Four Things to Know About Purchasing Bitcoin Safely

With cryptocurrency making as large of a resurfacing as it is, it is important for anyone who wants to dive into it to have a full understanding of how it works. After all, as with anything that has gained rapid popularity, there are going to be people who try to abuse and take advantage of the system, especially by preying on those who may not be too familiar with the way cryptocurrency works. Nobody wants this to happen to themselves, making it all the more important to have a solid understanding of what is being done before doing it. For example, to get started with bitcoin, one might want to learn more about the best ways to buy bitcoin safely. This will open the gateway to being able to make use of the cryptocurrency, making it one of the most important first steps to take. 

1. Always Work with Trusted Platforms

This should generally go without saying, but to stay as safe as possible when working with bitcoin, it is important to always do the research on the platforms that are being used. There are more than a few different websites where one can purchase bitcoin, but may end up losing valuable information in the process because the website was set up to steal information, rather than be a transaction for bitcoin. One of the best ways that one can try to make sure that a platform is safe is to consider looking at reviews. Because there are so many people out there who are making an effort to get into cryptocurrency, there are going to be people out there who are asking the same questions about how safe some platforms may be. With enough time and energy put into the project, one will quickly be able to find a handful of trusted platforms to purchase bitcoin from, without having to give a second thought to the safety of it. 

2. Protect the Digital Wallet Key

Another core concept to the idea of cryptocurrency is that the money is all kept in an online wallet. The currency itself is entirely digital, meaning that there won’t be any place where one can cash it out for coins, although there are specialized bitcoin ATMs. Instead of cold, hard cash, the bitcoins will all be kept inside a digital wallet. This “wallet” will come with two keys to it. They are unique to the wallet that they go to, making it important to protect and remember those keys in whatever way one can.

The two keys will be one private and one public key. The public key can be compared to an account username on social media platforms. It is used to deposit and withdraw money from the digital wallet. The private key, on the other hand, can be the equivalent of the password rather than a username. It is needed to buy, sell, and trade the bitcoin in the wallet. It is absolutely crucial that this digital wallet key is protected either through encryption or with a cold storage method. 

3. Research Bitcoin Exchanges

When one goes to buy bitcoin, it is done through online marketplaces that are known as “exchanges.” In a strange way, these types of marketplaces can compare quite similarly to the platforms that traders use when purchasing stock. The way they work is that once a person connects to the marketplace, that person will be exchanging his or her traditional currency for bitcoin. Some people may believe that the digital wallet and the bitcoin exchange are the same things, but they are quite different. The exchange is, to put it simply, another variant of a foreign exchange market. The wallet, on the other hand, is a place where a person will store his or her bitcoin before transferring it or exchanging it for more money later on. 

With all of that being said, there are a few different exchange platforms that one can work with when getting into the world of working with bitcoin. Just as it will be important to do the research on what platforms to rely on for handling the bitcoin in the first place, it will be just as important to make sure that one is doing the same amount of research on which bitcoin exchange will be the most useful for his or her purposes. With enough research, one can feel confident that he or she is making the right choices and moving toward making a profit from the bitcoin. 

4. Connect the Accounts as Necessary

Last, but most certainly not least, it will be crucial to remember to link up the digital wallet account with one’s own bank account. If linking the wallet to the bank account is not a viable option, one can usually get away with linking a debit or credit card with the wallet as well. This allows for the transfer of bitcoin to money that one can put into the bank and officially make a profit from the bitcoin. This will be one of the most efficient ways to turn the bitcoin profit into cash that can be used far more easily than bitcoin as a currency can outside of online stores.