Hey guys. So this post got deleted from my tumblr for “affiliate marketing”, and the same day my coinbase account has been banned. I still have access to what money I do have in there ($2 lol) but I just want to post it here so you guys have access if you want to commission me.

I need to make some changes to the tutorial, so for now, you can choose to disregard the exchange known as coinbase for your needs. If you have a registered business, bitpay.com allows adult works, but you need to have an EIN to sign up there. In the meantime, consider localbitcoins, circle.com (I am unsure of their policies on adult businesses) or some other exchange relevant to your area. Nowhere in coinbase’s TOS did it say anything about adult services, but I’ve heard they are very over-zealous with their security protocols. Like I said, they don’t cease your money, but use them at your own disclosure, but it couldn’t hurt to look up some other exchanges as backups!

For now, just use the link to find a good exchange that fits you 🙂 http://howtobuybitcoins.info/ The following tutorial is pretty much the same for most exchanges, so if something is amiss and you’re confused, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Thanks for taking the time to read! Here is some extra information to help make your Scrooge McDuck dive into bitcoins easier. Please read more if you’d like to learn how easy it is.

Wallets

For PC/Mac: Bitcoin Core

https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Pros: Secure, simple to use, easy to backup. No data is stored online.

Cons: Requires you to download the blockchain. Which can add up to 30+ gb of space.

What is “The Blockchain”? This is bitcoin’s way of allowing everybody in the community to audit it. The programs also require the blockchain to verify transaction status.

For Android: Bitcoin Wallet

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet&hl=en

Pros: Simple to use, supports QR codes so you can use your phone’s camera to read people’s bitcoin addresses. Easy to backup. No data is stored online.

Cons: Security is dependent on your phone. You will need to set a password on your phone. For greater security it would be wise to turn on device encryption.

For iPhone: breadwallet

You can find it on the iTunes Store.

Pros: Ease of use, no data is stored online.

Cons: Security is dependent on your phone. You will need to set a password on your phone. For greater security it would be wise to turn on device encryption.

*Frequent backups of your local wallet are required! You are responsible for your data. You cannot recover a wallet if it has been deleted or lost as a result of your computer dying, phone being stolen or lost, virus, etc. (You should be doing this anyway.)

Exchange Instructions

Finding an exchange is simple. Go to the following site and enter your country.

http://howtobuybitcoins.info/

You will immediately be presented with a list of all local and supported exchanges for your area.

Some exchanges, such as Coinbase, have a similar sign up process as most popular payment processors that you have experience with. For now, we’ll be sticking with Coinbase for the sake of simplicity.

Signing up is pretty straight forward. Use your email, create a password, etc.

This process is the same as anywhere else. You enter your bank account information, they make a couple of small deposits, you check your statement to get those codes and enter them back in to Coinbase where prompted.

This process is also simple. Click the button that says buy/sell bitcoins, enter the amount in your currency, and buy away! Choose the way you’d like to pay with, and the place you’d like to deposit the coins. In this case, we recommend depositing them into “My Wallet”. Bitcoins may take a couple of days to get to you, depending on your exchange, so be sure to discuss the time frame with your artist. Many exchanges offer “instant exchange” via credit card. If you don’t want to deal with using your bank accounts, this may be an option for you.

In order to send your bitcoins to the artist, click on “My Wallet”. This will bring you to your wallet! Near the top, there should be a button to send coins. Click that, enter their e-mail or bitcoin address, and send! The coins usually take about 20 minutes to get to the artist’s wallet.

In order to get your bitcoins, make sure to tell your commissioner your bitcoin address, or if you prefer, you can give them your e-mail linked to your wallet. To find your bitcoin address, click on Accounts, choose the wallet you’d like the address for, and click “Get Bitcoin Address”.

Once your bitcoins arrive in your wallet, it will take a couple of days to get to your bank account. To initiate the process of converting your coins to money, click on buy/sell coins. Choose “sell” at the top, and enter the amount in BTC you would like to sell. The amount of bitcoins you own will be displayed on the left, underneath “My Wallet”. Choose your payout method, and then you’re good to go!

One of our favorite perks about using bitcoin is the standard 1% fee. No more having to charge extra or send your money as a gift.

Advanced Details

If something doesn’t behave exactly as you think it should, this is why.

If you’re confused as to why you eventually see that you have a bajillion bitcoin addresses in your account, this is why. Every time a transaction is made, a new address is generated. The reason: Bitcoin was developed for anonymity. The idea was to not have anybody able to easily identify who is doing what with the currency. That anonymity was developed so that no one could block the ability to start up new businesses, donations for causes, etc.

All of these addresses belong to you forever, you can use any of them to receive bitcoins.

Make sure that your wallet is fully set up, secure, and online. Then take your receiving address from that wallet, copy it, and put it in to the send window on your exchange, enter an amount, and send! Simple 🙂

If you decide to use a local wallet to store your bitcoins, if you haven’t backed up your wallet anywhere, unfortunately there is no way to get it back. Consider bitcoins like cash on hand. If someone steals your wallet or you lose it, it is likely gone. You have to decide which path is right for you when deciding to store your bitcoins.

Backing up your wallet varies depending on the program, so it’s up to you to find out the best way to do that depending on your wallet.

It is cryptocurrency. The “crypto” stands for cryptography. Barring you having the world’s largest array of supercomputers, and a shit load of time on your hands, IE decades, good luck in compromising it.

That’s that!

This pretty much covers the basics of getting started with bitcoins. I hope this tutorial helped, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask!