Start here
What are you here to do?
Pick the thing you came for. Each one goes straight to the page that does it.
Buy my first cryptoStep by step, on a regulated appSet up a walletHot, cold, and which one is yoursKeep my crypto safeThe checklist that stops most lossesCheck a token before I buyA live check on any Solana or EVM tokenLearn to read a chartCandles, patterns and indicatorsPractice with play moneyReal charts, zero riskLook up a word191 terms in plain EnglishSort out my taxesUS rules, in plain language
Completely new? The whole on-ramp is three steps.
Explore the site
Everything on Orca Crypto, in one place
Twelve sections, the pages people open most in each, and one click to the rest.
Markets today
The numbers everyone is watching
Live in your browser. None of them predicts anything. What they do is stop a violent day from feeling like a mystery.
| Network | Ticker | Price | 24h | Market cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin | BTC | $83,123 | -0.36% | $1.67T |
 Ethereum | ETH | $2,665.93 | +0.53% | $325.48B |
 Solana | SOL | $117.79 | -1.88% | $69.24B |
 BNB Chain | BNB | $758.83 | -1.53% | $101.04B |
 XRP Ledger | XRP | $1.49 | -0.37% | $93.67B |
 Cardano | ADA | $0.2431 | -3.66% | $9.12B |
 Avalanche | AVAX | $10.44 | -3.08% | $4.90B |
 TRON | TRX | $0.3342 | +0.16% | $31.74B |
Prices as of September 29, 2026, replaced by live figures as the page loads. For orientation, not advice.
Practice first
Try it where mistakes cost nothing
Three ways to get the reps in before real money is involved. Nothing connects to a wallet.
Trading simulator
Play money from $1,000 to $1,000,000. Trade spot, perps and dated futures on a simulated market or a real chart, with the liquidation price shown before you confirm.
Open the simulatorSpot the scam
Ten realistic screens: drainer sites, malicious signatures, fake support and more. Decide whether each one is safe, then see what gave it away.
Take the testPattern trainer
All twenty six chart patterns, drawn without their names. Call each one before the answer shows. Your score stays on your device.
Start trainingTest what you know. Eight quizzes, sixty four questions, from foundations to the hard one.
Take a quizJust added
New on Orca Crypto
New
Two Sui wallets reviewed: Slush and Vera
Slush is the official Sui wallet from Mysten Labs. Vera is Bluefin’s all in one app with swaps, perps and yield.
Read moreNewIntermediate, Advanced and Expert: three new levels
The learning path now keeps going past the basics, with 48 new guides from DeFi used well to protocol design.
Read moreNewThe trading simulator now does perps, futures and real charts
Spot, perpetuals and dated futures, with leverage up to 1000x and the liquidation price up front.
Read moreThe part nobody tells beginners
Not your keys, not your coins
An exchange balance is an IOU
When your crypto sits on an exchange, the exchange holds the keys. You hold a promise. That promise has been broken before, by platforms that looked completely healthy right up until withdrawals stopped.
Self custody is a skill, not a purchase
Buying a hardware wallet does not make you safe. Knowing what a seed phrase is, where it lives, and what you would do if your house burned down is what makes you safe.
Most losses are avoidable
The vast majority of people who lose money in crypto do not lose it to a market crash. They lose it to a fake support agent, a poisoned link, or a token approval they granted two years ago and forgot about.
Trusted platforms
Where to actually open an account
These are the platforms we use and recommend, in the order that makes sense for a beginner in the United States. Some of these links are referral links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only list platforms we would tell a friend to use.
Each platform has its own page explaining what it is good at, what it costs, and where it falls short. We do not pretend any of them is perfect.
See the full setup orderOne to one help
Sometimes you just want someone on the call with you
Reading about a seed phrase is one thing. Setting up a hardware wallet while somebody who has done it a hundred times watches your screen is another.
Orca sessions are live, screen shared, and paced for whoever is on the other end. We set up your accounts, get your wallet secured properly, walk through your first swap, and answer whatever you have been too embarrassed to ask in a Discord server.
Wallet setup and recovery
First purchase and first swap
Security audit of what you already hold
Chart reading basics
See session options
Starter, 60 minutes
$595
Accounts opened, wallet secured, first purchase completed while you watch.
Core, 90 minutes
$1,095
Everything in Starter plus self custody, your first onchain swap and a follow up week of email support.
Complete, three sessions
$1,895
A full onboarding across three calls, chart basics, a security audit and thirty days of support.
Start where you actually are
If you have never bought crypto, start with the setup guide. If you already hold some but it is all sitting on an exchange, start with self custody. If you are not sure, book a session and we will figure it out together.