How To Send Money To Bitcoin Wallet
Every so often at Coinmama, we get a question that makes us scratch our heads, rethink how we explain things, and go back to Bitcoin basics. Recently that question was “Can you tell me how to add money to Bitcoin wallet?”
Sending & Receiving. To send funds from your wallet, you need the recipient’s receive address or QR code. To request, you can share your address or QR code with the sender. Note: your bitcoin and bitcoin cash address will change each time you request but your ether address will stay the same.
The head scratching came from not being sure exactly what question was being asked. Was the user wondering how to buy Bitcoin or was he asking how to load his wallet with fiat (that is, with paper currency)? After some lively office debate over coffee and a few chocolate bars, we were reminded of something often repeated by teachers: if one person has a question, someone else is probably asking the same thing. And because here at Coinmama we like to think of ourselves as crypto teachers, we decided to tackle both questions and a few bonus topics as well.
First let’s rewrite the question:
Unlike sending money overseas, you can send Bitcoin to anyone in the world virtually instantly. Give Donate Bitcoin to people in need on websites such as GiveCrypto.org, which distributes cryptocurrency to people living in poverty. Send Bitcoin from Coinbase. Okay, so you’ve purchased some Bitcoin and you now have it sitting in.
Before you can ask “Can you tell me how to add money to Bitcoin wallet?” you need to ask, “Can I add money to my Bitcoin wallet?” The answer, much like our relationship with Coinpapa, is “It’s complicated.”
Let’s back up. A crypto wallet is a cross between your bank account and your mailbox for cryptocurrency—it’s the place where you can send, receive, and store coins, and it’s also where you can see a record of all of your transactions. But a crypto wallet is, by its very nature, for cryptocurrency.
So the answer to the question depends on what you mean by money. If by money you mean Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, then yes! You can buy Bitcoins and send them to your wallet (we’ll cover that in a second). But if by money you mean fiat currency, such as a Dollar, Euro, or Yen, then the answer is no. While on some exchanges you can link your credit card or bank account, that link is to the exchange and not to your wallet. In other words, you cannot add fiat to your crypto wallet.
How do you buy Bitcoin?
If our user was actually asking how to add (or buy) Bitcoin to their wallet, well that we can easily answer!
Step 1: get a bitcoin wallet
You can’t get cryptocurrency without a crypto wallet, so if you don’t already have one, that’s your first step. There are many, many crypto wallets you can choose from. Some live online, some live offline, some can be used to store several different cryptocurrencies, some only one or two. Many experienced crypto buyers spread their coins out over more than one wallet. The key to choosing a wallet is to do your research: learn which wallets support each coin, read the reviews, and then download the wallet or wallets of your choice.
Step 2: place an order
If you’re registered with Coinmama, once you have a wallet you can easily buy Bitcoin with your credit card, debit card, or SEPA bank account. (If you’re not registered, you can do that here.) Simply choose the amount of crypto you’d like to buy, add your payment details, and go to step 3!
Step 3: enter your wallet address
Here’s where things get interesting. Every wallet has both a public key and a private key, or two very, very long strings of numbers and letters. The public key is what other people can see: it’s what appears on the blockchain, and it’s also what you can give out in order to receive cryptocurrency. The private key is the password to your wallet. (Don’t lose it, because it can’t be reset, and don’t give it to anyone you wouldn’t also give your bank password to.) In order to send (or add) Bitcoin to your wallet, you will need to enter your public key—or wallet address, so that Coinmama can send you your coins. Once you do that, your work is basically done! You’ll just need to confirm your wallet address by email before you can sit back, relax, and wait for the Bitcoin to be added (or sent) to your wallet.
Coinmama’s Takeaway
At Coinmama, we’ve been around crypto long enough that we forget some people are new to it. It’s nice to get a head scratcher every once in a while, to remind us that for many people, crypto basics are not so basic, and to give us an excuse to answer questions we don’t normally get to answer 🙂
Click here to read our Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin and Crypto
One of the main features of any currency is its mobility. This is especially true for cryptocurrencies, which are characterized by high volatility: the deal delays may cause serious financial losses. That is why it is important to know how to send Bitcoins to the address of the exchange, to another user or to pay for services.
First of all, it is necessary to get a Bitcoin wallet with some virtual coins on the account. How to make a Bitcoin wallet?
Technically, a wallet can be any storage media, even a piece of paper — it does not matter how exactly one writes down the address and private key. But most often people use electronic Bitcoin import wallets — by way of an application on a computer or a smartphone, or on a separate device that resembles a flash-card or an audio-player. You can also use online services provided by third-party companies.
What is the best Bitcoin wallet? Each option has got its advantages and disadvantages. Applications are most comfortable to use — but there is a higher risk of hacking or corrupting the data. The novice user can efficiently use the Electrum or Multibit wallets. These applications are easy to use and do not require loading a significant amount of data. Experienced cryptocurrency holders can tap into more advanced Armory or Bitcoin-QT. In the case of using the best Bitcoin wallet, the risk of hacker attacks is somewhat lower; however, service holders can also be scammers. A paper wallet is protected from such emergencies — but you will have to connect to the Internet to use its funds.
After you have created an electronic wallet, you should transfer Bitcoins. They can be purchased at the exchange by cryptocurrency or received via mining. However, this method requires enormous capacities today.
Details of the instructions may differ depending on the choice of the particular application, but in most cases, the answer to the question 'how to send Bitcoins' will look like this:
- Open the electronic wallet and click the 'send BTC' button or select:
«Sell/Send money to Bitcoin wallet» — usually it is below the wallet menu; - Type or copy and paste into the pop-up box the number of the wallet you are going to make Bitcoin transfers to. You can also drag the QR code of the receiving wallet into the pop-up box;
- Select the name of the transaction so that it will be easier for you to track it;
- Enter the number of Bitcoins you want to send to the 'BTC' field;
- Сheck all entered data. Do it thoroughly, as it is impossible to return the Bitcoins sent to scammers;
- Click 'Send' to complete a transfer.
The transaction will take a particular time — from thirty minutes to an hour, so don’t be in such haste to ask 'I sent my Bitcoins but why didn’t they come yet?' You will have to pay a little for the transaction as it is almost impossible to send Bitcoins without fee.
Theoretically, this is possible, but the speed of transfer without commission will decrease so much that most wallets just will not allow making such an operation. To date, the average commission is about a dollar and forty cents.
Transactions via an online service should not significantly differ from the one described above. In the case of a physical wallet, you will need to enter its address into the application manually or via QR code. After that, you need to import your private key. You can do this in two ways — to leave the cryptocurrency in the paper wallet and manage it via the application, or transfer it to a new account in the electronic application. You can choose an appropriate method in the interface of the electronic wallet. Next, you should act as described above.
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