Bitcoin for our industry
Quick get started article
Creator/FSSW TLDR : Install the FREE getalby.com wallet on your browser (for easiest way to collect money for content, they are very focussed on developing creator tools) and FREE Wallet of Satoshi on your phone (for in person meets).
You now have empty wallets, ready to be filled 🙂
If you DM me your Lightning Address on Twitter, I’ll send you some money. Not a lot, but enough to play with 🙂
Fan/Client TLDR : Get some Lightning Bitcoin into your personal wallet then send it to the creators or full service workers you want to support.
Fan, Client
Use Coinbase, Revolut or Peach to get your bitcoin.
Coinbase : I use Coinbase. It works nicely with my bank account.
Usual financial Know Your Client questions will be asked. Which is fine, because once you move the funds OFF the exchange, they neither know nor care what happens next. No more than a bank does when you withdraw cash.
Some banks will want to NOT let you send money to CoinBase. Personally I’d say “thanks for checking in, but it’s my money, I know what I’m doing, send it”. But if you don’t want to argue, use PeachBitcoin.
Revolut : I do not have a Revolut account but I am told that all Revolut users now have access to Revolut Lightning, which means you can convert some of your balance into Lightning. Send it to your personal wallet and then use it.
PeachBitcoin : Buy bitcoin direct from other people.
Main feature is that your bank won’t know you are buying bitcoin. Uses Escrow so very safe. I have used Peach quite a lot.
Also, no questions asked.
Downside : Slightly more complicated than CoinBase.
Worked Example : Coinbase
1) Open a CoinBase account.
There might be a little quiz to check you understand the risks etc with crypto. Google has a lot of the answers and on the personal ones like income etc, you can just lie. CoinBase does have to establish you are who you say you are, just like any bank, so the ID verification ones, they do need to be answered.
Send money from your bank account to them. Can be any number, my first deposit was £20. It’s good to start small, see how things work.
If your bank says “No”, remind them that it is YOUR MONEY and you INSIST, and if they won’t agree, you’ll move to a more sensible bank. It’s YOUR MONEY, not theirs.
2) Buy bitcoin.
So now you have say £50 on CoinBase.
Use the BUY to buy bitcoin.
3) Get a Lightning Wallet, or two
Install the getalby.com wallet in your web browser. This is a great wallet to use to buy content online.
Install the Wallet of Satoshi app on your phone. This is a great wallet for just sending people money direct, paying for pizza etc.
4) Move some bitcoin from Coinbase to your Lightning wallet.
Basically, it works by your Lightning Wallet ASKING Coinbase to send the money.
Create a RECIEVE invoice in your wallet, and paste that into the SEND (using Lightning) section on Coinbase.
Press the button.
Within moments your wallet will get the money.
5) You now have your Lightning bitcoin away from CoinBase and ready to spend.
If you want to do a test, remember I said get TWO wallets. Send some money between them. Get used to the process. (Also, look at settings. You can usually set to show £ rather than $ or Sats).
You might get to choose between QR codes and Lightning Addresses.
QR codes are great when you are with someone. You need to pay them £300. They create a RECIEVE QR code on their phone, you wave your phone at it, you wallet asks you to confirm the send, you do, they get paid. No fiddly typing.
Lightning Addresses are great online. For example to access a creators DropBox. Just copy/paste their address into your wallet and send. ALWAYS INCLUDE A MESSAGE though, so they know it’s you 🙂
Creator, FSSW
1) Go to getalby.com and set up an empty wallet on your browser.
Creators : People who want to buy access to your Dropbox simply send to your getalby.com Lightning address. It looks like an email address. Mine is badbutler@getalby.com and is in my Twitter profile
DO tell people to include a message with their send. Such as :-
“Dropbox access please to random@what.com”, or, if referencing a conversation, “Twitter @PeterBrave here”
Messages can be ANYTHING. “Deposit for our meeting tomorrow, @PeterBrave” is absolutely fine.
FSSW – you’ll also want a phone app. I use Wallet of Satoshi. People you meet in person pay you by waving their phone at yours. No risk of phone typing typos.
Good news : Money you get is YOURS. Can’t be reversed or charged back.
4) Turn your bitcoin into food, shelter etc.
Bitrefill works for amounts up to “whatever you spend on food, clothes, travel”.
Once you start getting serious money, you’ll be wanting to use exchanges like Coinbase or services like PeachBitcoin.