How to buy Bitcoin for noobs!
Hello again… Its Tim and today I am discussing the various methods one could use to purchase Bitcoin. I will start with how I got into BTC and why I got into it. Back in August of 2017 I got hit HARD by Hurricane Harvey. My apartment was flooded up to my thighs. I was with my dad and my cat. We blew up a small rubber boat and loaded up a couple of things and decided that we were going to row ourselves to safety. Sounds easy enough right? Well after about a half hour of attempting to sync our rowing me and my father gave up and I just jumped out of the boat and started walking through the water (which was up to my neck at this point). Long story short, before we got into the raging flood waters outside the gates of my apt, a national guard truck showed up and offered us a ride. They needed our little boat so we exchanged the ride to safety for the boat. I didn’t even have a bank account until after that adventure. Something clicked inside of me after this experience and I decided that I needed to be financially independent by any means necessary. I saw Bitcoin mentioned a few times on Facebook before the hurricane, but I never paid attention. That was about to change though…
I was walking through the mall after I got my nephew a birthday present and noticed an awkward looking ATM machine. Well it peaked my interest enough to turn around and approach the machine to see what it was. Well it was a Coinme Bitcoin ATM. I didn’t know much about Bitcoin at all when I came across this machine. I had only heard about it a few times on Facebook and I was curious, but I was not the type to invest in anything. I had a few extra $20 bills in my wallet, so I decided to throw like $80 into it. I did this a few more times before the boom from 8k to 20k. I was hooked after that. I watched my money work for me, and it was addicting. That’s when I decided that I was taking this to the next level. The bear market was soon to follow, but the damage was already done. I was and still am addicted. I saw a lot of potential in this emerging market. That’s just a bit of background about how I got to where I am today.
There are so many different ways to buy in that I could write a book on this subject. I will focus on a few of the methods I have actually used and have some experience with. Bitcoin is quite speculative and risky. You should be aware of this before you decide to invest. One of my biggest rules that I never stray from, “NEVER INVEST MORE THAN YOU ARE PREPARED TO LOSE!!!” If you follow that simple rule you can shield yourself from a world of pain and misery. I am a huge fan of Bitcoin and its potential, but anyone that wants to buy in should understand its not all lambos and mansions. I just wanted to get that out of the way. This is not financial advice, just a guide to help you obtain Bitcoin while avoiding scams and high fees. So lets dive right in, shall we?
Bitcoin ATM
This method is special to me as a BTC atm was how I got started in this market back in November 2017. I bought $80 USD worth for my first purchase. I was charged like $8 (10%) which is pretty terrible as far as fees go. Typically BTC ATM’s are not cheap to use due to the fact they require maintenance and whatnot. 10% is still a bit steep though if you ask me, but I was a noob and the fee didn’t bother me so much at the time. I have only used 1 BTC ATM. “Coinme” which is the same company that paired up with Coinstar (the coin machine that you pour your change into so you can receive paper money for it) These machines are so easy to use. Perfect for noobs or people like my father. My dad hates linking his bank acct to anything. The BTC ATM helps him avoid that by taking paper money. Lets discuss the process of using the Coinme BTC ATM.
The first step when you use the Coinme BTC ATM is to insert your government ID into the slot. It will identify you by your drivers license from that point forward. Whenever you use the BTC ATM the first time it also snaps a pic of you. I believe they do this for obvious reasons (protection and proof you are who you say you are) So you insert the ID and it welcomes you before asking you to insert the money. You can put any amount in the ATM from $1 to $10,000 (I think 10k is the limit in a 24-hour period) and it will convert the USD to Bitcoin and deposit the BTC into a Coinme wallet that you can access from your smart phone or computer. After the first time you insert money in the machine you receive a paper receipt with instructions on what to do next. You basically log into Coinme’s website and enter the code on the receipt. It will then open your wallet and allow you to send or receive BTC to your Coinme wallet. Easy enough right? I thought so. I used this method all the way through the bull run of December 2017 and after I had witnessed the crash I was growing and decided that 10% is extortion! I didn’t want to pay such a steep fee just to buy BTC. This is how I naturally progressed to other methods of purchasing BTC. Lets look at some other methods one can use to obtain BTC!
Coinbase and other online “fiat gateways”
Coinbase is another way to obtain BTC. Coinbase allows you to buy Bitcoin via bank account or with Paypal. Its quite easy to sign up for Coinbase. You will need a valid form of identification and an email address. After you do the basic steps for signing up it will allow you to link a bank account or a debit card or Paypal, or all 3 to Coinbase. Its as simple as that. Once you link your bank etc to Coinbase you will be able to purchase Bitcoin (or the other crypto they offer). A bank transfer typically can take anywhere from immediate to 3–5 days depending on your reputation with Coinbase. Meaning if you have been regularly dealing with Coinbase with bank transfers they will trust you more as time passes and offer your Bitcoin to you earlier than they would to a person without that reputation. I still cannot send the funds off exchange for around a week, but it will allow me to trade the funds on Coinbase itself in the meantime. Coinbase is a popular way for people to get into Bitcoin and alt coins. The fee for buying is 3% on $100 purchase. At least that’s what it was from my recent experience. There is also a “spread” involved which also increases the price. You may think you are getting away with 3% fees, but in reality, it could be closer to 10% if you consider the spread involved. Most BTC ATM’s also use this method. Just make sure you understand that you may set up a 100$ buy, but you won’t end up with 100$ worth of BTC. Coinbase is a simple way to buy Bitcoin and it has become quite popular among Americans due to ease of use and the popularity that the platform has received. There are other exchanges such as ABRA (Litecoin exchange) or Changelly to purchase Bitcoin in a similar fashion as you would on Coinbase.
Local Bitcoins (Peer to peer exchange)
