Important Basics You Should Know Before Buying and Investing In Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that was released to the public in 2009. The software-based currency was designed by Satoshi Nakamoto. Since its inception, Bitcoin Foundation has funded several developers to make various improvements to the system. It was until 2013 that Bitcoin started receiving a lot of popularity has it gained over 300%. Investors and venture capital firms from across the world continue to bet on Bitcoin on a daily basis. Are you interested in joining the millions of users and merchants who keep accepting Bitcoins as a payment method?

Investing in Bitcoin as a beginner

There are several firms across the United States and abroad that are involved in the buying and selling of Bitcoins. Hence, the easiest way to invest in Bitcoins and try your hand at making money with Bitcoins is to outright buy some coins. For instance, you can contact Coinbase, which is a company that specializes in selling the BTC at a markup of around 1% over the market price. The company has an option of linking your bank account with its wallet so that you make future payment processes hassle-free.

Coinbase also has an automatic BTC buying option at regular intervals. For example, if you want to buy $100 bitcoins on a monthly basis right after receiving your paycheck, you can use the automatic buying option to set the intervals. However, once you set up the automatic options of buying BTC, you won’t have control over the price of the Bitcoins at the time of buying. Also, note that the company is not a Bitcoin exchange because it sources the BTC from other buyers to give you a platform to buy or sell directly with them. Hence, there is a likelihood of experiencing issues like delays, especially during fast market moves.

There are other companies like BitStamp that act as a middleman to allow traders to trade amongst themselves instead of dealing with the firm directly. Bitcoins and a self directed IRA are some of the ways that confident traders can expand their investing potential beyond stocks, bonds, and treasuries. You can also decide on whether the option of buying and selling Bitcoins on an exchange is your preferred option of making money from Bitcoins.

Other Ways to Buy Bitcoins

There is another popular way of buying Bitcoins besides the option of exchanges: using localbitcoins. The site pairs up willing buyers and sellers. When you buy the Bitcoins, the site locks them up from the seller in the escrow. When buying BTC offline you’ve to be very cautious as you would when you plan to meet a stranger. For example, you should meet in a public place, or better yet, bring a friend.

Mining Bitcoins is another way of getting rewards of coins. However, it requires heavy investments in the mining hardware and other complex processes that may not be recommendable for beginners. But in case you’re interested in Bitcoin mining, then you should consider joining a mining pool where you can share resources with other users and share the rewards as well.

Several people and venture capital firms are fast betting on Bitcoins and there are various ways on how you can join the bandwagon. However, you should research extensively on the available options so that you can choose the most appropriate fit that satisfies your needs.

Accepting Bitcoin as a payment method

The value of any cryptocurrency can go up or down substantially. Since the subject of these currencies is very speculative, you should consult with a professional financial consultant before investing your hard-earned money. Furthermore, since Bitcoins were introduced a few years ago, some countries have banned them while others haven’t created clear regulations governing the buying and selling of Bitcoins within their borders.