Bitcoin Mining - Cloud Mining

In this blog I plan to cover many different ways to invest your Bitcoins. I have already covered a rather risky one earlier (BTW you might want to get in on it quick before its too late to earn) and if you don't quite understand why it's a risky investment I will explain this in a later post (point is get in while you can make the cash). But apart from that there are some investments you can make that will return a more steady/reasonable, and therefore long term, return.

What are you talking about?

I am of course talking about Bitcoin mining, and I assume that you are here because you want to know how to start and you already know a little about what Bitcoin mining is and why people need to be doing it. (If you don't, watch this). So now that you are educated on what it really is, I will explain how you can get started.

Ways to Mine.

There are a few of different ways to mine:

1. Mine with your CPU - you can use your PC's CPU to perform the operations need to create Bitcoin. Although this is completely pointless now (unless you have free electricity and a ton of spare PC's) because using a CPU's processing power you might be lucky to mine a Bitcoin (or part of one) within a year.
2. Mine with GPU - use your computers Video Card to do the processing. This is a lot more viable option but still not worth it (unless you have free electricity again).
3. Mine with an ASIC - an Application Specific Integrated Circuit is a special micro-controller chip that is designed to perform the SHA-256 algorithm needed to mine Bitcoin. This is definitely a great option, although you do need a large upfront cost. ASIC's are not usually cheap. You will also need some good tech knowledge, good cooling and cheap electricity. This will be explained better in a later post.
4. Cloud Mining - Pay someone else to mine this has got to be a really easy and cheap way to mine Bitcoin. This is the main topic of this post so I will explain more now.

Cloud Mining

Now, Cloud Mining is currently my favourite type of Bitcoin mining. Mainly because, I don't have the upfront cost or cheap electricity to be running my own Bitcoin mining rig. Bit also because its cheap, easy and I don't have to worry about the technical stuff.

I want to do this now! But, how?

Ok, the marvel of Cloud Mining is it is extremely easy to setup and start. So I will show you a couple of sites that you can get started with.

Site #1

The first site has been around for a while and is a rather well know one

Scrypt.cc is a good website because it doesn't just mine Bitcoin, it mines the most profitable coin at the time. This is done by looking at the exchange rate (to BTC) and the current difficulty of the respective network. This is great because it maximises profits generated.

A quick run down on the pros and cons.

Pro's

• Mines for Maximum profit - automatically mines the most profitable coin
• Has trade system for buying and selling - buy and sell at your own rates
• 5% referral system - earn 5% of your referrals mining
• Great support - Has a ticket support system with quick replies
• Easy to use Profit calculator - enter how many KH/s you want and it tells you everything

Con's

• Potential to go out of business - cloud mining companies have a potential to just disappear
• Prices can become unstable - people can easily jack up the price of KH/s by selling high

If it sounds interesting don't forget to check it out:

Site #2

Cloudminr is a Cloud Mining site that I currently have 570GH/s invested in and being paid a consistent 0.036 BTC a week from. I will cut the spiel on this one as you can read about the on their site.

But I will outline pros and cons.

Pro's

• Focuses on Bitcoin - By mining one coin you can expect a steady return.
• Cheap hashrates - currently 0.0012 BTC/GH/s (minimum 100GH/s) and they often have sales running.
• Free 100 GH/s for 7 days - that free money for signing up.
• Referral Program - it does not specify the percentage, but free BTC for referring friends!
• Re-investments - if your willing to go without this weeks payout, you can re-invest for 20% off
• VIP Status - High volume buyers get a permanent discount.

Con's

• Potential to go out of business - once again, things happen.
• Minimum of 100 GH/s - there was a 10 GH/s minimum when I signed up but they seem to have increased it.

Check it out: https://cloudminr.io/ - No Longer Paying

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, there are many options out there for Mining. Cloud Mining is definately a goof place to start. Just remember to do your research before investing to make a profit and not a loss.

Last Note:
Don't forget to check out my Active Investments page to see my current investments, results and links to invest too. These will be removed as soon as I stop receiving payments from them.

Obtaining Bitcoin - Part 2

Ok, now that we have our Bitcoin Wallet setup (last post), this post will be a guide to getting some Bitcoins into that wallet so then we can start investing to earn more Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Exchanges

OK so there are a number of exchanges out there that will allow you to trade a number of different Cryto and Fiat currencies. I am only going to tell you of the ones that I have personally used and can comment on. Although I do hope to cover a lot more as I experience them.

CEX.IO

Short for CryptoCurrency Exchange, cex.io was the first Bitcoin exchange I used for the sole reason that you can use your Credit or Debit (Visa or Mastercard) to buy Bitcoin. Also it is in no way a small exchange, on the day of writing the exchange had turned over 95 Bitcoin within 24 hours with a USD value of $21,500 (at current exchange rate).

