Cryptos Will Become More Accepted as a Payment Source

During the time when technology was at an early stage, departments such as human resources, finance, customer relations, sales, etc. they had different software to perform different activities. And there was a lot of software, management was one challenging task. In addition, growing threats of data leaks have exacerbated the situation.

And in 2005, Odoo, open-source ERP emerged as the savior. He helped companies manage each application from one space. And it soon became one of the fastest growing platforms with more than 14,000 third-party applications / add-ons available in its app store.

Odoo in brief:

Odoo is a collection of business applications including CRM, e-commerce, billing, accounting, manufacturing, warehousing, project management and inventory management. Some of the reasons why Odoo has become popular are:

• Open Source ERP

• User friendly

• It has custom features

• Scalability

• Industry specific modules

• Frequent updates to changes in technology

• The freedom to download a selective application according to your needs

• Lower implementation costs and more

Odoo Ecommerce is one such platform that provides you with many benefits as it seamlessly integrates with other Odoo business applications. And that’s why about 4+ million people develop their business using Odoo Development Services. Some of the popular brands that use Odoo are Toyota, Hyundai and PCI. So, if you are planning an e-commerce based on Odoo, it is a really good choice because you will get several benefits. This post highlights the main benefits of Odoo Development.

Let’s get started!

1. Craft product pages that catch the eye

First, let’s look at an interesting example. Lush is a cosmetics company based in the UK. This company informs and educates its visitors about their fresh handmade cosmetics. Each product has a prominent video that helps visitors clearly understand the product. Below is a picture of a detailed list of lip balm ingredients below the product description.

Now imagine that you as a customer are looking for this particular product on this website as well. Now with the video, learn all about the natural ingredients used, the benefits of the product and how to use it, and you get a handy ‘add to cart’ option. All the necessary information in one place. I bet you won’t ask for more and in the end you will buy more than what you have decided.

This is what you call a good example of a well-managed product catalog that provides visitors with all the information they are looking for. Almost 81% of customers research products online before buying. Product information, price and reviews are a few parameters that every consumer will consider before buying. Therefore, retailers need to present what consumers are looking for. Here comes the importance of an effective product management strategy and a well-managed product catalog. It helps web store visitors to easily access your products. For the owner, this will allow them to add new products and periodically remove obsolete ones.

If you have an eCommerce store, you’d like to have easy product management that helps maximize the user experience. With Odoo development, you can create detailed product pages, add images, banners, calls to action, slides, etc. Designing and editing product details has become relatively easy with Odoo. You can merge and integrate all the information throughout the system seamlessly.

Odoo software also offers a simple ‘drag and drop’ option to help add product pages. You can customize the look, colors and theme of your store.

It couldn’t be easier!

2. A range of options with Payment Gateway

Suppose now that your eCommerce store offers only one payment method. What if one day it fails due to a technical malfunction? Or you have a customer who is about to make a payment, but you don’t have a payment gateway that he prefers and ups! He left!

The term ‘the more, the better’ goes very well with multiple payment approaches in e-commerce. According to a report by JP Morgan, 73% of online consumers decide whether to make a purchase from a company based on the type of payment they accept. There are multiple benefits of multiple payment passes, such as customer convenience, improved conversion rate, backup if one gateway goes wrong, customers feel more secure, increased international sales and more.

Odoo extensions and apps available on the market give you the ability to integrate and customize different payment modules. It allows users to pay with PayPal, credit and debit cards, Visa, Bitcoin, Authorize.net as well as comic cards. So, you can choose the payment option that is most compatible with your store. It also provides flexibility because each company has a different payment method.

3. Increase return on investment

You have invested thousands or maybe millions of dollars in your online business. So at the end of the day you bring home bacon? Do you get a good amount in return for the investment you make? This is ROI. ROI is an important metric to consider when dealing with an online store. It helps calculate the success of your investment.

Most companies use Odoo in the cloud or SaaS to automate their business. The main reason is that SaaS or Odoo cloud-based models help you reduce costs. By merging Odoo models based on SaaS, you can achieve faster returns and enjoy the benefits of ERP integration.

Compression:

Managing your eCommerce store is not an easy task. With the industry growing at a colossal rate and thousands of solutions available, it becomes difficult to choose what is best for you. This post aims to introduce you to the main benefits offered by the Odoo platform. I hope this was helpful!

Want to learn more about Odoo development? Contact BiztechCS now.

