So, I’ve piqued your interest and you want to know where to get Bitcoins. There are so many ways and places to start filling your Bitcoin wallet. Wallet? Yes. An actual Bitcoin wallet. An online ‘bank’ (if you pardon the term) that keeps your Bitcoins until you decide to spend, trade, or sell them. There are downloadable secure software (core) wallets you can download to your computer. Cold storage (offline and off of your computer) wallets are available and a few companies will give you a paper wallet. If you want to know where to get bitcoins, the first step is getting a wallet.
The anonymity of a wallet is amazing. Unless you decide to tell anyone who you are, it’s yours and yours alone. No government can tax you or charge you for holding them there. Since Bitcoin is a digital currency, a wallet is required to keep them in. I suggest doing your own research as to what will best suit your needs. You may want to do a lot of trading so a higher security wallet might be your preference. If you don’t have much traffic near your computer and know you’ll have it for a long time…and that you won’t spill coffee on it…or any kids drive their cars or play Barbie’s on it…then a simple downloadable core wallet on your home pc or laptop may be suitable. You can send and receive BTC (or any cryptocurrency) to and from any address, so maybe multiple wallets is an option. But first, you need to get one.
Where to get a Wallet
Ok, here we are. Your new wallet. Where do you get it? Bitcoin.org, which is probably one of the most respected Bitcoin authority websites on the internet, will give you the option to choose from mobile wallets, desktop (core) wallets and even virtual wallets. Research them and see which one suits you best! I will tell you the ones I have used most and why. I personally do a little mining for several types of Altcoin on top of Bitcoin. I, therefore, need something other than just a BTC wallet so I do use a few digital wallets because of the reliability, and I also have downloaded several core wallets.
One digital wallet in particular, has been around almost as long as the concept of an online wallet was created and as such, should be respected. They are COINBASE. Now, this company is top notch when it comes to security for a wallet. I've been using them for years and haven't had any complaints. Where people go wrong, is trying to use Coinbase as an exchange when it is not. You can passively buy Bitcoin (they have added Ethereum and Litecoin recently) here but do not use Coinbase as an exchange for trading. Their confirmation time is relatively slow and as such, I use it for nothing more than a wallet. I have to fill you in one more because of their popularity and ease of use. LOCALBITCOINS, which is a very widely used wallet AND a decent place to trade a few coins, should serve any novice or expert with a suitable user interface. Do your own research, but those are my picks!
There is a reason I posted these two particular wallets. A trick, if you will. The most engaging comments below will be taught. If you already know, please do not spoil it for anyone...thanks a million!
