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Plynk Investing App

Plynk Investing App

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Help and FAQs

Wave Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started, Support, Pricing, Security & Privacy
Promotions, Tax Info
Plynk Crypto
Investing Basics

Getting Started, Support, Pricing, Security & Privacy



Brokerage services are offered through the Plynk application only by Digital Brokerage Services LLC (DBS).

Most commonly asked

What is Plynk?

Plynk is an investing app designed to help make investing easier. Our goal is to help you start investing, build confidence, and grow your knowledge along the way.

Within the Plynk app, you can open two different accounts: a brokerage account (for investing in stocks and funds) and a crypto account (for investing in cryptocurrency through a third party, Paxos).

What can I invest in with Plynk?

The Plynk app allows you to invest in a wide selection of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and 4 cryptocurrencies.

Who can use Plynk?

There’s no prior investing experience necessary to use the Plynk app. Plynk is available to all US residents 18+ years old with a Social Security number. However, to open a crypto account through Paxos, US citizenship is required.

Getting started

How much money do I need to start investing?

There’s no minimum required to open a brokerage account through the Plynk app, and you can start investing with as little as $1.

Please note: Fees apply to individual crypto trades.

Where can I download the Plynk app?

The Plynk app is available for iPhone® in the App Store, opens in new window and for AndroidTM in the Google Play Store, opens in new window.

How do I open an account in the Plynk app?

Within the Plynk app, you can open two different accounts: a brokerage account (for investing in stocks and funds) and a crypto account (for investing in cryptocurrency with Paxos).

Once you’ve downloaded the Plynk app, you’ll go through the steps of opening a brokerage account first and then a crypto account with Paxos. We’ll ask you some basic questions and verify your identity (for security purposes). You’ll then create a username and password to use to log in to your account in the future.

What’s a brokerage account?

A brokerage account is an investing account that gives you access to the stock market. It holds the stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that you invest in.

What if I forgot my username?

If you've forgotten your username, you can contact customer service at service@plynkinvest.com

What if I forgot my password?

If you’ve forgotten your password we will have you create a new one, follow these steps:

  1. Open the app and select “Need help logging in”
  2. Fill in your personal information
  3. Select “Submit”
  4. Verify your identity with a one-time password sent to your mobile device
  5. Once verified, you can create your new password

What happens to the money I put in my brokerage account?

When you deposit money into your brokerage account, it is automatically put into what’s called a “money market fund.” Think of this as a holding place for your money until you decide to invest it in stocks, ETFs, and/or mutual funds.

You could lose money by investing in a money market fund. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Before investing, always read a money market fund’s prospectus for policies specific to that fund.

What is a money market fund?

A money market fund is technically a type of mutual fund. It’s a lower risk place to keep money where it can even earn a bit of interest over time.

You could lose money by investing in a money market fund. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Before investing, always read a money market fund’s prospectus for policies specific to that fund.

How is a money market fund different than a savings account?

One major difference between a money market fund and a traditional savings account is insurance protection. Savings accounts are generally protected with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance up to $250,000, while money market funds are not. While money market funds are considered relatively safe, they’re not entirely risk free.

DBS is a member of SIPC, which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash). Explanatory brochure available upon request or at www.sipc.org.

You could lose money by investing in a money market fund. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Before investing, always read a money market fund’s prospectus for policies specific to that fund.

Which money market fund is my money held in at Plynk?

The money you deposit into your brokerage account is held in the Fidelity Government Money Market Fund. This is sometimes called your “core fund” or your “core position.” You can read more about the fund here.

Support and pricing

How can I contact customer support with questions?

Within the Plynk app there is an extensive list of account-specific FAQs in the Account section under Help. If you still can’t find the answer you need, you can get in touch with our support team by selecting “Contact us” in the app or by emailing us at service@plynkinvest.com.

How much does the Plynk app cost?

Get started with the Plynk app for free. Some features may require a monthly fee in the future. Learn more here. Fees apply to individual crypto trades.

Does the Plynk app charge trading commissions?

You can invest in stocks, ETFs, and crypto commission-free. Fees apply to individual crypto trades.

Security and privacy

What information do you collect and why?

Social Security number: The Plynk app asks for your Social Security number to verify your identity and protect against fraud. As a financial company, we’re required to collect, verify and record identification information.

Phone number: The Plynk app asks for your phone number to ensure the security of your account through your mobile device. We send you a one-time passcode when you log in to your account for the first time to verify it’s you setting up the account, and also when you change your username or password.

Address: The Plynk app asks for your address to (1) verify your identity and (2) mail you a tax form.

