Trying Out Cryto

[myrdale]

I purchased my first Bitcoin yesterday. Obviously with the coin at a record high at the moment, I don't think I would call it an investment, more just an experiment.

So I opened an account on an exchange, in this case Coinbase.com. The opinion is their fee's are too high, but it's a place to start.

You then have to verify your identify and bank account. They make a couple deposits you have to confirm and you have to provide a copy of your drivers license. That took about half an hour.

Next I purchased $20 worth of Bitcoin. Well $18.50 after Coinbase's fee. It was a total of 0.00039.... Bitcoin.

I had already purchased a Ledger Nano X wallet ($120) and set it up. The wallet is basically an encrypted device that provides a key that you use as an address to save your coin too, off of the exchange.

I then transferred 0.0002 coin to the wallet (well too the address on the blockchain associated with that key). Again Coinbase charged a fee of some 0.000001 or so coin.

Anyway, I am sure for anyone involved already with Bitcoin or the like this is all terribly trivial, but maybe it can provide some clarity for those as nearly lost as I have been.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Yes the Coinbase fee is high but they also get you with a wide spread bid/ask price. For instance if the spot price was $45,000 when you bought it, you actually paid $45,179 for it. Same when you sell they'll buy it at $44,821. But congrats on your first purchase. Same with precious metals, oil, foreign currencies, commodities, etc. The price you see is not the price you get.