Newbie but fast learner! It seems you can buy and......????????

[MoneyHungry]

Hello All
 
I just completed my first steps with coinbase.com this afternoon. I am pretty literate w/computers but new to bit coin. So far, it looks like I can buy and send BTC's from coinbase. Am I wrong?
I still have to wait 48 hrs until I can proceed, but do have questions.... Someone said to set-up an Blockchain wallet and I did, but do I really need to? If a forum member could assist me with these questions, I would be deeply grateful.....Try not do beat me up to bad on my first post..... Also, Hello to everyone and I am happy to be here. This is a new but exciting venture for me.....

Sincerely,

MoneyHungry

[coinpr0n]

There are many options for wallets. Coinbase is a web wallet - it's fairly trustworthy but make sure not to do anything illegal or sketchy with your coins there as they are known to shutdown accounts they deem suspicious. Blockchain is another web wallet. What you might find more interesting is setting up a software wallet instead, one that you install on your computer. The reference client Bitcoin Core will take up a lot of space as it downloads and keeps a copy of the entire blockchain (a record of every transaction ever made). It may be overkill so you might want to try Electrum, it's a lightweight client. Then there's also mobile wallets. I recommend you try a bunch of them out and settle with the one you prefer. Web wallets are best for holding small amounts of bitcoin, for larger amounts you will really want to have your own wallet installed locally.

[achow101]

Hello All
 
I just completed my first steps with coinbase.com this afternoon. I am pretty literate w/computers but new to bit coin. So far, it looks like I can buy and send BTC's from coinbase. Am I wrong?
I still have to wait 48 hrs until I can proceed, but do have questions.... Someone said to set-up an Blockchain wallet and I did, but do I really need to? If a forum member could assist me with these questions, I would be deeply grateful.....Try not do beat me up to bad on my first post..... Also, Hello to everyone and I am happy to be here. This is a new but exciting venture for me.....

Sincerely,

MoneyHungry

coinbase is a wallet, and it also lets you buy and sell Bitcoin for different normal (fiat) currencies. You can also send bitcoin and receive bitcoin to your coinbase wallet.

Coinbase has its limitations, which it shares with most web wallets. Coinbase controls the private keys, which are the most important things related to spending and owning Bitcoin. If someone has access to the private keys, that means that they can spend the Bitcoin. This means that it is theoretically possible for coinbase or someone who hacks coinbase to steal your Bitcoin (although they are insured so you won't actually lose any money).

blockchain.info is a service which is generally really crappy. They are one of the few web wallets which do not actually control your private keys. Rather they encrypt them on their servers so only someone with the password to the wallet (you) can access them.

I would recommend that you actually use a desktop wallet like Bitcoin Core or electrum. Bitcoin Core is a full node, which means it verifies and validates every transaction and block. It also stores every block ever in the blockchain, which takes 40+ Gb of storage space. It can also take ages to sync, but it is quite secure. Electrum is SPV, so it does not download the whole blockchain and it does not validate every transaction and block. Instead, it connects to a server and requests transactions from that server. This of course means that you have to trust that server to give you the right data and that the stuff it gives you is verified and valid.

[chennan]

Yeah, webwallets like coinbase are sketchy in terms of it being possible for anything to happen to the coins you hold on their, whether someone hacks them or the site freezes your account for some reason they deem fit.  Light weight wallets are a popular option (these are electrum, multibit, and others). Bitcoin core is a real pain in the ass due to how much memory it takes up on your computer.  If you want a really good wallet that connects to the blockchain on your smart phone, go for breadwallet.  That's what I personally use on my phone, and it gives you the private keys you need to be always in control of your account... be sure to write the private keys somewhere safe.

[MoneyHungry]

Thank you for the replies so far... I am staying to feel welcome,  and how to contribute more to the forum as I gain the knowledge....

[leex1528]

I also have been using Coinbase, there are some things I question about them, living in the USA, I heard they are thinking about taxing Bitcoin, which is a huge no no for me.  If I am going to be selling coins ever, I think I would look outside of Coinbase for selling them.