A chain letter for quick earnings was a chain letter forwarded by email that was a scam and no money actually came from it. Furthermore, it has since been a term that insiders in the computer industry joked about and said that if something is impossible then it is the Make Money Fast scam. Some antispammers have called this IMF part of their slang.

Dave Rhodes was the infamous name attached to the first Make Money Fast email in 1988. Most modern historians believe that this was not the correct name and that it was just the name given when the email was sent. This type of email was considered to be something that needed to be stopped, however, around 1994, when spam became a popular trend, it became available and spread rapidly. A number of other topics were used that included “You’re the Winner” or “This Really Works,” and in addition to the original money-related scam, there are a number of other topics.

Basically, this was a scam that worked similar to the way pyramid scams work because there was a list of individuals with addresses and these people were supposed to send one dollar each to people on the list, and the idea was that when it was forwarded there were a number of different things which would be sent and in the end everyone would make money quickly. One thing that made this scam even harder to detect is that the text of the email claimed that it was completely legal and that it was a great way to earn extra income.

In a subsequent email scam, there were instructions to use PayPal to distribute funds, however, if you are caught trying to make money quickly using PayPal for this purpose, you will be banned from using PayPal. These letters were quickly spread so widely that the person in front of us got his money. The U.S. Postal Service also prohibits the use of mail for these types of scams.

Chain letters have been around for several years. However, the Make Money Fast scheme was one that was not considered understood or something that would make individuals think there was some kind of overall problem with chain email. Furthermore, there were a number of other issues related to this chain emails and similar emails / letters that have been sent for years.

Perhaps one of the reasons why scams like Make Money Fast work is that everyone wants a chance to make money fast and everyone believes they have found the best way to do it. However, there are a number of other issues that have been highlighted that concern these types of chain letters / chain emails because they are too similar to the problems reported because few have been reported and people continue to fall for them on a regular basis.

Rich rewards often carry great risks, and the same is true with the highly volatile cryptocurrency market. Uncertainties in 2020 have led globally to increased interest from the masses and large institutional investors in cryptocurrency trading, a new-age asset class. Increased digitalisation, a flexible regulatory framework and the lifting of the Supreme Court ban on banks doing business with cryptocurrency-based companies have halted the investment of more than 10 million Indians last year. Several large global cryptocurrency exchanges are actively exploring the Indian cryptocurrency market, which shows a continuous increase in daily trading volume over the past year amid a sharp drop in prices as many investors looked to buy value. As the cryptocurrency craze continues, many new cryptocurrency exchanges have emerged in the country that enable buying, selling and trading by offering functionality through user-friendly applications. WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, doubled its users from one million to two million between January and March 2021.

What drives the world’s largest crypto exchanges on the Indian market?

In 2019, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance bought Indian trading platform WazirX. Another crypto start-up, Coin DCX has secured an investment from Seychelles-based BitMEX and San Francisco-based giant Coinbase. Crypto and blockchain startups in India attracted investments of $ 99.7 million by June 15, 2021, for a total of about $ 95.4 million in 2020. In the last five years, global investment in the Indian crypto market has increased by an incredible 1487%.

Despite India’s vague policies, global investors are making big bets on the country’s digital coin ecosystem due to a number of factors such as

• Technologically savvy Indian population

The predominant population of 1.39 billion are young (average age between 28 and 29) and technically savvy. While the older generation still prefers to invest in gold, real estate, patents or stocks, the newer ones accept high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges because they are more flexible. India ranks 11th in the 2020 Chainalysis report on the list for global adoption of cryptocurrencies, showing excitement over cryptocurrencies among the Indian population. No less than the government’s friendly attitude towards cryptocurrencies or rumors swirling around cryptocurrencies can shake young people’s confidence in the digital coin market.

India offers the cheapest internet in the world, where one gigabyte of mobile data costs around $ 0.26, while the global average is $ 8.53. Thus, nearly half a billion users benefit from affordable internet access, which increases India’s potential to become one of the world’s largest crypto-economies. According to SimilarWeb, this country is the second largest source of web traffic to the peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform, Paxful. While the mainstream economy is still struggling with the “pandemic effect”, cryptocurrency is gaining momentum in the country as it provides young generations with a new and fast way to make money.

It is safe to say that cryptocurrencies could become Indian millennials, which is gold for their parents!

