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HOW TO BUY & STORE BITCOIN

Exchanges for Purchasing Bitcoin

Once you’ve made your decision to purchase Bitcoin, knowing where to go to purchase it helps. There are many online exchanges out there. All have different features and fees. However, the ones we use most these days are:

  • Cash App: Cash App is very similar to Venmo in user experience and owned by Square. Good for spur of the moment type purchases. It’s easy to buy and move Bitcoin to your wallets. We suggest using Cash App to purchase amounts from $10 – $10,000. It may take up to 24 hours after set up to allow for Bitcoin purchases. Sending Bitcoin to a wallet with a priority status has a higher fee than waiting 24 – 48 hours.
  • Swan: Swan is best used for a weekly withdraw from your bank account of choice. Just let the Bitcoin accumulate over time. This is called “dollar-cost averaging”, which will help mitigate the volatility of Bitcoin fluctuations over time.
  • Strike

Other reputable exchanges include:

Wallets for Storing Bitcoin

It is important that you DO NOT leave your coins on an exchange. Instead, you should move them to a wallet. There are two types of wallets: digital wallets and hardware wallets

Use digital wallets for storing coin in the short-term and if you plan to send it or spend it soon. Use hardware wallets for more long-term, secure storage.

Digital Wallets

There are hundreds of digital wallets out there, but the two that we prefer are Edge and Blue Wallet. Both are available for both iOS and Android.

  • Edge: Edge presents with a username and password experience, which is familiar for most people. This is unique to Edge; it is the only wallet that we know of that presents this type of interface to store your keys. If you use this wallet, be sure to select the one with “Segwit” when setting it up.  Here is a good tutorial if you need help.
  • Blue Wallet: Blue Wallet has some advanced features that Edge does not offer, and it uses a form of Bitcoin address that saves on fees. This address type is not yet supported by Edge. If you use this wallet, use “native Segwit” for the wallet type. Here is a good tutorial for setting up your Blue Wallet.
  • Ledger: Ledger is another wallet available on the market. While it is not one of our “preferred” wallets, it is still a good option. Here is a tutorial on how to set up your Ledger.