Different Techniques To Acquire Bitcoin

There are many different techniques to acquiring bitcoins, and in this guide, we will show you the most popular methods of getting yourself some units of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.  

Buy Some Bitcoins

Buying bitcoins is a very simple and straightforward process. You can simply go to a bitcoin exchange website such as Coinbase or Kraken, and exchange your US Dollars, British Pounds, Euros, Canadian Dollars, and other supported currencies (this will depend on the platform) into some bitcoins. Of course, with the ever-increasing value of bitcoin, this is easier said than done. 

Right now, you can expect to shell out more than $10,000 for a single bitcoin! The good news is that you don’t have to buy a whole bitcoin. Each bitcoin can be divided into 100 million units called Satoshis (named after Bitcoin founder, Satoshi Nakamoto).

This means you can buy a few thousand Satoshis for a few dollars. While this won’t make you rich, you can at least get a feel for how bitcoins and cryptocurrency works.

Here are some of the best places where you can buy bitcoins:

Cryptocurrency Exchanges

There are plenty of platforms where you can buy and sell cryptocurrency. The most popular ones that have been around a few years are Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Coinmama, and CEX.io.

You’ll have to do some research, however, if your state or country is supported and what currencies and payment methods they accept as each platform would have their own rules and regulations.

The transaction fees involved will also vary in each platform so you’ll definitely have to look around to find the best cryptocurrency exchange that would suit your bitcoin needs.

Cash Exchanges

If you want to avoid bitcoin exchange platforms and pay directly in cash (or another payment method that’s popular in your local area), use cash exchanges like LocalBitcoin or Wall of Coins. These platforms allow you to trade directly with another person.

There are no expensive transaction fees involved. However, they may charge a fee for successful trades. We would suggest that you look for a platform that offers an escrow service to make sure the seller doesn’t run away with your hard-earned cash!

Trade Your OtherCryptocurrencies For Bitcoin

 

 

If you’ve got a digital wallet full of other cryptocurrencies, you can easily trade these for bitcoins. You can go to sites like ShapeShift.io which allows you to quickly trade your non-bitcoin cryptocurrency to bitcoins.

You don’t even need an account to make a trade. Simply enter the amount you wish to convert or trade, your bitcoin address, and your cryptocurrency refund address. That’s it! You’ll have your new bitcoins in a few minutes.

Get Paid WithBitcoins

Getting paid with bitcoins is not a complicated process at all. You simply need to have your own bitcoin wallet so you can start receiving payments. For starters, you can create a free online wallet on Blockchain.info or Coinbase.

All you need is a valid email address to sign up and begin receiving payments! Once your wallet is set up, you can either generate a QR code or use the long alphanumeric address and send it to the person you wish to receive bitcoins from.

Here are some ideas on how you can get paid with bitcoins:

Work For Bitcoins

There are many different types of work you can do to get paid in bitcoin. It doesn’t matter if you work online or offline as making and receiving bitcoin payments is so simple you don’t really need technical know-how to do it.

Solopreneurs find this payment method so much more convenient as they don’t need to wait 24-48 hours (or more for international workers) to receive bank transfers from their clients. They can receive their payment, salary, or wages in just a few minutes.

It’s a big relief to workers knowing they don’t need to wait in limbo, unsure if they’re going to get paid for their hard work or not. Employers or clients also like the idea of not paying those exorbitant bank fees for doing transfers especially to workers or freelancers overseas.

With bitcoin payments, they get to save plenty of money just in bank fees alone!

Sell Products Or Services

Whether you are an online shop or a brick-and-mortar store, you can choose to receive payments in bitcoin. With a growing community of bitcoin users, you’re bound to get new and repeat customers who will do business with you simply because you’re forward-thinking enough to accept bitcoin payments.

The added benefit to customers is they can easily send you payments straight from their bitcoin wallets while you receive their payments almost instantly. It’s really a win-win situation for both you and your customers!

