Wednesday 13 December 2017
Did you know? If you had bought bitcoins worth 10000Rs in 2010, now you would have a whopping amount of 62Cr the same amount of bitcoins. 😉
All of a sudden Bitcoins started to become trending! It is no surprise because the value of Bitcoins has increased to nearly 150% this year alone. And after Japan accepted bitcoins as a payment method, the demand for Bitcoins increased further.
Are you still wondering what exactly is a Bitcoin and how to earn from it? In today’s article, I will discuss Bitcoins, the technology, and how to earn (or even lose) from trading Bitcoins in India. I will also discuss all necessary stuff about bitcoins you need to know before jumping into this, and also the risk factors involved, and how to play smart.
No, I won’t be blabbering the same boring stuff you see on other websites, I will try to explain it from a different approach, which, I believe, is easily understandable.
Just to give you an idea, as I am writing this post, my Bitcoin values are increasing (and decreasing too) 😉
I know many have queries regarding bitcoins and I never found any website which discusses these matters in a way that we can understand better. Hence, I tried to write it in my own style and tried to educate you all about it.
So, let’s get started with today’s trending topic Bitcoins or BTC in short.
What is a Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency.
Wait, what is cryptocurrency then? Let me start from the absolute base: Cryptography.
You must have played this game when you were a child. Something like this:
Say there are two lines:
I AM NIRMAL
J BN OJSNBM
See the first line ‘I AM NIRMAL’ it is a meaningful sentence. But the second line ‘J BN OJSNBM’ is not meaningful at all. If I give this second line to someone it will take him some time to find out the meaning.
What I did was just wrote the next letter. J in place of I, B in place of A and so on.
This process of replacing something with something else is called ‘Encryption’. I encrypted the first line with the second line.
Getting the first line back from the second line, by decoding the encryption, is called ‘Decryption’. To decrypt a data, we need a decryption key. In the above example, the decryption key will contain the instruction of switching to the previous letter. Using the key we can decrypt it.
But see, if I give you that example sentence if you are clever, you can decrypt it without a key too. It is easy.
Well, that above encryption was just a small example. Nowadays encryption has reached highest standards. The modern day techniques use highest encryption algorithm with the strongest security so that it cannot be decrypted without the key.
This modern day technique of encrypting and decrypting is known as cryptography. Concept cleared?
Okay, let me jump to Cryptocurrency now.
To put simply, cryptocurrency is a virtual currency which uses cryptography for encrypting itself.
The first thing to note is, it is virtual, not real.
You must be knowing about a virtual debit card. It is the same debit card but only exists virtually for digital payments. Similarly, a cryptocurrency is totally a virtual currency. It has no physical existence.
Just like we exchange physical currency, a cryptocurrency can be exchanged between parties. Like you give or take money in place of something equivalent, you can give or take cryptocurrency too.
Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin was created by an unknown person or a group of unknown persons who used the name, Satoshi Nakamoto, back in 2009.
Apart from Bitcoins, there are around 800 such cryptocurrencies. Each having their own conversion rates to our physical currency. Examples are Ethereum, Ripple Coin, PeerCoin, ZCash etc.
And the rates of conversion keep on fluctuating every second. It is similar to the INR – USD conversion rate, which keeps on changing based on different factors. Similarly, the Bitcoin to USD conversion rates keep on changing every second based on different factors. (Some of them I will discuss in this article so that you can understand it)
Probably you have heard people saying that it is risky to trade with Bitcoins. That is due to the fact that the value of Bitcoins and every other cryptocurrency keeps on changing rapidly. If you are lucky you may earn huge, or you may suffer great lose.
But if you can play smartly, then you can possibly earn some good amount of money. Like I said, in this year, the value of BTC increased by 150%! It’s all about doing research and investing with a good plan.
You can exchange one type of cryptocurrency for another type. There are websites available for that. (I will come to that later on). Currently, Bitcoins have the highest value among the other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin is the Cash for the Internet
For now, keep this in mind. Let’s proceed to the Bitcoin Wallet and how it works.
What is a Bitcoin Wallet and Bitcoin Address?
To store bitcoins you need a bitcoin wallet. It is easy to create a bitcoin wallet. I recommend using Blockchain or Copay App to create your safe Bitcoin wallet.
From a Bitcoin Wallet, you can create Bitcoin Addresses. The Address is basically a match of letter and numbers if you read it. It also has a corresponding QR Code.
