I have been buying and holding bitcoin since 2016 and experienced all the problems in the process of buying cryptocurrencies.
Here is a tutorial to help you in your process of buying some bitcoin
1. Get a Wallet
Your so-called “wallets” will be used to store your crypto-currencies. Each Wallet is unique and has a confidential private key as well as a public key. The public key is used to receive funds and the private key is used to restore your wallet.
There are two main types of wallets:
- Hot wallet: permanently connected to the Internet, your private key is stored on the server of the company providing the service. It does not belong to you totally or not to see at all.
- Cold wallet: disconnected from the Internet except when you are carrying out transactions. your private key is 100% yours and is stored on the device in question.
As soon as you have an amount that you deem important ($ 1000 seems correct to me) I strongly advise you to invest in a Cold-wallet.
One of the leading companies in the Cold-Wallet market is called Ledger and offers some of the best products on the market.
I have personally been using the Ledger nano X for a year, which is an excellent product.
Otherwise you can very well start with a hot-wallet (free). The companies offering the most interesting and reliable are the following:
Disclaimer: Binance is an exchange platform before being a wallet and therefore offers many other services. I have included it here because it offers to buy Bitcoin at the best price available on the market. If you are new to the blockchain ecosystem, I nevertheless advise you to use Coinbase in the first place for the sake of simplicity.
2. Buy Bitcoin
A. Coinbase
Once your Coinbase account has been created, the steps to follow are very, very simple and explained, so I won’t dwell on them.
B. Binance
Once your Binance account is created, go to your account wallet and click on the “deposit” button in the action menu corresponding to the fiat currency you wish to pay with.
Then select the option that suits you as below. The SEPA bank transfer is very advantageous because there are zero fees. Then please enter the desired amount (here 100 euros) then click on the “Continue” button.
You will then be provided with an IBAN to which you must send the amounts indicated above. The platform should receive your money between 12 and 72 hours after the transaction is completed. This will influence depending on your bank, schedule and day of the week.
Once the money has been received by your Binance account, the balance will have changed accordingly. So you are ready to buy your first bitcoins.
Go to the “Markets” tab and select the pair that interests you, probably BTC / EUR if you are French, and click on it.
Normally you should arrive in the next Trade tab.
You must then select the “Market” tab at the top right as below and indicate the amount in bitcoin (btc) you wish to buy.
You can directly buy as much bitcoin as you have the capacity by moving the slider to the far right as in the screenshot.
All you have to do is press “Buy BTC” to buy your bitcoin fractions or bitcoin (s) I wish you!
3. Important things to know
The blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem is full of money and who says money means scams and therefore mistrust. So there are some that as a “veteran” I am meant to teach you.
- NEVER give your private key to anyone: your private key allows you to return your entire crypto wallet and therefore access your funds. Giving your private key is like giving your bank account to someone. Your private key can have several forms: a series of numbers and letters, a set of several words …
“Not your Keys not your Coins”
- Store your private key(s) securely (if you have a cold wallet) in a place that only you and those you trust know. Do not hesitate to redouble your ingenuity to protect her / them.
- Add maximum security to your online accounts whether for wallets or exchange platforms. Always add 2FA two-factor authentication and more if you can.
This tutorial is now complete, thank you for following it and wish you a great day / evening / night.
