This guide will show you how to get your first Bitcoin wallet.
So, let's get started.
The first thing you need to get into the awesome world of bitcoin payments, is a bitcoin wallet. There are generally two types of wallets. Online wallet and desktop wallets.
An online bitcoin wallet is a wallet hosted in the cloud. You access the wallet through a website, from any computer, where you can deposit and withdraw funds from your bitcoin wallet. The advantage is that you do not need to install any software on your computer or download the entire blockchain, which is currently more than 30 gigabyte. You can also access your wallet from any computer in the world. The disadvantage is that you are dependent on a third party service to store your bitcoins, which can be unstable, offline or even shut down.
One of the online wallets that has been around a while and has proven to be stable is blockchain.info. Go to blockchain.info to sign up for a free online bitcoin wallet.
After you verified your email, you can login to your very own online bitcoin wallet. You will then find and overview of your account, transactions and current balance. You will also find your bitcoin wallet address.
This is also known as your public address. This is the equivalent of your bank account information, which you can share with others so they can send you bitcoins. This is also the address you will use to deposit the bitcoins to your wallet, once you have bought them, which we will show you how to do, later in this guide.
If you prefer to keep your bitcoins on your own computer, a desktop wallet is the wallet for you. A desktop wallet downloads and stores the entire blockchain. That means the wallet will have the entire ledger with every bitcoin transaction ever made. The size of the bitcoin blockchain is 30 gigabyte and growing, so keep that in mind, before going with a desktop wallet solution. The blockchain will take some time, maybe days to download, so you will not be able to deposit and withdraw bitcoins from the wallet until the whole blockchain has been downloaded. Also, everytime you start the wallet it needs to download all the latest transactions in the blockchain. You also need to make sure the wallet is backed up. Otherwise you will loose all your coins if your hard drive fails.
To get the desktop wallet for your bitcoins, go to bitcoin.org and download the "Bitcoin Core" wallet.
Once you have installed the software, open the wallet and select the "Receive coins"-tab. This shows the public bitcoin address for your wallet, which you can use to receive bitcoins on your wallet.
Okay, now you have your bitcoin wallet set up and ready to buy your first bitcoins and deposit them to your wallet.
Go to evonax.com and select that you want to exchange from USD (bank transfer) and to Bitcoin in the dropdowns. Enter the amount of USD you want to buy bitcoins for and see exactly how much bitcoins you will receive for your USD.
This video shows how to find out if the amount you want to exchange is too small:
Enter your public bitcoin address as mentioned previously in this guide. If you prefer to receive an email confirmation of your exchange from USD to bitcoins you can enter your email address. Click start exchange.
You will then be sent to the final step of the easy two-step proces. Transfer the amount of USD you want to exchange to bitcoins through bank transfer to the bank account presented to you. Remember to add the transfer message exactly as shown.
The bank transfer can take up to 3-4 business days to reach the bank account. Once it is received, your exchange will be processed and the bitcoins will be transferred to your bitcoin wallet. Due to the awesome world of bitcoin, the bitcoins will be transferred to your wallet instantly and after 3-6 confirmations, depending on your choice of wallet, you will be able to spend your bitcoins to buy goods online.
After you have bought your first bitcoins with USD, you will be able to use the bitcoins for online payments on the websites that accept bitcoin payments. This is a list of some large company already accepting bitcoins as a payment method.
And many more coming every day. Welcome to the awesome world of bitcoin. You now have your first bitcoins. Now go have fun using them!