So to send money to other bitcoin wallets, you either need his address or just scan his wallet QR Code. And you can send them bitcoins.
Same applies for getting Bitcoins, you need to give your Bitcoin Address or the QR Code to other party and he will be able to send you Bitcoins.
Bitcoin transactions are irreversible
One important thing to remember is that Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. So, once sent, you cannot reverse it. The only possible way to recover it is to ask the receiver to return it back. So, if you do a mistake in typing proper address it will be fatal for you.
But many people confuses between wallet and address. An Address is a Private Key itself that carries the information how much Bitcoin is stored in it. A wallet is a collection of private keys. During a transaction, you give or take the address of yourself / other parties. For each transaction, you can use a different address.
Unlike regular real wallets, Bitcoin wallets are directly stored in the hardware. Like I said the addresses are just some random match of letter or numbers, and a QR Code, so you can store it on your pen drive, computer, mobile, or even take out a paper print and store it offline.
A paper wallet is safer to store because it is non-electronic, so it has no chance of getting corrupted like a hard disk or pen drive. And it is stored detached from the internet, so nobody can actually get access to it by hacking. It is recommended that everyone of you should create a Paper Bitcoin Wallet and store your Bitcoins there.
Create a Paper Bitcoin Wallet
Coinbase wrote a detailed guide on How to create a Paper Bitcoin Wallet. Check it out.
Now, let me come to the part of the technology behind the bitcoins and how it works. Again, I won’t be going to technical details, I will just tell the part you need to know, without much confusion.
How does Bitcoin Work? What is Bitcoin Mining?
This part is the core of the entire Bitcoin system. Unless and until you understand the technology properly, your picture regarding the bitcoin system will be vague.
Sadly enough, most of the websites have given complex explanations, which are hard to understand properly. I would try my best to make you understand in an easy way.
Like our Currency is printed by Reserve Bank of India, Bitcoins needs to be generated from somewhere. The founder Satoshi Nakamoto found an interesting way to develop bitcoins, known as Mining.
Mining Bitcoins is making the computers solve Complex Mathematical Problems
To explain in simple words, Mining is ‘Making the computers solve Complex Mathematical Problems’. The ‘information’ generated by the computers during the process of mining is stored in Bitcoins.
But why should a computer solve the problem? And what problem should it solve? Let me explain that.
Suppose Person A sending 1 BTC to Person B. A will take B’s BTC Address and transfer the amount. As soon as the transfer request is made, a ‘block’ or record is created with an encryption that a transaction is pending.
A miner’s job is then to decrypt the ‘block’ (like I said, every Address is a private key) so that the bitcoin transfer to Person B is complete. The decrypted ‘block’ is attached to a ‘blockchain’. The Blockchain keeps the record of the ‘successful transaction’ after it is done.
So, from a blockchain, all details of the transaction can be known, including which address sent it, to whom it was sent, and how much amount was sent. But even if someone knows that he still won’t know who is behind that specific address. So, both the parties spending and accepting bitcoins remain private.
Well, in doing the job of transferring the money, the miner takes some fees. So, Person B won’t receive fully 1 BTC, he will receive a bit lesser. This is the reason every bitcoin transaction, some amount of fees is cut off.
Again, the amount of fees is totally dependent on the miner. That also keeps on fluctuating. But, it is a very minute amount (Under 0.00001%) which won’t affect much of the transaction amount.
Anyways, coming to the miner’s point of view again, so, the miners need to solve these complex encryption algorithm which is based on Mathematics. The more mining is done, the more bitcoins are made.
As soon as the bitcoins are created, the miners own it. Because they mined it. (Like gold mining)
Bitcoin Mining Reward Amount Falls by Half Every 4 Years
This is like a reward for the miners and this is the ONLY SOURCE of generating new bitcoins.
But what is the reward amount?
Well, that’s another interesting scenario. This reward amount falls by half every 4 years. (That’s the way this technology is created by Satoshi Nakamoto)
So, if you had earned 50 bitcoins for mining a block in 2009, you would only earn 25 bitcoins for the same work in 2013, and only 12.5 bitcoins in 2017.
Mathematicians have calculated and found that, if this continues, then there will not be more than 21 Million Bitcoins in circulation ever. So the total amount of Bitcoins that can be created and circulated is fixed.
And right now, in 2017, 16 million bitcoins have already been mined using this technique. Only 5 million is left to mine. And it will continue until the year 2140 only. By then all bitcoins will be mined.
