چهارشنبه, ۱۸ تیر ۱۳۹۳، ۰۱:۰۸ ب.ظ
How Can I Buy Bitcoins
Now you’ve realized bitcoin is the way of the future, the next step is to get some bitcoins. But how? This guide will tell you what you need to know
You can buy bitcoins from: regulated exchanges, or directly from
other people selling them. You can pay for them in a variety of ways,
ranging from hard cash to wire transfers, depending on who you are
buying them from and where you live.
Surprisingly, it’s nearly impossible to buy bitcoins
with your credit card or PayPal. This is because such transactions can
easily be reversed with a phone call to the card company (ie:
‘chargebacks’, one of the problems bitcoin is here to solve). Since it’s
hard to prove any goods changed hands in a transfer of bitcoins,
exchanges avoid this payment method and so do most private sellers.
However, you can use a crd to buy $20-worth at Tinkercoin.
First, get yourself a bitcoin wallet
You will need a place to store your new bitcoins. In the bitcoin
world they’re called ‘wallets’ but you could also think of them as a
bank account.
The two main options are: (1) a software wallet stored on the hard drive of your computer, or (2) an online, web-based service.
Both have their vulnerabilities: if you store it all locally on your
computer make sure you back up your wallet regularly in case the drive
becomes corrupted; and online web wallets employ varying degrees of
security against hackers, from quite good to quite poor. It’s up to you
which one you trust the most.
The popular CoinBase is a wallet service that will also trade your dollars for bitcoins, and has web and mobile (Android) apps.
Blockchain.info is another
popular online wallet option that does not exchange fiat, but has a
mobile solution available for Android. Inconveniently for iPhone/iPad
users, its iOS wallet was recently banned by Apple, when the Cupertino company decided for unknown reasons not to allow any wallets to be sold through its store.
For more on storing bitcoins, see our guide on the subject.
Exchanges/Online Wallets
The range of options here seems to grow by the week, with new
businesses coming online to cater to new markets. Some are full-blown
exchanges for trades between paper fiat currencies and multiple other
digital currencies, while others are simpler wallet services with a more
limited range of trading options. Many will store amounts of digital
and/or fiat currency for you, much like a regular bank account.
Exchanges/wallets are the best option if you want to engage in
regular trading and speculation, don’t need total anonymity, and don’t
mind lengthy bureaucratic setup procedures that usually involve proof of
identity and supplying detailed contact information. This is the law in
most countries and no regulated exchange can get around it, as any
company interfacing with the current financial system must meet ‘know
your customer’ (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
The best exchange option also depends where you’re located. For more information, you can check out this list of major bitcoin exchanges/wallets around the world, and the payment options they allow.
See our article: How to buy bitcoins in the UK
At this time, the largest full trading exchanges are Bitstamp (US), BTC-e (unknown), Kraken (US), Huobi (China), OKCoin (China) and BTC China.
Once you’ve set up your account, you’ll probably need to link an
existing bank account and arrange to move funds between it and your new
exchange account via wire transfer. This usually entails a fee. Some
exchanges allow you to make a deposit in person to their bank account
(via a human teller, not an ATM).
While people in most countries can transfer money to overseas
accounts, fees are much higher and you may face more long delays
changing your bitcoins back into fiat currency (should you still wish to
do that). If you are required to link a bank account to use the
exchange, it may only admit banks from that country (for example,
CoinBase allows only US bank accounts).
Warnings about exchanges, wallets and banks
Despite the proof of identity requirements, remember exchanges and
wallets are not regulated as banks are. There is no insurance for your
account if the exchange goes out of business or is robbed by hackers,
such as may have been the case with Mt. Gox.
Bitcoin does not have legal status as a currency in most of the
world, and authorities usually do not know how best to approach thefts.
Some larger exchanges have replaced customer funds after a theft from
the exchange itself, but at this stage they are not legally obliged to
do so.
Further, if a theft from your personal wallet occurs due to a
security or password lapse on your part, you do not have any guaranteed
way to recover your funds.
Some existing banks see digital currency as a threat to their
business model and have been known to discriminate against anything
related to bitcoin. Their responses have ranged from refusing transfers
to specific exchanges, to unilaterally closing accounts of anyone
mentioning bitcoin, without explanation.
Check the list below first to see if your bank is one of them and,
for your protection, open an account with a bank known to be more
bitcoin-friendly.
Here are some banks known to discriminate against bitcoin.