What is good about this exchange:

• It works on an order system - meaning you can place an order at the price you want to pay and when someone comes along and want to sell at that price you will get the best deal.
• You can deposit fiat currency - cex.io lets you deposit in USD or EUR but accepts all VISA and Mastercard Credit or Debit cards. I personally used my VISA debit card from Australia and works fine (even instantly).
• You can trade in all the top CryptoCurrencies - at the time of writing they traded, BTC, LTC, DOGE, DRK, NMC, AUR and many more.
• You can transfer BTC in - if you already have BTC and want to trade it for USD you can transfer it into your cex.io account and go nuts.
• You can buy Cloud Mining - they have trade-able GH/s, meaning you can buy some Cloud Mining power and reap some dividends from it.

Whats not so good:

• Verification for use of fiat currencies takes time - mine took about a week and a half.
• Cloud mining is currently suspended - Cloud Mining for cex.io has been suspended due to a low Bitcoin price, they take a 10c fee per GH/s meaning the price has to go up to $320 before it become profitable again.

A little more good news:

• With the Cloud Mining being suspended the price per GH/s has dropped massively. Meaning if your patient you can horde a ton of GH/s for cheap and when the price goes up, your laughing.

Fees

cex.io charges a 0.2% fee and what appears to be the standard "miners" fee for all Crypto withdrawals.

BTC-E

BTC-E is by far the most popular Bitcoin exchange, a comparison: cex.io turned over 95 BTC in 24 hours. In one 30 minute block, BTC-E turned over 767 BTC!!

Whats good about BTC-E:

• You can trade in fiat currency - although you need to use one of several money brokers or money exchange services. These require extra sign ups.
• You can trade in different fiat currencies - currently USD, RUR, CHN, GBP and EUR.
• It has a good offering of CryptoCurrency - an number of the most popular crypto's.
• MetaTrader4 support - just set and forget with MetaTrader let it do the work for you.

Whats not so good:

• Because of the high volume (and likely MT4) - there seems to be a lot more fluctuation in price on BTC-E.

Fees

Fees are between 0.2% - 0.5% on all transactions, this seems to include withdrawals.

CoinSpot

This one is for the Aussies. CoinSpot is an Aussie exchange that allows you to make deposits directly using any Westpac branch straight into their account. It allows you to trade in a number of popular Crypto's as well as AUD.

The best part is that the site seems to ignore the current market value of Bitcoin and all prices are slightly higher (or lag behind other markets) meaning that, if your quick enough, you can make a bit of extra cash on trades.

Fees

CoinSpot (understandably) has some fees that are a little higher with:

• 0.8% on buying with AUD.
• 0.4% on selling for AUD.
• 0.1% on BTC markets.
• Free Withdrawal to Aussie Bank.
• Free Withdrawal to Wallets.
• $20 fee for withdrawal to International Bank.

Conclusion

So that is my review of a number of Bitcoin exchanges, by using this info you can obtain your first Bitcoin and either choose to trade them on these exchanges or use them for the purposes in some of my later posts. In any case, I hope that I have helped someone on there way to making your self a lot more financially independent.

Obtaining Bitcoin - Part 1

So for my first (real) post to this blog I would like to cater to the newbies to Bitcoin by assisting them in obtaining there first Bitcoin or part of one.

Where to start?

Before you can rush out and start buying or working for Bitcoin, you will need somewhere to put these Bitcoin when you have them i.e. somewhere for people to send payments.

You mean a bank account?

Kind of, as Bitcoin is a Peer-to-Peer, decentralised payment system, there is no bank that manages the transactions or "accounts" (known as Bitcoin Addresses). I won't bore you by explaining in too much detail but if you do happen to want to know there are a number of very informative websites. Here, here and here for example. Although Bitcoin does not have a central bank or corporation that manages the accounts, there are many services available that will host your Bitcoin Wallet for you. This can be very convenient. You can access your account easier (from another PC or your phone) and you will not have to download the entire blockchain (or transaction record) which is currently approaching 40GB in size.

40GB!?

Yes 40GB and that's only 6 Years of Bitcoins and transactions. So that brings us to Bitcoin Wallet providers.

Now there are hundreds (maybe even thousands) of Bitcoin Wallet providers, so I will only be outlining a few of the most popular ones.

First Wallet

Coinbase is a Bitcoin Wallet provider that is probably the most popular (or very close). Just by using this link to sign up you will get USD$1 worth of Bitcoin for free (thats enough to start playing with). But enough of the social marketing and onto the main benefits/pros of this Wallet provider.

Pros:

• Blockchain is hosted for you - no need to download 40GB worth of Bitcoin network.
• Security - You will not have to worry about protecting your Bitcoin wallet, Coinbase takes the security of its service seriously (because they depend on their service for income) Read more here.
• Convenient - Being an online app, means that you can log into your Coinbase wallet from any device to check your balance and make/receive payments. It even has an Android App.
• Vault - Added security if you want to hold Bitcoin for extended periods. The Vault has extra security and a 48 hour (cancel anytime) withdraw time. Meaning even if someone gets into your account you have plenty of time to get in and fix any problems.
• Developer API - probably not a big thing for most people, but this means it is easy to accept Bitcoin payments directly to your Coinbase Wallet. Just find a plugin for your website that accepts Coinbase and off you go.
• Bitcoin exchange - this is only available to USA and as I am Australian I have not had the pleasure of using this feature. I will however talk about Exchanges as an investment opportunity in a later post.