• The rise of Fintech start-ups

The craze for cryptocurrencies has led to the emergence of multiple trading platforms such as WazirX, CoinSwitch, CoinDCX, ZebPay, Unocoin and many others. These cryptocurrency exchange platforms are highly secure, available on a variety of platforms and enable instant transactions, providing a friendly interface for crypto enthusiasts to buy, sell or trade digital assets indefinitely. Many of these platforms accept INR for purchases and trading fees of only 0.1% so simple, fast and secure platforms represent a lucrative opportunity for both first-time investors and local retailers.

WazirX is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchange platforms with more than 900,000 users, providing users with the possibility of equal transactions. CoinSwitch Kuber provides the best cryptocurrency exchange platform for Indians and is ideal for beginners as well as for those who work every day. Unocoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchange platforms in India with over one million traders via mobile applications. CoinDCX provides users with more than 100 cryptocurrencies as an exchange option and even provides investors with insurance to cover losses in the event of a security breach. So, global investors are looking at the multitude of cryptocurrency exchange platforms in India to take advantage of the emerging market.

• Mixed Government response

A bill banning virtual currency that would criminalize anyone involved in the possession, issuance, mining, trading and transfer of cryptocurrencies could be passed in law. However, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman eased concerns from some investors by saying the government had no plans to ban the use of cryptocurrencies altogether. In a statement given to the leading English newspaper, Deccan Herald, the Minister of Finance said: “For our part, we are very clear that we are not closing all options. We will allow certain windows for people to experiment on blockchain, bitcoins or cryptocurrencies.” It is obvious that the government is still examining the national security risks posed by cryptocurrencies before deciding on a total ban.

In March 2020, the Supreme Court overturned a central bank decision to ban financial institutions from trading cryptocurrencies, prompting investors to accumulate in the cryptocurrency market. Despite long-standing fears of a ban, the volume of transactions continued to grow, and user registration and cash inflows on the local cryptocurrency exchange increased 30-fold from a year earlier. One of India’s oldest stock exchanges, Unocoin added 20,000 users in January and February 2021. The total volume of Zebpay per day in February 2021 is equivalent to the amount generated throughout February 2020. Addressing the cryptocurrency scenario in India, the Finance Minister in an interview with CNBC-TV18 said: “I can only give you this clue that we are not closing our minds, but looking for ways in which experiments can take place in the digital world and cryptocurrency.”

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, investors and stakeholders want to make the most of the expansion of the digital coin ecosystem until the government imposes a ban on “private” cryptocurrency and announces a sovereign digital currency.

Is India moving towards financial inclusion with cryptocurrencies?

Formerly considered a “boys’ club ”due to the dominant engagement of the male population in the cryptocurrency market, the ever-growing number of female investors and traders has led to more gender neutrality in new and digital forms of investment methods. Women used to stick to traditional investments, but now they are becoming increasingly risky and entering the crypto space in India. After the Supreme Court clarified the legality of the “virtual currency,” India’s cryptocurrency platform, CoinSwitch witnessed an exponential increase of 1,000% of female users. Although female investors still make up a small percentage of the crypto community, they are creating fierce competition in the Indian market. Women tend to save much more than their male counterparts, and greater savings mean greater diversity in investments such as high-return assets such as cryptocurrencies. Also, women are more analytical and better at assessing risks before making the right investment choices, so they are more successful investors.

Increasing the usual institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies

Uncertainty and panic caused by SARS-Covid 19 led to a liquidity crisis even before the economic crisis erupted. Many investors have turned their funds into cash to protect their finances, resulting in falling bitcoin and altcoin prices. But even though the cryptocurrency suffered a major crash, it still managed to be the asset class with the best performance in 2020. With the increased vulnerability of the system and the loss of confidence in central bank policies and money in its current design, people have an increased appetite for digital currencies resulting in the return of cryptocurrency. Due to the great performance of cryptocurrency in the midst of the global financial crisis, the upward trend has strengthened interest in the virtual currency market in Asia and the rest of the world.

Furthermore, to stimulate society’s demand for practical and reliable transactional solutions, digital payment applicants such as PayPal have also demonstrated their support for cryptocurrencies that can enable consumers to hold, buy or sell virtual assets. Recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced an investment in the cryptocurrency market worth $ 1.5 billion, and that the electric company will accept bitcoin from customers, which led to an international jump in the price of bitcoin from $ 40,000 to $ 48,000 within two days . The two largest payment platforms worldwide, Visa and Mastercard, also support cryptocurrencies by introducing them as a medium for conducting transactions. While Visa has already announced that it allows transactions with stable coins on the Ethereum blockchain, Mastercard will start transactions with cryptocurrencies sometime in 2021.

