{"id":38076,"date":"2017-09-19T23:01:25","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T15:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=38076"},"modified":"2023-03-31T20:38:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T12:38:32","slug":"ways-to-own-bitcoins-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/ways-to-own-bitcoins-online\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Own Bitcoins Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bitcoin infrastructure has grown significantly<\/strong>, and owning some Bitcoins today can turn out to be pretty useful tomorrow. Owing to this, a number of retailers offer discounts for purchases made with this digital currency. There are even hybrid financial platforms<\/a> which combine digital and traditional currencies to create essentially global banking accounts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re excited, or even the very least intrigued, by Bitcoin, you\u2019ve probably thought once or twice about dipping your feet into this world<\/strong>. There are a lot of things to be aware of before you take the plunge. Things like how to secure bitcoin<\/a> or ways to track bitcoin exchange rates<\/a> etc.<\/p>\n

This article answers one of the frequently-asked questions by Bitcoin beginners: how to own Bitcoins? <\/em><\/strong>Here are 4 ways.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead Also:<\/strong>\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\tHow to Secure Your Bitcoin Investments<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

1. Buy Bitcoins<\/h2>\n

One of the most common way to own Bitcoins is to buy<\/strong> them from Bitcoin exchanges<\/a>. This is probably the easiest way to own Bitcoins for the average person. It\u2019s worth pointing out that you can buy fractions of Bitcoins if can\u2019t afford the price of one whole bitcoin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"coinbase
Coinbase Exchange<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can purchase $100 worth of bitcoin, or you can also purchase 0.2, 0.005, or other denominations of bitcoin<\/strong> (the smallest denomination is 0.00000001).<\/p>\n

Buying Bitcoins from exchanges is a straightforward process.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create an account<\/strong> on the exchange of your choice, then follow their instructions.<\/li>\n
  2. In most cases, you will be directed to fund transfer methods<\/strong> which will exchange your cash currency into Bitcoins.<\/li>\n
  3. Your newly-bought Bitcoins will be deposited in your account\u2019s bitcoin wallet<\/a><\/strong>. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Some bitcoin exchanges may also ask for copies of personal documents and even utility bills <\/strong>in order to verify your identity \u2013 this is part of KYC\/AML <\/strong>regulations (Know Your Customer\/Anti-Money Laundering).<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s best to choose an exchange that supports your preferred currency<\/strong>. This is to avoid having to convert your money twice over \u2013 remember that each conversion has its own exchange fee, so doing this twice will make you subjected to the fees twice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Therefore, don\u2019t choose a bitcoin exchange provider which only accepts Euro if you are depositing in US Dollars.<\/p>\n

    Alternatives: Bitcoin ATMs and LocalBitcoins<\/h2>\n

    You can also buy Bitcoins at the bitcoin ATMs<\/strong>, which are available at some locations.\u00a0 According to CoinATMRadar<\/a>, there are more than 700 bitcoin ATMs spread across 51 countries<\/strong>. There are plenty of bitcoin ATMs in the United States, United Kingdom, and in European countries.<\/p>\n

    If you don\u2019t want to use online bitcoin exchanges and there aren\u2019t any bitcoin ATMs near you, you could try looking on LocalBitcoins<\/a><\/strong> to see if there are any individual buyers or sellers based in the same city or country. Exercise caution when conducting an in-person transaction with buyers\/sellers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \"bitcoint
    Bitcoin trading at localBitcoins.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    If possible, deal with verified users and insist on meeting them in public places.\u00a0 It\u2019s better to be safe than sorry \u2013 just ask this Florida man who was robbed at knifepoint<\/a> during a bitcoin sale.<\/p>\n

    2. Mining Bitcoins<\/h2>\n

    An alternative to buying Bitcoins directly is to mine Bitcoins yourself<\/strong>. It can be an incredibly expensive endeavour, so you should only consider this path if you are willing to shell out<\/strong>\u00a0 equipment costs and maintenance costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"bitcoin<\/figure>\n

    Furthermore, profits are not guaranteed. Costs and profitability can vary depending on a few factors<\/a>, however the director of UCL\u2019s Centre for Blockchain Technologies estimates that \u2013 as much as $50,000 is expended on electricity per hour by the world\u2019s bitcoin miners<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Mining will also eventually be made redundant<\/strong> by the fact that there will only ever be a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins in existence (or to be accurate, 20,999,999.9769 Bitcoins<\/a>), as dictated by the Bitcoin Network system.<\/p>\n