No matter how much more mining is done, new bitcoins won’t be produced after that, due to the fact that the reward is reduced to half every 4 years and will be almost zero by that time.
If you are still reading, then, yes, you now know how this system works. That’s everything, inside out. That’s the thing people fail to understand. Now you know it.
Why the Bitcoin Value Fluctuates?
In the beginning, I said that the conversion rate of Bitcoins to USD or INR or other currencies keep on fluctuating.
The general tendency of the users is to buy Bitcoins and let the value of Bitcoins rise high and sell them finally at a higher rate.
The reason for the fluctuation lies in this buying and selling of Bitcoins itself.
When someone buys bitcoins, the value of bitcoin rises up: This is due to the fact that Bitcoin is being consumed by people. The total amount of Bitcoins is constant, so, the more people buys is, the lesser amount of bitcoins will remain in the market. This Bitcoin Scarcity is one of the reasons of its value hike.
Bitcoin Value Fluctuates due to buying and selling itself
When someone sells bitcoins, the value of bitcoin goes down: Likewise, this happens due to the fact bitcoins are rejected by users and they are more freely available. If all bitcoin holders decide to sell off bitcoin RIGHT NOW, then the value of Bitcoin will fall to zero: It’s obvious, something can only be traded if there are users for it.
Also, the more bitcoins are purchased, the value will become higher. Right now (25th May 2017) it is growing tremendously and the reason behind it is people purchasing it like hell. In my personal opinion, I don’t think people will stop buying right now. In fact, this increased rate is going to encourage more and more buyers, which will increase the rate even more. It works that way. But these are all my speculations. It may not happen!
So, I guess you now understand why the value of bitcoins keeps on fluctuating. It is due to the amount of transactions done using them.
Since bitcoins are widely accepted as payment modes for many places, the demand for bitcoins is high, which has resulted in this high price. And the ones accepting the payments as bitcoin are also getting benefitted. Because by the time they sell that bitcoin, they can earn even more than the actual amount of money they took as payment.
Suppose a coffee costs 5$, and a user pays the company bitcoins worth 5$. At the end of the month, when the company decides to cash it out, the value may go up to 10$! (Just an example) That’s the reason, different merchants have started to accept bitcoins and it is increasing every day.
See the scope and demand for the bitcoins? You can now easily tell the reason behind its rapid growth now.
Bitcoin value too high? That’s the time people start selling them. This may lead to downfall. Again, if the value is too low, people will buy it, grossing its value. 😉
What to do with Bitcoins?
There are basically two things you can do with buying bitcoins. The first thing I already discussed earlier. That is, to buy and sell bitcoins depending on their value.
Either Sell off your BTC or Trade for Altcoins (Other Cryptocurrencies)
The second thing you can do, and which is more profitable, is to trade off bitcoins for other cryptocurrencies.
Every cryptocurrency has its own conversion rate and it fluctuates too. So, you can trade off bitcoin for some other cryptocurrency and wait till the value increases and again exchange it for some other cryptocurrency.
These type of trading are usually profitable because your money is never stored in some distinct currency. If you play well, you will end up making some quick profits.
A general rule is to never sell off your cryptocurrencies for real money as long as you don’t need money. That’s because if you sell it off, the next time you need to purchase them you need to pay even higher rates. Because our currency values remain same and never increases.
But if you keep your money on some cryptocurrency which is increasing every day, you will keep on making money everyday
Important Things to Know about Bitcoins before Investing:
So far you have known almost everything you need to know to start Bitcoin Trading. But, I feel I should talk to you about some important stuff which I feel you should know before getting your hands dirty on Bitcoins.
‘Someone’s profit is someone’s loss in this market’ – Paras
These are very crucial. Please read them carefully before proceeding to buy bitcoins.
Understand the RISK FACTOR carefully. The value of bitcoins may fall down anytime. It is totally unpredictable. I will be not responsible if you buy bitcoins and end up losing money.
If you are new to Earning Money Online, or if you don’t have a good bank balance, you should stay away from investing money in Bitcoins. It’s a game of chance and has absolutely no surety what will happen in future. So, newcomers are NOT WELCOME to play in it.
Only proceed if you have already earned a lot of money online or just have a huge bank balance.
Never invest all bank balance in bitcoins. Only invest a small amount. Keep the majority in your bank. Let that small amount grow big. Even if something bad happens, your main bank balance is there to save you.