For online shops, you can use plugins or scripts to start accepting bitcoin payments on your site. If you’re unsure of how you can do this, it’s best to hire a developer to make sure it’s set up right (you don’t want those bitcoin payments going somewhere else!).

When your customers go to your checkout page, they’ll see the bitcoin option and select that if they want to pay using bitcoins. 

For local shops like hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, flower shops, groceries, etc., if you want to receive bitcoin payments in person, all you have to do is just print your wallet’s QR code and pin it near your cash register.

When your customers are ready to pay, simply direct them to the QR code, have them scan it on their mobile phones, enter the amount they need to pay, hit Send, and wait for your bitcoins to arrive.

Oh, and don’t forget to add a giant ‘Bitcoin Accepted Here’ sign at the entrance to invite the bitcoin community to come inside! To attract even more bitcoin users, add your business to Coinmap and other similar sites where the bitcoin community hangs out and searches for places where they can spend their bitcoins!

Receive Tips From Customers

You don’t need to be in the service industry to receive tips. If you have a blog, you can set up a bitcoin payment gateway where your loyal fans and readers can tip you if they so desire.

Don’t underestimate the generosity of your audience especially if you produce content that provides a lot of value to them. Try it out – you just might be surprised to see some bitcoins on your wallet after a few days!

Complete Small Tasks On Websites

There are now plenty of sites on the Internet that offer free bitcoins (usually just a very, very small fraction of it) for every task you complete. Some websites require you to complete surveys, watch videos, click on ads, answer questions, sign up for trial offers, download mobile apps, play online games, refer friends, shop online, and more. Payment is usually quick and easy.

Some platforms just require your bitcoin wallet address while others require you to sign up and create an account. While it’s true these jobs are mostly small and can be done in a few minutes, earning only a few hundred or thousand Satoshis at a time may not be worth it especially if you value your time. But if you’ve got nothing better to do and you want to experience first-hand the joys of owning cryptocurrency, then you’ve got plenty of micro-tasking sites to choose from.

Join Bitcoin Faucets

Bitcoin faucets are just websites that give away free Satoshis at set time intervals. These sites bring in a huge amount of traffic from people wanting to get free bitcoins so expect lots of competition and, depending on where the faucet is hosted, slow loading times.

Some faucets give away Satoshis with no work involved, that is, you just need to have the site up on your browser, while some require you to solve little tasks before you earn your Satoshis (much like the micro-tasking websites we’ve discussed in the previous section). Sites like these are a major time drain as well so it’s really up to you if you can afford to exchange your precious time for a few Satoshis. 

Are There Any Real Threats to Bitcoin?

For those of you who keep track of the value of Bitcoin, you no doubt see all the fluctuations that are connected to this digital currency. Some people wonder if this means that there is a threat to the entire Bitcoin currency or not? 

Experts agree that these fluctuations are based on user’s confidence levels, or lack of. As more people and retailers start to use Bitcoin it is thought that the value will become more stable.

In the recent past the popularity of Bitcoin has gained new attention. The number of online and offline retailers accepting Bitcoin has grown substantially. 

One huge attraction of Bitcoin is that it hasvery low transactions fees associated with it. This is because no bank or government has control over this digital currency.

Because Bitcoin is basically a code, could a group of users get together and try to gain control? This is thought to be highly unlikely due to the verification process of each transaction.

Any issues that have been raised actually apply for anything or anyone who is online today. This includes being vulnerable to malware attacks, hackers, losing keys and passwords and requiring that you back up your information to another device. 

As the history of Bitcoin only dates back to 2009 it is still very early in the evolution of this currency. It is difficult to predict the future and what will happen.

As Bitcoin stands today it has no country boundaries and this is one aspect that people love. All transactions are done via keys with no names or identities attached to them.

Young people are becoming passionate about Bitcoin due to the lack of government involvement. They love that the banks can't dictate the value of this currency or assign transaction or exchange fees to it. 

For a threat to be real to Bitcoin, it would need to involve massive amounts of computer power and technology. If any one person or group would be willing to go this far, only time will tell.

