Bitcoin noob

[Coleio]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

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[pereira4]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

The quickest way to get BTC without having to register in a exchange is probably localbitcoins.com. Select a seller ideally near you and buy your BTC.
To hold your BTC, for a newbie the blockchain.info wallet is probably the best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGDYV1NIhh4

[LiteCoinGuy]

Use Kraken, Bitstamp, Coinbase or Circle to buy some coins. the fee should be something like 0,2% or lower

[tiggytomb]

There are some Bitcoin ATM's dotted about depending on where you are located, also there is this website which is super quick using faster payments. https://bittylicious.com

[spazzdla]

Kijiji is your best bet

or if you live in Canada quickbt.com is AMAZING.

[mezmerizer9]

you could choose your wallet here https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet ! I suggest buy small amount of coins from the exchanges or localbitcoin, like 0.1BTC and try out the sending or receiving bitcoin and see how it works! and learn how it works! Othwise you may accidentally lose large amount of coins!

[Herbert2020]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

before doing anything else you should choose a good wallet for yourself https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
i have never even heard of "bither"!!! choose one that is popular and secure. and remember to always download it from the official website and not just a random probably phishing site.

for buying bitcoin i think your best choice can be coinbse.com which you can use as your wallet too but you have better and safer options.

[gentlemand]

Which area of the world are you in? That's rather a big factor in choosing where to buy.

Localbitcoins will always cost more than an exchange. If you're in the EU then you should be able to get cash onto an exchange very rapidly.

You don't have to download Kraken and you definitely don't have to pay a fee to use it. You only pay a small percentage when you buy from there.

Stick to the best known wallets. If you plan to hold for a long time then look into paper wallets or hardware wallets like Trezor. Phone wallets like Mycelium work well too.

Having your coins in an online wallet like blockchain.info is a little dodgy because the weak point in security will always be the machine you access them with.

[turvarya]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

Could you explain, what exactly you mean by this sentence?
The only bitcoin-related kraken, I know, is https://www.kraken.com/
Nothing to download there and no fee for just registering.

[RodeoX]

I second many of the suggestions above. Get a better wallet. If you are an android user I would recommend this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet
This one uses a system that keeps your private keys hidden from the wallet operator. And MAKE SURE YOU CREATE A BACKUP OF YOUR PRIVATE KEYS!!!!! If you lose your keys there is absolutely no way to recover your money. Keep that backup in an extremely safe place like a bank vault.

Do set up an account at a recognized exchange. You will need to fund it and give your identity in the process. In most countries you and the exchange are legally required to do this. If you find an exchange that requires no identity papers then all you can say for sure is that you are dealing with criminals. You can guess what is going to happen when you send them money.

It is a hassle to set up, but once it's all done it is easy to get bitcoins when you want them.

[ikydesu]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

I think kraken is charge % fees for buy.
You can use Circle App, Coinbase or meet people around you to buy bitcoin through LocalBitcoin.com.

And store your coins on your wallet(desktop, hardware wallet, or paper wallet), just don't store your coins on web wallet or exchanger. I suggest you, use electrum: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=973768.0 or if you want to store for long long time, use paper wallet.

-snip-
Could you explain, what exactly you mean by this sentence?
The only bitcoin-related kraken, I know, is https://www.kraken.com/
Nothing to download there and no fee for just registering.

Maybe OP downloaded iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kraken-bitcoin-exchange/id914671502

[turvarya]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

I think kraken is charge % fees for buy.
You can use Circle App, Coinbase or meet people around you to buy bitcoin through LocalBitcoin.com.

And store your coins on your wallet(desktop, hardware wallet, or paper wallet), just don't store your coins on web wallet or exchanger. I suggest you, use electrum: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=973768.0 or if you want to store for long long time, use paper wallet.

-snip-
Could you explain, what exactly you mean by this sentence?
The only bitcoin-related kraken, I know, is https://www.kraken.com/
Nothing to download there and no fee for just registering.

Maybe OP downloaded iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kraken-bitcoin-exchange/id914671502

When I get this right, you still have to register on the website to use this app.
The 2k fee still doesn't make sense.
This is how fees work:
https://www.kraken.com/help/fees

you have to pay a fee of 0.35% for the first 5k USD you spend. That doesn't mean you have to spend 5k. It just means that after you reached 5k you have to pay less fees.

