Where do i start with Crypto?

I'm just a regular guy, not a freaky ass libertarian nor a cryptobro, I'm just a weird lefty that likes money and the thought of investing and stuff has always been interesting for me. I know the basics of investing and the basics of how the wallets work and stuff, but i don't really trust wallets that are like apps on your phone or stuff like that, although i've heard Metamask is like the best one out there? (in terms of wallets that are apps on your smartphone) Is a physical wallet a good investment? How do they work? Also, I'm not from the US, can that be a problem when it comes to the withdrawal of money?. To be honest, I just wanna get directions on how to start, I'm looking to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, even if they are kind of not doing really good rn from what i've heard of.

>>8261 Crypto wallets are better than any banking app because you actually own the money that it says you own, and any app can give you access to the same wallet. However, if you use "investing" apps or services like binance, while it's easier to make instant trades, you don't actually own the crypto it says you own. Metamask is good, I recommend something like exodus for desktop as a general-purpose wallet, but the best option is always individual wallets (like the official monero wallet and electrum for bitcoin) because not only do you obviously not have everything accessible with one password but any specific features or options will always be the best. If you wanna try trading, I use binance. If you wanna long-term invest, use a desktop wallet and buy peer-to-peer. Bisq is a good market for p2p trading. There shouldn't be any issues with withdrawing money, since you're just selling your crypto to someone else, but note that centralized services like binance always require ID (bisq and direct transactions don't). Have fun!

Electrum for a BTC wallet on PC. Exodus if I need a wallet on an Android phone but I'd never store the majority of what crypto assets I have on it since it's closed source software. If you're trading on Binance et al. or are using a Bitcoin ATM, always record every single transaction you make (date, time of day, source address, destination address, amount in crypto, and value in fiat at that moment) on a spreadsheet or something so that when your tax agency audits you they won't be as harsh with you from making a mistake in your tax filing if you at least have everything recorded that they can see.

>>8261 I downloaded the monero community GUI wallet and bought some easily off local monero and have been happy. I know governments can be a little weird about crypto so I personally don't like having it connected to my identity. https://localcryptos.com/ It looks like you can buy both ETH and BTC here if you want to do like I did (over TOR preferably without a personal email connected.) I think a physical wallet just means having all your keys and passwords written down in a secure place (or a few secure places) wich I think we should be doing anyway, and not having devices with all your passwords and private keys on them networked. I do this in my little password booklet. The website for your respective crypto should have an easy walkthrough in getting it, and like most financial decisions, if you split your decisionmaking up over several days and don't overwhelm yourself, it shouldn't be too stressful. https://bitcoin.org/ https://ethereum.org/en/

I don't think crypto is coming back again after the last crash. Lots of people have decisively turned hostile toward it and there is greater awareness of its problems now, including the environmental toll of the massive amount of electricity used for mining. Line Goes Down made a pretty good video predicting the NFT/blockchain crash.