How to buy the real Bitcoin
(and by Bitcoin, we mean BSV)
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re here for 1 of 3 reasons…
- You’re looking for a way to buy digital gold, and you’ve come to the wrong blog (but stick around you might learn something!)
- You’re looking for a way to buy Bitcoin as defined by the Bitcoin whitepaper published by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, we’ve got you covered
What’s the difference? Bitcoin as defined by the title of the whitepaper is “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. Peer-to-peer cash. Something that is spent/used for everyday purchases. Something that can process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second and store all of the internet’s transactions (ie purchases, emails, video uploads, everything!) securely without the need of a trusted 3rd party. Not something that you “hodl” or view as “digital gold” and hope that the price goes up even though you don’t know what makes the price go up.
In fact, if you read the whitepaper, you won’t see digital gold mentioned once. Maybe you’ve heard the narrative about Bitcoin as a store of value or digital gold, maybe you haven’t. In either case, BTC (the digital gold currently trading around $50,000) is not Bitcoin. So if you’re interested in investing in something that is 100% speculation on price with extremely limited application, good luck with BTC. But if you’re interested in the Bitcoin that was created in 2009 and started increasing in value because it was being used as electronic cash, you are looking for Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV), and this blog will tell you how to buy it.
Oh ya, there is one other reason you might be here. Maybe you recently heard about Craig Wright winning the largest civil lawsuit in history, where a federal jury decided that Craig was the sole creator of Bitcoin and the person behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Craig is the Chief Scientist at n’Chain, a company with the largest portfolio of blockchain patents in the world, and a driving force for BSV.
Regardless of how you got here, this blog will give you a step by step guide on how to buy Bitcoin in its true from.
BSV has Been Blacklisted
You won’t find Bitcoin SV on most of the major exchanges because of politics and side stories that we won’t get into in this blog. In fact, if you research articles on BSV or look at things on Twitter, chances are you will see it labeled as a scam. But if you read the Bitcoin whitepaper, and look at the major blockchains — BTC, BCH, BSV, and ETH — only one of them stays true to the revolutionary technology described in the whitepaper, BSV. And when we talk about use or application, this is what we mean. For any blockchain to replace the current gold standard for payments, it will need to perform better than the Visa Network. That means more transactions per second, at a cheaper cost. The chart below shows each of the major blockchains compared to the Visa Network in terms of transaction speed and cost per transaction:
From a purely technological standpoint, only one of the major blockchains can and already does outperform the Visa Network in terms of transactions per second, and cost per transaction — Bitcoin SV. In fact, Bitcoin SV puts more transactions “on chain” daily, than every other blockchain combined. So why does this matter? If something is going to be used as peer-to-peer cash, it can’t have a transaction fee of $20+. Think about it, would you ever buy a $5 cup of coffee and pay $20 in fees? Most likely not. So if you are of the mindset that value comes from use, the blockchain with the most application for use, will eventually have the most value.
Buying Bitcoin SV
Update 9/20/22 — you can now purchase BSV directly from within the HandCash wallet using a debit or credit card, by choosing to “Top Up” within the app.
Although BSV is not available on most of the major exchanges, it is still fairly simple to purchase if you follow these steps:
Part 1 — Create a Coinbase Account
If you already have a Coinbase account, you can skip this part.
Coinbase is one of the largest and widely recognized exchanges in the world. To create an account, go to https://www.coinbase.com/. You will need to sign up by providing your full name, email address, the state in which you reside, and a password. Once you click sign up, you will be required to:
- Verify your email
- Set up two factor authentication
- Verify your identity
- Upload a picture of your driver’s license
- Link bank account/credit or debit card
Part 2 — Buy USDC
If you already have USDC, you can skip this part.