What can I do to keep my account secure?

Develop a strong password that:

  • Contains 10 or more characters, including numbers, letters and special characters
  • Is different from passwords you use for other accounts or apps
  • Doesn’t reference your birthday, street address, family member names, social media handles or number sequences (such as 1111)

Don’t share your password with anyone else

Use the biometric/fingerprint login feature

Log out after each use

Regularly check your account activity

Promotions, Tax Info



Brokerage services are offered through the Plynk application only by Digital Brokerage Services LLC (DBS).

Current Promotions For more detailed information on our current offers, visit our promotion terms.

$10 Sign-up bonus

How do I get the $10 sign-up bonus?

We’ll deposit $10 into your brokerage account within 30 days once you satisfy the following criteria as a new customer:

  • Download the Plynk app and create a brokerage account
  • Plynk approves your account
  • Link an eligible bank account

Please note: There is a limit of one sign-up bonus per customer, and the $10 cannot be withdrawn or transferred for 30 days after it’s deposited into your brokerage account.

What can I do with the $10 sign-up bonus?

You can invest your sign-up bonus in stocks or funds as soon as it’s deposited into your brokerage account. To explore investments that could align with your interests, check out the Plynk Explore feature in the app. You can also buy crypto or transfer your sign-up bonus 30 days after it’s deposited into your brokerage account.

Tax information

What type of tax form do I receive?

Digital Brokerage Services provides you with what’s called a “Consolidated 1099” tax form. This form reports money you earned or received from the investments held in your brokerage account to both you and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

This is money you may have earned or received from capital gains, interest, dividends, and promotional incentives during the last calendar year.

The Consolidated 1099 is made up of a few different types of 1099 forms, including the:

  • 1099-INT, which reports any interest you earned
  • 1099-DIV, which reports any dividends you earned
  • 1099-B, which reports any capital gains (or losses)
  • 1099-MISC, which reports any promotional incentives you earned

When can I access my tax form?

Your Consolidated 1099 tax form will be available in your Plynk app by March 6, 2024.

How can I access my tax form?

By March 6, 2024, you’ll be able to access your Consolidated 1099 tax form in the Plynk app.

To view your form in the app, follow these steps:

  1. Log into the Plynk app
  2. Select the Menu icon and click on Account
  3. Scroll down to the Activity and Banking section and select Statements and Documents.
  4. Select the Tax Forms tab

What if I’m having trouble accessing my tax form?

Please email service@plynkinvest.com if you experience any issues viewing your Consolidated 1099 tax form. Our team is dedicated to making this process as simple as possible.

Why did I receive a corrected 1099?

There can be a few reasons why you may have received a corrected 1099.

  1. Income reclassification: Previously reported dividends or interest payments were updated to another tax classification.
  2. Updates to your personal information were made after your original 1099 was issued.

How do I correct errors in my 1099?

To make any corrections to your 1099, please email us at service@plynkinvest.com.

My tax form says “De Minimis.” What does that mean?

De Minimis means “about minimal things.” If you made less than $10 from your investments (from dividends or interest), you’ll receive a de minimis 1099.

In general, National Financial Services (NFS) is not required to send your form 1099 to the IRS to report this income, but you’ll still receive a Consolidated 1099 tax form for your records.

How do I upload my tax form to a digital tax prep service?

You can import your Consolidated 1099 tax form directly into TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct to make preparing your taxes even easier.

Follow the instructions within the tax prep service for reporting any investment income. When given the option to import your 1099 forms from a bank, broker or financial institution, select “National Financial.”

You’ll then be prompted to enter your Plynk username and password. This gives the tax prep service access to your tax forms.

Once the information is imported into the tax prep service, be sure to carefully compare it against the official tax form that NFS provided for you in the Plynk app.

If you notice any discrepancies, you may want to manually enter the information on the tax form to avoid errors.

Plynk Crypto



Crypto services are offered through the Plynk application solely by Paxos Trust Company, LLC. Crypto is volatile and highly speculative, accounts are not covered by the SIPC or insured by the FDIC, and investments should not exceed more than you are willing to lose.

Crypto basics

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency, or crypto for short, is a digital currency secured by cryptography. It runs on a virtual network and doesn't exist in physical form like paper money or coins.

Learn more: Crypto basics

Who owns crypto technology?

Unlike the US dollar, crypto isn’t owned by a government or other authority. You know how no individual person owns the internet? Same thing goes for the technology behind cryptocurrency.

Instead, it’s enabled and supported by all its users on networks of computers running certain software.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be transferred from person to person without using a third party, like a bank.

