One of the main advantages that was incorporated into the Bitcoin cryptocurrency when it was created is decentralization, which leads to the possibility of transferring money directly from the user to the user. There are no banks or payment systems standing between them, which means there are no commissions.
Additional benefits of cryptocurrency include:
- Confidentiality and anonymity (albeit limited). You do not notify anyone that you are making a transaction, only the recipient knows about it.
- Possibility to transfer any amount. No intermediaries - no limits. You can transfer either 0.000000001 Bitcoin, which is less than a ruble, or 100 thousand Bitcoins in one payment.
- No one can block a payment. Today, banks are increasingly “freezing” large transactions, requiring their confirmation or even justification for the transfer. In the case of cryptocurrencies, there is no such danger.
However, the payment will not go anywhere or to the wrong place if the wallet address, which is a long string of characters, is incorrectly specified. There are several possible Bitcoin address formats. It might look something like this:
bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq
Such an address is transferred to another, of course, by copying or by scanning a QR code. Therefore, the chance of making a mistake is almost zero.
For example, there is an exchanger “Matbi”, which provides anyone with wallets for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. To receive a wallet, you only need to go through a quick registration procedure using your phone number or email.
After that, to find out your wallet address, you should visit the “Accept cryptocurrency” section.
It is easy to send Bitcoins to any recipient from the Matbi wallet. This is done in the “Send cryptocurrency” section. You will need to enter the recipient's address and select the transaction priority. The higher it is, the faster the coins will arrive. But the higher the commission will be. Exchange of cryptocurrency between “Matbi” profiles is not subject to commission.
Before you can send cryptocurrency, you must first receive it. For example, simply by purchasing Bitcoins on “Matbi” for rubles, dollars or euros through a VISA\Mastercard. Or through the Qiwi payment system. Or through Yandex. Money". There are many ways to top up your balance and all of them are commission-free.
After replenishing your account and carrying out the exchange operation, in the shortest possible time the digital coins will appear in your “Matbi” wallet. The exchanger works around the clock and in automatic mode.
If the user has any questions, the Matbi team has prepared detailed video instructions.
What is Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the world's first cryptocurrency. And cryptocurrency is a program and at the same time a digital monetary instrument that has several distinctive features.
- Public accessibility and decentralization. The Bitcoin network is based on a distributed database (blockchain), through which thousands of user software wallets are connected.
- Lack of control. Bitcoin is not controlled by any specific company or person, nor by any government entity. No one can freeze a specific account, cancel a payment, etc. Even commissions charged for payments do not go to the control center, but are distributed fairly among the miners who support the network.
- Anonymity. The cryptocurrency network uses dynamic addresses to transfer funds from user to user. Even after seeing this address, it is impossible to establish who it belongs to - using digital money does not require providing information about yourself, passport data, etc.
- Transparency. All transactions that occur on the blockchain are publicly visible. This does not interfere with anonymity, since only addresses are visible, and not personal data of users.
- High level of protection. The more the blockchain grows as new transactions are added to it, the more difficult it will be to hack. The power of the Bitcoin network today is 8-10 times greater than the power of all supercomputers combined. To even somehow control it, an attacker would need hundreds of millions of dollars and gigantic technical resources.
An important element of the cryptocurrency network is virtual coins, which do not exist in real life, but nevertheless have value. You can make money (or go broke) with Bitcoins, you can buy goods and services with them, or you can simply store them as an investment.
Decentralization
The Bitcoin network is not controlled by any central authority. Each network participant who mines and processes transactions is part of an overall system in which all devices work as a single unit.
This means that, theoretically, no central government can, through the implementation of its monetary policy, cause a crisis in the field of cryptocurrencies or put pressure on its exchange rate. Even if part of the network goes down for some reason, it continues to operate at the expense of other nodes in other countries and regions of the world where cryptocurrency is used.
Where to store Bitcoin
It should be understood that it is not the coins themselves that are “stored”, because they do not exist. All information about incoming and outgoing transactions is stored, on the basis of which the current balance is formed. Special keys and addresses are used to access and manage funds. All this is controlled by special programs, and in some cases, devices - Bitcoin wallets.