Once your Coinbase account is verified, you will be able to purchase USDC — a stable coin pegged to the United States dollar, so the price does not fluctuate. Coinbase might show you messages that say something like “cryptocurrency can be confusing, slow, and expensive blah blah blah…” This narrative aims to keep people thinking that blockchain is difficult to understand, but once you start using BSV, you will see why that narrative is not accurate. Once you’ve purchased the USDC, you will be able to see it in your Coinbase USDC wallet. Here’s a step by step guide (with images) on how to purchase the USDC:
- Open your Coinbase app and click on the USD Coin (you might have to search for it but it is one of the most popular coins and is not difficult to find). **MAKE SURE YOU SELECT USDC AND NOT USDT**
- Once you’ve clicked on the USDC coin, click the blue Trade button.
- Once you’ve clicked Trade, several options will pop up. Choose Buy USDC.
- Enter the amount of USDC you would like to purchase and click Preview Buy. **KEEP IN MIND THAT COINBASE AND ETH TAKE A FEE WHEN YOU PURCHASE USDC**
- Review the details of your purchase and click Buy Now. The USDC will show in your wallet immediately, but it might be a few days before you can exchange or send it off Coinbase.
Part 3 — Create a BSV Wallet
If you already have a BSV wallet, you can skip this part.
In order to store and use your BSV, you will need to create a Bitcoin SV wallet. There are several BSV wallets we recommend:
HandCash, Gravity, and RelayX only support BSV, whereas Exodus supports multiple blockchains. For simplicity sake, we recommend sticking to one of the BSV only wallets — we use HandCash in the following exchange. Once you’ve created your wallet, you’ll need to copy your BSV address. To do so in HandCash follow these steps:
- Open the HandCash app and click the Duro balance in the upper right corner
- Click on Display my BSV Address
- Copy the BSV address
Part 4 — Exchanging USDC for BSV
Once your USDC is in your Coinbase account, and you’ve created your BSV wallet, you can exchange USDC for BSV at the RelayX exchange. To make the exchange:
- Go to https://otc.relayx.io/
2. Choose USDC as the “Payment Method”.
3. Enter how much USDC you would like to exchange into BSV (max is $500 per exchange).
4. Paste your BSV address into the “Destination” field (this address comes from the HandCash wallet — or any other BSV wallet ie Volt, RelayX, Exodus — you created in the previous section).
5. Click “Buy Now”.
6. Once you click “Buy Now”, you will be taken to a screen with a QR code that is the deposit address for where you will be sending your USDC. Copy the deposit address. **You might notice that your order has an expiration timer. Don’t rush and make a mistake, you have about 15 minutes to complete something that takes about 1 minute. Relax and take your time.**
7. Once you’ve copied the RelayX address, go back to your Coinbase account and go to your USDC wallet.
8. Click the “send” arrow in the upper corner of your Coinbase USDC wallet.
9. Enter the same amount you specified on RelayX and click Continue
10. Paste the RelayX Address you copied in Step 6 into the Destination and click Preview Send
11. If everything looks good, click Send Now to complete your BSV purchase!
After you’ve sent the USDC from Coinbase, the screen on RelayX will not change. Don’t be alarmed! The BSV will be deposited to the address you provided in step 4 of this section. After a couple minutes, check your BSV wallet and you should see your BSV!
Using Your BSV
The reason BSV has value is because it can be used. Here are some of the best applications for you to use your BSV:
- Haste Arcade — earn BSV by making the leaderboard on games in an online arcade.
- Take It — an NFT auction marketplace where users bid on NFTs, then either get their money back plus a profit, or keep the NFT.
- DuroDogs — raise and train your unique dog. Every action you take is recorded on the blockchain.
- Twetch — imagine Twitter that let’s you monetize your content without ads or trolls, for example, if someone likes your post, you earn $0.02.
- BriteVue — similar to Yelp, but with blockchain verified reviews. Earn micropayments from others liking your reviews.
- TonicPow — everyone can be an influencer with TonicPow. Search campaigns to find brands you want to post about, then earn from those posts.
Did you find this article helpful? Send tips to $haste on HandCash if you feel inclined!