It was launched in 2009 and continues to be the largest and most widely known cryptocurrency. A mysterious person (or group of people) using the name Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin and the technology behind it. Their identity is still unknown to this day.

Learn more: What is bitcoin?

What is Litecoin?

Litecoin is a type of digital currency that can be transferred from person to person without using a third party, like a bank.

It was launched in 2011 shortly after Bitcoin as an alternative (now known as an 'altcoin'). Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer who had a goal of making a faster, cheaper version. He called it the 'lite version of Bitcoin.'

Learn more: What is Litecoin?

What is Bitcoin Cash?

Bitcoin Cash is a fork or spin-off of Bitcoin that took effect in 2017 with the goal of confirming transactions faster than Bitcoin.

Its creators anticipated that the original Bitcoin may not be able to meet the needs of users with its existing confirmation times. But so far, there are few people actually using Bitcoin Cash for everyday transactions, so the actual volume of transactions per second hasn't surpassed that of Bitcoin.

Learn more: What is Bitcoin Cash?

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum isn’t just another type of digital currency. It’s a unique digital platform that can be used to build applications. It launched in 2015 using the same foundational technology as crypto.

Learn more: What is Ethereum?

What's the difference between Ethereum and ether?

Ethereum is the name of the digital platform used to build applications. Ether (also referred to as ETH) is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform. It’s used to pay the fees required to run a program on the Ethereum platform.

Think of it this way: Ethereum is like a car, and ether is the gas that fuels it.

Risk and crypto

Is the value of crypto volatile?

Yes. The value of many cryptocurrencies is very volatile, meaning the price can go up and down very quickly without warning. That's why it’s important to spend time deciding if you’re comfortable buying it.

Learn more: Riding the crypto ups and downs

What are the risks of trading crypto?

Cryptocurrencies are volatile and highly speculative, and you may lose the full value of your investment. Digital Brokerage Services (DBS) does not offer investment advice or provide recommendations. You should carefully consider your financial circumstances and risk tolerance before trading crypto.

For a full discussion of the risks involved when trading crypto, please see Risks of Trading Cryptocurrency at plynkinvest.com.

Are my crypto assets SIPC or FDIC protected?

No. None of the legal protections associated with investments in your brokerage account (like stocks and funds) apply to your crypto investments. That means your crypto investments aren’t insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) nor protected under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPC).

How do I decide if trading crypto is right for me?

Here are a few things to consider when deciding if you want to buy crypto:

  • Your comfort with risk: Are you someone who would lose sleep over a dip in your account balance? Crypto prices have been even more volatile than stock prices in recent years, so you'll want to consider your emotions before hopping on the crypto roller coaster.
  • Whether you have your other financial bases covered: Do you have enough cash to cover your bills each month? Do you already have some emergency savings? Are you contributing to your retirement fund? It could be a risky decision to use money you need for important financial goals to buy crypto instead.
  • If you can't lose it, don't use it. It is possible to lose the entire value of your crypto investment. So if you do decide crypto is right for you, consider how much you’re comfortable buying. Is it an amount of money you can afford to lose?

Opening a crypto account

Who is Paxos?

The Plynk app offers crypto trading through Paxos Trust Company ("Paxos"), a New York State-Chartered limited liability trust company (NMLS #1766787). Paxos performs all crypto-related trades through the Plynk app and serves as your "custodian" for all crypto assets.

If you choose to open a crypto account through the Plynk app, you agree to let Plynk provide your information to Paxos to create an account in your name. You will be required to sign Paxos' Customer Terms and Conditions.

Who is eligible to trade crypto?

Any user who already has a brokerage account through the Plynk app can apply for a crypto account offered by Paxos. Paxos may choose to approve or deny your crypto account.

Unfortunately, if you have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding, you are not eligible to open a crypto account with Paxos.

You must be physically located in the 50 United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia to place trades with Paxos.

How do I open a crypto account through the Plynk app?

To open a crypto account, you must first open a brokerage account.

Follow these steps:

  • Download the Plynk app.
  • Select Get started on the first screen and answer a series of questions required to open a brokerage account.
  • Once your brokerage account is approved, select the crypto icon in the main app navigation. You will land on a screen that asks, “Ready to open a crypto account?” Select Get started.
  • Review important legal information and additional documents provided. Check all boxes to accept the terms and then select Open crypto account.

To help users differentiate between their two separate accounts, the Plynk app shows clear symbols and markings to note which investments are available through Paxos and which are provided by Digital Brokerage Services.

