Step by step guide to buying Alternative Coins (Altcoins) using Binance

Alternative Coins (also known as Altcoins) are essentially alternative cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin. Some examples are Litecoin (LTC), Zcash (ZEC), Dash, Ripple (XRP), NEO and Verge (XVG). 

I am using Binance* due to the Altcoins which I am interested in. 

Step by step guide to buying Alternative Coins using Binance

1. Register an account with Binance*. You will need to provide your email address and create password.

2. Verify the registration. Log in to your email and find the email sent by Binance and verify the email to completed the registration process. I received the email immediately upon completion of Step 1. If you do not see it, check your spam folder.

3. Complete Two-factor Authentication. Download Google Authenticator app and scan the QR code. Enter the 6 digit code for 2FA and you are logged into Binance. 

4. (Optional) Increase 24h Withdrawal Limit . By default, the 24h Withdrawal Limit is 2 BTC. 

Identity Authentication is required to reach level 2 to increase the 24h Withdrawal Limit to 100 BTC. I actually did the authentication step so that I can share about this here. But as you can see in the screenshot above, I was rejected. The rejection came within 1 calendar day (so efficient) the error states my file number is inconsistent and to resubmit. I resubmitted the documents and got verified within 12 hours! 

For Identity Authentication, you need to provide your (a) Last Nameand (b) First Name, (c) NRIC number, and photos of your (d) passport cover, (e) Passport Personal Page and (f) Selfie with Photo ID And Note stating "Binance" with "date". Once you are done, click "Submit".

5. Deposit BTC (or ETH) into Binance. Select "Funds"" and click "Deposits Withdrawals".

6. Find your Binance's BTC Deposit Address. Find BTC among the list of coins. Click "Deposit" and there will be a drop down which shows your BTC Deposit Address. You can then click on the small icon circled in red (next to "BTC Deposit Address") to copy the address.

7. Enter your Binance's BTC Deposit Address in Gemini (as I use Gemini to buy BTC using USD, I have to withdraw BTC from Gemini). Login to your Gemini account. Select "Transfer Funds", "Withdraw From Exchange" and click "BTC". 

Paste Binance's BTC Deposit Address into the "Desination Address", indicate the amount of BTC you wish to withdraw. Then Click "Review Withdawal". You will need to do 2FA for this transaction to go through. Check and double check that you have indicated the correct deposit address.

Binance will only receive the BTC after 2 network confirmation. Even if you received Gemini's email notification stating that your BTC has been withdrawn successfully, it does not mean that Binance has received it. Based on the 3 deposits I made, it took around half an hour for the BTC to be deposited in Binance. 

Gemini allows 30 free withdrawals per calendar month. Deposits in Binance is free too. 

8. Once your BTC is in you can start buying Altcoins by selecting the Altcoin you want. Binance's trading fee is 0.1%. 

I hope this will be helpful. Steps are accurate as 24 Dec 17. I will not be responsible if Gemini or the banks change any of the procedures or if there are changes in the details to be keyed in. Hence, pl do your own checks too. This is not a buy call for anyone to go into cryptocurrency trading/investment. Also, pl invest only with the amount of money which you can afford to loss. My investment in cryptocurrency is only around 1.5% of my investment portfolio.

Once again, credit goes to Sleepdevil for his patience in teaching me!

*referral link for Binance

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Step by step guide for buying Bitcoin and Ether in Gemini
Step by step guide to buying Alternative Coins using Binance

Step by step guide for buying Bitcoin and Ether in Gemini

If you do not know anything about Cryptocurrency (MAS frequently calls it virtual currency in their press statements), I would suggest that you check out MAS' press statements and Sleepdevil's blog as he has a comprehensive explanation about this in this blog and has more than 7 posts on this topic.  I have learnt a great deal on this and also how to purchase Cryptocurrency in Gemini and Binance * from him as he practically taught me everything on a step by step basis. 