[chennan]

I also have been using Coinbase, there are some things I question about them, living in the USA, I heard they are thinking about taxing Bitcoin, which is a huge no no for me.  If I am going to be selling coins ever, I think I would look outside of Coinbase for selling them.

This is actually a big issue right now... people in the U.S. like me, are deciding how they should buy there bitcoins.  There are multiple ways to do this, like using either:
1) Coinbase
2) Circle
3) Localbitcoin (you buy them from actual people)
4) Gemini

Many others to list, but these are the new major ones that I can think of.  With Circle, it takes a long time... Coinbase might start taxing... Gemini asks for VERY personal information (SS#'s, where you live, etc.)... Localbitcoin is good, but depends on where you live and if there are people willing to sell bitcoin.

[jonald_fyookball]

check out electrum , you can run your own wallet on your own machine...just make sure not to hold large amounts
because of potential viruses. large amounts of BTC require you learning cold storage methods.

[piramida]

check out electrum , you can run your own wallet on your own machine...just make sure not to hold large amounts
because of potential viruses. large amounts of BTC require you learning cold storage methods.

bitcoin trezor - a wallet that you actually should use. security of a cold storage with convinience of a web wallet. why use anything else?

[saturn643]

check out electrum , you can run your own wallet on your own machine...just make sure not to hold large amounts
because of potential viruses. large amounts of BTC require you learning cold storage methods.

bitcoin trezor - a wallet that you actually should use. security of a cold storage with convinience of a web wallet. why use anything else?

It costs $100 dollars to buy, and it doesn't work with full nodes (e.g. Bitcoin core, Bitcoin armory). I don't like that. Desktop wallets are free. And a $35 dollar raspberry pi can have secure full node software (e.g. Bitcoin Armory) installed on it to make a dedicated cold storage device. Although I suppose it is a little harder to use.

[Sir_lagsalot]

Since I don't have very much bitcoin, I use coinbase, cause they pay your miner fees

[Mickeyb]

I also have been using Coinbase, there are some things I question about them, living in the USA, I heard they are thinking about taxing Bitcoin, which is a huge no no for me.  If I am going to be selling coins ever, I think I would look outside of Coinbase for selling them.

This is actually a big issue right now... people in the U.S. like me, are deciding how they should buy there bitcoins.  There are multiple ways to do this, like using either:
1) Coinbase
2) Circle
3) Localbitcoin (you buy them from actual people)
4) Gemini

Many others to list, but these are the new major ones that I can think of.  With Circle, it takes a long time... Coinbase might start taxing... Gemini asks for VERY personal information (SS#'s, where you live, etc.)... Localbitcoin is good, but depends on where you live and if there are people willing to sell bitcoin.

Yes, the US government is a control freak. Simple as that. Looking at your post we can conclude, in order to buy bitcoins in the US you have to give up many personal informations and people don't like to do so.

I have introduced my best friend to Bitcoin who lives in America. He didn't want to buy in because he didn't want to give away all the personal info. At the end we did a workaround. He wired me money to Europe, I bought him coins and sent them to him. Problem solved, verifications bypassed.

[monbux]

check out electrum , you can run your own wallet on your own machine...just make sure not to hold large amounts
because of potential viruses. large amounts of BTC require you learning cold storage methods.

bitcoin trezor - a wallet that you actually should use. security of a cold storage with convinience of a web wallet. why use anything else?

It costs $100 dollars to buy, and it doesn't work with full nodes (e.g. Bitcoin core, Bitcoin armory). I don't like that. Desktop wallets are free. And a $35 dollar raspberry pi can have secure full node software (e.g. Bitcoin Armory) installed on it to make a dedicated cold storage device. Although I suppose it is a little harder to use.

Yup, and it really isn't the right choice for beginners that don't even understand what bitcoin is yet.
Electrum or bitcoin-QT should be sufficient provided you font be stupid with what you do on the computer!