How to buy or create cryptocurrencies and open a wallet
If you want to get started in the world of cryptocurrencies, start by creating a cryptocurrency wallet.
First described in 1998, the concept of Cryptocurrency was something completely unknown 21 years ago, an almost Science Fiction idea that proposed to create a new type of decentralised money, one that used Cryptography as a control system. But it was not until 2009 that a developer named Satoshi Nakamoto – although that is not his real name – created the first cryptocurrency: Bitcoin.
21st century eCash
Digital currency or digital money on the Internet is a medium of exchange distinct from real money that possesses properties similar to physical currencies and allows for instant transactions and borderless transfer of ownership. They can be used to purchase physical goods and services, but can also be restricted to certain communities such as within a social network or online games.
Digital currencies such as bitcoin are known as “decentralised digital currencies”, which means that there is no central point that controls the money supply. Something dangerous, as cryptocurrencies are very risky due to their high volatility, and if today they are worth fortunes like 1,200 real dollars for 1 Bitcoin, tomorrow that same price can fall by 50% to $600 per Bitcoin to give you an idea. To carry out transactions you need a virtual wallet or wallet that we access through an application or our web browser.
Obtaining Cryptocurrencies
Step 1 – Create a Wallet
As OSI, the Spanish Internet Security Office, tells us, to obtain cryptocurrencies and trade with them you need a digital purse or “wallet”. This replicates a real wallet and has the function of storing cryptocurrencies, allowing its user to transfer them, as if it were a bank transfer. Let’s create a wallet for the most common cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, to see what steps to take:
The first thing you should do is go to this website and look for the “My wallet” section:
- Click on “Create a new wallet”.
- Enter a secure password (you must not give anyone access to this password, and you must memorise it well, as you cannot retrieve it). When you are finished, click “Continue”.
- You will also need to include an email address to complete the registration.
- Once created, log in with the password you created.
- After these steps you will now have an online wallet to start sending and receiving cryptocurrencies securely. Your bitcoin address can now be found on the “My addresses” page.
Step 2 – Get Cryptocurrencies
Now that you have a wallet to store them in, you can search for them, buy them or create them yourself. For greater security, they are usually encrypted, so to use them we must create a strong password that we will never forget, as it is the only one with which we can access our cryptocurrencies – in fact we have cases like the man who created a wallet for users and died without revealing the password to the rest of the users, who had put up to 190 million dollars in Bitcoin.
There are several ways to obtain or create cryptocurrencies:
1. Accepting them as a means of payment: today, there are many establishments, both physical and digital, that accept this digital currency as a means of payment. This is perhaps the easiest way to obtain them.
2. Mining bitcoins: software dedicated to mining cryptocurrencies solves mathematical problems based on random calculations, which aim to find a solution. If they crack it and the answer is validated, they are rewarded with one, or part, of a cryptocurrency.
3. Visiting websites or solving captcha: there are services that, in exchange for viewing advertising on the Internet or solving security captchas (services to identify people from bots or machines), will reward us with this type of currency.
4. Through the stock market: this consists of the activity of buying bitcoins in exchange for a value, which will depend on the time and value of the currency. Generally, it is a question of buying for a certain value so that when the value increases, they can be sold.