Knowing how hard this can be, I have appended below a step by step guide on how you can buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether  (ETH) in Gemini. Pl read on only after you know about Cryptocurrency, so that you know what you are signing up for.

Step by step guide for buying Bitcoin and Ether in Gemini

1. Register an account with Gemini. You will need to provide your full name, email address and create password. Do remember to use your full name as it is required for verification and when you do wire transfer, it has to match the name against the name in the bank account which you are using to remit money.

2. Submit documents for verification. For Non-US Applicants, you need to submit proof of your address. It must display your name, residential address and is not dated more than 90 days from the date of submission. Bank account statements are not acceptable. 

Based on my experience in early Dec 17,  I was verified only after 8 calendar days due to a surge in applications. If there is such a surge there is no point writing in to them to chase them as they will not reply. So the least you can do is to ensure that you have submitted the right documents.

3. Transfer funds into your Gemini account. You can only transfer USD funds into the account. Select "Transfer Funds", "Deposit into Exchange and click on "USD (Wire Transfer)". 

4. Provide your bank account details and indicate the amount of USD you want to deposit. I used my POSB (DBS also can) bank account which does not charge any fees for same day overseas transfer.

If you are using DBS or POSB bank, the Swift Number is "DBSSSGSG". (you can check out other bank's swift number by using google search engine.

As for Deposit Amount, indicate the amount of USD you want to transfer.  Thereafter, click "Next". An Instructions Page will appear showing details including the clearing code (known as "Receiving Bank ABA routing number"). The same instructions will be sent to your email.

5. Login to your POSB ibanking account. Select "Transfer" and click on "DBS Remit and Overseas Transfer".

6. Indicate the amount of USD you want to transfer in your ibanking. Select "United States" and the exchange rate is shown. Input the amount of USD you wish to transfer. To prevent delay in depositing USD into your Gemini account, this amount should be the same as what you have indicated in Step 4.

Thereafter click "Start a Transfer".

7. Indicate the details in your ibanking as per what you have received in Step 4.

You can fill in as per what is in the screenshot above. But do note this is only accurate as of 24 Dec 17. You need to check whether the details have changed with each transfer (in late Nov/early Dec, the clearing code was changed to "322286803"". Those who did not notice this and used the old clearing code had to wait for the funds to be refunded to their bank account. This took several business days and when the refund came typically it resulted in a slight loss due to difference in forex rate.). So please be very careful when inputting the details.

Also, pl remember to indicate the unique reference give to you under "Payment Details for Recipient" (circled in red). If this is not indicated correctly, the funds will not be transferred.

8. Sit back and relax. Now the hard part is over. After a short while you will receive an email from POSB/DBS informing you that your request is completed. This does not mean that you have received funds in Gemini. It actually means that your request to transfer the funds have been sent from DBS to the receiving bank.

Do note, in DBS website, it is stated that the cut off time for same day transfer to United States is 8:00AM-5:00PM. You will receive an email notification once your fund has been deposited into Gemini.

My personal experience of the date and time when I received the funds in Gemini after initiating the transfer:

Transferred funds in POSB bank		Receive Funds in Gemini
19-Dec	9:17 PM	21-Dec	3:14 AM
20-Dec	11:41 AM	21-Dec	12:00 AM
21-Dec	10:11 PM	22-Dec	10:49 PM

9. Now you are ready to buy Bitcoin or Ether. Select "Buy" and click either "BTCUSD"or "ETHUSD". Do note there is a 0.25% trading fee for each purchase and sale.

I hope this will be helpful. Steps are accurate as 24 Dec 17. I will not be responsible if Gemini or the banks change any of the procedures or if there are changes in the details to be keyed in. Hence, pl do your own checks too. This is not a buy call for anyone to go into cryptocurrency trading/investment. Also, pl invest only with the amount of money which you can afford to loss. My investment in cryptocurrency is only around 1.5% of my investment portfolio.

Once again, credit goes to Sleepdevil for his patience in teaching me! Thanks Sleepdevil. 