What is the future of the cryptocurrency market in India?

The Indian cryptocurrency market is not immune to the terrible declines of cryptocurrencies. Despite huge investments from global partners, local investors continue to distance themselves from crypto investments due to uncertainty over the legality of India’s digital coin ecosystem, as well as high market volatility. Although the cryptocurrency market has been booming since last year, Indians own less than 1% of the world’s bitcoin, creating a strategic disadvantage for the Indian economy. The Indian government plans to appoint a new panel to study the possibility of regulating digital currencies in the country, as well as focus on blockchain technology and propose it for technological improvements.

The ability of blockchain technology to provide secure and unchanging infrastructure has been understood by various industries to embed transparency in transactions. For a country with more than 15 million cryptocurrency users, the new board recommendation could be of great value in determining the future of cryptocurrency in India. However, stakeholders believe that technical and economic power will make India a key player in the crypto and blockchain market. Gradually, cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly accepted, which could lead to greater adoption of digital currency.

According to another TechSci Research report on “Indian cryptocurrency market By offer (hardware and software), by process (mining and transactions), by type (Bitcoin, Etgereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Dashcoin, Litecoin, others), by end user (banking, real estate, stock exchange and virtual currency), By regions, forecasts and opportunities, 2026 “, the Indian cryptocurrency is projected to grow with significant CAGR due to the growing demand for transparency and reduced transaction costs. In addition, increasing digital currency adoption and growing blockchain technology are boosting the Indian cryptocurrency market.

Private financial services

Private financing is an easy and safe way to raise funds for your needs. With that in mind, we have developed a system in which our experts are always available to help you make decisions about financial aspects. Not only this, they bring you the best deal. We make life easier by approving loans to meet your current requirements and obligations. If you run a business or plan to start any kind of startup, our website will be the most valuable asset in your business.

Establishment of a company in Estonia

If your start-up is in Estonia, you will enjoy it. This country is an offshore zone due to the reduction of income tax to zero. The country has been part of the European Union since 2004. This jurisdiction is not blacklisted. ”Thus, by starting in Estonia, an entrepreneur bears a minimum tax burden, he can avoid negotiations when selling his goods in the Member States.

Cryptocurrency in Estonia

Cryptocurrency can be seen as the digital counterpart of the fiat currency. You can use it for exchange. In recent years, cryptocurrency has conquered the world by storm. Bitcoin is the most promising cryptocurrency. It is mainly used for intercontinental money transfer because it is cheaper than using banks or services like PayPal. It is safe and decentralized. It uses blockchain technology and can never be hacked.

Estonia is a favorite place for most businessmen for their ICO cryptocurrency. ICO stands for Initial Coin Offering. In recent years, Estonia has experienced a rapid increase in the number of ICOs on its soil. If we talk since 2007, Estonia alone has registered more than 700 cryptocurrencies.

The cryptocurrency market is on the rise, and Estonia is its center.

Company registration in Estonia

This is a very simple and fast process. All you need to do is follow these simple steps. Pay an advance at the rate of 50%. Then, select an existing company or register for a new one. After that, providing information about the owner and authorized representatives. Then deliver the existing document by DHL mail to any destination. The offshore zone in Estonia does not require work permits, but this does not apply to the category D visa procedure.

Establishment of a company in Latvia

Latvia is very suitable for doing business. Some businessmen are exempt from paying taxes. Registering a company is not that expensive. This country prefers international partnership deals.

Company registration in Latvia

In Latvia, you only need one day to register a company. Circumstances when you may need more than one day are as follows:

• Transfer of registration documents
• Final settlement
• Data registration
• Communication with banks required
• Submission of the necessary documentation to the competent institutions
• Filling out company forms
• Communication of received feedback.

What is the Liberty Reserve?

Liberty Reserve is an online e-currency. If you’ve ever used PayPal before, Liberty Reserve is pretty much the same thing with several features that make it better. For example, fees are much lower than on PayPal, and Liberty Reserve has a non-refundable payment policy which means that when you get money, the money is yours and people can’t just open a small dispute to get it back from you.

Liberty Reserve in Forex Trading

I’ve never heard that PayPal is okay with Forex trading. Most Forex brokers will require either a direct bank deposit or credit card payment, which means it will take a few hours for your payment to actually be made before you can start trading. And even then, complications can occur later.

