A reminder that it's a bad idea to leave your Bitcoins in an exchange wallet

[CynthiaAlice]

Also keep it BACKED UP! Can't have a hard drive crash break the bank. (another reason I went online, I know I'm lazy about back ups)

Exactly! There’s gonna be horror stories no matter what you do. Exchange wallets with reputable exchanges like CoinBase I think are more safe than personal wallets.

It’s just a matter of risk.

You have a fire, you will likely lose your personal wallets if they’re not in the cloud with backups (which offer hacking risks).

I treat mine like banks. You shouldn’t go over the FDIC insurance on any bank account in theory and you shouldn’t hold BTC with one provider over a limit you’re not willing to lose.

[dtek]

Exactly! There’s gonna be horror stories no matter what you do. Exchange wallets with reputable exchanges like CoinBase I think are more safe than personal wallets.

It’s just a matter of risk.

You have a fire, you will likely lose your personal wallets if they’re not in the cloud with backups (which offer hacking risks).

I treat mine like banks. You shouldn’t go over the FDIC insurance on any bank account in theory and you shouldn’t hold BTC with one provider over a limit you’re not willing to lose.

It can be difficult for the average person to determine which exchanges are reputable and which are not. The one referenced at the start of this thread seemed reputable up until the CEO disappeared and (apparently) drained the company wallets. That said, though, I agree that Coinbase is reputable.

The problem with reputable exchanges is that they want nothing to do with customers who use their services for IOP (or Darknet) purchases. They will close your account if they discover it happening. For this reason, I feel that personal wallets are best for the kinds of use most PR members would contemplate. A reputable exchange wallet would be better for investment purposes if you are concerned about losing a personal wallet's data.

As you say, backing up wallet data is extremely important. I keep my backup wallet data in an encrypted container in cloud storage and synced to multiple devices. I feel that this provides sufficient protection against loss. But each person needs to make an informed decision about what risk they're willing to take.

[CynthiaAlice]

you summed up why crypto currency isn't going to be mainstream for a while. It's way too much of a hassle and you have to be a techie to navigate it. For newbies, the first place you go is Coinbase and then you're scratching your head why there is 12 to 15 business day wait times on transactions, miner fees -- while offering no anonymity.

When i bought my first bitcoin, I had to meet a sketchy guy off craigslist, meet him in a public place and give him cash as he did the transfer. It was weird and probably even a little dangerous (at least getting ripped off) but I'd take that experience over setting up a CB account again and waiting for transfers with no ability to dump out.

So for trackable, taxable, investments and long term holdings I keep in exchanges. My lemonade stand money is none of the government's business -- which is another reason to keep a personal wallet stocked.

[dtek]

you summed up why crypto currency isn't going to be mainstream for a while. It's way too much of a hassle and you have to be a techie to navigate it. For newbies, the first place you go is Coinbase and then you're scratching your head why there is 12 to 15 business day wait times on transactions, miner fees -- while offering no anonymity.

When i bought my first bitcoin, I had to meet a sketchy guy off craigslist, meet him in a public place and give him cash as he did the transfer. It was weird and probably even a little dangerous (at least getting ripped off) but I'd take that experience over setting up a CB account again and waiting for transfers with no ability to dump out.

So for trackable, taxable, investments and long term holdings I keep in exchanges. My lemonade stand money is none of the government's business -- which is another reason to keep a personal wallet stocked.

Yeah, it's a pretty steep learning curve. I'm a software engineer, so very comfortable with techie stuff, but it was irritatingly difficult to learn to acquire and use Bitcoin. You probably already have your BTC purchase methods figured out, but newbies might be interested to know that Coinstar (the change counting kiosk company) is currently rolling out Bitcoin purchase and (i think) sale functions in their kiosks nation-wide. I can purchase BTC relatively anonymously at my local Safeway and at a very reasonable exchange rate.

