The following tutorial is a basic introduction to
Exchanges: Binance.us / Bitstamp / Bittrex / Blockchain / Coinbase / Coinbase Status / Coinbase Help – 2FA (01) (02) / Exolix / GateHub / Gate.io / Gemini / Kraken / Kraken Pro / Poloniex / Shapeshift / Talisman / Uphold/
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Crypto Prices: All Time High Index / Colin Talks Crypto / CoinFairValue / Fear & Greed Index / Coin360 / Cryptorank / Coingecko.com / Banter Bubbles / Crypto Bubbles / Coinmarketcap.com/
Bitcoin Related News: Bitcoin Reddit / Bitcoin Webpage / Bitnodes / Clark Moody Bitcoin / Bitcoin Live Statistics / Bitcoin Halving Countdown / Bitcoin Mempool / Bitcoin Explorer/
Cardano Related News: Cardano Reddit / Cardano Website / Staking W/Ledger / AdaLite / Cardano Pool Tool / Pool Peek / Staking Pools: (MANA) / Epoch Calendar / Epoch Countdown / Cardanoscan
Dash Related News: Dash Reddit / Dash Website / Dash Masternode Information / Dash Explorers: (01) (02) (03)
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Polygon (Matic) Related News: Polygon Reddit / Polygon Website
Tezos Related News: Tezos Reddit / Tezos Website / Tezos Staking Validators: (Baking Bad) (TzKT) / Bake Nug Validator / Melange Validator (OLD) / Tezos Explorer
Best Cryptocurrency Advice Articles: One More Pump
Buy Bullion With Bitcoin: AJPM.com / Jmbullion.com / Kitco.com / SD Bullion.com / Veldtgold.com
Cryptocurrency Tax Information: Ultimate Tax Guide (Updated Yearly) / Ultimate USA Crypto Tax Guide / IRS – Staking Rewards / IRS FAQ
Decentralized Finance Sites: DefiSafety / Defi Pulse/
Metamask Wallet: Metamask.io / Metamask Support
Ledger Hardware Wallet: Ledger Reddit / Ledgerwallet.com / Ledger Support / Ledger Status / Staking With Ledger / Passphrase / Crypto With Change Addresses / Analyze A BTC Account XPUB / Clear Cache / ETH Temporary Display Issue / Address Poisoning: (01) (02) / Myetherwallet.com / MyCrypto/
There are several other virtual currencies that are similar to Bitcoin that I also tinker around with.
The info below is the mostly the same for all these currencies but the wallets are different and need to be downloaded from the site given above. The first thing that you need to do is to choose your wallet.
Information about choosing your wallet…ALONG WITH A TON OF BITCOIN INFORMATION AT THE TOP TABS can be found
here: http://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet.
For starters, I recommend Bitcoin-QT which offers the highest levels of security, privacy, and stability. There are many other wallets that have popped up over the years, but I find that Bitcoin-QT works well for most people. It has fewer features and does take up space and memory on your computer. Link to download the Bitcoin-QT wallet can be found here: http://bitcoin.org/en/download.
Once you have downloaded and installed the wallet, the first thing you are going to need to do is to run the program so it can download all the transactions on the network. This does take some time, so let the computer run and go check out this intro video on Bitcoins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo.
There is no need to backup your wallet if you do not have any Bitcoins. However, once you receive or buy Bitcoins, you are going to want to Secure AND Backup your wallet. Encrypting your wallet is very simple. First go to Encrypt Wallet in the “settings” tab of the Bitcon-QT wallet. It will ask you to enter and then confirm a paraphrase – DO NOT FORGET THIS PARAPHRASE BECAUSE IT IS NOT RECOVERABLE…IF YOU LOOSE IT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS YOUR WALLET, BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEND COINS MAKING YOUR WALLET USELESS!
Now that your wallet is encrypted, you will need to back up your wallet. Go to the “file” tab of the Bitcoin-QT wallet and select “Backup Wallet”. A window will open to select a file name and a location to save you backup. I RECOMMEND BACKING UP TO A JUMP DRIVE AND STORING IT IN A SAFE LOCATION. Also, make sure to not to change the “Save as type” as it should state, “Wallet Date (*.dat)
There are several ways to get Bitcoins. The first way would be to give a friend money who is already set up to buy Bitcoins and have them send you the Bitcoins once they purchase them. The other way to get Bitcoins is to get set up with one of the various Bitcoin exchanges. The ones listed at the top left of this page are a few exchanges that I recommend. Each of them have their own exchange rates, fees, etc.
Your now set up to send and deliver Bitcoins. The transaction process is pretty simple.
If you are receiving Bitcoins, go to the “Receive” tab and then click “New Address”. Specify a label or title of the transaction and then a long address will be created. Copy that address into the email of the recipient that is going to be sending you the Bitcoins. Wait for them to send you the Bitcoins.
If you are sending Bitcoins, copy the recipients Bitcoin address from the email that was created for this transaction. Go to the “Send” tab and then click the clipboard image to the right of the “Pay To:” area. The address should be copied and the only thing needed to be done is to enter in the amount of Bitcoin to be sent.
A general rule is that Bitcoin addresses should only be used once.
Restore your Bitcoin wallet
Bitcoin does not offer a simple way to restore a Bitcoin wallet. This is so that inexperienced users do not accidentally erase their true wallet. However, there is still tricks that can be used to restore a Bitcoin wallet!
Your current wallet: Before you restore a previous wallet, be sure to transfer money from your current wallet if it contains Bitcoins. This is because you should remember that you are about to replace it.
Replace the file wallet.dat: To restore a previous version of your wallet, you need to find the wallet.dat file in your Bitcoin software folder and replace this file with your backup copy, that you will rename wallet.dat.