A good start to the year of 2017
Despite the crappy weather and being stuck inside all day, when it is supposed to be summer, today was not a bad day.
I was supposed to go running today, but with the weather being what it is, I decided not to.
No worries, I have plenty of other stuff that I planned to get stuck into this year.
So I slept in a bit, then spent a pleasant few hours working on my novel – Sniper meets Assassin.
This has been bugging me for a day or so, because what I had planned to write, how I thought the story would go, didn’t happen.
Instead the characters found themselves in a place I didn’t want them to go, so I was a bit concerned that they would get killed off (this has happened before) and then I’d be stuck. So I was really interested to see how things turned out.
It got quite dark, but I think they will survive, at least for a little while longer, which is a relief.
One of the other goals I set for 2017 was to get a crypto wallet and find out more about Bitcoin and currencies and stuff, and see if I could actually get some.
So what do you do when you have a question about crypto currencies?
You ask @thecryptofiend obviously ;-) and so I did.
He recommended Jaxx wallet as a good starting point, so I did a bit of research, and it looked pretty good.
So I got the extension for Chrome browser and set it up. Nice and easy.
Then I went looking for a Bitcoin faucet, to see if I could squeeze out some Bitcoin. I found one and played with it for a bit. So far I have 700 satoushis. (or about one finger full of belly button fluff). I have to get about 20,000 before the site will pay me out. So this looks like a long term process to get any funds.
The next step was to see if I could get some STEEM and put it into my wallet.
I followed the steps here to set up an account at Poloniex exchange and transferred 50 STEEM to see what would happen.
Don’t worry. I’m not powering down and fleeing the platform. I’m just investigating the process to learn how it works.
The transfer to the exchange went quite smoothly, but it does take some time, which can be a bit nerve wracking. Have I lost all my money?
But no, there it is in the exchange. Whew!
The next step was to send it to my Jaxx wallet. Super simple now that I had an idea of how this all works.
Sure enough after a few minutes the money turned up in my Jaxx wallet.
I'm rich! Well, nearly rich.
All I need to do now is figure out how to get the money from my Jaxx wallet into my bank account.
Or do i?
It struck me while doing this, that I don’t actually need to do that. I have money in my wallet that I can spend online anywhere that takes Bitcoin. So I don’t need to put it in my bank account, my wallet is my bank account.
I’ve also seen that it is possible to get a credit card that is linked to my wallet (perhaps a different wallet) that I can use just like a normal credit / debit card.
It also occurred to me than now I have a way to earn money from anywhere in the world. I can offer my services to people and they can pay me in Bitcoin, or STEEM or any other crypto currency.
That suddenly opens the doors to a whole new set of possibilities and opportunities. That’s going to require some thinking about. What skills do I have that I can offer as a service? A few spring to mind:
- Programming,
- Mentoring
- Proof reading
- Technical writing
2017 is a brave new world already, and it’s only day one.
I’m looking forward to see what tomorrow will bring.
One last note I’d like to make – I would never have considered dabbling in crypto currencies without Steemit. One of the goals @dan and @ned had was to get people interested in crypto currencies and get them participating. Using Steemit as a vehicle to make this happen has proved, at least for me, to be a resounding success. Now that I have started, I’ll keep going, keep learning, keep earning.
So a big thank you to everyone involved in Steemit for bringing us this opportunity. It’s one I won’t be wasting.
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OK then...that was a nice write upon your transition. Talking with people,they are just afraid of the whole idea, this is a nice intro to maybe quell some doubts or fears.
The daunting task for me is to find the best wallet, there are so many out there... I used Coinbase to start and then migrated to Breadwallet for the mobile. Any ideas on how it compares to Jaxx?
Thanks for that. Sorry I can't offer a comparison. This is my first ever wallet.
But I did like that I can put multiple currencies in it, I can switch between currencies right inside the wallet, and it comes as a Chrome extension, Windows app, Android and iOS.
I also like that they don't actually hold any of the money, you hold it.
So for a first wallet in a space that is evolving really fast, I think it is a good choice, so far.
Thanks @trevor.george great answer... I"ll look at it.
Nice story of your personal progress in crypto, Thanks! Best wishes for lots of learning and success in crypto this year! 😄😇😄
thanks very much. Happy New Year :-)
If you do want to get money out, we did an experiment a while back. We sold the Steem for Bitcoin on Poloniex, and then transferred that to NZBCX. Then sold the Bitcoin for NZ$ there. Then withdrew it. Just so we knew we could. Then a bit later we put it back again.
Thank you for sharing your trials with crypto currency I have been working on this also Happy New Year