Wallets
Cryptocurrency wallets are divided into several types:
- Desktop. They are programs for a computer or laptop that need to be downloaded and installed. The keys are also stored on the user's device. Such wallets include: Bitcoin Core, Electrum, Exodus, Jaxx, Lumi Wallet, Copay, etc. For example, this is what the Jaxx wallet interface looks like:
- Web versions. Internet sites that store keys on their servers. Their advantage is that you can log in from any device if you know the authorization data. Examples: Blockchain Wallet, Matbea, Luno, Coinfy, Coinfy, ArcBit, etc.
- Mobile. Usually highly stripped-down applications that perform the most basic functions. Examples: Coinomi, JAXX, Electrum, Bither, Bitpay, Edge, etc.
- Hardware. Devices the size of a flash drive that store information about access keys. You can perform operations only by connecting the device to a computer; the rest of the time it does not connect to the Internet (as a result, it is invulnerable to most attacks). Well-known manufacturers: Ledger and Trezor.
- Paper. A sheet of paper with keys printed on it. Due to the fact that it never connects to the Internet, it has the highest level of security, but is inconvenient to use. Suitable for storing long-term investments. There are services for generating private keys, for example, bitaddress.org.
The choice of a specific option depends on the goals pursued, as well as on the amounts that are planned to be stored in the wallet.
What is a private key
A private (private) key is a complex formula based on cryptographic methods and used to gain user access to their savings. Private keys are used in almost all cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, as reliable protection against losses or unwanted third party access to money.
Features of the private key:
- It serves as the basis for drawing up a digital signature, which automatically signs all transactions on the network.
- Encoded in several formats: WIF and WIF-compressed (“base58”), Hex, Base64. They differ in the number of characters, for example, in the Hex format, the private key consists of 64 characters (letters AF, numbers 0-9). The "base58" format is often used: length 52 characters (letters "L" and "K")
- Kept in strict confidence.
- Generated at the time of wallet creation.
- Cannot be mathematically calculated from a digital signature or public address, and is not transferred in transactions.
Example of a private key in different formats:
What is a public key (receiving address)
But another type of key is also actively used on the network - public, which is radically different in its properties:
- Serves as the address for the wallet to which funds are transferred.
- Like a private key, a public key can be displayed in different encoding formats. Most often in the “base58” format and consists of 33-34 characters (letters of the Latin alphabet, except for the letters “i”, “I”, “O”, “o” to avoid confusion when writing). Starts with "1" or "3".
- It is stored openly, can be transferred to third parties and posted on public resources.
- Generated based on a previously created private key.
- Can be found out using mathematical methods if you know the private key.
Example of an address to receive Bitcoin:
History of the emergence of cryptocurrency
An officially recognized legend says that a previously unknown Japanese programmer, Nakamoto Satoshi, came up with the idea of a blockchain system and, on its basis, developed a program for organizing the circulation of some kind of digital money online, which, as it were, cannot be subject to the influence and control of governments.
It was declaratively stated that cryptocurrency should ensure the independence of financial relations between people from the arbitrariness of the unscrupulous establishment.
Which has become very relevant in our time, when everyone who is not too lazy has gotten into the habit of waving sanctions.
However, there are also alternative versions. They say that the cryptocurrency was developed as another project under a false flag in the bowels of the American intelligence services.
In this case, the declarative goal is to take control of the flows of financing of international terrorism and stop terrorist acts.
But as a closed network of cash flows, the intelligence services themselves may well be engaged in organizing international terrorism under the guise of fighting absolute evil.
From a logical point of view, the version involving the CIA looks more convincing. The point is not even in the possibility of developing such a digital product by a lone genius, but in the scale of marketing. For many years, someone has been consistently promoting the idea of digital currencies and popularizing it.
And these advertising tasks are obviously beyond the capabilities of a lonely, unknown programmer. Here you can feel the generous hand of a Master no less than George Soros.
Wise people advise not to bother with the origin of natural phenomena, but rather to try to predict them and use them for your own personal benefit.
How and where to buy Bitcoin
Now that we have understood what Bitcoin is and what basic concepts allow it to work, it’s time to move on to the economic part. Today BTC is the most popular and expensive cryptocurrency, despite the huge number of altcoin followers. Therefore, you may well be interested in the question of where to buy it.
