- Overview - Table of Contents
- How to get a Bitcoin wallet
- Best Bitcoin Wallets
- How to Get Bitcoins
- How to Earn Bitcoins
- What is Bitcoin mining?
- Bitcoin merchant directories
- Promotional Images
- Spending Bitcoins
- Bitcoin News
Step 1 ---> How to get a Bitcoin wallet
Setting up your first Bitcoin wallet is simple. There are several quality mobile, desktop, and hybrid wallets available. If you want to do thorough research then you can read our comprehensive guide on how to find the best Bitcoin wallet.
A great path would be (1) a mobile wallet like Airbitz (iPhone, Android), Breadwallet (iPhone) or Mycelium (Android), (2) acquire bitcoins from a friend, as payment for a good or service or buy bitcoins from one of the many exchanges (3) if you decide to store large amounts of bitcoins and want to know they are absolutely safe then use Armory.
Best Mobile Bitcoin Wallets
iPhone and Android apps are available with popular choices including:
Copay
Copay is a Bitcoin wallet by Bitpay and available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Linux, Max OS X, and Windows. Because Copay is available on multiple platforms, it’s easy to use the same wallet or accounts across multiple devices.
Copay’s simple, clean user interface makes it a good choice for new Bitcoin users. Copay is also a good option for businesses due to a shared account feature, which requires a certain number of users to sign each transaction. Two co-founders, for example, could create a 2 of 2 wallet where both will be required to sign each transaction.
Coin Wallet
Coin Wallet is a non-custodial multicurrency wallet, where you can easily transfer, receive, buy, sell, and exchange Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Dash (DASH), Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), EOS, Monero (XMR), Binance Smart Chain (BNB) and over 2000 ERC20, BEP20 tokens.
Wallet is available as Web Wallet, mobile (iOS & Android), and desktop apps (Windows, Linux & MacOS).
Atomic Wallet (Android)
Atomic Wallet is available on Google Play and fully optimized for Android devices. The app provides the option to seamlessly manage and exchange 300+ coins and tokens. Private keys are encrypted on users’ device and never leave it.
breadwallet (Android)
Breadwallet started out as the most popular wallet for iPhone, and now it is also available for Adroid devices running Android 6.0 or higher. The simplicity and easy-to-use security makes it a great place to start for users who are new to bitcoin.
Airbitz
AirBitz is another Bitcoin wallet that’s great for everyday use. It’s integrated with Fold, meaning you can get 20% discounts at Starbucks from within the wallet.
Airbitz manages accounts with usernames and passwords, but doesn’t have access to your funds. This type of account creation is easier for less technical users who may have trouble backing up or understanding HD seeds.
breadwallet (iOS)
Breadwallet’s combination of simplicity and security has made it the most popular iOS wallet. iPhone users in search of their first Bitcoin wallet should find Breadwallet easy to understand.
Best Bitcoin Software Wallets
Bitcoin software wallets are downloaded to your computer, give you more control and do not depend on third-party services. Most software bitcoin wallets require a day or so to download the blockchain before they are ready for use.
Best Hybrid Bitcoin Wallets
Hybrid Bitcoin allow you to both control the private keys and have the easy of use of a web wallet.
Copay
Copay is a Bitcoin wallet by Bitpay and available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Linux, Max OS X, and Windows. Because Copay is available on multiple platforms, it’s easy to use the same wallet or accounts across multiple devices.
Copay’s simple, clean user interface makes it a good choice for new Bitcoin users. Copay is also a good option for businesses due to a shared account feature, which requires a certain number of users to sign each transaction. Two co-founders, for example, could create a 2 of 2 wallet where both will be required to sign each transaction.
Coin Wallet
Coin Wallet is a non-custodial multicurrency wallet, where you can easily transfer, receive, buy, sell, and exchange Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Dash (DASH), Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), EOS, Monero (XMR), Binance Smart Chain (BNB) and over 2000 ERC20, BEP20 tokens.
Wallet is available as Web Wallet, mobile (iOS & Android), and desktop apps (Windows, Linux & MacOS).
Best Bitcoin Web Wallets
Bitcoin web wallets are the easiest and most convenient to use but are potentially less secure than the above options because the private keys to your bitcoins are usually held by a third-party.
Due to the large number of security breaches where people have lost bitcoins, we do not recommend any of the current Bitcoin web wallets. A wallet like Copay can be used on mobile & desktop. It provides the benefits of a software wallet and is easy to use across many devices.
Best Bitcoin Hardware Wallets
Bitcoin hardware wallets are the most secure because they do not expose your private keys to the network.
