Bitcoins being the world’s most popular digital currency, there have been lots of questions about it. One of the most popular questions is “How do I get Bitcoins?” Well, here is a comprehensive guide on how to get Bitcoins and store them.

Tips on How to Get Bitcoins

Now that you know the basics about bitcoins, the next step is to set up a bitcoin wallet and get some bitcoins. You can download a bitcoin wallet from their wide selection of platforms but make sure to choose the best bitcoin wallet before downloading it on your mobile device. You need to consider their security as different wallets provide different levels of security, software, an online web-based service or the vault service that keeps your bitcoins protected offline.

After acquiring a wallet, you probably want to add some bitcoins. You can get Bitcoins by buying them directly from an exchange, your bank account, a legit person via marketplaces or even accepting them as payment for goods and services. In the next section, we will discuss each in detail;

Exchanges and Online Wallets

If you a bitcoin newcomer, then you can find a variety of exchanges for the institutional trader and simpler ones with limited buying and selling capabilities. They are considered the best as they will store amounts of fiat currency and digital just like a regular bank account. However, it also depends on where you are located. Some of the major bitcoin exchanges around the world include;

Coinbase: exchange service that trades US dollars and Euros for bitcoins.

Coinjar: exchange market dealer in Australia

Local Bitcoins: matches buyers and sellers online and in person locally worldwide

Unocoin: exchange market aimed for the Indians that allow you to sell, buy and store bitcoin.

Bitfinex: it is an exchanging and trading platform for bitcoins that allows margin trading and margin funding.

Circle: exchange market that offers the US residents to store, send and exchange bitcoins.

 

Bank Account

You can use the bitcoins ATMs though they are relatively new. You can also use credit and debit cards, PayPal, bank or wire transfer. Using bank accounts is very strict in that you should know your customer requirements that include identity verification and your jurisdiction as they vary in rates and fee to pay. The good thing is that here, transactions can be reversed with a phone call to the card company.

Market Places Trades

If you don’t want to use a bank or an exchange, then there is an easier method to acquire bitcoin face to face trade with a local seller. They include local Bitcoins where transactions and negotiated prices are done. Security is highly considered. How? Meet in public places and ensure that such trades are legal in your local area.

How do you store your BTCs?

Bitcoins attracting more followers by the day and thus, the numbers of hacking events have increased as well. There is need to safely store your bitcoins. The good thing is that you can still secure your wallet by encrypting it, backing it up, taking it offline and even use multi-signature addresses. Here are some options for storing bitcoins in cold storage:

Desktop or mobile Wallets– they are considered much more secure since they are only accessed via your private computer with personal security keys stored on your machine and pone respectively. However, they are susceptible to hacks if they get infected with malware.

On a paper wallet or bank card- In order to spend bitcoins, private key must be imported to you directly or website that accepts deposits via private keys which should not be stored anywhere

Hardware Wallet- Considered being more secure than online and desktop wallet because there is complete anonymity in personal information, transaction, and data. They are bits of hardware; USB sticks and CD-R’S which you can carry around and are resilient to malware. Also if you lose the wallets you can recover the funds using a seed phrase.

Physical Bitcoin- they are bearer items that include Bitbills and physical coins. These coins have anti-tamper sticker that covers specific Bitcoin value. For you to buy a physical coin, you will have to purchase it at a minor premium over the value of Bitcoin you are purchasing.

Online wallets- they store private keys online on a third party computer. They link mobile to desktop wallets copying your addresses between different devices that you own. One good thing about online wallets is that you can access them from anywhere regardless of the device you are using

Conclusion

Buying bitcoins and storing them is not easy as you would expect. But given the changing trend in technology, it gets easier all in due time. Meanwhile, we recommend that you depend on these methods for now if you want to keep your digital currency secure enough.