Bitcoin Forum

Ultra-noob here. How do i get a bitcoin adress to deposit coins in? Do I need to download one of these wallet programs?  Please halp a newbie out.

Welcome to the community! You are exactly right. You need a wallet program (or online wallet service). There are many to choose from, but I stared at bitcoin.org (http://bitcoin.org).

Thank you! I just downloaded the wallet from your link. So now i got an adress to:) 16dWZfJ9JR2gGtR8NjLi1FAekSy6ZUd2Yn   

Yippi! =)

I can see that the bitcoin Wallet is using quite som time to sync with the network. Is this because its looking for transactions made to my btc adress?

Not necessarily; because every transaction depends on an earlier transaction, your client needs the full history of the Bitcoin network (all the way back to the beginning) in order to be certain that the bitcoins your receive are "legitimate".

You will only have to download the full transaction history once, so it will be much quicker in the future.

Not necessarily; because every transaction depends on an earlier transaction, your client needs the full history of the Bitcoin network (all the way back to the beginning) in order to be certain that the bitcoins your receive are "legitimate".

You will only have to download the full transaction history once, so it will be much quicker in the future.
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I understand. Thank you!

 i just use an online wallet to rid the hassle

I just sent you a bitcent so you can see how it works. Once you have fully downloaded the entire blockchain you will be able to spend it.
-Cheers :D

Welcome to Bitcoin! :)

It's downloading the full blockchain to your computer, which is currently 2.7GB.
Then it must verify it. This one-time process typically takes between 6 and 48 hours depending on your system.

If you have limited bandwidth, storage, or patience, feel free to check out the "light" clients (Electrum or MultiBit), which work without downloading the blockchain and can therefore be up and running in minutes.  

See this chart (http://dre.tx0.org/compare.htm) for an overview of the 4 main desktop clients.

Just for more info, I always recommend the bitcoin.org client to begin with, because it's the defacto standard, and should be the most stable/reliable of the lot. That said, I find that some of its features are a bit complicated for new users. Nonetheless, you've already discovered some of the remarkable qualities of Bitcoin:

• You are able to start using Bitcoin almost immediately (well, after about 8 hours of griding your hard drive)
• There are a variety of choices to fit your personal needs (open standards)
• There is no central "registration" - no one needs your personal info (some say pseudo-anonymous)

Just remember, the wallet.dat file created by the bitcoin.org client holds your private key(s), so keep it safe.

(PS. I also sent you 0.01BTC. It's actually the first I've ever sent, and I only have a couple myself so far, all due to the generosity of others.)

Edit: Woah - It just came back! I presume you sent the same value back as a test? If so, success. Another great feature of Bitcoin: Wicked fast.

remember to encrypt the wallet  :) settings -> encrypt wallet.

And remember that your own personal wallet is only as secure as you yourself make it!

I have recieved the bitcent you sent me! Thank you very much. Im starting to love this innovation allready=)

I have also recieved your bitcent, however i dident send anything back. So it wasent from me you got it. I can send you the cent back if you want to? Cheers!

Also, big thanks to everyone who replied to my noobquestion. Next step is to start buying some coins. Thanks all!

No, by all means, keep it! And thanks to the (pseudo-)anonymous gentleman/woman who sent me a bit penny - I am much obliged.

Very kind of you!:) When i recieved the cent, the sender field said "unknown". Is it supposed to be unknown to the reciever from whom he get coins?

One more question, i encrypted my wallet, but the client doesnt ask for a passphrase when i start it. Why is this?

It's a way of simplifying things, since a transaction can have tens of inputs. It also prevents false information (if you thought you got a bitcoin from one address, for example, instead of .25 bitcoins from four).

The client asks for the passphrase when you make a transaction  :)

The payment could have come from anyone to whom you gave your receiving address. Since you posted that address in the forum, anyone could send you funds.

You can edit your address book to show the name of the payee, which may help your book-keeping if you only use each receiving address for one purpose. But in this case, an appropriate payee name would be something like "forum donations".

Cool. And welcome to the forums fellow peer!