    According to Blockchain.info<\/a>, the number of Bitcoins currently in circulation is about 16.57 million<\/strong> (as of September 2017). It should also be noted that bitcoin mining difficulty increases with every successfully mined block, therefore remaining Bitcoins are much harder to mine in comparison to the early days.<\/p>\n

    Costs related to bitcoin mining<\/h3>\n

    When mining Bitcoins, extra costs such as electricity<\/strong> have to be taken into account. AntMiner S7, considered one of the best (if not the best<\/em>) bitcoin mining equipment will yield only 0.9153 bitcoin per month at current difficulty. Bitcoin mining equipment also tends to be hot and noisy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Some miners have factory-style bitcoin mining setup<\/strong>, complete with cooling and improved ventilation. This is important, as there are anecdotal sharing from miners who spoke of equipment catching on fire! Should you decide on bitcoin mining, buy your equipment from verified sellers such as Bitmain<\/a><\/strong>, or risk your ordered machines not getting delivered at all.<\/p>\n

    The bitcoin mining hardware marketplace<\/strong> is also rife with scams and undelivered promises; if you\u2019re adamant on buying mining hardware then you will definitely have to research all the available choices thoroughly before making a decision.<\/p>\n

    Cloud mining<\/h3>\n

    Cloud mining sounds great in theory. It\u2019s marketed as another way to mine Bitcoins which doesn\u2019t involve buying<\/strong> or running expensive Bitcoin mining hardware.<\/p>\n

    While legitimate cloud mining does exist, most cloud mining services are Ponzi-style businesses that require you to refer as many people as possible<\/strong>.\u00a0 This means that the income does not come from the mining activity but systematically collected from referrals<\/strong>. It is an unsustainable form of investment.<\/p>\n

    Here are characteristics of cloud mining Ponzi schemes<\/a> \u2013 this guide helps you to identify and avoid them<\/strong>, so you don\u2019t lose thousands of dollars like these guys<\/a>.\u00a0 I suggest avoiding all cloud mining services that appear in this BadBitcoin BadList<\/a>. If in doubt, avoid this altogether.<\/p>\n

    3. Work for Bitcoins<\/h2>\n

    As bitcoin gets more recognition and wider acceptance worldwide<\/strong>, more people have started to work for it. The types of work vary and tend to be developer\/programmer\/tech-focused, however there are also freelancers offering graphic design, writing, and other types of skills<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Some notable websites for bitcoin jobs include Reddit\u2019s Jobs4Bitcoins<\/a> page and Coinality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Bitcoin is particularly useful for remote workers as salaries and payments can be sent cross-border easily and at any time<\/strong>. Combined with bitcoin exchanges to sell Bitcoins for local currencies and\/or bitcoin debit cards, it is relatively easy to spend the Bitcoins in daily life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    4. Free Bitcoins<\/h2>\n

    If you just want to see what the fuss is about, ideally without having to spend a single cent, then Bitcoin faucets might be of interest. Think of faucets as ad-heavy websites which pay small amounts of satoshis <\/strong>(smallest denomination of bitcoin; equivalent to 0.00000001 bitcoin) when you complete simple tasks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Some faucets act like mini-games, some require you to view ads<\/strong>, while others are simple timers.<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t get overly excited with the payout, though. You\u2019ll receive hundreds or thousands of Satoshis, but they are the smallest fraction of a bitcoin. Converted, a few hours or days of work will usually generate you a few cents at most<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    These faucets probably won\u2019t help you buy that cool TV you\u2019ve been eyeing on Overstock, but they\u2019re a good way to get some Bitcoins to play around with<\/strong>, just to see what the fuss is about.<\/p>\n

    Ready to get into the BTC game?<\/h2>\n

    The method you choose will almost entirely depend on how much money you\u2019re willing to spend<\/strong>, and how ready you are to commit to the cryptocurrency. Mining for bitcoin is strictly the reserve of the dedicated, but Bitcoin exchanges and faucets provide a way for almost anyone to get in on the action.<\/p>\n

    While you are at it:<\/h2>\n

    Here are more Bitcoin-related posts<\/strong> that may interest you:<\/p>\n