And if that’s not bad enough, what about the fact that most over-the-counter brokers require a minimum $ 500 minimum deposit to start trading? Fortunately, an increasing number of brokers are reducing this minimum initial deposit amount, so now even beginners can trade on Forex rather than large companies and enterprises.

As you can see, using Liberty Reserve is much faster than other similar services, bank transfers or inconvenient credit card processing systems. Also, most Forex brokers who accept Liberty Reserve deposits do not have such insanely high minimum deposit requirements which allows for the first time beginners and ordinary people like you and me to jump into the Forex market and start trading.

Marketiva as a Forex broker who accepts Liberty Reserve

In my ten years of experience trading Forex, I have worked with many different brokers. While I can’t say anything bad about them, they just didn’t suit my business needs because of their payment systems that took too long to receive my money.

About 3 years ago I discovered Marketiva and everything changed. I don’t even use other brokers anymore because Marketiva does a good job like any other broker with a few key features that made it move this broker to the top of my list.

Why is it good?

First of all, Marketiva offers an opportunity to regular people like you and me to jump into the Forex market. Even just a few years ago the Forex market was something that was unattainable for most. Only people with a lot of money could start trading.

Marketiva changed all that with its incredibly low deposit requirement of just $ 1 to start trading. Instead, they use volume-based trading, so even with $ 1 you have a lot of flexibility in your stores. While, of course, earnings from a $ 1 account aren’t great, it’s a great way for newcomers to the market to test their skills in this area. Of course, there is also a change in the use of virtual funds, so you do not have to risk anything to improve your trading skills to the point where you are satisfied with the results.

Conclusion

Marketiva is an excellent broker for both beginners and professionals in this field. With their quantity-based trading accounts, you will still have great flexibility in your stores with relatively little investment. They also accept the Liberty Reserve which makes it incredibly easy to quickly receive your earnings online.

As a popular form of currency, bitcoins are gaining worldwide recognition today, and as a result, many people have shown interest in buying them. Although many financial leaders suggest people not to indulge in this form of cryptocurrency, due to its fluctuating value, it is still being accepted at high speed. To buy bitcoin, you can log in to your wallet system for free by filling out all the information online or downloading the mobile app and start investing in it. When people have it, a simple bank payment method could be used to replace them. However, since security is a major factor, it is essential that these wallets remain secure and for this reason you should be able to choose a bitcoin service such as coin base wallets that are of a high standard and easy to use.

While an online wallet is a convenient way to buy bitcoin, there are several other options such as choosing a bitcoin trader. It is also important to choose the right one because there are traitors and one should be careful about them. While there are a number of established exchanges that offer wallet services to users while searching for a bitcoin wallet system, an individual should opt for one that has the option of multiple signatures. Users can also use bitcoin exchange search on appropriate computers or mobile phones and by entering some general information such as entering their own country name a person can find out a wide range of available exchanges around the world as well as check their current status. Users can also use the liquid money they have because there are various options on the market such as local bitcoin services that help users exchange them for cash. Such areas allow users to visit the nearest bank branch to deposit cash and get bitcoins after a while.

Many people believe that bitcoins represent a new era of digital currency and are often confused with them. However, since the bitcoin chain system is completely computerized, they are quite simple and easy to buy and use, they are especially hellishly cheap when it comes to international transactions. Because exchanges require different payment processes such as credit or debit cards, customers can also buy online by opening an account based on the appropriate geographical location. Once exchanges receive payments after verification, they would save bitcoins on behalf of individuals and hand them over to the appropriate wallets. They charge some fees for that. The whole process can take a long time. Many people learning how to buy bitcoin can also use the PayPal method for financial interactions.

In recent years, people have talked a lot about cryptocurrency. At first, this job sounded scary, but people began to cultivate trust. You may have heard of Ether and Bitcoin. Both are cryptocurrencies and use Blockchain technology for maximum security. Today, these currencies are available in several types. Let’s find out more about it.

How can cryptocurrency help you?

As far as fraud is concerned, this type of currency cannot be counterfeited because it is in digital form and cannot be canceled or counterfeited unlike credit cards.

Settlement immediately

The purchase of real estate involves third parties, such as lawyers and notaries. So there may be delays and additional costs. Bitcoin contracts, on the other hand, are designed and implemented to include or exclude third parties. Transactions are fast and settlements can be made instantly.