[CynthiaAlice]

Yeah, it's a pretty steep learning curve. I'm a software engineer, so very comfortable with techie stuff, but it was irritatingly difficult to learn to acquire and use Bitcoin. You probably already have your BTC purchase methods figured out, but newbies might be interested to know that Coinstar (the change counting kiosk company) is currently rolling out Bitcoin purchase and (i think) sale functions in their kiosks nation-wide. I can purchase BTC relatively anonymously at my local Safeway and at a very reasonable exchange rate.

Actually I had no idea. That’s pretty cool. I live in rural America so it will probably be awhile before I see one (I still have DSL for eff sakes) but that’s a great move by Coinstar to take advantage of existing in store real estate. Love it!

[Mikedan]

I never thought I would get the hang of using bitcoin on sending it to vendors that only accept it. Finally I got the hang of it and it’s pretty easy sending payment to vendors. I look at all the different kinds of places you can put your bitcoin funds I guess but that part messes me up just looking at where to put the funds. I see the word bitcoin and that’s where I will put my funds and send them out to the address provided to me. So the funds are not in my account with bitcoin very long. I send them as soon as an address is provided to me. I would think the 15 other places you can put your funds would be for people that use it a lot and make money on it. I’m not at that point yet. I’m just happy I know how to send it to vendors now.

[Musing]

The more I "learn" about btc it seems the more questions I have! I started on CB, but then moved everything to electrum. But it was causing problems, don't want to go into too much detail, but then I moved to another one that everyone seems to highly recommend. But I never keep much money in there. If I am going to do something, I plan it like lightening! Get the btc and off if goes!

That also helps with the possibility of the btc going up/down suddenly and I am short. Rarely goes the other way, haha.

I have more questions the more I read, and it is confounding when there are 2 different opinions and I see the sense in both of them!
arrrghhh!!!!

OK going back to btc school

Cheers

[Mac Fandango]

One way to do it is look for btc atm's near you. There you just open your btc app, hit buy btc and purchase what you need. Then copy/paste the address of where you want it to go and hit send. Like some have mentioned, I never keep hardly any btc
in my app, I place everything else in a hard wallet, I use the Ledger X and nobody can get to that because I have all the keys. It's also not connected to the internet. Do a search for bitcoin atm's near you, I've got an atm 2 miles away.....you can do it all there at once. They do charge a nice size premium for the convenience though.

[calgal99]

One way to do it is look for btc atm's near you. There you just open your btc app, hit buy btc and purchase what you need. Then copy/paste the address of where you want it to go and hit send. Like some have mentioned, I never keep hardly any btc
in my app, I place everything else in a hard wallet, I use the Ledger X and nobody can get to that because I have all the keys. It's also not connected to the internet. Do a search for bitcoin atm's near you, I've got an atm 2 miles away.....you can do it all there at once. They do charge a nice size premium for the convenience though.

@Mac Fandango, good luck trying to find a btc ATM anywhere in the boonies like where I live!! Of course, around here, not everyone even has a debit card, and a lot of people don't even have a bank account, so.... In any case, I have had 2 really bad experiences with BC and electronic wallets, and lost quite a bit of $$ when the services disappeared without warning, so I am not a fan. I understand why vendors like using them, but I don't, and have yet to be convinced that this is the "payment method of the future." JMO, I know a lot of folks here are happy using BC, but some of us are not enthusiastic at this point.

[cherrybomb]

@Mac Fandango, good luck trying to find a btc ATM anywhere in the boonies like where I live!! Of course, around here, not everyone even has a debit card, and a lot of people don't even have a bank account, so.... In any case, I have had 2 really bad experiences with BC and electronic wallets, and lost quite a bit of $$ when the services disappeared without warning, so I am not a fan. I understand why vendors like using them, but I don't, and have yet to be convinced that this is the "payment method of the future." JMO, I know a lot of folks here are happy using BC, but some of us are not enthusiastic at this point.

I completely agree with you! I haven't used BC yet but have friends that have lost quite a bit of money for one reason or another. I'm not looking forward to having to use this as a payment method.

