Skip to content
Start For Free LOG IN

Pillar: No-Code OSS

A Beginner’s Guide to the Cryptocurrency World

The basics of the Cryptocurrency World. How to buy coins available in the market and understand how to trade between Bitcoins, Etherum and others.

By Daniel Blot

TL;DR

The basics of the Cryptocurrency World. How to buy coins available in the market and understand how to trade between Bitcoins, Etherum and others.

Key takeaways

  • Bitcoin was the first decentralized coin in the Cryptocurrency World created in 2009.
  • Since then, numerous cryptocurrencies have been created for different purposes (like Litecoin, Etherum, Litecoin, IOTA, etc).
  • They’re produced by people running computers all around the world in a process called mining (there are only 21 million Bitcoins that can be mined in total).

Bitcoin was the first decentralized coin in the Cryptocurrency World created in 2009. Since then, numerous cryptocurrencies have been created for different purposes (like Litecoin, Etherum, Litecoin, IOTA, etc). Bitcoins aren’t printed like dollars. They’re produced by people running computers all around the world in a process called mining (there are only 21 million Bitcoins that can be mined in total).

The idea of bitcoin was to produce a currency independent of any central authority, transferable electronically instantly and completely transparent. Bitcoin stores details of every single transaction that ever happened in the network, in what is called the blockchain.

Blockchain technology created the backbone of a new type of internet where everyone is a miner. This system executes a special software to solve math problems used to keep the bitcoin network secure by approving transactions.

Miners are rewarded for maintaining the blockchain by receiving bitcoins. That way they create bitcoins.

How can I get bitcoins?

You have different ways to get bitcoins:

  • You can mine them with specific hardware called ASICs (application-specific integrated circuit)
  • You can get them as payment for products or services you are offering
  • You can buy them

In any case, you first need to obtain a bitcoin wallet to store bitcoins. There are different types of wallets:

  • Desktop Wallets (Bitcoin Core, Electrum, Bitcoin Armory, etc.), Web Wallets (Blockchain wallet, Coinbase, etc.)
  • Mobile Wallets (eidoo, etc.)
  • Hardware Wallets (Trezor, ledger Nano, etc.)
  • Paper Wallets

Once you have a wallet, you may decide to buy some bitcoins. There are several ways to do this:

  1. Use a bitcoin exchange (for example LocalBitcoins, Ripio, etc.) to buy bitcoins online or with cash.
  2. Discover people selling bitcoins (find a friend or someone in your community you can trust)
  3. Find a bitcoin ATM in your country.

What can I do with bitcoins?

Whatever you can do with cash, you can also do with bitcoin:

  • Buying and holding bitcoins for saving. Save it for later because bitcoin is deflationary by design and deflation is for savers.
  • Spend your bitcoins. You can use bitcoin in many stores, both online and offline, to buy goods and services.
  • Trading bitcoin for a profit.
  • Gambling in Online Bitcoin Casinos

How to buy any cryptocurrency other than bitcoins?

Once you have some bitcoins in your wallet, it´s very easy to exchange it for other coins. First, you need to open an account that manages multiple coins like bittrex, polinex or any other exchange.

Then you have to transfer your bitcoins from your wallet to the exchange’s wallet.

And then you can begin trading in your exchange, selling bitcoins for other coins like Litecoin, Etherum, IOTA or any other that you think has the potential to gain value in the future.

Related