Lower fees

There is usually no transaction fee if you want to exchange Bitcoin or any other currency. To check the transaction, there are minors who are paid by the network. Although there is zero transaction fee, most buyers or sellers hire third-party services, such as Coinbase, to create and maintain their wallets. In case you didn’t know, these services work just like Paypal which offers a web exchange system.

Identification of theft

Your merchant gets your full line of credit when you provide him with your credit card. This is true even if the transaction amount is very small. In fact, what is happening is that credit cards operate on the basis of a “pull” system where the online store withdraws the required amount from the account associated with the card. On the other hand, digital currencies have a “push” mechanism where the account holder sends only the required amount without any additional information. So there is no chance of theft.

Open access

According to statistics, about 2.2 billion people use the Internet, but not all have access to conventional exchange. So I can use the new payment method.

Decentralization

As far as decentralization is concerned, an international computer network called Blockchain technology manages the Bitcoin database. In other words, Bitcoin is managed by a network and has no central government. In other words, the network works on a peer-to-peer approach.

Recognition

Since cryptocurrency is not based on exchange rates, transaction costs or interest rates, you can use it internationally without any problems. So you can save a lot of time and money. In other words, Bitcoin and other such currencies are recognized worldwide. You can count on them.

So, if you are looking for a way to invest your extra money, you can consider investing in Bitcoin. You can become a miner or an investor. However, be sure to know what you are doing. Security is not an issue, but other things are important to keep in mind. We hope you find this article helpful.

The best way to learn 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 difficult and dangerous it can be, getting bitcoins is a lot easier and safer than you might think. In a lot of ways, it is probably easier than opening an account at a traditional bank. And, given what has been happening in the banking system, it is probably safer too.

There are a few things to learn: getting and using a software wallet, learning how to send and receive money, learning how to buy bitcoin from a person or an exchange.

Preparation

Before getting started, you will need to get yourself a wallet. You can do this easily enough by registering with one of the exchanges which will host wallet for you. And, although I think you are going to want to have one or more exchange wallets eventually, you should start with one on your own computer both to get a better feel for bitcoin and because the exchanges are still experimental themselves. When we get to that stage of the discussion, I will be 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 way to store your bitcoins. Specifically, it is software that has been designed to store bitcoin. It can be run on your desktop computer, laptop, mobile device (except, as yet, Apple) and can also be made to store bitcoins on things like thumb drives. If you are concerned about being hacked, then that is a good option. Even the Winklevoss* twins, who have millions invested in bitcoin, put their investment on hard drives which they then put into a safety deposit box.

*The Winklevoss twins are the ones who originally had the idea for a social networking site that became Facebook. They hired Mark Zuckerberg who took their idea as his 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 part of the bitcoin network. They will receive, store, and send your bitcoins. You can create one or more addresses with a click (an address is a number that looks like this: 1LyFcQatbg4BvT9gGTz6VdqqHKpPn5QBuk). You will see a field where you can copy and paste a number like this from a person you want to send money to and off it will go directly into that person’s wallet. You can even create a QR code which will let someone take a picture with an app on their phone and send you some bitcoin. It is perfectly safe to give 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 and as part of the bitcoin system. The reason bitcoin works is that every transaction is broadcast and recorded as a number across the entire system (meaning that every transaction is confirmed and made irreversible by the network itself). Any computer with the right software can be part of that system, checking and supporting the network. This wallet serves as your personal wallet and also as a support for that system. Therefore, be aware that it will take up 8-9 gigabytes of your computer’s memory. After you install the wallet, it will take as much as a day for the wallet to sync with the network. This is normal, does not harm your computer, and makes the system as a whole more secure, so it’s a good idea.

Bitcoin Qt

• The original wallet.
• This is a 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 is a very easy to use option.
• Search for Bitcoin Qt wallet download to find their site.

Armory

• Runs on top of Bitcoi Qt, so it has all of the same syncing requirements.
• Armory allows you to back up, encrypt, and the ability to store your bitcoins off line.
• Search for Bitcoin Armory Wallet to find 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 do not make you sync the entire history of bitcocin:

Multibit

• A lightweight wallet that syncs quickly. This is very good for new users.
• Search for Bitcoin Multibit Wallet to find their site.