- Ledger Wallet - Smartcard based and malware proof
- Ledger Wallet Review
Step 2 ---> How to get Bitcoins
How to buy Bitcoins
With the Bitcoin price so volatile many people seem curious about getting some. Below we have listed some of the best exchanges. If you want to do your own research then check our guide on how to buy bitcoins in any country. Here are our recommendations:
Coinbase is one of the world's largest Bitcoin exchanges. Users in the United States, Canada, most of Europe, and Singapore can buy bitcoins with a connected bank account or SEPA transfer.
European users can purchase bitcoins with 3D secure credit or debit cards.
If it's the first time you use the card, you will receive a call from Indacoin with a 4-digit code, which should be entered on your order page. After that, you will have to enter a 3-digit code, which can be found on your online card statement next to the charge amount.
You will have the limit of $50 for the first transaction, $100 for the second transaction available after four days of the initial purchase and $500 after eight days of the first buy. The total limit for the first month will be $5,000 and then no limits at all.
Since your card is verified, cryptocurrency is sent automatically within ten minutes after the payment.
SpectroCoin is an all-in-one solution for Bitcoin offering an exchange, debit card and ability to buy bitcoins with credit cards.
How To Earn Bitcoins
Many people find that the best way to get bitcoins is to accept them as payment for the products or services they already sell. Just give your customers the option to pay in bitcoin.
To make it easy, you may want to sign up for a bitcoin merchant account which allows you to send invoices and integrate bitcoin payments into your order pages for the most popular online shopping cart systems.
- WeUseCoins Bitcoin Faucet - Get free bitcoins that are provided by sponsors
- BitPay - (Highly Recommended) - Merchant tools and account services
- Free Digital Money - Get free bitcoins by trying apps, taking surveys, watching ads, and much more
- Jobs 4 Bitcoin - Subreddit where you can find jobs
What Is Bitcoin Mining?
Mining bitcoins requires an investment in specialized bitcoin mining hardware designed to process double round sha256 hash verifications at high speed. Getting started with Bitcoin mining can be a daunting endeavor and it has become highly specialized so you may want to leave it to professionals with Bitcoin cloud mining services. Nevertheless, there are many excellent bitcoin mining systems available.
It is important to point out that bitcoin mining is highly competitive and risky for would-be participants. Please see our bitcoin mining guide for more detail. If you want to try your luck at bitcoin mining then this Bitcoin miner is probably the best deal.
Step 3 ---> How to use bitcoins?
Starting to use bitcoins can be exciting because it is a new technology. Bitcoins can be used to purchase just about anything you want. Dental services, a brand new car, travel and even luxury real estate.
We recommend searching the Bitcoin merchant directories below to locate the merchants you are interested in. You can buy gift cards with bitcoin and shop easily at most of the stores you already use.
Bitcoin Merchant Directories
- Airbitz - Find bitcoin friendly merchants near you and online
- Open Bazaar - A decentralized marketplace
- Coinmap - Find bitcoin friendly merchants near you
- Purse.io - Get discounts greater than 20% on Amazon.com
One of the best things to buy with Bitcoin is virtual private network (VPN) services to keep your Internet traffic safe, secure and private. We put together a comprehensive list of VPNs you can buy with Bitcoin.
Promotional Images
Are you a merchant or freelancer that would want to start accepting bitcoins for goods or services? We have a few high resolution graphics that can help you.
So this is exactly the typical sign as you can also find on the Bitcoin Wiki. Just that it is in fully scalable PSD form so even blowing it up to huge printable resolutions will do no harm to them. And you can edit them easily.
All images have transparent corners.
Gold Version
A bit more exciting. Same deal: PSD and resolutions available with no copyrights to worry about by using and modifying an existing coin design. Scaling the PSD up more than 500% is fine but after that it may get blurry.
Buy Gift Cards With Bitcoins
Available from Gyft and spendable at:
Charity
- We Use Coins - Donations greatly appreciated: 1CXiG6hZmMWUsr6sgF3Tx5nfKj1FN8dU1c
- BitGive - a non-profit foundation that is accepting donations from the Bitcoin community and providing charitable gifts to environmental and public health causes worldwide.
Step 4 ---> Keeping up to date with Bitcoin news
Michael Casey and Paul Vigna of the Wall Street Journal authored The Age of Cryptocurrency which has become a best seller on the topic of Bitcoin. This may be a great book for you to start with when forming an intellectual foundation on this new technology.
Here are some good places to keep up with bitcoin news and discussion:
- Opinions of the Rich and Famous on Bitcoin
- Research Library - papers from companies and academics
- Bitcoin Properly - The true value of the blockchain
- r/bitcoin - Bitcoin links and discussion by the Reddit community
- Bitcoin Charts - price charts
- Bitcoin Knowledge Podcast - Interviews with top people in the Bitcoin world
- The Video - An excellent primer for anyone curious to understand the bitcoin phenomenon