If you read the news, you will know that Bitcoin has had a lot of press recently. Since its inception in 2009, it has been seen as something of an unknown force. However, in 2017, the price of Bitcoin rose to an extraordinary level, and this made many people look again at it as a viable alternative. For the consumer, Bitcoin offers some unique benefits and can even be easier than dealing with other currencies. Here are some of the ways you can use Bitcoin safely for your spending and investing.
Buying Bitcoins
Before you can start to use Bitcoin (BTC), you need to know how to buy them. You can buy BTC form online companies and also from some ATM’s. For example, many major cities now have ATM’s that will deal exclusively with Bitcoin. There are also many other types of cryptocurrency including Ethereum which is supported by many major companies including Microsoft. You want to choose one that offers you the best opportunities such as where you can spend it and the market price if you want to invest.
Keeping Bitcoin Safe
When you buy your BTC, you will also need an electronic wallet to keep them in. These wallets are designed to allow you to see how many coins you have, and when your last transactions were. You will also be given a private hexadecimal key that will be for your wallet. It is vitally important that you keep this key safe; many people print it out or save it to a separate file on their computer. If you were to lose this key, then you would also lose all your bitcoins as well.
Types of Wallet
There are many types of Bitcoin wallet that you can use; there are those that you have on your computer, others that are held by providers, and hardware versions. Most people will have their wallet on their PC or as a hardware version. The PC version allows you to access your wallet through a link to your browser. The link lets you send and receive bitcoins on the internet so that you can pay for goods. Hardware versions are similar to a USB so that you can carry it around with you. They also use a browser interface to send and receive coins.
Using Your Bitcoins
Using Bitcoin is quite straightforward, all you need is the email address of the company you want to send the money to, and they will be transferred immediately. Because there are no banks to go through, this process can be smooth but also secure as each transaction is recorded in an online ledger. There are many companies now accepting Bitcoin including some energy suppliers and many retailers.
Once you have begun using Bitcoin, you will see that it isn’t any more complicated to use than traditional payment methods. In fact, you can now get a Bitcoin debit card that you can use just as you would any other and it coverts the coins into local currency for you.
