Why Bitcoin ATMs Give Better Deals Than Exchanges

Ever since the growth of bitcoin, exchanges have sprouted left and right. To date, it’s one of the most popular known ways to buy bitcoin. But what many people don’t know is that there’s a better way to bitcoins that will give you more value.
If you’ve known someone who has bought bitcoin, chances are, they probably bought it at an exchange.
While exchanges have their pros, there are also some corresponding drawbacks to using exchanges when buying bitcoin. If you want to make the most out of your bitcoins, you have to pick a platform that will give you the best possible value.

Delays and Fees

A lot of exchanges have long waiting times that take hours for transactions to be completed. Some people report that it even takes up to one month for them to receive their bitcoins.
This is problematic for the reason that urgent transactions cannot be undertaken within the necessary time period. There’s also the case of fees since using exchanges entail higher fees due to the fact that transferring money to exchanges involves commercial banks.
Transacting on exchanges come with security risks especially when it comes to the liquidity aspect. One example of this is when the Mtgox Exchange closed down and filed for bankruptcy in 2014.

Why Bitcoin ATMs Give a Better Deal

Although bitcoin ATMs aren’t designed to take on the typical volumes of transactions as exchanges do, it’s a viable platform that provides utmost convenience without the usual disadvantages of using exchanges.
This means the money you invest goes a long way because you don’t have to pay for hefty additional fees that comes with using banks.
But more than that, bitcoin ATMs are convenient to use because transactions go through in as little time as one minute.
With bitcoin’s success, you’ll surely find a bitcoin ATM near you!

The Verdict

If you’re looking for something that you can use in conjunction with your own wallet, bitcoin ATMs are the way to go. The thing with exchanges is that you have to be able to trust that they’ll keep your money securely. After all, you can’t eliminate the chance that hackers can penetrate through the data security of an exchange.

How to use BitcoinATM

What is Bitcoin Mining and What Has Changed in the Past Few Years

One of the most common questions about bitcoin is how it’s actually mined. Given its meteoric rise over the years, it’s no wonder why people are extremely curious about origins. So how does bitcoin mining actually work and how has it changed over the past years?
In the cryptocurrency field, mining doesn’t hold the same definition as the one we’ve come to know. To mine bitcoin, you don’t actually need the standard workgear—a working computer with the right hardware can do the job for you.
More specifically, a bitcoin is mined when a computer you own solves a block through an algorithm. Solving a block provides a reward which is given in the form of a certain amount of coins that has been allotted to it.

The Reason Behind the Creation of Bitcoin

Bitcoin was originally created to provide a decentralized alternative currency wherein coin owners can prosper without major regulatory bodies having undue influence on the success of the currency. Hence, intentional manipulation to serve just one party’s needs is less likely to happen.
Despite the lofty goal, bitcoin still needs infrastructure in order to thrive such as hardware, software, and people.
In order to do away with the involvement of banks and governments, the founder of the bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, designed it to run on a giant server. This works with people pitching in the use of their own software and hardware.
To date, bitcoin has been made successful due to the fact that a vast network comprised of home and office computers all around the world are contributing together to mine bitcoin. The said network has lent the support needed for bitcoin to thrive. This is done by answering and solving mathematical problems which has now made the network to be the most powerful supercomputer in the planet.
Computers all over the world run 24/7 just to mine bitcoin which in turn supports every transaction made using bitcoin.

Why Bitcoin Thrived

The reason why bitcoin thrived is because of the fact that there’s a reward mechanism in place for users who mine and solve bitcoin blocks. This is the only way new currencies are made in the digital field.
In essence, mining accomplishes two things: reward resource contributors and add new bitcoins into circulation.
There’s also been a vital change in how bitcoin mining was done over the years since it was first undertaken in 2008.
Initially, processors were enough to solve the mathematical problems in the blockchain but as the transactions grew, so did the difficulty of the problems that need to be solved. This means using processors have become more costly than necessary.
Then it was discovered that video gaming graphic cards did a better job than processors so miners switched over to using that. The only thing is, it consumed a lot of energy.
Later on, a more efficient way to mine was developed through reprogrammed chips. However, it also used a lot of power and easily heats up when operating.
Now the standard hardware being used to mine is the ASIC or known as Application Specific Integrated Circuit Chips. Not only does it run on less power but is miles away from previous ones in terms of speed and productivity.

