[Intelli]

How to purchase your first bitcoins

In this post, I'll quickly explain bitcoins are, and then go over a few different ways that bitcoins can be purchased.

What are bitcoins?

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Bitcoin is the first open source decentralized digital currency not controlled by a single organization or government.
For more information, check out the FAQ on bitcoin.org: http://bitcoin.org/en/faq#what-is-bitcoin

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Getting started

Some great information on how to get started with bitcoins can be found at the following links:

• http://bitcoin.org/en/getting-started
• http://www.weusecoins.com/en/getting-started
• http://trybtc.com (3 μBTC free!)

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Purchasing bitcoins

The easiest way to purchase bitcoins if you have a US bank account is through http://coinbase.com (minimum purchase amount $0.10 USD)

If you don't live in the USA, visit http://howtobuybitcoins.info for a list of places that bitcoins can be purchased. Alternatively, give http://localbitcoins.com a try. It's a marketplace for trading bitcoins locally using cash or various online payment methods.

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Using PayPal (not recommended)

The only way to purchase bitcoins via PayPal is by directly trading with another person. The easiest way to do this is to purchase DOGE (an altcoin) through /r/dogemarket on Reddit, and to then exchange them into bitcoins via a site like bter.com.

Please give http://www.localbitcoins.com a try before attempting to purchase altcoins

Spoiler:

Here's a quick guide on how to purchase DOGE, and exchange it into BTC (bitcoins):

1. Get a dogecoin wallet. Either download a wallet from http://www.dogecoin.com, or use an online wallet such as https://secure.dogechain.info/wallet. Online wallets typically aren't recommended, as they aren't as secure. However, as you'll only be temporarily storing funds in DOGE, it should be fine.

2. Create a Reddit account and login at https://ssl.reddit.com/login

3. Find a reputable seller at http://www.reddit.com/r/dogemarket



4. Send them a PM requesting to trade (http://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=) - Send them a payment via PayPal as requested, and send them your dogecoin receive address.

5. Once you have dogecoins (DOGE), go http://bter.com/ and create an account, and login.

6. Go to http://bter.com/myaccount/deposit/DOGE and deposit your dogecoins

7. Once your dogecoins have been deposited, go to http://bter.com/trade/doge_btc and use the "Sell DOGE" box to convert all your DOGE into BTC (bitcoins!).

8. Once you have bitcoins, simply go to http://bter.com/myaccount/withdraw/BTC to withdraw them to your own Bitcoin wallet.

Success! You now have bitcoins.

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If you have any questions, feel free to post below. This topic will be updated as necessary.

Thanks for reading!