Bitcoin is usually bought for long-term investments. Traders who make money on fluctuations in cryptocurrency rates choose volatile, promising altcoins.
Exchanges
A cryptocurrency exchange is a trading platform that supports the exchange of cryptocurrencies against each other or against traditional money. At its core, it is no different from ordinary exchanges with shares or currencies - it provides detailed information about rates, updated in real time, and supports extensive trading tools.
Popular top crypto exchanges today:
- Binance. The most liquid platform in the world. The trading volume reaches 1 billion US dollars. The most promising cryptocurrencies are presented on the exchange, as there is a strict selection of coins for listing. Available markets: BNB, BTC, ALTS (altcoins), USD (stablecoins). You can top up your account with cryptocurrency, there are no fiat accounts. But, from the beginning of 2022, it has become possible to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin using Visa/Mastercard bank cards. The trading commission starts from 0.1%, and decreases with increasing turnover. In April, its own blockchain network, Binance Chain, was launched. The platform was one of the first to conduct IEO (sale of tokens on the exchange). To use fiat (GPB, EUR), the Binance Jersey platform has been launched.
- EXMO. The exchange has been operating since 2013 and is a place to exchange cryptocurrencies for fiat. Available payment systems and wallets: Advcash, Payeer, Yandex.Money, Qiwi, Perfect Money, Visa/Mastercard. Trading commission 0.2%. Type of orders: market and limit. 142 currency pairs available. The minimum Bitcoin deposit or transfer amount is 0.001 BTC.
- Huobi;
- The Bitcoin exchange Localbitcoins, which is a p2p (person to person) service, is very popular. This means that the participants in transactions are people. The obligations of the exchange are to monitor the fulfillment of the agreed conditions, i.e. act as a guarantor of each transaction. For this purpose, a system has been introduced to deposit funds with the seller before the exchange. After successful payment, the Bitcoin exchange transfers them to the buyer’s account.
- Bitmex. The platform is used for margin trading, i.e. with the provision of leverage. Transactions can be opened to sell or buy an asset. The minimum contract value is $1. The maximum leverage for Bitcoin is 100.
Instructions for working on the stock exchange
Procedure:
- To work on any exchange, you will need to create an account, confirm your registration email and set up security by enabling 2FA authorization for entry and financial transactions.
- Replenishment of balance. Depending on which exchange you choose, you can make a deposit with fiat money or only cryptocurrency.
- Go to the trading terminal and select a currency pair.
- Studying the chart, history, current orders (order book).
- Placing an order to buy or sell Bitcoin.
Exchangers
Cryptocurrency exchange services are also no different from traditional ones. You need to select the direction of exchange (for example, from Yandex.Money to Bitcoin), enter payment details, indicate the exchange amount and confirm the operation.
To select an exchanger with the best rate, the BestChange aggregator service is used. Examples of well-known exchangers:
- Prostocash;
- 60sec;
- Ramon-cash;
- Platov;
- Baksman.
Guide on how to work with exchangers
In any Bitcoin exchanger you will need to perform the following steps:
- Complete registration. Some services work without it, but we recommend creating an account for convenience and participation in the cumulative discount program.
- Select exchange directions. For example, Sberbank on Bitcoin.
- Fill out the exchange application form. Indicate the address for receipt, quantity and details of the wallet from which payment is made.
- Check and confirm the operation
- Make the payment to the exchanger within the specified time frame and click “I paid.”
- The service will transfer Bitcoins to the specified address within the scheduled time frame.
- Wait until the transaction is confirmed by miners on the network. On average, the process takes no more than an hour.
Payment systems
Popular payment systems, seeing the popularity of Bitcoin, are also beginning to provide the opportunity to purchase and store it:
- Advcash allows you to buy Bitcoin directly from the wallet interface. To do this, you need to have a fiat account with the required amount and enter your wallet details. You can buy the following coins: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Zcash, Dash, Ripple, Ethereum, USDT:
- The multifunctional electronic wallet Epayments also provides this opportunity, and in addition to Bitcoin, you can also buy a number of altcoins here. We recommend working through the DSX partner exchange.