[4legsgood]

[email protected], And @Cal[email protected], I am SO with you, live in the bonnies, life is great not having to use technology in step with the rest of the world... but it has got to the point if we don’t have the quiet day or even a couple to read the forum posts, check out youtube etc etc we just will be, I fear, soon shut out of the IPO world. Which is a way bigger hassle. Right? I am in middle of unavoidable legally required things I must do...(probate issues, beneficiaries at war, I am hapless executor in the middle.)...but first chance it’s going to be made a personal challenge, and I will just do it. The question is, if we can find the atm, in nearest city, do you think it best to agree on an order with a vendor, then go try buy, or do a test looking blankly at the ATM first.a trial run. Purchase (get to a store, right?) a hardware wallet, same trip. It’s just that some of us still live in a different world. Can’t remember when I last cruised around a retail mall.
People here, certain posters, great threads, are so helpful... c’mon let’s just get over the mental hurdle... and get it done. I will give myself a week or 10 days, then report back. How about couple of you with ‘bitcoin block’ try with me? Report progress on this thread. Might help get us going.

Thanks friends for the support. Best, 4legs...

[M77]

Does anybody know a good exchange that will not rob you blind? Also, I don’t mind establishing my identity, but do they all need tons of documentation to open? I almost did it when it was easy, but I didn’t trust that I knew enough to not get scammed. Are there any with a longtime track record of legitimacy? I have to stop procrastinating. Thanks in advance.

[seashells]

I need help I bought coins today from bitcoin machine my transaction went through I have my reciept. It's NOT in my wallet???? someone said I needed to refresh my wallet. I dont know how I use my cell phone only and Im not sure what to do. Any advice?

[M77]

I need help I bought coins today from bitcoin machine my transaction went through I have my reciept. It's NOT in my wallet???? someone said I needed to refresh my wallet. I dont know how I use my cell phone only and Im not sure what to do. Any advice?

@seashells
Exactly why I want someone to recommend me to a legit one. I don’t trust myself to do something wrong, and lose everything. I actually started a wallet, way back when it was really easy, but I knew I was getting in over my head. I’m pretty sure, if I did finish, and actually made any money, I would have screwed the whole thing up.

[seashells]

@seashells
Exactly why I want someone to recommend me to a legit one. I don’t trust myself to do something wrong, and lose everything. I actually started a wallet, way back when it was really easy, but I knew I was getting in over my head. I’m pretty sure, if I did finish, and actually made any money, I would have screwed the whole thing up.

Well wait, I used the BITCOIN wallet and it worked great a few times my money got sent to my wallets address, it's just not showing in my wallet. I think it maybe a app. problem but I don't know how to refresh the app. I've googled and @M77 its complicated by their words. You can't over think it that's for dam sure. It was really easy using the machine thou to be fair.

[M77]

Well wait, I used the BITCOIN wallet and it worked great a few times my money got sent to my wallets address, it's just not showing in my wallet. I think it maybe a app. problem but I don't know how to refresh the app. I've googled and @M77 its complicated by their words. You can't over think it that's for dam sure. It was really easy using the machine thou to be fair.

@seashells
I was going to try and find an ATM, but I assume you have to already have a wallet, or the ATM has no place to transfer to. Does that sound right?

[seashells]

@seashells
I was going to try and find an ATM, but I assume you have to already have a wallet, or the ATM has no place to transfer to. Does that sound right?

Im sorry, my dad broke his hip last week and I've not been but I got my wallet working. Completely my fault. Yes down lead a wallet to your cell. it's so easy. Since this post is a week old pm me ...

[seashells]

@M77. yes you are corret. When you put your money into machine after you push buy coins. They have to have a place to go otherwise they will set there in machine. If you have a wallet after you buy your coins. open you wallet and you hold cell up to the machine. Always get a reciept.

[M77]

@M77. yes you are corret. When you put your money into machine after you push buy coins. They have to have a place to go otherwise they will set there in machine. If you have a wallet after you buy your coins. open you wallet and you hold cell up to the machine. Always get a reciept.

@seashells
Thanks!