[anderson00673]

Kraken fees are pretty high, I don't recommend them.  For small purchases in the EU, look for an exchange that takes bank transfers.  It is the cheapest way to go usually.  They say coinbase, but they take ach.  I think it is different in the eu. 

One thing I also recommend is that if you are starting out it is a good idea to play some faucets to get some dust.  It is a waste of time as far as actually making money, but you can use it to learn about wallets and things.  Once you feel comfortable with that you can move on to real money (and stop using faucets because they are a waste of time).  The best faucet is moonbitcoin because you don't have to keep going back every five minutes.  You can just pop in once a day or whatever and collect a decent amount of satoshis.  Good luck!

[Argwai96]

I would suggest to find a localbitcoin trusted seller on your location and get the bitcoin from him or her, you will be surprise how helpful most bitcoin seller could be when it comes to gaining a new client.

[turvarya]

Kraken fees are pretty high, I don't recommend them.  For small purchases in the EU, look for an exchange that takes bank transfers.  It is the cheapest way to go usually.  They say coinbase, but they take ach.  I think it is different in the eu.  

One thing I also recommend is that if you are starting out it is a good idea to play some faucets to get some dust.  It is a waste of time as far as actually making money, but you can use it to learn about wallets and things.  Once you feel comfortable with that you can move on to real money (and stop using faucets because they are a waste of time).  The best faucet is moonbitcoin because you don't have to keep going back every five minutes.  You can just pop in once a day or whatever and collect a decent amount of satoshis.  Good luck!

Which exchange is cheaper than kraken?
Which exchange doesn't take bank transfers?

I really wouldn't recommend faucets.
I also wouldn't recommend localbitcoin. It might be nice to use at first, but it get's annoying if you do it several times, so the time that you initially spend to register an account on an exchange pays off pretty fast, not even speaking about the involved fees/higher prices.

[MF Doom]

Hey, so I heard about bitcoin a while ago and figured I'd give it a go, basically just wanted to buy some stuff with bitcoin but apparently it's a lot more complicated than just exchanging money for bitcoins. I downloaded kraken and found that if I wanted to start I'd have to pay a fee of 2k just to get started.

Also the wallet I got "bither" is pretty confusing. I don't have a clue about api's or qr codes. I just want to buy around €500 worth of bitcoins, store them on a wallet I can actually understand and buy stuff, without all the technical stuff that goes along with it. Is that possible?

Follow this link if you want to go through coinbase.  I do all my buying and selling through them, its easy, secure, and when you sell you usually see the fiat into your bank account within 1-2 days.  I'll split the referral bonus with you if you sign up!  (I'll send you $12.50!)

https://www.coinbase.com/join/mfdoom

[Coleio]

I second many of the suggestions above. Get a better wallet. If you are an android user I would recommend this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet
This one uses a system that keeps your private keys hidden from the wallet operator. And MAKE SURE YOU CREATE A BACKUP OF YOUR PRIVATE KEYS!!!!! If you lose your keys there is absolutely no way to recover your money. Keep that backup in an extremely safe place like a bank vault.

Do set up an account at a recognized exchange. You will need to fund it and give your identity in the process. In most countries you and the exchange are legally required to do this. If you find an exchange that requires no identity papers then all you can say for sure is that you are dealing with criminals. You can guess what is going to happen when you send them money.

It is a hassle to set up, but once it's all done it is easy to get bitcoins when you want them.

I don't know about this stuff so I downloaded the kraken app. Didn't know how it worked so I emailed them, they told me to sign up and that I needed to deposit a minimum of 2k to start using it..

[Coleio]

I'm using my iphone and the bitcoin website suggested bither as the most popular one. Localcoin or whatever it's called sounds good as I'm only buying small amounts. There's a lot of recommendations regarding wallets here, what's the easiest one for iphone, preferably one that explains everything including keys etc...

Thanks, Cole

[upsidedown75]

If you come from a European country and if you have a SEPA bank account then you should not choose Kraken, but rather anycoindirect.eu (The Netherlands) or bitstamp.com (UK).

[Somekindabitcoin]

Try Bitquick, fast and easy. That's all. Simple