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!
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.
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.
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.
