Hello!
I’ve noticed that a nonzero amount of members are either hesitant to get payments set up with bitcoin, or have had a difficult time setting themselves up to purchase or transfer bitcoin. Coming from someone who was very new to crypto currencies 2 years ago, I understand where you guys are coming from. My goal with this is to hopefully make a short and easy to follow guide on how to get set up and ready with bitcoin, and some common myths or misconceptions surrounding bitcoin.
Intro: What is bitcoin?
Bitcoin is an electronic currency and store of value(albeit one that fluctuates wildly). Bitcoin is stored in a wallet(represented with a long string of alphanumeric characters). There are services that hold your bitcoin for you, called exchanges. You are also able to hold bitcoin yourself in what is called cold storage. Examples of cold storage are Electrum, ledger, and trezor. There are more, but these are the most common. You are able to send and receive bitcoin with a certain amount of anonymity. Bitcoin transactions are NON REVERSIBLE and are NOT INSTANT. There are websites such as blockchain . com that allow you to track the progress of your transaction.
Below are ways to get bitcoin, and some pros and cons.
1. Coinbase
Coinbase is the easiest way to set up purchasing bitcoin with your debit card or bank account. It will require you to verify your identity, and link your bank account and or debit card. Purchases with debit cards give you instant access to your bitcoin, where purchases with your bank account require 3-5 days to clear(obnoxious). It’s that easy! You make purchase using the TRADE button.
2. Sending bitcoin with coinbase
alright you bought your bitcoin after signing up and getting your account fully set up. In order to send bitcoin to another party, you need their RECEIVING address. Once you have the RECEIVING address copied, go to PORTFOLIO on the website. Scroll down to assets, and click on bitcoin. Click send bitcoin, paste the receiving address, and input the correct amount of bitcoin needed to make your transaction. Done!
3. Keeping your Coinbase account secure.
Some of you are going to have a large amount of money in Coinbase at some point and time, and I personally am aware of people who make a large sum of money attempting to steal from Coinbase. We want to avoid this. To lock your account down, we just need to practice correct account security practices! Use a password that you have not used elsewhere before, I personally have keepass2(a password manager) create and store a 64 character password that even I don’t know for my account. TURN ON 2 FACTOR AUTHENTICATION USING GOOGLE AUTHENTICATOR. Do NOT use text verification, as you can be a victim of sim swapping(google it). With those two steps, your account is for all intents and purposes non-accessible to anyone aside from yourself.
4. Issues with coinbase and general do-not’s
Coinbase is highly regulated and can at any time restrict or suspend/close your account if they feel what you are doing is against their terms of service, or the law. This can obviously cause some issues with a lot of things. Coinbase also has your bitcoin address tied to your identity, which is realistically not a problem for most people, but it is something to remember. I do not recommend sending funds directly from Coinbase for ANY purchase.
5. Avoiding Coinbase suspension.
awesome, you got your bank account linked and bought some bitcoin and are ready to make a purchase! You will need to transfer your bitcoin from Coinbase to a cold storage wallet.
6. Cold storage and how to use
I’m going to use electrum as the only example currently, if this guide is well received I will get into ledger next.
6a. Google “electrum wallet” and download the version correct for your OS. Complete the install, set your password, and electrum is set up! To transfer your btc from Coinbase to your electrum wallet, click RECEIVE in electrum, copy the receiving address, and use step 2 from the guide to send bitcoin to your electrum wallet. You will receive confirmation of incoming mBTC(just a different way to show bitcoin value, you will have the same amount of money that you sent). You are now able to send bitcoin from your electrum wallet and avoid account suspension!!
7. Droppin23, this all seems great but it seems like I can be easily identified due to Coinbase having my identification, how do I remain anonymous?
To remain as anonymous as you can with bitcoin, with KYC implementation to localbitcoins, this is a bit more obnoxious than it used to be. The easiest(lol)way to anonymously purchase bitcoin is finding someone local to sell you bitcoin for cash. Depending on where you are this will be either super easy or legitimately not an option.
The second way that CAN be anonymous is using a bitcoin ATM. There will be a premium on price while using one of these, and you WILL NEED the QR code located on the RECEIVE tab in your electrum wallet. Make the purchase with cash, and scan your QR code when prompted. For purchases of less than $1000, you will need a phone number(can be temporary), and a name entry. For purchases of more than $1000, you will need to register with your ID, defeating the point of the anonymous thing.
The third way is using localbitcoins to send a moneygram or other transfer service to purchase your bitcoin. There are many options for sellers with this.
This was all kinda typed out last minute so let me know if this is helpful or useless or whatever you think.
it would mean a lot to have it back. 
! I understand why it being recommended. I will post if I have luck!
