I put this together after several friends asked about where to start learning/using crypto. This is not at all comprehensive and, at the time of your reading, is likely out-of-date (crypto moves fast), but it’s a decent place to start. I hope it's useful!
Getting started
I think the best strategy is to simply own the "blue chips" and avoid most projects and hype. It is an easy way to participate, you're still early , and you'll have an incentive to learn and keep up with the space. While also avoiding the many scams and taking on unnecessary risk.
Setup a Coinbase Pro account
Free account + lower transaction fees than regular Coinbase.
Buy the "blue chips" - Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH)
Allocate some small percentage of your portfolio that you're prepared to lose.
Aside from the two above, I also like:
Solana (SOL)
Alternative to Ethereum that has gained in popularity recently. L1 (see below) chain meant to have a much higher transaction volume than Ethereum and lower fees (gas).
Hypothesis: Ethereum has a serious issue with the cost of gas (fees). There are two ways to solve this problem:
A new chain (L1)
An L2 chain on top of Ethereum.
SOL is #1.
Polygon (MATIC)
L2 chain (see below) on top of Ethereum. Attempting to solve the same problems as SOL, but as an L2 chain rather than an L1.
Hypothesis: Ethereum has a serious issue with the cost of gas (fees). There are two ways to solve this problem:
A new chain (L1)
An L2 chain on top of Ethereum.
MATIC is #2.
Stacks (STX)
Enables dapps and smart contracts (see below) on Bitcoin. Enables the programmability of Ethereum, but on the Bitcoin chain.
Hypothesis: Bitcoin maximalists believe Bitcoin is the only legitmate chain. If this is true, STX is critical to enable Ethereum-like utility on the Bitcoin chain.
Learn
Podcasts
The Tim Ferriss Show (episode) - high level overview of Bitcoin and blockchain from 2017
Invest Like the Best (episode) - overview of the NFT and DeFi space with Chris Dixon of Andreesen Horowitz
Modern Finance (show) - Kevin Rose's (Digg) show covering crypto projects
Common terms
NFT - Non-fungible token
DeFi - Decentralized Finance
DApps - Decentralized Apps
DAO - Decentralized autonomous organization
L1 Chain - Layer 1 chains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana
L2 Chain - Layer 2 chains are chains built on top of an L1 chain. Example: Polygon
Projects & Companies
Exchanges I use
Coinbase Pro - Recommended. Free, but lower fees than regular Coinbase.
Binance - For advanced users. Sometimes has earlier access to tokens.
Uniswap - Best decentralized exchange. High fees. Runs on Ethereum.
Tokens/Blockchains I think are interesting
Solana - a new blockchain for decentralized apps and marketplaces; alternative to Ethereum
Chainlink - connect smart contract to real-world data
Flow - NFT-focused blockchain. Developed by Dapper Labs.
Filecoin - decentralized storage (i.e. decentralized AWS S3)
Stacks - dapps and smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain
Wallets I use
Metamask - browser-based software wallet for Ethereum
You'll use a wallet like this to buy NFTs on exchanges like OpenSea.
Ledger - a hardware wallet for "cold storage"
I have and use the Nano S.
I recommend this once you have a significant amount of money in crypto (whatever "significant" is to you). Otherwise, not really necessary.
NFT Marketplaces
NFT Teams/Art/Projects
Dapper Labs - team behind Crypto Kitties and NBA Top Shot
Larva Labs - team behind Crypto Punks
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Decentralized Apps (DApps)
BitClout - crypto social network
Development
OpenZeppelin - Ethereum development platform
BuildSpace - learn how to code for Web3
Solidity - programming language for Ethereum
Rust - programming language for Solana
ThirdWeb - SDKs for Web3 apps