r/BitcoinBeginners•6 yr. ago

FAQ for Beginners

Pinned

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is scarce, decentralized, and global digital money that cannot be censored.

Transactions generally cannot be reversed
Less than 21 million Bitcoin will exist
Bitcoin is highly divisible to allow for micro-transactions (up to 13 decimal places in a payment channel)
Bitcoin is an open, collaborative project that no company or government controls belonging to the people
Bitcoin is more than just money, but a secure timestamping ledger, payment rail, and smart contract platform

Quick Advice

Do not respond to strangers messaging you with investment advice or offers and read how to avoid being scammed from the posts below.
Do not invest in Bitcoin until you do basic research, paid off all high interest debt, and have a emergency savings account of a stable fiat currency.
If investing do not expect to get rich quickly. You should expect to wait at least 1-2 years before taking profits. Bitcoin is currently very volatile. In the interim spend and replace Bitcoin because its a useful currency.
Beginners should avoid all mining and day trading until at least very familiar with Bitcoin. Mining is very professional(You cannot efficiently mine with your computer and need to buy special ASIC machines) and most people lose money day trading.
Never store your Bitcoins on an exchange or web wallet. Buy your bitcoins and withdraw it to your personal wallet where you actually own them instead of IOUs. Services like Robinhood, Revoult, and Etoro should be avoided because you cannot withdraw or use Bitcoin.
Make sure you make a backup of your wallet(software holding keys to your BTC) and preferably keep it offline and physical and private. Typically 12 to 24 words you write down on paper or metal.
Beginners should avoid altcoins, tokens, and ICOs at least initially until they learn about Bitcoin. Most of these are scams and you should be familiar with the basics first. Bitcoin is referred to as BTC or XBT.

Exchanges Requiring ID Verification

Bitcoin = BTC or XBT on exchanges

Exchange	Buy fee*	Withdraw BTC	Notes
Cash App	Sliding ~2.2% to 1%	0 BTC	Instant Withdraw, USA only
Coinbase	Debit3.99% ACH1.49%	1-4USD	~7Day hold BTC withdraw
CoinbasePro	0.5%	0 BTC	~7Day hold free ACH Deposit
Gemini	1.49% to 0.25%ATrader	0 BTC	10 free BTC withdraws w/ActiveTrader
Kraken	0.16%	0.0005 BTC	Deposit Fiat=USwire+5USD or SEPA free
Bitstamp	0.50%	0.0005 BTC	Deposit Fiat=0 SEPA or 5% card fee

Note: Exchanges all have unique market prices and spreads so fees alone will not tell you the best rates. Best way is to directly compare the rates between exchanges. Buy fees above are for normal trading volumes

More exchanges per location

Recommended Wallets

Best wallets for securing small amounts of BTC

electrum For Desktop and Android

Pros= Great Desktop and Android wallet with advanced functionality like coin control

Cons= UX is not as polished as some other wallets, make sure you only upgrade from official sources like play store or https://electrum.org as malicious servers or adverts can tell you to upgrade malware from other sites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4EhZg5QslI

Phoenix LN wallets for Android

Pros- Lightning network integration(as well as onchain) allowing you to spend with LN merchants for instant confirmations and much lower fees. Easiest lightning wallet to use

Cons- Lightning is still somewhat experimental. slightly higher fees than eclair to provide extra services and liquidity .

https://phoenix.acinq.co/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx5PK1H5OR0

Éclair LN wallets for Android and desktop

Pros- Lightning network integration(as well as onchain) allowing you to spend with LN merchants for instant confirmations and much lower fees

Cons- Lightning is still somewhat experimental. more complicated to use than phoenix . Other Lightning wallets - http://lightningnetworkstores.com/wallets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq4lF2s4UtI

https://acinq.co

Blockstream Green Wallet IOS and android wallet

Pros- Great UX, easy hardware wallet and full node integration, RBF, HW wallet support and advanced 2fa options Cons- Until single signature is released 2 of 2 multisig means that one must depend upon blockstream’s server for tx signing. Other light wallets are dependent upon other servers as well but light wallets like electrum allow you to swap servers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO3Zi9D5b0Y

https://blockstream.com/green/

Securing Larger amounts of Bitcoin

ledger nano S wallet = ~68 USD https://shop.ledger.com/products/ledger-nano-s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI1OntWB7wc

trezor one wallet = ~54 USD https://shop.trezor.io

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT1j_kbZBEo

Trezor Model T = ~164 USD https://shop.trezor.io

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3BIo5Ac_n4

Cold Card Hardware wallet = 119.97 USD https://store.coinkite.com/store/coldcard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocEpndQcsg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8dBNrlwJ0k