If you are considering entering the Bitcoin bubble, most experts suggest the ‘now rather than later’ approach. Any type ofdigital currency or stock market trading can be volatile. You just need to be aware of the risks and you must be willing to accept them.

As far as fluctuations go these should begin to ease off and stabilize as more people use this currency.

Low Carb Diets For Heart Health

UnderstandingCarbohydrates

Carbohydrates are foods, which contain similar ratios of the elements, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The group consists of gums, cellulose, sugars, and starches. They serve as the body’s primary fuel source when converted to glucose, a simple sugar used by the body as a quick source of energy.

2 Forms Of Carbs

Carbohydrates come in two forms simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates or simple sugars occur in processed and refined foods. Sources of simple sugars include refined cane sugar (white table sugar), honey, fruit, dairy products, and vegetables.

Complex carbohydrates consist a series of linked simple carbohydrates and fiber. Starchy foods contain complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrate sources include whole grain products, pastas, rice, cereals, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, bread, and starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas, corn, and zucchini.

When considering which carbohydrates provide the greatest health benefits, complex carbohydrates give more nutritional benefits. They contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber lacking in simple carbohydrates. They also provide the body with slow and consistent fuel keeping insulin levels even and consistent.

Simple sugars cause insulin levels to spike which can lead to insulin resistance for some people if simple sugars are a primary carbohydrate source. Insulin resistance has been consistently linked to patterns of obesity and diabetes.

While the body treats all sugar as fuel, the way it metabolize them greatly influences their long term effects on the body.

WhatIs A Low Carb Diet?

Low carb diets include a low level of mostly complex carbohydrates with most calories coming from protein and fat. Recently low carb diets have become increasingly more popular as people find them to be so effective for weight loss. In fact, restricting carbohydrates effectively supports weight loss according to a study described in the September issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

However, the quality of the carbohydrates consumed is equal in importance to monitoring the amount. The fiber in complex carbohydrates plays a significant role in supporting heart health as well. Dietitians recommend consuming 60 to 130 grams of carbohydrates daily.

Protein and fat sources for low carbohydrate diets need to be lean and healthy. Protein sources include fish, meat, poultry, eggs, and some non-starchy vegetables. Healthy fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) sources include unrefined nut, seed and vegetable oils like sunflower seed oil, olive oil and coconut oil.

HowDoes A Low Carb Diet Support Heart Health?

For several decades, low carb and low fat diets received a great deal of endorsement and attention for supporting weight loss and overall health. It was also unclear which approach provides the most effective results for weight loss.

A recent study indicates a low carbohydrate diet works best for weight loss with the added benefit of decreasing risk factors for developing heart disease.

Both diets allow people to lose weight effectively, however low carb diets appear to allow people do so with more success. 

According to the randomized trial published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a small group of obese dieters divided into two groups, one following a low fat diet and the other a low carbohydrate diet, found the low carbohydrate group lost more weight during the year long study.

They also showed greater decreases in body fat and triglycerides, risk factor for heart disease, and increased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), good cholesterol.

While a low carbohydrate, diet supports short-term weight loss and heart health, other characteristics of a low carb diet may be more significant causal factors. The higher amounts of protein and fat allow dieters to feel full longer which may lead them to eat less in general. Low carb diets done well also provide fewer calories. 

Low-carb diets must be carefully planned to ensure enough carbohydrates are consumed. Consuming less than 20 grams of carbohydrates can cause uncomfortable symptoms including:

·         Bad breath

·         Fatigue

·         Constipation or diarrhea

·         Headache

As a primary source of energy, high quality carbohydrates keep the body healthy and well fueled for daily activities and functions. Choosing healthy and unrefined carbohydrates as part of a balanced diet while limiting the amount consumed supports heart health.

Carefully monitor your energy levels and digestive response while on a low-carb diet and adjust your intake to meet your nutritional and caloric requirements.