New to Cryptocurrency? Avoid these newbie mistakes!

Don't rush.

Take your time! You're not going to miss out on anything extreme by taking time to understand blockchain technology, learn trading strategies, and research the market. If anything, by taking time to fully comprehend what you're getting into, you will set yourself up for success, rather than scrambling around Coinbase trying to buy Bitcoin so you can buy some coins right away (which is totally what I did). The market is very volatile and moves up and down constantly. If you miss out on a low price one day, it may very well be at that same price again a few days later. I got in when Bitcoin was at $2800. I thought it would keep going up, and I frantically bought in around $2900, and then two days later, it was at $2200. 

Don't sort coinmarketcap.com by price and then buy a bunch of sub $.01 coins. 

Most of the time, the price of a coin correlates with its circulating supply. As of right now, anything within the low million range (1,000,000 - 250,000,000) are valued at $1/coin or more. Typically, the lower the circulating supply, the higher the price; the rarer something is, the more expensive it is. So coins with over a billion in circulating supply are much more abundant, hence the lower price (often less than 1 cent/coin). In the future, this could obviously change, but don't expect to buy a bunch of sub $.01 coins and expect it to hit $1 or $10 anytime soon.

Don't panic buy. 

If you see a coin with +15% or more on an exchange and it's still rising, chances are you're already too late. Don't chase the gains. The best way to buy is to understand how to read charts, know what candlesticks are, and recognize a trend when you see it forming. When you see red on an exchange, think of it as a good thing. When a coin's value dips, it usually goes back up. Buy in the red, sell in the green.

Don't panic sell. 

Again, prices fluctuate constantly. A coin could be up 30% one day, and down 20% the next. If you're holding long term, don't panic sell if you see your coin dropping. This is the way the market is with short term traders buying/selling to make profit. The best way to avoid panic selling is by researching the coin, believing in it, buying some, and forgetting about it. Keep it in a wallet and don't touch it for a few months. With all the new money coming into the Crypto market, if you did research and picked a coin that solves a problem, has a good backing, active developers, etc., then you should see gains in the long term. 

Don't keep your coins on an exchange. 

Unless you are planning on day-trading your coins, keep them in a wallet. When your coins are on an exchange, they do not belong to you. You don't own the private keys unless they are in a wallet that you have access to. If for some reason Poloniex/Bittrex or another exchange goes under, any coins you have sitting on the exchange are gone. There is no insurance for this. Always double check the address you are sending coins to and be sure you are sending the correct coin to the correct wallet.

Don't get caught up in FOMO.

Take your time getting acquainted in this new space. The market cap is still low: $100B is not even close to that of a company like Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. There is a lot of room for growth here. Be wise, and in a few years, you could be sitting very comfortably on these investments.

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. These are just my opinions based on my experience with Cryptocurrency and the mistakes I've made. Always do your research and don't invest more than you can afford to lose.