How To Create A BitCoin Wallet and Fund It

Since it was introduced in 2009, BitCoins have become preferred digital currency and is being accepted by an increasing number of vendors for payments against products and services. They offer low transaction fees as compared to credit cards and are being used by notable vendors such as OkCupid, WordPress, and Reddit. BitCoin is getting an overwhelming response from investors and business community. According to David Johnston, CEO of Engine and executive director of BitAngels, it is already the 75th most valuable currency on earth.

The number of merchants accepting BitCoin for products and services has crossed 1,000,000 and is growing at a steady pace. So, if you want to purchase BitCoins and pay your bills online in this currency, register for a BitCoin wallet. The very first thing that you need to have while you decide to trade or purchase BitCoins is a BitCoin wallet. BitCoin wallets store the private keys that you need to access a BitCoin address and spend your funds.

There are a number of online BitCoin wallet service providers that enable users to store, trade and spend BitCoin. One such prominent service provider is Coinbase. Currently Coinbase is giving away for Free $10 USD for signing up and funding your account.

Creating a BitCoin Account on Coinbase:

1. Sign up for a CoinBase Account.
2. Verify your registered email id.
3. Once your account is verified, you can access your wallet from "Account" tab. By default, there is a "BTC Wallet" and "BTC Vault".
4. You can create a new wallet by clicking "New Account". Choose "Wallet" from the list, enter wallet name and click "Create Account".
5. "Account created!".

Each BitCoin wallet has an associated unique 'BitCoin address'. It is this BitCoin address that is used to send and receive funds. A BitCoin address looks something like this: 15KqcEYww2NmAiJLfspeBze5kmPaykRP8T.

Where to spend BitCoins?

Today an increasing number of online e-commerce sites and brick-and-mortar stores are accepting BitCoins. This development has pushed BitCoin from a trading currency to a preferred online payments currency.

The companies accepting BitCoin include some major players including Amazon, WordPress, Subway, Tesla, Paypal etc. The best way to find BitCoin-accepting merchants is via marketplaces and aggregator sites like 'UseBitCoins.info'. CoinMap.org offers a visual representation of merchants accepting the cryptocurrency over a geographical area. Also, some e-commerce platforms such as Purse.io provides a marketplace for people to purchase items from Amazon up to 30% less than the selling price. Within Purse.io you post your wishlist from Amazon, name your discount and send Purse the BitCoins. Purse acts as an escrow account until someone purchases your wishlist.

Funding a Coinbase BitCoin Wallet:

Now, when you have created your BitCoin wallet, you would definitely like to fund it. There are two ways to fund your Coinbase wallet:

1. Buy BitCoins by making a payment from one of your verified payment methods. Currently, this service is available in only 32 countries, mostly European and North American.
2. Receive funds from some of your friends. This service is available for users all over the world.

Buy BitCoins:

Before you can buy BitCoin, you need to add a "payment method" for your transactions. For this, you can link your international bank account, credit card or debit card.

1. Link your bank account, credit card or debit card from the "Payment method" page under "settings" tab.
2. You can buy BitCoins from "Buy/Sell BitCoin" section. Enter the 'amount', select verified 'payment method' and select a 'wallet'.
3. It will take approximately 4 business days for BitCoins to arrive in your account.

Receive Funds:

If the service for buying BitCoins on Coinbase is not available for your location, you can request some of your friends to transfer it to your wallet. For receiving funds from your friends, they will need your registered email or BitCoin wallet address to send the funds.