Electum

• In addition to being quick and light, this wallet allows 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. Things to look for:

o There will be a page that shows you how many bitcoins are currently in your wallet. Keep in mind that bitcoins can be broken up into smaller pieces, so you may see a decimal with a lot of zeros after it. (Interesting note, 0.00000001 is one Satoshi, named after the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin).

o There will be an area showing what your recent transactions are.

o There will be an area where you can create an address and a QR code (like the one I have above). You don’t need the QR code if you don’t want it, but if you run a business and you want to accept bitcoin, then all you’ll need to do to accept payment is to show someone the QR code, let them take a picture of it, and they will be able to send you some money. You will also be able to create as many addresses as you like, so if you want to track where the money is coming from, you could have a separately labeled address from each one of your payees.

o There will be an area with a box for you to paste a code when you want to send money to someone or to yourself on an exchange or different wallet.

There will be other options and features, but to start out with, these are the items that you should know about.

Getting Your First Bitcoins

Now that you have a wallet, you will, of course, want to test them out.

The very first place to go is http://faucet.bitcoin.st/.

This is a website that gives out small amounts of bitcoin for the purpose of getting people used to using them. The original version of this was run by the lead developer of bitcoin, Gavin Andreson. That site has since closed and this site operates by sending out one or two advertisements a month. You agree to receive those messages by requesting the bitcoins. Copy and paste your new bitcoin address and enter a phone number to which you can receive an SMS. They send out an SMS to be sure that people are not continuously coming back for more since it costs nothing to create a bitcoin address. They will also send out once or twice a month advertisement to support their operation. The amount they send it trivial: 0.0015 BTC (or 1.5 mBTC). However, they process almost immediately and you can check to see that your address and wallet are working. It is also quite a feeling to get that portion of a bitcoin. (Non-disclaimer: I have no connection with this site and receive nothing if you use them. I simply think they are a good way to get your feet wet).

Congratulations! You have just entered the bitcoin economy.

To get your feet a little wetter, you can go panning for gold. There are a number of services and websites out there that will pay you in bitcoin to do things like go to certain websites, fill out online surveys, or watch sponsored videos. These are harmless, and you can earn a few extra bitcoins this way, but it is important to remember that these are businesses that get paid when people click on the links on their sites. They are essentially kicking back a portion of what they get paid to you. There is nothing illegal, or even immoral about this (you might like what you see and make a purchase!), but they are frequently flashy and may not be completely straightforward. All the ones that I have tried (particularly bitvisitor.com) have paid out as advertised. It is interesting to experiment with these, but even with the likely rise in the value of bitcoin, you won’t become a millionaire doing this. So, unless you are an advertisement junkie, I would recommend you move on. If you would like to try, simply Google “free bitcoins” or something along those lines and you will find numerous sites.

Buying Bitcoin Hand-to-Hand

Finally, this is going to be the real test of bitcoin. Can people easily trade them back and forth? If this can’t happen, then there can’t really be a bitcoin economy because retailers won’t be able to use it. If retailers can’t use it, what earthly good is it? Fortunately, this is not really a problem. iPhone is a bit of a hold out, but many smartphones have apps (mobile wallets) that will read QR codes and allow you to send bitcoin to whomever you want. You can also display a QR code of your address, or even carry a card in your wallet with your QR code to let people send bitcoin to you. Depending on what kind of wallet you have, you can then check to see if the bitcoins have been received.

A couple of things to note:

• When you set up your wallet, if you click around a bit, you will see an option to pay a fee to speed transactions. This money becomes available to a bitcoin miner as he/she/they process bitcoin information. The miners doing the work of creating blocks of information keeps the system up to date and secure. The fee is an incentive to the miner to be sure to include your information in the next information block and therefore “verify” it. In the short term, miners are making most of their money by mining new coins (check the section on What Are Bitcoins for more information about this). In the long term, as it gets harder to find new coins, and as the economy increases, the fees will be an incentive for miners to keep creating more blocks and keep the economy going. Your wallet should be set to pay 0 fees as a default, but if you want, you can add a fee to prioritize your transactions. You are under no obligation to pay a fee, and many organizations that process many small transactions (like the ones that pan for gold described above) produce enough fees to keep the miners happy.
• In clicking around your wallet, on the transactions page or linked to specific transactions, you will see a note about confirmations. When you make a transaction, that information is sent out into the network and the network will send back a confirmation that there is no double entry for that bitcoin. It is smart to wait until you get several confirmations before walking away from someone who has paid you. It is actually not very easy to scam someone hand-to-hand like this, and it is not very cost-effective for the criminal, but it can be done.

