Interview with Chris Appell | Co-Founder of AltcoinTrading.NET

Written by True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

Reviewed by Subject Matter Experts

Updated on March 21, 2023

Chris Appell | Co-Founder of Altcoin Training.NET

Introduction

Success leaves clues.

Finance Strategists sat down with Chris Appell, co-founder of AltcoinTrading.NET. He shared his thoughts on the past, present, and future of the company, as well as the insights he has gained from running the business.

Who is Chris Appell?

Q: Who are you and what’s your background?

I'm Chris Appell, co-founder of AltcoinTrading.NET. My background is in IT - the uncool Linux and system administration side of it.

That background helped a lot in the beginning as I knew how to build and host a content-heavy website for next to nothing. And then working in IT was the classic way to learn about cryptocurrency back in the day.

Q: Who has been your biggest influence, and why did they have such a significant effect on you?

In terms of running a business, definitely Steve Albini. The way he understands work ethics makes him partner primarily with businesses he'd like to see staying in the industry.

If they have good products, treat their customers fair, and make a good impact on the industry, then that's a good enough reason to start working with them. This is something I can relate to.

Q: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you have given your younger self?

Start hiring sooner.

Business

Q: What is AltcoinTrading.NET?

AltcoinTrading.NET is a publication for crypto traders. It focuses mainly on trading tools and techniques along with updates from around the industry, just to stay in touch with the developments.

The tools are sourced independently and sometimes found out quite early on. AltcoinTrading.NET was the first outlet that wrote about TensorCharts, for instance.

Q: What makes AltcoinTrading.NET different from its competitors?

We're paying attention to the quality of the content we publish and not watering things down. The only super long articles are trading strategies or other content that is highly technical and needs a lot of explaining. Otherwise, we don't publish a lot of fluff.

That said, the technical level that you need is quite a barrier for a good part of the group of people that is interested in crypto. That makes AltcoinTrading.NET really a niche website and limits its potential, at least in terms of traffic numbers.

But it reinforces a skill that transfers into trading well.

Q: What led you to start AltcoinTrading.NET?

I first planned to just make notes about my own trading. You could do that on social media but I've read stories about a few tech publications that started basically as someone's notebooks. Then when they became an authority in their niche they had to polish things a little bit, of course, but in the end, they were left with their own space, not just with a social media account.

Another thing that played a role was that it was in 2016. It was still quite early and everyone who was in crypto was used to seeing random projects launched by people from the community, not by media behemoths or big consultancies.

So it was quite a natural thing to do and the environment was responsive to it. People wouldn't ask "Who's this guy anyway?” They'd just read what you wrote.

Q: What has the experience of building the business taught you?

Way too many things to list out. If I could pick one that has the biggest effect on my day-to-day life, I'd say time management.

Q: Where do you see things headed for you and the company in the next five years?

Right now we're changing the way we're incorporated and starting more publications. Some are related to crypto, some aren't. In five years' time, it should be a well-diversified set.

Learn more at AltcoinTrading.NET.

About the Author

True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.

True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.

To learn more about True, visit his personal website or view his author profiles on Amazon, Nasdaq and Forbes.