Don’t hope for returns while investing in Bitcoins. Think of it as some money wasted already. It will help you play with Bitcoins better.
This platform is only for risk-takers., Yes taking risk is worth, but, you should not take the risk if your financial condition isn’t good. You should not hope for living by investing in Bitcoins. Treat is as an extra income only.
Bitcoin is out of Legal Jurisdiction in India. So, it is not illegal to trade with bitcoins. And you are not bound to any legal stuff. There is no Government Taxes and other fees.
If you are investing in bitcoins, at least try to invest 7k-8k. This will give you better returns. Like I said, you need to completely trust your gut!
On Every Bitcoin Transaction, there is a fee cut off due to mining, which I explained clearly above. So, don’t expect the same amount of bitcoin when you are buying, selling, or transferring bitcoins. It will be lesser by some amount.
The buying and selling rates of Bitcoin are different. To be more precise, the selling rates are much lower than the buying rates. So, once you buy bitcoins, you need to wait for its value to increase before you decide to sell it. Else you may incur a loss.
How to Buy and Sell Bitcoins in India?
In India, you can buy Bitcoins in two ways:
Either from any bitcoin vendor
Or, from Bitcoin Buy / Sell Trusted Websites
Bitcoin Venders are available throughout social networks. Just search Buy Sell Bitcoins on Facebook and you shall see a lot of Facebook Groups involved in buying and selling Bitcoins.
But there is a big risk in buying from them, they can cheat you. They may take your money, and never give you bitcoins. You can’t seek legal assistance as Bitcoins don’t fall under the jurisdiction of any law.
Get Rs100 Worth Bitcoins For Free from Zebpay
So, the second option is more preferable. You should buy bitcoins from a trusted place and sell there only.
1. Zebpay:
The most popular Indian hub to buy and sell Bitcoins is Zebpay. From there, you can purchase or sell bitcoins at Indian rates. You will also get Free Bitcoins worth Rs100 if you join Using my Referral Code: REFNIRM1966.
Note: To ensure safe buy and sell, Zebpay will verify your identity and address. You need to provide any valid Govt Id and Address Proof Scanned Copy. You cannot buy any bitcoins before you get approval. This process takes a few hours only. Don’t worry. We all did it. And it is for the good of us only, so that nobody can cheat the system 🙂
I am writing down the concept of Zebpay below:
On zebpay, there is a Zebpay Wallet in INR. You can add money to Zebpay Wallet from Bank using IMPS / NEFT / RTGS or Net Banking, anytime. You can withdraw all your Zebpay Wallet money anytime to your Bank too.
The minimum amount to add to the wallet is Rs5000. Well, it is not much high considering the extreme value of Bitcoins. You must invest a big amount to hoping for better returns.
After you add money to Zebpay, you can use that money to purchase Bitcoins from within the app itself. It is easy and one step process.
Similarly, you can sell off your bitcoins whenever you like. The equivalent amount will be added to your Zebpay wallet. This you can use to buy Bitcoins again or withdraw to your bank account anytime.
It is that simple.
Note that Zebpay will create a Bitcoin Address for you where your bitcoins will be stored.
Zebpay allows you to Send Bitcoins to anyone or receive bitcoins from anyone.
Note that this is not a hardware wallet like I said above, this is a online wallet which is stored on their servers, so if you need to store Bitcoins for a longer period, its recommended that you always transfer your Bitcoins to a hardware wallet which you create like Copay or Blockchain.
And when it’s time, you can again transfer it to your Zebpay Bitcoin Address and sell it off.
2. Unocoin:
Unocoin is another option for Indians to buy and sell Bitcoins using Indian currency. Like Zebpay, this also has shows buying and selling rates of Bitcoins. It also has its own Wallet where you can add up balance and buy Bitcoins using that balance. However, here, the minimum balance is Rs1000 (In Zebpay it was Rs5000).
So, Unocoin Platform is preferrable for people who want to play with Bitcoins but with lesser rates. While lesser rates give you less income, it also has lesser risks to involve with.
However, note the differences between Unocoin and Zebpay.
The first thing is about Support. Zebpay has a better and quick support. You can reach out to them and get help quickly. This is one of the main reason why Zebpay has better ratings on Play Store than Unocoins. For the same reason, your KYC Verification at Unocoin will take longer time period. Mine took more than 48 hours (50 hours exactly).
