would be good news for GRT in the long term.
You should always do your research before you get involved with cryptocurrency. There aren’t many competitors to The Graph at the moment, but its something to keep track of, especially if you want to invest for the long term. You can follow all the latest news about The Graph below:
3. Do you want to hold The Graph for the long term?
GRT’s long term value depends on more apps and developers flooding to blockchain technology. The growth of its own Graph platform is important, but as a go-between for developers and information, the more apps and data, the better.
Considerations for a long term investment strategy
If you believe in the GRT project, want to get involved in the platform, or believe in the future of blockchain technology, it could be a great time to get involved. If that’s the case, and you want to hold GRT for the long term, you should choose an exchange and sign up straight away. You can also get a wallet to store your coins as it can be a secure way of keeping track of your cryptocurrency.
Considerations for a short term trading strategy
Short-term trading can be a great way of profiting from price changes without worrying about the long term success of The Graph. It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the different short term trading strategies before you start. In particular, it might be helpful to learn about day trading. You should also make sure to pick a broker with low trading fees.
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