*referral link for Binance

My Investment Machine 2017 Year End Review

The year has flew by quickly. STI Index has inched its way up through the whole of 2017 but it never reached its peak. 

My portfolio consists of several STI comapnies but it was dragged down by several companies such as M1, Wilmar, Sembcorp Marine, Raffles Medical and Comfortdelgro. In recent days, it was dragged down by Singtel after the share XD on 18 Dec 2017 and reached its 52 weeks low at 3.59. In 2017, I received $5,518.83 of dividends. My average dividends yield has decreased slight by 0.03% while dividends received increased by 39.51% when compared to 2016. The increase in dividends received is the smallest in recent years as several companies such as Singpost and Accordia Golf Trust paid out a smaller amount of dividends. Overall, I am happy with with the progress I have made. It is a slow progress but at least it is progressing. A brief summary of my portfolio over the years is appended at the end of this post. 

In 2017, I made 11 transactions (I may make a couple more purchases as some blue chips have dropped till an attractive level. Will update at my month end post.), of which 9 transactions were buy action while 2 were sell action. While most may be surprised by the small number of trades I made, it is mainly because I am busy at work and in most cases the orders were fulfilled due to Good-Till-Date (GTD) orders, which is not ideal. 

In 2018, I will be watching for opportunities to buy First Reit and increase my stake in Raffles Medical, Comfortdelgro, Singtel, Jumbo, Old Chang Kee and Sheng Siong. Also, I am hoping that Hyflux will rebound a little so that I can sell it off as my GTD orders for this stock in 2017 was never fulfilled.

To those reading this, I hope that 2017 has been good for you! Happy investing in 2018!

Year	Dividends Received ($)	Average Portfolio Market Value ($)	Average Yield	Increase In Dividends Received	Increase In Average Portfolio Market Value
2011	172.09	4,107.27	4.19%	NA	NA
2012	554.25	19,659.28	2.82%	222.07%	378.65%
2013	561.49	26,703.02	2.10%	1.31%	35.83%
2014	1,389.09	44,591.09	3.12%	147.39%	66.99%
2015	2,233.97	59,344.17	3.76%	60.82%	33.09%
2016	3,955.89	90,149.62	4.39%	77.08%	51.91%
2017	5,518.83	126,547.24	4.36%	39.51%	40.37%
Total Dividends Received					14,385.61

My Investment Portfolio (End Nov 2017)

Name	Port(%)	Shares	Current Value ($)
ST Engineering	12.10%	5,000	16,250
Keppel DC Reit	10.25%	9,700	13,774
OCBC Bank	9.25%	1,000	12,420
Frasers L&I Tr	8.19%	10,000	11,000
Raffles Medical	6.71%	8,501	9,011
Keppel Corp	5.78%	1,000	7,760
SingTel	5.57%	2,000	7,480
Wilmar Intl	4.69%	2,000	6,300
SingPost	3.81%	4,000	5,120
CapitaCom Trust	3.64%	2,600	4,888
Accordia Golf Tr	3.57%	7,000	4,795
ComfortDelGro	3.04%	2,000	4,080
Suntec Reit	3.01%	2,000	4,040
IREIT Global	2.97%	5,250	3,990
Jumbo	2.89%	7,000	3,885
Sheng Siong	2.78%	4,000	3,740
Sembcorp Marine	2.78%	2,000	3,740
M1	2.68%	2,000	3,600
Mapletree Com Tr	2.60%	2,200	3,498
Old Chang Kee	2.26%	4,000	3,040
Mapletree GCC Tr	0.88%	1,000	1,180
Hyflux	0.56%	2,000	750

Bought Old Chang Kee in Nov 2017.

Dividends received* in Nov 2017: $297.66 (SingPost, Frasers L&I Tr, Suntec Reit, Old Chang Kee)

Total dividends received since 2017: $5,207.33

Average dividends per month: $433.94

Total Portfolio Market Value: $134,341

* Dividends are recognised after ex-dividend (xd) date