5 helpful browser extensions for cryptocurrency users
Whether you’re new in the cryptocurrency world or you already know what’s the deal, a few tips on enhancing your mining process can help you be more productive and proactive.
Browser extensions are already helpful to all internet users, but have you thought about adding them to boost your privacy and check market prices? If you haven’t, in the following paragraphs, we’ll recommend five helpful extensions to help you better your cryptocurrency gains.
For privacy
For a crypto user, Adblock Plus is one of the safest extensions that can block ad-delivered viruses and ad-based tracking. It is one of the most used and installed programs on Chrome, with over ten million users, and it provides you with additional privacy and security. The extension is also available for Firefox, Safari, and Android.
Even though blockchains are among the safest places to perform transactions, treacherous miners may use others’ computers to mine cryptocurrencies. Although some people want to donate their computer resources so that others can mine too, sometimes they’re taken advantage of. So, privacy extensions can require website visitors to opt-in to mining for cryptocurrencies to support the site running its scripts. Authedmine is one of these programs, blocking all miners to ensure fairness in cryptocurrency mining.
For crypto wallets
A crypto wallet is one of the most important aspects of crypto mining, as it’s where you hold your coins and perform transactions. Depending on what your needs are, there are three types of crypto wallets:
- Hosted wallets. They’re easy to set up and safe, as a third party keeps your crypto.
- Self-custody wallets. With these, you have full control over your coins, but you’ll have to remember and safeguard all your passwords.
- Hardware wallets. These are devices that store the private keys to your crypto offline. Although they tend to be pricy, they can keep your crypto secure even if your computer is hacked.
You can find great crypto wallet extensions for any cryptocurrency. For example, Ethereum users have Metamask, a browser extension that offers the best way to secure your digital assets, from key vaults to secure logins and token wallets while owning your data. On the other hand, Bitcoin users have Badger, which allows them to hold coins and tokens and serves as a bridge to decentralized applications (Dapps).
If you’re interested in the bitcoin price USD, know that it usually changes due to price volatility, meaning that the investor's sentiments, media coverage, and supply and demand can make the prices fluctuate. So, to start investing in Bitcoin, you should know what to expect when the market oscillates between high and low volatility.
For market data
Being active in the cryptocurrency world means you must be up to date with the latest news to know when to buy or sell. An excellent browser extension is Bitcoin Tab, which selects real-time information and pricing from trusted sources, as well as community developments and social media news. You can have a short glance at what’s happening at the moment without having to search for information and lose time.
Why is it important to know what’s new in the world of cryptocurrencies? Because it can help you get the right idea of how the market works. Let’s not forget the moment Elon Musk tweeted about Dogecoin, which resulted in the coin jumping to 9% only a few hours after his statement.
As people saw that such an important figure supported the coin, they decided to invest more, which increased the coin's value. You may know that a cryptocurrency’s value increases when the demand exceeds supply, based on the well-known demand and supply rule.
For NFT enthusiasts
Since the Ethereum blockchain made it easier for users to buy and sell NFTs, their value increased, especially in art pieces. NFT projects are widely underappreciated, but if you know how to put them on the market, you can be one of the most famous artists on the blockchain who sold his artwork for $69 million.
A great extension to help you learn more about NFTs or just want to create NFT art, you can choose Nifty Scanner to understand the technology behind an NFT by verifying if its assets (media and data) are safely stored on the blockchain. It also inspects if its smart contract has been verified on Ethereum. This extension helps avoid placeholding (being left with an inaccessible link when trying to access the digital artwork). The program is available on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Brave.
For keeping track of your investments
While having a crypto wallet is crucial, you also need to keep track of your crypto investments because the market is pretty volatile. Coinstats, for example, is a great portfolio tracker app that helps you automatically choose your local currency and synchronize your wallet from different exchanges. You’ll save the time wasted on adding your transactions manually while keeping an eye on the market changes.
It’s important to monitor the performance of your cryptocurrencies and assets because they might increase or decrease in value. A tracking program will also help you figure out how to pursue portfolio diversification to have a selective list of balanced assets. This is the best practice to keep your wealth in good condition.
How safe is it to install extensions?
Be wary when installing such extensions to your browser. While some of them are perfectly safe, if you’re not choosing them correctly, certain programs can steal passwords, collect data or log keystrokes. You should install them directly from trusted sources, like official web stores, and check user ratings and the number of installs to ensure that the extension is genuine. You may also install only valid programs because otherwise, you might affect your computer’s performance. Lastly, make sure you read all permissions required by such extensions to confirm they can’t read and change your data.
As a new cryptocurrency user, keeping up with so much information and changing technologies might be overwhelming. Still, with the help of browser extensions, you can focus more on your decisions of investing and build a strong portfolio and make a considerable income.