Face-to-face, or ‘over-the-counter’ (OTC) trades
If you live in a city, prefer anonymity or don’t want bank hassles,
the easiest option to acquire bitcoin is to make a face-to-face trade
with a local seller. LocalBitcoins is
the primary site where such transactions are arranged and prices
negotiated. The site also provides an escrow service as an added layer
of protection for both parties.
There are security considerations for
both buyers and sellers, especially if the trade is a sizeable one.
Always meet in a busy public place, don’t meet in private homes, and
take all the precautions you’d usually taken when walking around with
large amounts of cash.
Remember, if you’re meeting face-to-face somewhere, you’ll need to
have access to your bitcoin wallet. Whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or
laptop, you’ll also need live Internet access to confirm the
transaction.
If one-on-one trades aren’t your thing, check out meetup.com to
see if your area has a bitcoin meetup group, where you can do it all in
a group setting and learn a lot from the other members in the process.
These meetups flourished in the latter half of 2013. Some big cities even have open-air events called ‘Satoshi Squares‘ where you can just walk up, buy some bitcoin, and walk away.
Given their group settings these latter two options are usually more secure, though obviously less anonymous.
Depending on the seller, you may pay a premium of around 5-10% over
the exchange price for a face-to-face trade, for convenience and
privacy. A reputable trader will negotiate the price before a meeting,
but many won’t want to wait too long in case bitcoin’s value takes a
dramatic shift.
Some sellers may let you use a PayPal account to pay, though most prefer non-reversible cash for the reasons described earlier.
It’s also wise to check first if such trades are legal in your local area. There is also a slight danger you’ll arouse police suspicion by exchanging cash in a public place, if they think you’re trading something more illicit.
A word or two about ‘mining’
What about this mining thing? I’ve heard you can make your own bitcoins.
You might’ve heard about ‘mining’ your own bitcoins with your PC or a
powerful graphics card. That was possible until not so long ago, but
time and the increasing popularity of bitcoin have brought more and more
powerful, mining-specific devices (called ASICs) onto the network,
increasing the difficulty and energy required to mine worthwhile amounts
of bitcoin.
Added to that, the number of bitcoins remaining to be mined
diminishes sharply as time progresses. All this means mining as an
individual isn’t as cost-effective as it was just a year ago. Many end
up paying more for hardware and electricity than they ever make back in
bitcoin.
Most mining these days is the domain of large mining groups called
‘guilds’, and companies set up specifically to mine. You may choose to
buy shares in such a guild or company, but mining is definitely not the
hobbyist pursuit it once was. If you want to get into mining, our guide
to that is here.
Anyone who claims you can mine
bitcoins with an ordinary PC or even a graphics card array in 2014
either has out-of-date information, or may be trying to sell you
outdated equipment. Beware.
Another relatively new option is ‘cloud mining’, where to mine
bitcoins without investing in expensive and fast-dating equipment, a
person pays to use a company’s data centres to mine on their behalf. For
more, see our guide to cloud mining.
An investment trust
If you don’t like the idea of having to buy and safely store a large
quantity of bitcoins, you can turn to an investment trust, such as the Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT). This trust
invests exclusively in bitcoins and uses a state-of-the-art protocol to
store them safely on behalf of its shareholders. So far, the fund has
been exclusively for serious (i.e.: very rich) investors, but is to open
to all, hopefully by the fourth quarter of 2014.
The Bitcoin Superfund is a new option is soon to launch in the UK.
Bitcoin ATMs
These are a new concept and very few exist, but the ones that do have
proven extremely popular and are easy to use. More are supposedly on
the way, from a number of different vendors. Like a face to face
exchange but with a machine, you insert your cash and receive a paper
receipt with the codes necessary to load the bitcoins onto your wallet.
Once again, you’ll need to already have a bitcoin wallet (locally stored
or online) to use the ATM.
As of November 2013, there is an operational Robocoin bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, Canada. Lamassu has shipped bitcoin ATM’s to locations around the world.
Keep up with the latest bitcoin ATM news and also view the locations worldwide on our bitcoin ATM map.
Conclusion
So, buying bitcoins is not always as easy as newcomers expect. The
good news is the number of options is increasing all the time, and
there’s plenty of incentive for creative entrepreneurs to invent more
convenient ones. Some may not even necessarily require a wallet or
internet access. Other ideas have included bitcoin gift cards (coming soon), physical bitcoin ‘coins’ with a wallet value pre-loaded, and stored-value cards.
۰
۰
۹۳/۰۴/۱۸