- Payeer and Webmoney. Both services allow you to create a separate account for Bitcoins and, if necessary, transfer funds back and forth. A cryptocurrency exchange has been introduced on Payer since 2018.
Bank cards
The replenishment function from a bank card (including Sberbank cards) is available on most major exchanges - EXMO, Binance, CEX and others.
Let's look at an example of replenishing a Bitcoin wallet from a ruble card on the Binance.com exchange:
- In the top menu of the site, click on the “Buy cryptocurrencies” link, or go to the “Deposit” section from the wallet page and select “fiat” (in the latter case, crediting will occur through the AdvCash service).
- If you select the first option, the Buy and Sell Cryptocurrency page will open. We indicate the desired amount and select BTC in the drop-down menu below.
- A section will appear with the choice of payment method (more details about each of them). Let's focus on the first option - Your credit and debit cards. Click the Add a new card button and fill in your bank card information. Then click the “Buy” button on the right side of the page.
- If verification is not completed on the exchange, you will need to go through the KYC procedure. If identity verification has already been completed, a window will appear confirming the operation.
- Then - a page notifying about the successful operation. You can go straight to the trading section or return to your wallet.
A combined option is to create an account and a Bitcoin wallet on the Binance.com exchange, and then buy Bitcoin through the bestchange exchanger. Specify the created exchange wallet as the recipient's address. This way you can immediately trade on the largest platform.
How to receive or transfer Bitcoin from a wallet
In addition to buying or selling coins on third-party services, there is often a need to transfer Bitcoins to another user or receive them to your wallet. Instructions using the Blockchain web wallet as an example:
- Log in to the site.
- Click the “Send money” button.
- Specify the Bitcoin wallet address of the recipient.
- Specify the transfer amount.
- If necessary, set up a commission - the higher it is, the faster the transaction will be completed. You can choose Regular, Priority or Customize Fee. In the latter case, we manually set the commission size, focusing on monitoring services, for example, bitcoinfees.earn.com.
- Click “Send Payment”.
On the Bitcoin network, transfers do not occur instantly, but on a first-come, first-served basis. The operation may take 2 hours or more, or maybe only 15 minutes if the commission is high. Below we will tell you how to check the status of a transaction if it has been stuck for too long.
To receive Bitcoin to your wallet, just click “Get money” and indicate the amount. The system will generate a special link through which the payer can send money. You can also add a comment.
Instructions on how to find out the status of transactions
If your transaction is stuck and you don't know if it will ever be delivered, use one of the public services that provides information about all payments on the network.
For example, Blockchain.com. To check a payment, you need to enter its identifier (hash) in the line. The system will provide detailed information, including showing how many blocks have already been collected for confirmation and how many are left.
Blockchain Explorers
A blockchain explorer is a website or application designed to read information from the cryptocurrency block chain. Such resources appeared relatively recently; previously, it was quite difficult for an inexperienced user to find such information. Popular now:
- blockchain.com
- blockexplorer.com.
- live.blockcypher.com/btc/
And there are such resources for almost every single cryptocurrency. Services provide information such as data on transactions, blocks, and smart contracts. Typically, information is updated in real time.
Benefits of accepting payments in Bitcoin
READ: Cryptocurrency: which countries have already accepted it?
Accepting Bitcoin as a payment method gives you the following benefits:
- Your business receives an alternative, reliable payment method that works 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- You can receive cross-border payments that you can track in real time.
- Your business gains a worldwide customer base
- Your business earns more profit, fewer fees, fewer credit/debit card chargebacks. You are also less susceptible to fraud.
- This gives your business the opportunity to keep some of your profits in BTC as an investment option. This may help you in the long run.
- Last but not least, you and your business gain the freedom to “Be Your Own Bank (BYOB).”
We will continue to update this list of Bitcoin payment systems, so be sure to bookmark our site!
Which Bitcoin Merchant app are you using? Tell us about your experience using Bitcoin payment gateways in the comments. Or maybe we missed some major commercial business gateway that you use? Write to us about it and we will definitely check it and add it to this list.
How to earn Bitcoin without investment
In addition to purchasing, there are a number of ways to earn Bitcoin. Let's start with those who do not require any investment from you (except perhaps time).
