Cryptocurrency Insight: What is Bitcoin (BTC) & How to buy?

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset. If you are new to the area of digital assets then please read my comprehensive guide on Cryptocurrency before doing any investment on any Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin (BTC).

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a software-based currency which was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. This is a decentralized platform where no banks involved in the transactions between two people. It is accepted at many big online retailers like Expedia, Overstock, Xbox games etc. Bitcoin future is also trading on the regulated stock platform from December 2017. The money is transferred from one person to another at software generated address and therefore it offers anonymity and it makes international payments easy and cheap. It doesn’t tie to any country and currently out of government regulation in most countries. Small business also it as the mode of payment while some people buy it as an investment hoping its value will skyrocket in coming days. BitPay is a payment gateway which allows accepting Bitcoin as payment by merchant all over the world. So there is no restriction on who can be the customers if a seller accepts digital currencies to sell their products.

Who can buy Bitcoin?

Anybody can purchase Bitcoin using a government-issued currency where bank transfer, wire transfer, ACH transfer, credit card and debit card can be used. One can also trade Bitcoin with other currency on popular trading platforms.

How and where to buy Bitcoin?

Coinbase is the most popular place to purchase Bitcoin and is best especially for US citizens. You can also purchase Bitcoin by exchanging it with any other altcoin at exchanges like Binance (Best for USA and International purchase) or Bitfinex (Best only for Non-USA). However, at Binance you can’t purchase Bitcoin directly by paying in Dollar or Euro. First, you need to have the cryptocurrency like Ethereum, BNB or USDT which you need to transfer into Binance balance (transfer is a very simple process and both sites will give you the respective currency address to get the currency) and subsequently, you can buy Bitcoin with that balance. In other words, this is just the exchange and not the actual buying with dollars. This is also called as trading. On Binance, all trading is done with BTC, ETH, BNB or USDT. If you have any Altcoin you can transfer it to Binance balance and then you purchase Bitcoin.

If you want to purchase large amount of Bitcoins then exploring some good deal at Localbitcoin can be useful where you can buy bitcoin from your local neighbors with cash or online bank transfer.

However, there is a number of other options like Cex.io, CoinMama, BitPanda, Virwox etc. Please read another article to know more about other reputed Cryptocurrency exchanges apart from above mentioned Coinbase and Binance. Although, the step involving Coinbase and Binance is the best way to purchase digital asset but some regulation may restrict you to purchase here. Exchanges listed in above link are also the potential place to invest in Cryptocurrency. Most of the exchanges are regulated and they have the license to operate in particular country. Some exchanges have permission to operate globally while some are restricted like Bitfinex doesn’t allow US residents. The exchanges which allow purchasing in your country’s currency is the best way to avoid fiat currency conversion charges. Some exchanges use only USD while some offer purchase using USD, Euro, GBP, CNY, CAD, JPY, INR and many more fiat currencies. Some exchanges are used only to change one cryptocurrency to another. Above link will give you answer to explore other reputed cryptocurrency exchanges and subsequently you can decide exchange of your choice based on your country of origin and fiat currency.

Some people also sell bitcoin on eBay. Current market price of 1 bitcoin is about $10,000 as on February 24, 2018, while it’s available on eBay anywhere between $10,000-$20,000. So if you have only this option to buy and if you are ready to give extra dollars then you can opt for this option as well. Some people also sell Cryptocurrencies on local sites like Craigslist, Offer up, Letgo etc. But you should be extremely careful as these are just the digital assets and transfer between individuals is based on the code. There is no proof for such exchanges and you either cannot claim your receipt or difficult to analyze the transfer. There is no government regulation on these currencies so you cannot claim if there is any issue.

Where to save my digital assets after making the purchase?

Purchasing cryptocurrency is not the only thing which one should consider if somebody wants to venture into cryptocurrency investment and trading. Keeping your digital assets is one of the most important things. There are four places where purchased cryptocurrency can be stored – online wallet (internet or mobile app), desktop software based wallet, hardware wallet and paper wallet. All online website based wallet or software installed on any computer connected to the internet are prone to hacking which ultimately may lead to loss of your digital assets. Without any doubt, the paper wallet is the safest way to store your digital assets but it is not the most convenient way. That’s why paper wallet is not most popular among people. However, offline hardware wallets are becoming very popular these days as the alternative to paper wallet which also gives the convenience of using it when required. Here is the list of all good hardware wallets to store your Cryptocurrency. Briefly, you can use Ledger wallet, TREZOR and KeepKey and Paxful wallet to store your digital assets. Please follow the link to read more about these hardware wallets.

How can I make the profit out of my purchase (long-term investment or can earn daily)?

Most people prefer to store cryptocurrency for a long time and sell when the price is high. This can be a good strategy to earn from your digital assets. However, there are alternate ways to make regular daily income using Cryptocurrency. One can use the two ways you can make money with Cryptocurrency. First is a quick way and another is slow but will give you long-term returns. I have explained both ways to make money daily using cryptocurrency in another article. Briefly, you can make money using Cryptocurrency trading and affiliate programs.

Can I earn some free Cryptocurrency instead of buying it?

Purchasing cryptocurrency is not the only way to have these digital assets. There are alternative ways to earn these free. Different ways to earn free cryptocurrency are explained in another post.

Financial potential of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a fast-rising Cryptocurrency. The only question which everybody is asking – Is this the right time to think about Cryptocurrency and can I afford to miss the bus at this right time before becoming unaffordable? It may be a bubble or gold.

Disclaimer

I am not a financial advisor. This article is just for information purpose and is not an investment advice. This just indicates my personal choice which may or may not be the best one. You should realize that Cryptocurrency market is very volatile and market fluctuate a lot on daily basis. You may gain 100 fold or lose all your investments. Invest wisely. You should not take a big risk. It is a good suggestion to invest not more than 5–10% of your saving with such an unpredictable market. Otherwise, you may face a big loss.

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Cryptocurrency Insight is a series of articles written by me where I give a detailed analysis of any cryptocurrency. Please don't forget to follow, resteem and browse my channel for more information! Please leave your valuable comments and questions.

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First posted on BlogOrganization.