The best way to understand about bitcoin, is to jump in and get a few in your “pocket” to get a feel for how they work.
Despite the hype about how exactly difficult and dangerous it might be, getting bitcoins is a lot easier and safer than you may think. In plenty of ways, it is probably easier than opening a merchant account at a normal bank. And, given what has been happening in the banking system, it really is probably safer too.
There are a few what to learn: getting and utilizing a software wallet, learning how exactly to send and receive money, learning how exactly to buy bitcoin from the person or an exchange.
Preparation
Before getting started, you will need to get yourself a wallet. You can certainly do this easily enough by registering with one of many exchanges that will host wallet for you personally. And, although I think you will want to have one or more exchange wallets eventually, you need to start with one by yourself computer both to obtain a better feel for bitcoin and because the exchanges are still experimental themselves. When 코인커뮤니티 reach that stage of the discussion, I am advising that you get in the habit of moving your money and coins off the exchanges or diversifying across exchanges to keep your money safe.
What is a wallet?
It is a solution to store your bitcoins. Specifically, it really is software that has been designed to store bitcoin. It is usually run on your pc, laptop, mobile device (except, as yet, Apple) and can also be made to store bitcoins on things like thumb drives. For anyone who is worried about being hacked, then that is a great option. Even the Winklevoss* twins, who have millions committed to bitcoin, put their investment on hard disks which they then put into a safety deposit box.
*The Winklevoss twins will be the ones who originally had the idea for a social media site that became Facebook. They hired Mark Zuckerberg who took their idea as their own and became immensely rich.
What do you need to know about having a bitcoin wallet on your computer?
Below you can download the original bitcoin wallet, or client, in Windows or Mac format. These are not just wallets, but are in fact area of the bitcoin network. They will receive, store, and send your bitcoins. It is possible to create a number of addresses with a click (an address is a number that looks like this: 1LyFcQatbg4BvT9gGTz6VdqqHKpPn5QBuk). You will see a field where one can copy and paste a number like this from the person you would like to send money to and off it will go straight into that person’s wallet. You can also create a QR code that will let someone take a picture with an app on their phone and send you some bitcoin. It is perfectly safe to provide these out – the address and QR code are both for my donations page. Feel free to donate!
NOTE: This type of wallet acts both as a wallet for you personally and as part of the bitcoin system. The reason bitcoin works is that each transaction is broadcast and recorded as lots over the entire system (and therefore every transaction is confirmed and made irreversible by the network itself). Any computer with the proper software can be part of that system, checking and supporting the network. This wallet serves as your individual wallet and also as a support for that system. Therefore, be aware that it will require up 8-9 gigabytes of your computer’s memory. After you install the wallet, it will require as much as each day for the wallet to sync with the network. That is normal, does not harm your personal computer, and makes the system all together more secure, so it’s advisable.
Bitcoin Qt
The original wallet.
This is the full-featured wallet: create multiple addresses to receive bitcoins, send bitcoins easily, track transactions, and back up your wallet.
Outside of the time it takes to sync, this can be a very easy to use option.
Search for Bitcoin Qt wallet download to get their site.
Armory
Runs on top of Bitcoi Qt, so it has all of the same syncing requirements.
Armory lets you back up, encrypt, and the ability to store your bitcoins off line.
Seek out Bitcoin Armory Wallet to get their site.
If you don’t want to have that much memory used or don’t want to wait for your wallet to sync, there are good wallets that not make you sync the complete history of bitcocin:
Multibit
A lightweight wallet that syncs quickly. This is good for new users.
Seek out Bitcoin Multibit Wallet to find their site.
Electum
In addition to being quick and light, this wallet permits you to recover lost data using a passcode.
Search for Bitcoin Electum Wallet to find their site.
After you get the wallet set up, take a few minutes clicking around. What to look for:
o There will be a full page that shows you just how many bitcoins are in your wallet. Understand that bitcoins can be broken up into smaller pieces, so you might see a decimal with plenty of zeros after it. (Interesting note, 0.00000001 is one Satoshi, named following the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin).