When it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, there are many tools you can leverage to invest. This ranges from Excel-based portfolio management to a crypto tracker. In this article, we will explore the available tools and look at their pros and cons. This will help crypto investors to determine which tool suits their needs.
Excel-based trading
This is a method often preferred by traders. It allows them to create an overview of their holdings, and leverage macros to add real-time data on prices (e.g., from Coinmarketcap). Although it looks like an efficient method at first, some important elements are missing. For example, it does not provide news updates and changes in your portfolio need to be manually provided.
| Excel | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Real-time price information | No automatic changes reflected from your portfolio |
| Ability to create custom charts and analysis | No news on coins |
Cryptocurrency exchanges
Exchanges already provide more functionalities than an Excel file. For example, you can immediately trade from there and thus the changes in the portfolio are reflected. There is news available on the coins you hold, allowing you to trade based on the latest information. However, it does come with downsides as well. Your coins are not in your wallet but in those of the exchange, who allocate them to you using their ledger. In case something happens to the exchange, you can lose your holdings. This has happened before with the fall of the Mt. Gox exchange.
| Cryptocurrency Exchange | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Direct access to the market | Coins are not part of your wallet |
| (Near-)realtime price information | Unable to participate in staking (Proof of Stake) or mining (Proof of Work) |
| Market news and updates | |
A crypto tracker
The crypto tracker is said to merge the best of both worlds when looking at the two previous options. It allows you to track all your investments in a single place, but keep your holdings at where you prefer them: be it an exchange or your wallets. Hereby you can continue to participate in the consensus mechanisms (i.e., wallet) or be able to trade fast for coins where it is relevant (i.e., exchange). You can also create separate groups of coins so you can track them accordingly. For example, you might want to make a distinction between your long-term holdings and the short-term.
| Crypto tracker | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Direct access to the market | Sometimes no web version is available |
| (Near-)realtime price information | |
| Market news and updates | |
| Keep your holdings where you want them (e.g., wallet or exchange) | |
More information on trackers
Want to learn more about these trackers? You can visit the website of Delta, a leader in the field of crypto tracking. Their website contains lots of helpful information on the functionalities, integrations, and a FAQ you could explore. You can visit them through the following URL: https://delta.app/en.
