Bitcoin and the upcoming Bitcoin halving have been highly searched topics over the last few weeks. There are many people talking about bitcoin right now, how a big investment opportunity it is, the Bitcoin halving event that is coming in less than a week, and more! In spite of all this buzz, it is hard to find everything you need to know in order to start your bitcoin journey clearly laid out!
For this reason, we are putting together this 5 Steps guide “How to start my bitcoin journey” to help you to have a smooth experience. Let’s start!
Step 1: Know the Basic definitions:
If you believe you can totally understand bitcoin by reading a couple of definitions, you will be disappointed. Bitcoin is a completely new way of transferring value through the internet. That is why it is also called by Andreas Antonopoulos “The Internet of Money”
What is Bitcoin? First of all, notice the capital letter. Bitcoin with capital letter “B” refers to the network itself - a protocol for a decentralized P2P exchange that creates consensus without needing a central authority to provide trust.
What is bitcoin? When using bitcoin with lower case “b” we refer to the currency used for value transactions and issued as a reward in the proof-of-work mining process.
Now that you have the Bitcoin/bitcoin basic definitions, it is time to proceed to step 2.
Step 2: Why am I hearing the word bitcoin everywhere right now?
It is important to understand the context we are in. The bitcoin price has risen significantly over the last days and weeks. At some point passing the $9k barrier and at the time of writing this article is around $8700. One of the reasons for this price movement upwards is that the Bitcoin Halving is about to occur in approximately 10 days. Do you know what the bitcoin halving is? Let’s quickly check it out.
What is Bitcoin Halving?
Bitcoin halving is a mechanism of the Bitcoin protocol that reduces by half the reward given to bitcoin miners for mining a new block. You can read more about the Bitcoin Halving here: https://blog.localcoinswap.com/what-is-bitcoin-halving-and-its-effects-on-the-bitcoin-price/
Step 3: bitcoin price: How do I know the price of bitcoin?
The first thing you need to know is that there is no official price for bitcoin that rules globally. There are great references such as CoinMarketCap but you don’t necessarily find bitcoin at this price in your region.
It’s important to understand that the bitcoin price in CoinMarketCap and other platforms are the market prices. Just like stocks, commodities, and more, you rarely buy them at exactly the market price. Most of the time you buy them slightly above and sell slightly below the market price. This price depends on many factors such as, geography, currency, quantity, and more.
Step 4: Which is the best way to buy bitcoin?
Now that you know where to find a reference of the bitcoin price and understand why bitcoin price could vary across different regions its time to know where to buy it.
When it comes to purchasing bitcoin there are many alternatives such as directly from other people, centralized exchanges, peer-to-peer platforms, ATMs, and more. Each of these alternatives has its own advantages and downsides related to accessibility, commissions, local currency acceptance, payment methods available, and more.
One of the best ways to buy bitcoin in a fast, secure, and easy way is through a P2P Platform. P2P platforms put together buyers and sellers in the same place, much like eBay and Amazon. This increases the probability of quickly finding someone who would like to trade with you. In addition to this, P2P platforms offer an escrow system that allows you to buy and sell bitcoin in a secure way. An escrow system involves a third party in order to make sure both parts (the buyer and seller) are getting what they arranged to trade.
You can register at https://localcoinswap.com/register/ and start your journey!
Step 5: Where do I store my bitcoin?
There are many ways to store your bitcoin. Once again, each of the alternatives varies in different aspects. The most important is security and user experience. If you want to learn more about cryptocurrency wallets here is
It is fair to say that there are 2 main categories of bitcoin wallets: https://blog.localcoinswap.com/bitcoin-and-crypto-wallet-101/
App & Web wallets:
When it comes to web wallets and app wallets, they are on devices that are connected to the internet, think about them as your leather wallets. You don’t carry around $20,000 on a daily basis for no reason, right? The reason is that there is a possibility that you will lose your wallet or get robbed. It’s the same with web and cell phone apps. These types of wallets can still be very secure and can often be backed up, but they are still not quite as secure as the next category. Some examples of App and web wallets are Green Address Wallet, Samourai Wallet, Electrum bitcoin wallet, Wasabi Wallet, Coinomi, and more.
Hardware wallets:
On the other hand, where do you leave your savings or a big chunk of money? Normally in a bank or a safe. The reason? Because putting your money in a less accessible place is a smart way to do it. That is why there are hard wallets that are never exposed to the internet, which makes them very secure. By far, these are the most secure wallets out there. A couple of examples are Trezor and Nano Ledger.
Bitcoin Journey - Final words
Now that you have read this article, you are well on your way down your path into the world of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Remember that the Bitcoin protocol makes it decentralized, which means that there is no company behind Bitcoin. Now you are in charge of your finances. As uncle Ben once said, “With great power, comes great responsibility”.
You are doing great so far! Keep educating yourself on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies!
If you have any questions or comments join us on our Telegram community and follow us on twitter.
Until the next time!
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- Bitcoin Halving & its effect on bitcoin price
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- The effects of QE in the bitcoin price
- Pre-funding is not required on LocalCoinSwap!