Please note: It could take 90 minutes or longer for Paxos to approve your crypto account. We will notify you with a message in the app when your account is ready to access.

Can I open a crypto account without first opening a brokerage account?

No. You must first have a brokerage account through the Plynk app before you can open a crypto account offered by Paxos.

However, you’re not required to use the brokerage account to buy or sell any investments in order to use your crypto account.

Crypto trading through the Plynk app

What crypto can I trade through the Plynk app?

Currently, there are 4 cryptocurrencies available to trade in the Plynk app: Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Ethereum (ETH).

What can I do with my cryptocurrency through the Plynk app?

Paxos crypto account holders can buy, hold, and sell crypto in the Plynk app. Currently, users cannot exchange one type of crypto for another, or use it to pay for goods or services.

What are crypto trading hours?

You can trade crypto through the Plynk app 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, except for monthly scheduled maintenance. Paxos will perform this maintenance once a month from 7 to 8PM ET.

We will inform you of upcoming maintenance in the app.

You must be physically located in the 50 United States, its territories, or the District of Columbia to place trades with Paxos.

How long does it take for crypto trades to settle?

Crypto trades submitted to Paxos via the Plynk app settle in real time.

Can I transfer crypto I buy through the Plynk app to an external wallet?

No, the Paxos services provided through the Plynk app do not support the ability to transfer your crypto assets to an external wallet at this time. If you choose to close your brokerage account through the Plynk app, you may open an account directly with Paxos which would enable you to trade or transfer your assets.

What order types are available for crypto trades?

Currently, you can only place market orders for crypto through the Plynk app. Market Buy Orders are sent in USD. Market Sell Orders are sent in the unit of the crypto you're selling (for example, BTC).

Crypto Analysis

Metrics provided by Sherlock®, a standalone brand representing a subset of services provided by Fidelity Labs LLC.

What is the S-Factor Score?

The S-Factor Score is intended to provide a normalized representation of social media sentiment over a 24-hour period by measuring the deviation of changes in sentiment intensity of a given digital asset. It provides a view into whether digital asset related posts and other exchanges via social media, are positive or negative, taking into account intensity, or frequency, of such posts.

What is S-Volume?

The S-Volume is the rolling average number of tweets or posts on social media about a particular digital asset and can depict when there are higher levels of activity or discussion happening on social media.

What is Developer Growth?

This metric looks at the developer community growth of a given blockchain. Developer Growth shows the 30-day moving sum of developers who have committed code to the underlying blockchain.

What is Developer Activity?

What are the developers doing on the blockchain? Developer Activity shows the 30-day moving sum of commits (edits), additions and deletions of code on the blockchain.

Crypto account information and support

How do I add money to my crypto account for trading?

Your crypto account cannot hold cash; only your brokerage account can hold cash. So in order to buy crypto, you must link a bank to your brokerage account in the app, and transfer cash into it.

Once the cash is successfully deposited into your brokerage account, you will be able to buy crypto with it. It may take a minimum of 4 business days for cash to settle before you can use it for crypto trading. The crypto you purchase will then be held in your crypto account.

Who can I contact with questions regarding my crypto account?

If you have any questions related to your crypto account, please email us at service@plynkinvest.com, and we'll be happy to help answer them.

How can I close my crypto account?

To close your crypto account, please email us at service@plynkinvest.com and we'll help you through this process.

If the Plynk app is unavailable, can I still trade crypto?

No. All crypto trading must be completed through the Paxos platform via the Plynk app. If the Plynk app is down, you will not be able to access your Paxos account.

If the Paxos crypto platform is unavailable, can I still trade crypto?

No. All crypto trading must be completed through the Paxos platform, via the Plynk app. If the Paxos crypto platform is unavailable, you won’t be able to access your crypto account or make trades in it.

However, you should still be able to access the Plynk app and your brokerage account even if the Paxos crypto platform is down.

Crypto pricing, fees, and minimums

Is there a minimum dollar amount required for a crypto trade?

The minimum for a crypto trade is $1.00, not including fees.

Some crypto orders may result in residual amounts of crypto in your Paxos account that are worth less than $0.01. Paxos will keep records of such residual amounts in your Paxos account.

For more information please see the Crypto Fee Schedule.

Are there any fees on crypto trades?

Yes. For each crypto trade $100 or under, there is a minimum fee of $0.50. For each crypto trade above $100, there’s a 0.5% fee.

Crypto fees are added to the amount of your crypto trade. For example, if you buy $10 worth of crypto, the total amount you’d pay would be $10.50 with fees. If you buy $200 worth of crypto, the total amount you’d pay would be $201.00 with fees.

