Didn't see an introduction section here.
Bought some bitcoin at an ATM a few days ago. Currently keeping it in breadwallet. I have also signed up for bitstamp so maybe I can purchase alt coins online now.
There is so much to learn, and I'm not really sure where to start. I'm seeing Ripple, Waves, Ethereum, ICO's, etc. Is there anywhere a newb can go to learn about all of these currencies? Videos? (reading sucks lol)
Any good places to watch prices? I'd like to buy at least $200 of coins per month.
I'm in this to invest over a long period of time. A friend at work turned me on to all of this. He is using Exodus on his pc for a wallet. I used breadwallet because working from my iPhone is easier sometimes.
Anyways, glad to be here and to join this awesome community!
You are on the right track. Buying and holding is hands down the best safe way to make big profit with Bitcoin/crypto.
As for your other questions, I will do my best to give a brief, simple explanation for you.
All of the brands you mentioned offer a different "spin" on Bitcoin technology. They have their own unique features, but none of them are as popular as Bitcoin.
ICOs are not currencies. ICO stands for "Initial Coin Offering" which means a company is selling their own cryptocoin. Sometimes you can make good money buying ICOs and other times they are complete scams. As you are abeginner, I would not recommend it.
By the way, ICOs are generally hosted on the Ethereum network. What is it? Ethereum is made by Microsoft. They are highly reputable and their platform allows anyone to make their own "token", similar to a cryptocurrency. You can sell this token to provide a service, which is what ICOs are for.
Going forward, I would not suggest buying BTC from ATMs. They have higher fees. You can get it from Coinbase or exchanges for cheaper, or purse.io.
Finally, in the past week there has been tons of drama which I will not get into. Long story short - the US gov. is cracking down on crypto now, so be very weary where you deposit your Bitcoins... make sure only you control your private keys.