Where can you buy bitcoin like this?

• You may have a bitcoin Meetup in your area.
• You can check out localbitcoins.com to find people near you who are interested in buying or selling.
• Some are trying to start up local street exchanges across the world. These are called Buttonwoods after the first street exchange established on Wall Street in 1792 under a buttonwood tree. See if there is one, or start one, in your area.
• See if you have any friends who would like to try bitcoins out. Actually, the more people who start using bitcoin, the larger and more successful it will be come. So please tell two friends!

Some people ask if it is possible to buy physical bitcoins. The answer to this is both a yes and a no. Bitcoin, by its very nature, is a digital currency and has no physical form. However, there are a couple of ways that you can practically hold a bitcoin in your hands:

• Cascascius Coins: These are the brainchild of Mike Caldwell. He mints physical coins and then embeds the private keys for the bitcoins inside them. You can get the private key by peeling a hologram from the coin which will then clearly show that the coin has been tampered with. Mike has gone out of his way to ensure that he can be trusted. These are a good investment strategy as in the years to come it may be that these coins are huge collector’s items.
• Paper Wallets: A paper wallet just means that rather than keeping the information for your bitcoin stored in a digital wallet, you print the key information off along with a private key and keep it safe in a safe, in a drawer, or in your mattress (if you like). This is highly recommended and cost effective system for keeping your bitcoin safe. Keep in mind, though, that someone could steal them or if your house burns, they will go with the house and there will be no way to get them back. Really, no different than cash. Also, as with Casascius Coins, they will not really be good for spending until you put them back into the computer.

* There is software to make printing your paper wallets easier. bitcoinpaperwallet.com is one of the best and includes a good tutorial about how to use them.

* The bitcoins are not actually in the wallet, they are still on the web. In fact, the outside of the wallet will have a QR code that will allow you ship coins to the wallet any time you like.

* The sealed part of the wallet will have the private key without which you cannot access the coins. Therefore, only put as many coins on the wallet as you want to be inaccessible. You will not be able to whip this thing out and take out a few coins to buy a cup of coffee. Rather, think of it as a piggy bank. To get the money, you have to smash it. It is possible to take out smaller amounts, but at this point the security of the wallet is compromised and it would be easier for someone to steal the coins. Better to have them all in or out.

* People who use paper wallets are usually security conscious, and there are a number of ways for the nefarious in the world to hack your computer. Bitcoinpaperwallet.com gives a lot of good advice about how to print your wallets securely.

Some people have also asked about buying bitcoins on eBay. Yes, it is possible, but they will be far overpriced. So, selling on eBay might seem to be a better option given the extreme markup over market value you might see. But, as with anything that is too good to be true, this is too good to be true. As I will explain in the next section, selling bitcoin this way is just way too risky.

How Not to Buy Bitcoin

In the next section, I am going to explain a couple of key points about buying from Bitcoin Exchanges. Before I do, let me give you a warning.

A short history lesson: When people first started setting up actual business based on bitcoin, they used all of the tools available to any merchant. They sold by credit card and PayPal. The problem with this business model was quickly spotted: bitcoin transactions are not reversible by anyone except the recipient of the money. Credit cards and PayPal have strong buyer protection policies that make it relatively easy for people to request a chargeback. So, nefarious individuals realized this and began making purchases of bitcoin and then sooner or later requesting a chargeback. And, since bitcoin is a non-physical product, sent by new and poorly understood technological means, the sellers were not able to contest this. Because of this, sellers stopped accepting credit cards and PayPal.

This was a big problem for the currency: How to move money between buyers and seller? Some business emerged that would credit you with bitcoin if you wired them money. Very often these businesses would give addresses in Albania, Poland, or Russia. The fact is that many of these did work and there are a lot of stories on the forums of people who bought bitcoins this way. But it took a lot of time and in the meantime the buyer just had to bite his or her fingernails wondering if they would get their bitcoins or kiss their investment goodbye.

I expect that as bitcoin becomes more acceptable and valuable, we are going to see a version of the Nigerian Prince scam. So the warning is this: we now have exchanges and other businesses that allow for moving money easily onto and off of exchanges. Never wire money for bitcoin. It was a short-lived, and well-forgotten, moment in the history of bitcoin.

Next, I will be talking about how to buy from a bitcoin exchange and give a review of the some of the best known exchanges.