Travala.com provides investors with a way to pay for their flights, hotels and other activities with more than a dozen cryptocurrencies. Users can also earn Travala.com’s utility token (AVA) when they leave reviews, complete bookings using AVA and more.
Our guide to AVA will help you learn a little more about this unique token offering and how you can add it to your list of investments.
Branding itself as the world’s most crypto-friendly travel site, Travala.com allows globetrotters to book hotels, flights and activities using cryptocurrency. Travala.com claims to offer up to 40% off standard hotel rates, and users can pay for their stay using a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
Travala.com’s utility token AVA serves a variety of functions for the website. For example, users can earn AVA when leaving reviews for the website or a hotel they’ve booked through Travala.com. When users pay for their stay using AVA, they unlock a 1% to 5% discount on their accommodations.
Brief History of Travala.com Token
Founded in 2017, Travala.com is a blockchain-based travel website that allows users to search for and book flights, hotels and travel activities using cryptocurrency. Travala.com’s native token AVA was introduced to the market in 2018 at an ICO price of about $0.25 per token.
Since this time, investor interest in AVA has steadily increased, with the token reaching an all-time high value of $6.42 in April 2021. Travala.com’s token is currently the 173rd largest cryptocurrency project when measured by total market capitalization.
Step 1: Open an online account.
The 1st step to buying most types of cryptocurrency is to open an account with a broker that supports the coin or token that you want to trade. There are dozens of cryptocurrency exchanges, and each exchange offers its own set of supported items that you can buy, sell and trade.
Some of the factors that you may want to consider when you decide where you want to open an account include:
- Supported coins and tokens: There are thousands of cryptocurrencies — and no single exchange will be able to offer you access to all of them. It can be helpful to create a list of cryptos that you’re interested in trading before you open an account so you can be sure that you have a one-stop-shop for all of your investing needs.
- Commissions and fees: Most cryptocurrency exchanges charge a percentage or flat-rate fee each time you make a trade. These commissions can quickly cut into any profits that you earn, especially if you plan to trade frequently. Be sure that you fully understand each fee associated with your brokerage platform of choice before you open an account.
- Trading platform and educational tools: Some cryptocurrency brokers focus on providing plenty of educational material and a straightforward trading platform suitable for beginners. Others appeal to more experienced investors by devoting the majority of their resources to offering advanced trading and analysis tools, multiple types of buy and sell orders and additional tools to customize the trading experience. If this is your first time buying cryptocurrencies, you might want to seek out a broker that specializes in offering a straightforward, simple buying and selling experience and a wealth of educational tools and resources.
Binance.us supports AVA.
Step 2: Buy a wallet (optional).
If you don’t plan to actively trade your AVA, it’s usually a good idea to store your coins in a private wallet. Private crypto wallets are hardware devices or software applications that provide you with a personal set of keys that you can use to keep your cryptocurrency safe. Private wallets are more secure than exchange wallets because only you have access to your coins and tokens, meaning that you’re less likely to be the target of a hack.
As AVA is an ERC-20 token, you can store your investment using almost any wallet compatible with the Ethereum network. Let’s take a look at a few of our favorite AVA-compliant wallets.
Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano X
The Ledger Nano X is one of the most popular and comprehensive options for storing cryptocurrency. With support for all ERC-20 tokens along with independent blockchain projects like Bitcoin and Litecoin, the Ledger Nano X is the ideal solution for cryptocurrency investors who need a single place to store all of their coins and tokens.
In addition to enhanced storage options, the Ledger Nano X also features state-of-the-art security by storing your private keys using a certified chip. You can transfer investments directly from your wallet to your Ledger Nano X using the device’s Bluetooth connection and you can install up to 100 applications on a single device.
Commissions
0.50% per sale
Best Software Wallet: Coinbase Wallet
As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, you may have already used Coinbase to purchase crypto in the past. Now Coinbase has expanded its offerings to include a free software wallet that you can use to store coins and tokens outside of your exchange wallet.
The Coinbase wallet supports all ERC-20 tokens, meaning that you can store thousands of Ethereum-compliant investments in a single place. You can also send money to friends and other Coinbase users without memorizing long wallet addresses through the wallet’s username-based payment system.
Step 3: Make your purchase.
After opening your account and deciding how you want to store your tokens, it’s time to place your buy order. Like trading stocks, a buy order tells your broker how many tokens you want to buy and when you need the order to be executed. There are multiple types of buy orders — let’s take a look at 2 of the most common options that you’ll likely see when you open your trading account.
- Market order: Market orders are executed as soon as possible at the current market rate. Market orders are filled very quickly but give you little control over the price you pay per token.
- Limit order: Limit orders are only executed if your broker is able to buy each token at or below a specific “limit price” that you set when you place the order. For example, if you set a limit order to buy 100 AVA at a limit price of $7 per token, your broker would only fill the order if it was possible to buy each token at a price of $7 or less.
Your broker may also offer you access to additional types of orders with more specific execution instructions. Many of these order types are identical to the types of buy orders you’ll see when trading stocks.
Prediction:
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a major damper on the hospitality and travel industries. As vaccination distribution remains underway, it’s possible that interest in AVA will increase as travel picks up again.
Trade, Sell or Convert your AVA
If your broker is able to fill your order, you’ll see your AVA in your exchange wallet. From this point, you’ll need to decide how you want to earn a return on your initial investment. Most crypto investors use 1 of the following 3 strategies after investing in a coin or token.
- Trading: Active traders convert their AVA to fiat currency or a stablecoin backed by an underlying asset when the price of AVA rises. When the price falls again, traders then convert their fiat currency or stablecoin back to AVA. They may also take profits from the difference between the 2 transactions.
- Selling: Long-term holders sell their AVA once instead of multiple times throughout the week. If you believe that the price of AVA will rise in the long-term, you may want to store your cryptocurrency in a private wallet. When you decide to take profits, you can then transfer your investment back to your exchange wallet and convert it back to fiat currency.
- Converting: Some exchanges (like Uniswap) allow you to instantly convert 1 ERC-20 token for another. If you’re searching for a smaller token offering that is not yet widely available on major exchanges, you may want to purchase AVA as an intermediary token to convert using an exchange. The tokens that you’ll have access to when converting will vary by exchange.
Current Crypto Prices
The cryptocurrency market is always open — and prices are constantly moving and changing. Get an idea of today’s major market movements using the chart below.
Is AVA a Good Investment?
As travel picks back up again post-COVID, it’s possible that renewed investor interest in AVA will cause the price of the token to rise. However, it’s important to remember that cryptocurrencies do not have the same types of regulations as stocks and other traditional assets. If you do decide to invest in AVA (or any cryptocurrency project) be sure that your investment makes up only a small percentage of your overall portfolio.
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