What is bitcoin and how do I buy it?
What is bitcoin and how do I buy it?
Bitcoin – What is it, and how does it work?
Have you heard of bitcoin? What do you think about it?
Look at this information, do your research and decide if this is something you want to invest in.
What is bitcoin?
Have you heard of bitcoin, but you’re not sure what it is? I totally get it!
I thought I was the last person to really know what it was.
I’ve heard about it in the past, but didn’t really pay much attention to it until recently. Boy, do I wish I had looked back at that!
Bitcoin is a currency (A cryptocurrency) that you can buy and sell.
It is basically digital money. It was created on a free market that is not based on a computer.
It is not linked to any central bank. It is actually considered to be much safer than the money kept in the bank.
Bitcoin is also an easy way to transfer money globally without paying the huge fees that places like Western Union charge its customers.
Many people also like that it is not regulated by the government (although, this may change).
When did bitcoin start?
Back in 2009, you could buy one bitcoin for less than $1. Now that’s over $4,000 for 1 bitcoin! (Edit: 4 months after writing this, bitcoin is now over $14,000)
This is madness!
Many are now speculating that the price of bitcoin could go up to 1 million.
Others believe that, although bitcoin will still be relevant, another cryptocurrency will take over.
There’s really no way to know what will happen
Is investing in bitcoin risky?
Look, no one can say for sure how well bitcoin will perform in the future.
Like most other investments- the value of bitcoin can keep on increasing and anyone who owns bitcoin can make a large amount of money.
Or it may fail completely and anyone involved loses their money.
One thing that seems to be largely a given is that it will rise and fall, as it is a volatile currency.
Overall, however, we have seen an increase in the stability of Bitcoin.
I personally think it’s worth some consideration, but wouldn’t recommend spending money you don’t have.
If you decide to buy bitcoin, only spend what you can afford to lose.
Why do I keep hearing about other cryptocurrencies?
There are many other cryptocurrencies. If you want to invest, consider them.
Do some research and follow their trends before jumping in.
One site I use to track different cryptocurrencies is: Coin Market Cap.
The site makes it easy to spot trends, see where to buy each coin, and more.
There are many types of cryptocurrencies, such as: Ripple, Dash, Wabi, Lisk, Dragon, Iota, and so and many more.
My kids laugh when they hear me talk about cryptocurrencies.
They think it looks like I’m playing Pokemon- trying to decide if I should keep Wabi, or trade it for Ripple or Dragon…
How to get bitcoins?
You buy bitcoin in dollar increments. For example, even if the price of 1 bitcoin exceeds $4,000, you do not need to buy the entire bitcoin.
You can buy a chunk of bitcoin. You can buy $5, $10, or more bitcoin.
You decide how much you want to spend.
I am using coinbase to buy bitcoins. I really like how user friendly it is.
It was so quick and easy! Coinbase makes it easy to get started with cryptocurrency.
Currently you can also buy Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash on Coinbase.
Soon, many more coins will be added to the app.
Want to know the best part?
At the time of this writing, Coinbase is offering $10 free bitcoin (for you and me) when you buy/sell $100 bitcoin.
I appreciate you using my link to help support my blog.
Coinbase buy/sell is fairly simple and is great for beginners.
How do I trade and sell bitcoin?
Once you have purchased bitcoin or other coins through Coinbase, you can trade or sell other coins available through the app on Coinbase.
You’ll want to look at the prices of each coin.
Many people panic when prices drop, but if you are looking to buy a specific coin, this is the prime time to buy.
Of course, if you decide you want to trade or sell one of your coins, you want to do so when prices are high.
Just make sure you watch out for fees. unless you’re making money
You do not want to trade the coins you are trading very often as you will be paying a service fee for each transaction.
Bitcoin app
If you wish to trade/sell coins that are not available on Coinbase, you can transfer bitcoins from your Coinbase account to another app to trade/sell other cryptocurrencies.
One app I use is Cryptopia. It is more advanced than Coinbase and took me some time to figure it out, but is great if you want to diversify and invest in a variety of cryptocurrencies.
join bitcoin app coinbase https://coinbase.com/join/g61vkr
I would recommend looking at different types before investing. You can also join several different cryptocurrency FB groups to help you learn more about the different options.
Binance is another site I use to buy/trade cryptocurrencies. I started using it because some specific cryptocurrencies were not offered on Coinbase or Cryptopia. I would suggest that to find out which one is best suited for you.
Where do I store bitcoins?
To store bitcoins, you will go through a company that basically makes a wallet to hold your bitcoins.
You will want to look into different companies and decide which one you will trust and use.
For example, this is one of my bitcoin wallets:
Your wallet is designed for receiving only and when you share it with others, they can easily send you bitcoins.
How can I keep track of my cryptocurrency?
Once you start buying several types of cryptocurrencies, you’ll want to keep track of them all.
I would recommend setting up a spreadsheet to track all your coins, apps, wallets as well as the associated usernames, passwords and keys.
You don’t want to lose any of this information. If you do this, chances are your money will be destroyed!
There is another way that I can easily do my track the continuous change of my cryptocurrency price is through an app called Block Portfolio.
I don’t really store anything there. I simply input the amount of each cryptocurrency on the app and it changes values in real time as they move up and down.
It helps me see who is doing well and who I want to sell (or to see if they go up).
Where can I spend bitcoins?
Currently, thousands of merchants are accepting bitcoin. Here are some popular sites that are currently accepting bitcoin:
Overstock.com
Shopify
Expedia.com
give bitcoin
You can easily transfer bitcoins to friends, family or even to multiple charities.
Can you imagine giving someone a small gift of bitcoin to turn it into hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the future? this can be done.
Yes, I know there is a possibility of losing money too. So please invest (and give) wisely.