The second thing is about the Lower Buying Limits, which may be helpful for people who wants to invest lesser.
The third thing is about Unocoin’s Bitcoin Rate Updating System. It updates every second, but it doesn’t auto update.
Let me elaborate. So, Unocoin’s Bitcoin Buy / Sell rate is updated every second but its not reflected inside the app automatically. You need to manually visit the Bitcoin Rate Page (which is the first tab right after opening the app) and revisit the page again and again to update the price.
So, suppose you saw the rate is good to buy Bitcoins and proceed with buying it, you may find it has increased by the time the payment is complete.
The fourth thing is that Unocoin is available both as Android / iOS App and Website, while Zebpay is only available on Android and iOS platform. It has no Website view.
So, now you know both advantages and disadvantages of Unocoin Vs Zebpay.
You can download Unocoin App from Play Store. To get Free Bitcoins worth Rs200, Use my Referral Code: U242718 during signing up, and use any of the Coupon Codes: FBA200 / TTA200 / UNO200. (If you are on PC or Mobile Browser.
How to Trade Bitcoins In India?
Bitcoin trading is the process to exchange one cryptocurrency to buy another cryptocurrency.
We usually trade off bitcoins with altcoins (other currencies) because we can buy more of them with bitcoins, since the value of bitcoins is higher, and then we can get better profit when the value of the corresponding cryptocurrency rises higher.
ETH and XRP are the most profitable ones after BTC
The most profitable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin is Ethereum (ETH).
Though its value is lesser than bitcoin, its daily growth rate currently (25th May 2017) is more than Bitcoin growth. So, it is a good option to consider after Bitcoins.
Also, its risk factor is lesser than Bitcoins. Bitcoin has reached the highest amounts recently. It is unpredictable what will happen in future (though common sense says it will increase). So for them who wants to play with lesser risk factor can trade Bitcoins for Ethereum.
The third most important cryptocurrency currently in talks is Ripple Coin (XRP).
Now comes the question why not buy other cryptocurrencies directly, like we buy bitcoins?
The reason is there are not many options to buy other currencies. Yes, there are websites like EthexIndia to buy Ethereum and BitxIndia to buy Ripple Coins, you can try them out if you wish. But I personally prefer buying Bitcoins first, for a different reason. It is actually about strategy.
As Bitcoin value is more, the more bitcoins you have, the more Eth or Xrp you can buy. So you can buy BTC at first and keep your money in Btc for some days, see the growth of Btc, and only trade once the value of Btc starts falling down.
In that case, you can buy more Eth or Xrp as your Btc would have increased by that time. Isn’t it good?
Where to Trade Off Bitcoins?
There are many sites where you can exchange your Bitcoins for your preferred Currency.
The Popular Ones are:
Changelly
Ethtrade
Kraken
Shapeshift
Bitrex
Poloniex
CoinBase
Altcoin Wallets for Trading:
To trade Bitcoins against Altcoins (other cryptocurrencies), you first need a Wallet for that corresponding Altcoin. A Bitcoin Wallet cannot hold Ethereum and vice versa.
Never Send Bitcoins to Ether Wallet and vice versa. Applicable to all wallets.
It is absolutely essential not to mix up wallets. Keep them separate from each other. A bitcoin wallet runs in a completely different way than ethereum wallet. So, if you try to send altcoins to a bitcoin wallet, it will fail. But by chance if it DOES NOT FAIL, you will LOSE THAT AMOUNT. Like I said earlier, these transactions are not reversible. So always be cautious.
Below I am listing both Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple Coin (XRP) Wallets. During trading, put these wallet addresses.
Note that each of them are secure wallets. So take utmost care to keep their address and qr codes in a safe place. Take print out to be safest.
Ethereum Wallets:
MyEtherWallet
Ethereum Wallet Android
Ethereum Wallet by Decentral [This is at Beta Stage, try on your own risk]
Bit.AC
Ripple Coin Wallets:
GateHub
Rippex
RipplePaperWallet
RippleWallet
Eobot
Well, like I said there are more than 700 Cryptocurrencies. I can’t discuss them all here. Also, the listed ones aren’t the only options. There are others too. I just tried to assist the best I could. Do the internet research yourself.
Check Bitcoin Rates, Price History Graph, Charts:
To do a better business, it is extremely important that you keep a track of your cryptocurrency growth rates. The more you study them, the easier it will become for you to decide whether to stay or sell or trade it off.
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