There are no added spreads, markups, or custody fees.

For more information please see the Crypto Fee Schedule.

Crypto tax information

Do I need to pay taxes on crypto investments?

If you sell any crypto, you may need to report gains or losses when filing your taxes, just like you do with investments in your brokerage account (like stocks or funds).

If you have questions about your specific tax situation, it’s helpful to talk to a tax professional to get individualized advice. DBS does not provide tax advice.

Will I get tax forms for crypto?

Yes, Paxos will provide a 1099-B tax form to crypto account holders for their tax reporting purposes.

Investing Basics

Types of investments

Stocks

Stocks are what you hear about most often when people are talking about the “market.” Stock allows you to invest in (or “own a piece of”) a company; each piece of ownership is known as a “share,” and each share is worth a certain dollar amount that changes throughout the day as stocks are bought or sold in real time on stock exchanges. Investing by buying stock in a single company is like “putting all your eggs in one basket,” and may be riskier—but possibly also more rewarding—than investing in a “fund,” like a mutual fund or an ETF.

Learn more: Let’s talk stocks

Mutual fund

Think of a mutual fund as an investment stew. Investments, such as stocks, bonds, and other ingredients are mixed together (some funds may invest only in stocks, or only in bonds) and sold as 1 dish, creating a mutual fund. Mutual funds offer a way to buy different investments packaged together, or served together like a “dish,” and sold together as 1 entity instead of as individual companies. Investments in mutual funds change all the time, as they are managed by a team of professionals who decide which investments to buy and sell. Mutual funds often come with additional fees (some low, some high) that stocks don’t have because professional managers are making the investment selections. The price of a mutual fund is updated at the end of each business day. You can find out more about each fund’s objective and strategies in its prospectus.

Learn more: All about funds

Exchange-traded funds

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is another sort of investment stew (or for ETFs, more commonly referred to as a “basket”), that mixes together stocks and/or bonds, and sells them for 1 price. ETFs often try to mimic a major stock index, like the S&P 500®, which represents the 500 largest companies in the United States. Since you can’t buy from the S&P 500® directly, and most likely don’t want to buy stock in each individual company, you can buy one ETF “unit” or “share” and invest in all these companies at once, trading real-time like stocks. Doing the same with mutual funds that track indexes is possible, but your mutual fund trade would be executed at the end of the day, and not in real time.

Learn more: Comparing stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds

Bonds

A bond is essentially a loan; money that you give to a company or the government and they pledge to pay you back in the future with more money than you originally gave them. Bonds are usually lower risk than stocks or funds, which means you usually won’t earn as much as with a successful stock or stock fund selection, but you also won’t usually lose as much as with an equally unsuccessful stock or fund. Bonds, however, have their own risks, such as interest rate risk (as interest rates rise, price will fall).

Investing terms and concepts

Asset allocation

Asset allocation is putting your money into a combination of investment types—like stocks and bonds—to help spread your risk. An easy way to remember it is, to spread your risk, you may not want to “put all your eggs in 1 basket.”

Diversification

Diversification takes asset allocation 1 step further by spreading your money between investment types with different focuses. There are different companies, industries, and business sizes for each investment option on the market—helping you spread out your risk even more. It's what helps decrease risk within your portfolio when 1 company, industry, or business performs poorly. Of course, diversification does not guarantee a profit or ensure against a loss, but it may help smooth out otherwise dramatic changes in a portfolio.

Learn more: Why diversification matters to you

Rebalancing

Rebalancing is an essential part of managing your portfolio. Your mix of investments will likely change over time depending on how your different investments perform. Therefore, it's important to periodically review your asset allocation to make sure it still aligns with your objectives and timeline. When it doesn’t, that’s the time to rebalance your investments.

Risk tolerance

Risk tolerance is the degree of uncertainty you're willing to take when you invest. It's best determined by considering several factors: how much time you have to reach a goal, your experience investing, how much your goal amount is, your other financial resources, and how much risk (including loss) you’re comfortable taking.

Micro-investing

Micro-investing involves investing small amounts of money (even $1) to buy fractions of a share, making it easier for folks who may not have traditionally had enough money or been ready to invest.

Learn more: Invest with as little as $1 with fractional shares

Dollar-based investing

Dollar-based investing allows you to invest by the dollar rather than by the share and can be a good example of micro-investing. So instead of buying 10 shares of a company, you can buy $50 of a company. This method, otherwise known as buying fractional shares, allows you to match how much you invest with the money available in your account. Through the Plynk app, you can buy fractional shares of stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds through dollar-based investing.