My First Bitcoin
MY FIRST BITCOIN - WEEK ONE
In my first week learning about Bitcoin, I found it exiting but I quickly learned that a lot of information available on the web is obsolete. When searching, keep an eye on the dates the information was published. I would double check and triple check anything older than 3 months.
YouTube is a great source for tutorials as long as the video was published recently.
I will post my recommendations weekly as I explore this new currency and I welcome your comments.
The first misconception is anonymity. There is no such thing if you are planning to link your mobile or bank account to your bitcoin wallet. Make sure you use bitcoin for legitimate purposes.
STEP 1 - Create a Bitcoin Wallet
There are countless options out there. I first created an account with Bitcoin.org, which is the official site and the backbone of the entire network. You will need a lot of space in your hard drive to download the database. It will take several days to synchronize. I gave up! It's too large and slow for my computer. I still recommend it, but it's not for me....
The other two wallets are working very well.
Coinbase.com - Very safe and by far the most practical if you live in the USA because it allows you to link your bank account. You can easily transfer funds from a US dollar bank account to your bitcoin wallet. The down side is the time it takes to clear the funds (one week). My first $50 transfer is still pending.
Blockchain.info is based in Luxemburg and very secure. Very easy to create new addresses for sending and receiving bitcoins. I have a small balance already!
STEP 2 - Mining Bitcoins
SOLO MINING - Initially, mining was done by computers using the graphics card. Today, you will need to buy hardware but they are expensive. Beware of scams. I decided this is not for me right now. Maybe in the future.
FAUCETS - There are many Bitcoin Faucets available that promise to pay commissions for displaying ads on your computer or your mobile. I found them to be a big waste of time and energy for such small pay. One week displaying ads on my mobile paid 0.00053989 BTC with BitMaker. Every ad pays 500 Satoshi. Receive your first 2500 Satoshis when you enter code 0OK5PX
CLOUD MINING - An interesting concept. No need to buy hardware. With cloud mining you can buy power and receive commissions from all the transactions processed through the pool. There are many websites out there that are no longer paying commissions, so be very careful.
After searching through hundreds of websites, I picked Hashocean.com because they give you 15 KHs of power for free just for creating an account. You will see your commissions accumulating daily. The only catch is you have to purchase power within 30 days to be able to keep the initial gift. This is plenty of time to decide if you want to go this route or not.
BUY BITCOIN - There are many websites that will sell you bitcoins. eBay is a good source because it has many verified sellers. My first purchase was successfully credited to my bitcoin wallet.
I conclude the week with a small positive balance in my two bitcoin wallets. No complains and looking forward to more exploring the cryptocurrency world.
Be well and learn,
Re Al - Bitcoin
Recent Comments
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Looks like a couple of these may be affiliate links - While I'm sure you're just trying to help, that's against the rules.
Hashocean does look interesting, though. Seems like with some investment you could make decent money from it.
I wasn't aware. I just copied the test from the site I'm working on. I will edit the links to comply. Thank you for the advise.
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Following with interest, Im located in New Zealand and recently discovering FinTechnology, blockchain and Bitcoin etc... still on ground zero in my learning process