How to get bitcoins
If you recently heard about Bitcoin and would like to start using it today, you have come to the right place! This guide will show you how to get bitcoins in under an hour.
First, sign up at LocalBitcoins which is a website similar to craigslist that allows users to post buy and sell offers for bitcoins. Unlike Craigslist, Localbitcoins also acts as an escrow for transactions, hence reducing the risk of fraud.
Next, navigate to this link which will show all the sellers who are currently accepting cash deposits as a form of payment. If you look at the price / btc you will see that the listings charge only about 3%-4% markup on the price of btc. That is one of the lowest rates you can get on localbitcoins, as other online payments like paypal to bitcoin have atleast a 10% markup. The reason cash deposits are so cheap is because the buyer can almost never reverse them, that reduces the risk of fraud to the seller thus they are able to offer such low prices; meaning that you can get bitcoins cheaply and almost instantly once you make the deposit.
Next, choose a seller who has high feedback and who was recently active. You can check a user’s last activity by hovering over the circle next to their name.
Navigate to their profile and verify that the seller has good feedback, has been recently active, and has little to no Blocks (people who blocked the seller).
Next, go to the ad page and put in the amount of bitcoins you would like to buy, keep in mind sellers usually have trade limits which are specified on the listing. Once you choose the amount click the send trade request and wait for the seller to respond. For most cash deposits you will have to take a clear picture of the receipt which should have the bank logo, last 4 of account number, deposit amount and date. Once you send the picture of the receipt to the seller and he confirms it, he will release the escrow which will add coins to your localbitcoins.com wallet.
NOTE: When doing cash deposits make sure to go through the escrow system that localbitcoins.com offers. By circumventing escrow you will have a much greater chance of getting scammed and loosing money.
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