“How to buy Bitcoin” is still a popular Google search query despite the current capricious cryptocurrency climate.
Not only is Bitcoin a well-established cryptocurrency, but it’s the most widely used digital asset in the world, so you don’t have to jump through hoops to buy it .
Before you buy Bitcoin, though, you should know what you’re getting yourself into.
The housing market collapsed, millions lost their jobs, retirement accounts plummeted to painful lows — it was an absolute nightmare.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that uses a blockchain technology, or a peer-to-peer network, that thwarts third-party middlemen from taking over and calling the shots.
If you decided to hop on the Bitcoin network, you’d be called a “miner.” You’d need powerful hardware to solve mathematical algorithms to confirm incoming transactions, and in return, you’d receive Bitcoin rewards for your contributions.
Bitcoin wasn’t taken seriously at first, but as several major tech firms like Tesla, MicroStrategy, Paypal and Square stockpiled the cryptocurrency, faith in Bitcoin strengthened.
Bitcoin’s value climbed to tens of thousands of dollars, which may spook beginner investors with a small budget.
According to Decrypt, a former CIA director admitted that the cryptocurrency is a boon for surveillance.
Every year, new crypto projects pop up to stick their tongues out at Bitcoin and sing, “Anything you can do I can do better! I can do anything better than you!” And honestly, they have a point.
In other words, if the transaction fee you’re offering to miners is too low, you’ll get deprioritized and sent to the back of the line.
As of this writing, it’s already back up to $34,000.
Bitcoin’s downturn all started with an Elon Musk environment-concerned tweet, but at the same time, Bitcoin’s rally to $64,000 was partially propelled by Tesla’s news of accepting Bitcoin as payment.
Coinbase is arguably the most beginner-friendly exchange — it’s like the Robinhood app of crypto platforms. Coinbase is insured to protect its customers from hacks, the UI is as smooth as a baby’s bottom, and it even offers free crypto if you watch short educational videos.
You can choose from five pre-selected amounts on how much Bitcoin you’d like to purchase: $10, $50, $100, $500 and 1,000.
Moving forward, I’d suggest getting a Ledger Nano S to store your newly acquired Bitcoin offline.