Second Wallet

Xapo is another wallet that is gaining popularity rather fast. Mainly for the reason that it is developing the worlds first Bitcoin Debit Card as it is in Beta there are not very many details about it i.e. Countries it will work in, places that will accept it etc. Feel free to contact Xapo support if you have questions.

Pros:

• Blockchain hosted for you - no need to download that 40GB again.
• Security - once again, because Xapo are storing your precious Bitcoins (and making money from it) they take it as a priority to make it as secure as possible.
• Convenient - An online App you can access from anywhere. They also have a nifty Android App that can double as your two-factor authentication.
• Vault - Xapo also has a vault to store your precious Bitcoins away from prying eyes.
• Buy Bitcoin - Xapo allows you to buy Bitcoin by simply using bank transfer straight into their account. A real quick and easy way to get Bitcoin.

What if I have 40GB of space just laying around?

Well in that case, you will probably want to host your own Bitcoin Wallet. This is great in a few ways:

• You have complete access to your wallet - create as many addresses as you like
• You can be a node for the Bitcoin network - help confirm transactions
• Can be used with Tor proxy - hide your payment from prying eyes

A few cons:

• Requires increasing storage - the record is continually growing
• Requires a lot of bandwidth - you will have to download a 40GB file and keep it up to date
• Can be less secure - unlike hosted wallets, you are the one that has to make sure you don't get malware or even someone physically transferring your funds.
• Slightly technical - it is not too complex to host your own wallet, but it does help to have a bit of tech knowledge.
• BACKUPS!! - make sure you backup your wallet data regularly.

Well how do I host my own Bitcoin Wallet?

Simply download the software called Bitcoin Core from the Bitcoin Site.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, there are many choices for Bitcoin wallets out there, the main thing you will need to worry about it being educated. Just do your research, take what I have told you and make an educated decision. Or, try your options, if you find you don't like hosting your own wallet then try a hosted one and find the one that suits your needs.

Next Time

In my next post I will explain a few different ways to obtain your first Bitcoin.

Breifly:

• Bitcoin Exchanges - Buy your first Bitcoin
• Freelance Work - Work for your first Bitcoin
• Selling Products - Offer Bitcoin payment on your website
• Faucets - Get Spammed for Bitcoin.

My First Post - Also Hello All!

Hello All,

This is my first blog post for my new blog, namely 'anarcist's BitBlog'. I have created this blog in hope that I will be able to educate some people in the world of Bitcoin (and potentially other CryptoCurrencies later).

So let me introduce myself. My name is Michael, I go by the screen name (pseudonym, nickname or whatever you want to call it) of 'anarcist'. Now don't worry as this name is simply a product of my teenage years where I considered myself as a sort of rebellious person, as many teenagers do, I am in no way a true Anarchist.

Now to the nature of this blog. This blog is going to aim to be as informative as possible, I have recently embarked on a venture with my close family (Mother, Father and siblings) to create a mass of wealth to help our future generations (A Trust Fund for the Smith Family). Now each of my family members, have each decide to contribute to this fund to get it to a point where it can self perpetuate. Being the individual human being we are, we have each selected our vehicles to gain the income to fund this 'start-up trust fund'.

Bitcoin as an investment vehicle

So, me being the tech savvy person in the family have decided to use Bitcoin as my method of generating the extra income that will go towards this fund. This blog will outline my endeavours to use the (slightly controversial and possibly volatile) market of Bitcoin.

Why use Bitcoin?

Now some of you reading this may be thinking: "Is it really a good idea to bet the future of you family on a niche market or even potential flop like Bitcoin and CryptoCurrencies?"

Well this may be so, but there are a few reason I have chosen this as my vehicle right now.

Here are a few:

1. Bitcoin is still growing - although there are more people than ever using Bitcoin (Businesses and tech savvy people) there are still more Bitcoins being mined every day (3600 a day currently) and even at that rate the last one will not be mined until the year 2140
2. The Price is right - it may have hit a major (and extremely radical) high of about USD$1200 early last year but since the (over)hype of Bitcoin has settled. the price of Bitcoin seems to have stabilised around a comfortable USD$230-$250 mark. This is great as it still makes it profitable to Mine and isn't too ridiculous to trade.
3. Plenty of investment oportunities - Because Bitcoin is so open and easy to move from one country to another, it is really easy to use to invest in many different things.

Now with these three points in mind, I hope to invest wisely in this growing market and in turn assist you in doing the same.

A few things to note:

• I am in no way a professional investor and all the information you take from my blog, you take in your own stride and you can choose to use it in anyway you see fit.
• I will try to provide the best advise I can by advising on my current an future investments and how they perform.
• With my reviews of different investment opportunities will likely come referral links to various sites, please do follow them and invest if you see fit.
• I am in this to hopefully make a good living for me and my future generations so if you find my information helpful in any way, feel free to donate to my Bitcoin address: 1HoA4i2LJfF1o1PiLBF7kX16FRMuVoVBGA

To come:

• My first investment plug (Going good so far)
• Cloud Mining (Where should you start?)
• Crowd Funded Bitcoin Loans (Safe way to earn a good return and help others)
• Much More...