How do I into Bitcoin?

[guillem3010]

Hi there! I've been lurking this site and other bitcoin-related ones for quite a long time now, and just decided I'll enter the bitcoin scene for real. The problem is that everything I hear about bitcoin sounds quite pessimistic; it seems as if bitcoins were no longer profitable for someone who is just starting due to exponentially raising difficulty and stuff.

Therefore I'd be really grateful if someone could point me in the right direction to get some bitcoins and make some profit out of them. Should I mine (if so, which hardware?), spend endless hours in online faucets or just buy them off Mt.Gox and wait till the price arises?

Cheers

[AntiOps]

"How do I into Bitcoin?" <- title made me chuckle.

Advice I'd give is don't bother with faucets, if you want to mine get some serious hardware and lots (do some research), make sure where you live your energy price per kWh is low.

[pontiacg5]

Nobody can really tell you how to make money off bitcoins, there are way too many variables. It sucks, but you are just going to need to do a lot of research. By far the easiest way is buying and holding bitcoins, but there's no guarantee of profit. Nobody knows the future, they can just speculate, so don't let optimism or pessimism bug you too much. Again you will need to draw your own conclusions.


I will say that faucets are a waste of time though. You could make more an hour just getting a real job. Mining is difficult for making a profit right now, but it is possible. Gox is a extreme unknown right now, I'd be sure to do some reading before doing business with them. Lots of alternatives to choose from, with a lot less risk.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any more specific questions!

[cbhelp]

Mining equals unprofitable for most people.

Buying and holding equals good chance at profitable

[Jennifer Smith]

Welcome to the forum, guillem3010!

Unless you are willing to commit some serious resources into mining, you may find it less risky at this point to speculate on the coins themselves. Depending on your location, you may wish to examine other exchanges too, since each may have different bid/ask prices. Additionally, Mt. Gox has been encumbered with issues with the United States government and may not be a riskier exchange.

The main problem with mining is that it has drifted away from a hobby enterprise to a more professional one (that requires more advanced, and more expensive mining equipment). One real issue is that some companies have failed to deliver mining products in a timely manner, preventing end-users from achieving real gains on the equipment before they become effectively obsolete (due to more advanced mining equipment and difficulty increases).

Please let us know if you have additional questions. Good luck!

[guillem3010]

First of all, thank you for your prompt replies

Now, you've been talking about other bitcoin exchange sites apart from Mt.Gox. Their literally all over bitcoin news, blogs and so on, so I thought they'd be quite trusted. If this is not the case, could you please tell me where can I reliably get bitcoins from? I've heard about local bitcoin exchanges, but don't think there are any of those where I live

Again, thank y'all and have a great day/night 

[Pokerfan]

Use any exchange other than MtGox. MtGox prices are 11% over market.

[Bitconorama]

As others have said, mining will be difficult to do and come out with a profit, at least, a higher profit than buying BTC outright and holding. The mining industry is in a transitional period and it likely isn't the right time to be buying ASIC hardware. If mining is something you would be interested in doing, stay up-to-date with the manufacturers, hardware, prices and difficulty levels for the next few months ...then consider HW costs, difficulty level rise and ROI potential at the end of Q1 '14 - beginning Q2 '14.

Also, stay away from Mt. Gox for the time being. I don't know that they have their issues straightened out quite yet - it appears most are unable to withdraw any cash, not sure about withdrawing BTC. Even so, you're also going to pay a higher price at Gox. There are plenty of other places to buy from: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins
If you're in the US and would like to buy off a market exchange: Bitstamp is a good option.
Or, a lot of people like the fixed rate exchange at Coinbase.

Other than buying BTC, consider being paid in exchange for your services or for a product. Or, sell items you no longer want/need on Bitmit (basically eBay with BTC)

I suppose you need to decide what your intent is with BTC. You mention making a profit out of them ...does this mean you want to flip coin in the short term and get more in fiat? ...or are you willing to sit on them for a longer term investment.

The greatest piece of advice, however, is never put more into it than you could lose in an instant and find yourself in a financial crisis. Bitcoin is still a high risk venture.

[monbux]

Welcome to bitcointalk!

[DannyHamilton]

If you want to just buy bitcoins, I suggest you start by looking at https://localbitcoins.com

You might find someone local who has bitcoins and would be willing to meet with you to exchange your cash for their bitcoins.

If you are anywhere near Chicago, I'd be willing to meet up with you to help you get started.

If you don't find any local sellers, then you'll want to consider an online bitcoin currency exchange.  MtGox is the oldest, but many people have concerns about their current status.  You might also want to look at BTC-E, BitStamp, CampBX, and Coinbase.  It is a bad idea to just jump into something new like this without taking the time to learn a bit about what you are doing.  You run a serious risk of falling victim to a scammer that takes advantage of your eagerness or falling victim to a hacker that steals your bitcoins.  Unlike the banking and credit card industry, there is very little protection against financial crimes with bitcoin.  There is no FDIC or reversed charges.

You'll also find buyers and sellers here at bitcoin talk in the "Currency Exchange" sub forum:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=53.0

If you are willing to pay my rate with any of the methods that I accept, I can sell you bitcoins. you can see my ad in the "Currency Exchange" sub forum here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=274204.0

[oser41eric]

The best approach might be offer some service/goods for BTC and spend these BTC for service/goods you need 


There is no other magic formula how to profit from BTC 

[theokep]

Your options are basically to either buy some when the price is right and hope for an increase or to mine using ASICS (I'd probably go with the buying option)

[DannyHamilton]

Your options are basically to either buy some when the price is right and hope for an increase or to mine using ASICS (I'd probably go with the buying option)

Or provide a product or service and accept bitcoin as payment.

Really other than the mining aspect, bitcoin is like any other form of money.

Therefore I'd be really grateful if someone could point me in the right direction to get some U.S. dollars and make some profit out of them.
Therefore I'd be really grateful if someone could point me in the right direction to get some euros and make some profit out of them.
Therefore I'd be really grateful if someone could point me in the right direction to get some yen and make some profit out of them.
Therefore I'd be really grateful if someone could point me in the right direction to get some gold and make some profit out of it.
Therefore I'd be really grateful if someone could point me in the right direction to get some silver and make some profit out of it.

There's nothing magical about it.  You use the resources available to you and attempt to provide something of value to someone else in exchange for something of value to you.

[marcotheminer]

Welcome!

I would invest some fiat money into it and wait until it grows over time.

[SPC_Bitcoin]

got a wallet? go to blockchain.info

make one free in under a minute.

[wiser]

Welcome!  There are lots of ways to get into Bitcoin, and it's fun experimenting.

[gordoh]

Buy them on localbitcoins and put them in offline storage.  Don't do anything else.  Everything's a scam.

I wouldn't say everything is a scam... I have had some great experiences with different aspects of Bitcoins and they weren't scams. I know there are a lot of scams out there but people just need to be vigilant and make sure they do some research before buying into things like group buys or mining equipment. If they have a lot of bad reviews, then avoid them, but if they don't, then decide for yourself.

Localbitcoins.com is a great website to get bitcoins at a good price. just make sure to check the sellers reputation and feedback before buying from them. If they have a good reputation then you actually have nothing to worry about. I have bought a lot from that website and I have yet to run into any problems.

I wish you all the best guillem3010, you have entered into an exciting world with endless possibilities 

[MoneyGod]

got a wallet? go to blockchain.info

make one free in under a minute.

best way to do all good and sound