The 5 Tools I Wish Someone Showed Me When I Started Trading in 2019

When I first started trading cryptocurrency in 2019, I wished someone had given me a list of tools to help me become a better, more profitable trader. Back then, I made the mistakes of depending on gut feelings, looking at charts without context, and feeling like I was always one step behind the market.

Today, the tools I use most frequently are not random apps or hype platforms; instead, they are potent resources that offer on-chain analytics, market insights, social sentiment, and real-time data. These five tools can significantly enhance your trading decisions, reduce costly errors, and help you consistently profit from cryptocurrency, regardless of your level of experience.

Here are the 5 tools I wish someone had shown me when I started trading in 2019:

1. CoinMarketApp
2. TradingView
3. Twitter
4. Trust Wallet
5. Nansen.ai

1. CoinMarket App:

The CoinMarketCap app, the mobile version of CoinMarketCap, is the first tool I wish I had from day one. In order to track currencies, identify fresh chances, and get pricing, I had to continually navigate between different apps back in 2019. However, the CoinMarket app integrates all of those features into a single, user-friendly design.

The CoinMarket app gives you:

• Live prices and market caps for thousands of tokens
• Top gainers and losers in real time
• Watchlists and custom alerts
• Exchange rankings and liquidity info

If you are exchanging many currencies, this software is quite helpful. You can find all the information you need in one location rather than stitching together data from 10 different sources.  For instance, I use it to:

Check which coins are pumping quickly. See the difference between actual and fraudulent volume. Keep an eye on market dominance, such as Bitcoin's dominance.

2. TradingView: 

I initially believed that charts were merely up-and-down lines. Why traders discussed “structure” and “levels” was beyond me. I relied on exchange charts and hoped for the best.

Then I came into TradingView, which was like picking up a new language.

All of a sudden, price movements were not arbitrary. I could see patterns emerging. I could elicit both opposition and support. I was able to see not just where we were going but also where we were when I zoomed out.

The first time I dodged a terrible trade because the price was near resistance and the RSI was overbought is still fresh in my memory. That one choice spared me more money than other profitable trades.

Using TradingView, you gain:

• Advanced technical indicators, such as MACD, RSI, and stochastic
• Trendline, support, and resistance drawing tools
• Adaptable alerts and watchlists

3. X (Twitter)

I misjudged Twitter's influence back in 2019. I considered social media to be noise that traders should disregard. However, the truth is that sentiment drives cryptocurrency, and the majority of this sentiment is expressed in real time on Twitter. 

The first time I saw a token trend on Twitter before it moved on the chart, something clicked. This wasn't noise. This was early information.

Crypto Twitter (a.k.a. #CryptoTwitter) is where:

• News often breaks there first
• Developers speak directly to users
• Sentiment shifts before price reacts

In crypto, attention is liquidity. Twitter shows you where attention is flowing.

4. Trust Wallet

One of the biggest lessons I learned in my early trading years was the difference between owning crypto and merely having access to crypto. In 2019, I didn't fully understand self-custody. Like many beginners, I assumed that if an app went down or crashed, my money would disappear with it.

Trust Wallet changed that mindset completely.

At first glance, Trust Wallet looks like just another mobile crypto wallet. But what makes it powerful and safer than most beginners realize is that you control your private keys. This means your crypto is not stored on Trust Wallet's servers. Instead, it lives on the blockchain, and the wallet simply gives you access to it.

The most important moment came when I learned about the recovery phrase.

I realized something eye-opening:

Even if Trust Wallet crashes, shuts down, or disappears entirely, your funds are still safe.

As long as you have your 12-word or 24-word recovery phrase, you can restore your wallet on another device or even on a completely different wallet app that supports the same blockchain standards. That single detail completely changed how I viewed crypto security.

From a trader's perspective, this is incredibly important. Markets are volatile. Exchanges get hacked. Apps experience downtime. But when your assets are stored in a non-custodial wallet like Trust Wallet, you are not dependent on any company staying online for your money to exist.

5. Nansen.ai

Nansen.ai is a tool that I wish I had found years ago. Nansen provides you with on-chain analytics, or information derived from real blockchain activity, whereas many traders merely use price charts.

Nansen tracks:

• Smart money wallet movements
• Token flows between addresses
• Liquidity shifts
• Whale transactions
• DeFi interactions

Nansen helps you:

• Spot where smart money is moving
• Identify early accumulation before pumps
• See real liquidity shifts
• Avoid tokens that look good on price but have weak on-chain activity

In simple terms: Nansen shows you what the wallets with the real money are doing before prices react.

Finally, In 2019, crypto was chaotic. In 2026, it's even more competitive. Markets react faster. Bots trade smarter. Information travels instantly. The only way to stay ahead is by using tools that go beyond price, tools that give context, sentiment, on-chain behavior, and execution capability.