Cranes
A Bitcoin faucet is a resource that distributes cryptocurrency for free in exchange for some action or viewing an advertisement. It should be said right away that you can make significant money in this way only if you comply with a number of conditions: use 10-20 Bitcoin faucets at the same time, constantly monitor them, collecting profits, and actively use the benefits of affiliate programs, that is, attract referrals.
The faucet gives out a bonus every 5-60 minutes, and this bonus is equal to 5-20 thousand satoshi, that is, millionths of Bitcoin. Famous BTC faucets:
- FreeBitcoin
- Satoshihero,
- MoonBitcoin,
- BonusBitcoin
- Adbtc TOP and others.
For example, on the FreeBitcoin faucet, click “Roll” and receive Satoshi depending on the generated number. The minimum amount is 37 satoshi or 0.00000037 BTC. Winnings can be increased using additional sections: MultiPly, Betting, Earn BTC, Lottery.
Games
Such services also do not imply serious profits; rather, they are a way to relax and have fun, while at the same time receiving a small income. It is important to choose a game based on real reviews from users to determine the ones that actually pay.
Examples of games for 2022:
- Dice
- Chopcoin
- Coinbrawl
In some, the gameplay is quite monotonous, which makes them similar to faucets, only with a more pleasant interface. And some are actually fun to play. Try different options and find the best one for you.
Bitcoin games on Truecryptogames (Dice, Cockroach racing):
A selection of Bitcoin games (Bitcoin Dice, 4Clover Lottery, Alien Slots) on the SatoshiHero website:
Games on the Xether project:
Earnings with investments
If you decide to start working with cryptocurrencies at a serious level, then you need to know that you can’t do it without investments. They are often so impressive that they take several months to pay for themselves.
Mining
To keep the Bitcoin network working and users to continue sending and receiving transactions, mining was invented. It is the miners who, using their equipment, form blocks from transactions, confirming their authenticity. There is a reward for this procedure.
To earn Bitcoins by mining, you will need:
- Bitcoin wallet on any convenient platform.
- Equipment, which is described below.
- Software.
Today Bitcoin has such a high mining difficulty that to mine it you need to purchase at least one, and preferably more, ASIC. This is a special device with very high power, designed to perform only one operation, but doing this operation as efficiently as possible. ASICs are expensive equipment, and investments do not pay off immediately. In addition, if the Bitcoin exchange rate collapses, then the device will not even be able to be sold; no one will need it.
Instead of buying expensive equipment, you can use cloud mining services. On such services you will only need to pay for a contract for the required amount of power. Cryptocurrency payments are usually made within 24 hours. Popular cloud services are: IQ Mining (recommended), HashFlare, Genesis Mining.
Exchange trading
In this option, you don’t have to buy anything material – but you need to invest in cryptocurrency on one of the exchanges. And then start trading, buying and selling coins at opportune moments and making money on the difference in rates.
Experienced traders say that there is no point in coming to the exchange with less than $1000. The use of platforms with margin collateral will help to significantly reduce this amount. However, it is still always a risk. It is very easy for a beginner to go broke, even if he studies the rules and nuances of cryptocurrency trading for a long time and persistently.
WebMoney
The next way to top up your Bitcoin wallet is through WebMoney. The platform has a service that allows you to buy Bitcoin and store it in the program. We are talking about the WMX wallet, which has a rate of 0.001 Bitcoin.
To perform the operation, do the following:
- Top up your WebMoney WMX wallet using any of the available methods. For example, using internal exchange. The commission in this case is 0.8%.
- Go to wmx.wmtransfer.com/Home/Withdraw.
- Enter the transaction amount and BTC address.
- Click on “Submit”.
- Log in to the WebMoney Keeper application and pay the invoice.
- Wait for the operation to complete.
Screenshot of the WebMoney exchange service
To conduct such a transaction, you must be a registered WebMoney client and have at least a formal certificate.
Advantages:
- Low commissions.
- High transaction speed.
- Possibility of replenishing your account within the system.
- Availability to all WebMoney users with a formal certificate and higher.
Flaws:
- To top up your Bitcoin wallet, you need to be a WebMoney client and top up WMX.
- The operation takes place through an additional service of the system.
