Tuesday, November 12, 2013

All this talk about Bitcoins

What is all this fuss we've heard recently about Bitcoins? I thought I'd make a quick post to try to fill you in a bit and link to some great resources to give you a better understanding.

What are Bitcoins?

Bitcoins are a relatively new digital currency. I am going to avoid reinventing the wheel here and utilize this great site dedicated to explaining what Bitcoins are. You can check it out at http://bitcoin.org/. The FAQ on there is a great resource to get more info.

Is it a scam?

No, not at all. It's actually the opposite. It is smart to diversify and having some Bitcoins is another way to do just that. Don't have all your eggs in one basket.

How do I get Bitcoins?

I'm glad you asked. This is why I made this post. I have been watching Bitcoins for quite some time now and finally decided to buy some when I knew they were going to see another big growth spike. Here's how I did it.

First, I created an account at Coinbase and linked it to my bank account. Coinbase is kind of the one-stop shop nowadays for buying Bitcoins and maintaining your Bitcoin Wallet. A Bitcoin Wallet is basically just a place to store your Bitcoins. The Coinbase App is a great thing to utilize as well. Another nice thing about Coinbase is it has tools to setup an e-commerce site for accepting payments with Bitcoins. Definitely a nice bonus feature.

Once you have your account created at Coinbase and linked up to your bank account, you will just need to verify your account then buy some Bitcoins! It used to be a much more complicated process, but it has come a long way.

One other thing I should mention is that if you do plan on having these apps on your phone, you should definitely look into using Authy for added security.

That's about it! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Good luck!