Brexit - The Poll

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by goldsax

Mark,
i have looked into buying bitcoins.
lots of info on it.
BUT
for me there is too much info and for me its confusing.
any guidance re. buying,banking it, exchange etc
cheers raj

There are a lot of different ways to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, some cheaper/easier/safer than others. You essentially just need at least 1 Bitcoin wallet to store them in and somewhere to buy them from, which can be from a Bitcoin exchange or just directly from someone you know.

There are new methods/sites continuously being developed, making the process of buying into cryptocurrencies easier every day. I'm not up-to-date on what is currently the best/easiest/safest method, but I can tell you what works for me.

Wallet:
Blockchain.info is a quick an easy way to get started with an (online) wallet. While Blockchain.info seems pretty trustworthy though, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND running your own offline wallet for better control/security, which isn't as difficult to setup as you might think (more about that in a moment). Additionally, you can make an online wallet more secure by making it 'watch-only': https://blog.blockchain.com/2014/11/...nly-addresses/

Buying:
This is the site I've used for a few years now: https://bittylicious.com
Once you've registered and confirmed your identity, you will be given a limit on the amount you can purchase, this will increase over time as you become more 'trusted'. The simplest way I find to pay is the direct bank transfer method. You will be sending payments directly to trading individuals, so your bank account will need to have the facility to add recipients and pay individuals instantly. You also need to be able to add a payment reference (very important), which is used to identify the payment. DO NOT make any mention of bitcoin in the payment reference; some banks will refuse the payment if you do.

Offline wallets:
If you get more into cryptocurrencies and start buying a lot of it, I would seriously consider running your own offline wallet (aka 'cold storage'). While Blockchain.info and the likes are probably safe, there's no guarantee their wallets are 100% secure or that they won't go the way of the infamous Mt.Gox. To set up an offline wallet is really as simple as installing wallet software, but it needs to be on a 'clean', dedicated PC (or Virtual Machine) that can be kept offline (for the majority of the time) and preferably you should consider running it in a Linux OS. MOST IMPORTANTLY though, whichever software you use, be sure to make 'paper backups' (essentially a printout of your private keys, which allow you to recover the wallets, should something happen to the PC/VM). It's important though to ensure the computer used is very secure (hence kept offline, and preferably Linux-based or perhaps a Mac). While it's probably reasonably unlikely, a hacker (or a virus that specifically targets Bitcoin wallets) could relieve you of your funds. The purpose of the paper backup is to regain access to your wallet, it will not get your funds back if they're stolen!

For offline wallet software I use Armory: https://www.bitcoinarmory.com/

There's also Electrum, which was more recently developed. I haven't tried it but I believe it's easier to setup and use than Armory, and lighter on resources: https://electrum.org/

There are tons of guides and videos online that will walk you through the setup process for both Armory and Electrum.