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Installing Your Bitcoin Wallet

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The complexity of modern operating systems is getting more and more interesting each day, but installation of Bitcoin wallet can’t be any simpler.

So what is a Bitcoin Wallet?

walletBasically, a Bitcoin wallet is an open source software that can be used by the owners to make or receive payments (in Bitcoins) for free. As the wallet owner you generate a unique Bitcoin addresses in the wallet that can only be used to send or receive Bitcoin (cryptocurrency) to or from other Bitcoin owners. Unlike a bank, a wallet offers you full possession of your Bitcoins since it’s only you who can check the balance, and send money (with none of those “Bank Fees”).

Because Bitcoins are stored directly in your computer or mobile device (given that they are just like real money)u, you need to install a wallet to keep them safe. Installation of a Bitcoin wallet takes a few seconds, as long as you choose a version that’s compatible with your device’s operating system. Before you start using Bitcoins, be sure to install a compatible Bitcoin wallet.

The following step-by-step guide for installing your Bitcoin Wallet will certainly help you.

Installing Bitcoin Wallet

Step 1: Download Bitcoin wallet client

As a new or existing user, you only need to pick a wallet that you will download for use on your mobile phone or on your computer. Basically, what you need to do is get yourself a Bitcoin client or digital wallet. However, it is highly recommended that you should choose an original client because it is more resource intensive, but it takes nearly a whole day to synchronize. Also, an original client offers high levels of privacy, security and stability.

There is a wide range of stand-alone exe setup files that you can choose from depending on your operating system (Windows and Linux operating systems), for instance, you can download:

  • Bitcoin-Qt  (Main bitcoin Wallet and Highly RECOMMEMDED)
  • MultiBit
  • Armory
  • Electrum
  • Bitcoin Wallet for Android and Blackberry platforms.

Save your downloaded setup file in a location you can easily access and move on to step two.

Step 2: Install the downloaded client

Bitcoin Wallet

This is basically the last step of any installation process, after which you will have your very own personal Bitcoin wallet. After you’ve downloaded a Bitcoin wallet client of your choice, simply install it by running the setup file on your Windows, Linux or Android device. Wait for the extraction and installation of the appropriate installation files to be complete.

It will then create a wallet for you and start downloading the transaction history of every bitcoin transaction automatically. Note: this take awhile the first time.

Step 3: Back up your wallet

Back up your wallet Regularly: This is highly recommended because the backup file of your Bitcoin wallet (wallet.dat) can be lost or might become corrupted due to computer failures and some human mistakes. In most cases, this is a backup file that you will need to restore your wallet, and ensure you do not lose your Bitcoins.

Depending on your OS, the wallet file will be located at:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Bitcoin\ (where %APPDATA% = C:\Users\YourUserName\Appdata\Roaming\Bitcoin )
  • Linux: ~/.bitcoin/
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/

You can back up your entire wallet, encrypt your online backups, use more secure locations, and make routine backups for enhanced security of recent transactions. However, you should ensure that you encrypt your wallet.dat file using a strong and unique password.

This procedure can only be secure if you perform it in this order, but other complex procedures exist depending on your operating system. Before you make a bulk transfer, perform 1 or 2 trials of how to send or receive Bitcoins with a few bitcents.

Now that you know what bitcoin is and have installed your wallet, it is time to secure your bitcoin wallet.

 
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What is Bitcoin? Simply The Evolution of Money

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Over the past few years, the trajectory of Bitcoin has been nothing short of remarkable. It has remained a peer-to-peer alternative whose creator remains unknown to some people five years down the line. As much as Bitcoin sounds like something out of a fiction novel to most people who know little or even worse nothing about it, it has paid off for a good number of its early adopters. As a matter of fact, it is moving too fast to be ignored.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a relatively new digital currency that’s largely based on a paper that was made available by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in 2009. It can also be described as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that runs down a decentralized network of its users. Actually, this means that no one is in control of this currency.

It was first introduced into the market on 18th July 2010, and since then, software programmers and cryptographers have continued to develop Bitcoin in order to make it secure, useful and user-friendly. With the implementation of the Bitcoin protocol, the following year after its release, this type of currency has been in circulation globally with a market capitalization of more than one billion US dollars.

It is quite fascinating to note that Bitcoin can be used to pay for different products and services since it works in the same way as paper money, but with some unique difference. Even though physical forms of Bitcoin exist, the currency principal form is data that you can trade online, a peer-to-peer using online service or wallet software. Basically, you can use this currency to buy anything that accepts it, as long as you have it. In some cases, some sellers accept Bitcoin as the only form of payment, and hence you will have to acquire it in order to initiate or complete any transaction.

How it works

BitcoinsIt is necessary to note that the first thing you need to do as a new user is to install a digital wallet, free open source software, on your mobile device or computer. This software will generate your first and subsequent Bitcoin addresses used to send Bitcoin payments. Each Bitcoin is associated with the current owner’s unique public ECDSA key.

This means that when you send Bitcoins to a vendor or anyone, you create a transaction or rather a message that attaches a new owner’s public key to the amount of coins sent.

For security reasons, you have to sign the message with your private key to verify to everyone that it’s legitimate. The public key and private key essentially consist of unique, long strings of numbers and letters. This transaction is then broadcasted to the Bitcoin network, as a way of letting everyone in the network to know the owner of the new key.

Ideally, this results in the creation of a new Bitcoin address with its own balance. In fact, each Bitcoin address in your wallet can hold different amounts of this currency. It is vital to mention that Bitcoin addresses are only created when Bitcoins are acquired.

If you wish to purchase a product from a company that accepts Bitcoins as payment mode, then it must send you its Bitcoin address which you can send the Bitcoin payment. Such a transaction takes place within seconds, but verification might take ten minutes or longer.

Now that you know what Bitcoin is, its time to install your own Bitcoin Wallet.

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