Getting Started With Bitcoin Mining

Although most of bitcoin users don’t mine, mining is definitely an integral part of the bitcoin blockchain. However, you have to be ready for competition and the corresponding fact that bitcoin prices can fluctuate wildly.
This means mining bitcoin can sometimes have high returns and sometimes low.
If you plan on going ahead with bitcoin mining, there are a lot of brands in the market today for both hardware and software. When it comes to hardware, the most common ones are the AntMiner S7, AntMiner S9, and Avalon 6.
In terms of software choices, you can choose from Bitcoin Miner, BTCMiner, and CGMiner, to name just a few.

Coin Outlet Acquires LibertyX Bitcoin ATM Network

Coin outlet Inc is taking another step towards being the biggest Bitcoin ATM network by acquiring LibertyX's (formerly Liberty Teller's) ATM network. The four LibertyX machines will be rebranded as Coin Outlet ATMs but will still remain in their existing locations.
LibertyX gained fame for launching the very first Bitcoin ATM in the United States at Boston's South Station , only a year ago. LibertyX Co-Founder Chris Yim said the decision to sell the ATM arm of their company to Coin Outlet was "a natural evolution of their business and allows them to scale quickly and focus on adding partners and services to their existing 2,500 cash-to-bitcoin store locations."
Coin Outlet is also pleased to announce a newly developed backend network ecosystem that the Lamassu machines hook into. This system will allow any existing Bitcoin ATM machine or existing traditional ATM machine to exist on the Coin Outlet platform, regardless of the hardware platform of that machine.
With this development, Coin Outlet will have the capital-raising ability to acquire existing viable ATM markets with proven revenue streams, and grow rapidly.
Eric Grill , Coin Outlet's CEO, explains, "Integrating other hardware solutions into our backend network is part of our expansion strategy as it opens the door for more acquisitions and further scaling of the Coin Outlet network."
Coin Outlet , INC:
Coin Outlet , INC. is a rapidly growing startup that manufactures and operates AML/KYC-compliant Bitcoin ATMs with two-way transaction functionality. It provides a convenient means for the general public to safely buy and sell bitcoins with cash. Coin Outlet is proudly supported by its lead investor Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB: BTCS) which is building a universal digital currency platform under the BTCS ("Blockchain Technology Consumer Solutions") brand.
More information about Coin Outlet can be found at www.coinoutletatm.com and investor information is at angel.co/coinoutlet-2

BITCOIN: A MODERN DIGITAL CURRENCY

What is Bitcoin?

This is the fundamental question that anyone coming across Bitcoin for the first time will naturally hardly avoid asking. It may seem that the explanation that Bitcoin is a currency suffices. However, that does not go far enough to expound upon all of its critical value propositions.

It is important to note that Bitcoin is not a single solution. It is several solutions in one, and that is the reason describing it simply as money is not entirely accurate.

Bitcoin is a currency

Nevertheless, we will start with looking at Bitcoin as money. Indeed, bitcoin (spelled with small b) performs the functions of a currency like any other. It is, however, entirely a digital currency; it only exists in the virtual form.

Also, unlike the fiat currencies, both physical and digital, Bitcoin is decentralized. In the place of a central authority like a central bank, is a network of peer to peer computers running open source software. It is this network that issues new units of bitcoin and manages all of its transactions.

Even though the nodes in the network are independent of each other, the protocols in the software enables them to seamlessly and continually form consensus on the number of new units to be issued (25 bitcoins per block in 2015) and valid transactions to be confirmed.

And every node in the entire network has a copy of the blockchain, a distributed public ledger, where every transaction is confirmed and recorded.

To control the issuance of new bitcoins (mining) and secure transactions the blockchain uses public-private key cryptography. This qualifies Bitcoin as cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin like gold is scarce. There will ever be not more than 21 million bitcoins, with the last bitcoin being mined in the year 2140.

Since the inception of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies have been developed. All of them rely on the blockchain technology but have various differentiating features. Examples of such alternative cryptocurrencies (Altcoins) are Litecoin and Dashcoin, among hundreds of others.

Bitcoin as a technology for Noncurrency uses

As mentioned earlier above, Bitcoin is not just a currency. Indeed, it is a platform on which many other applications can be built. Currently, there are startups and companies developing a broad range of solutions on the blockchain such as smart contracts and document time-stamped storage.

Who created bitcoin?

A person by the name of Satoshi Nakakamoto is credited with creating Bitcoin. Nakamoto in 2008 published the whitepaper Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, which outlined the working of the cryptocurrency to a cryptography mailing list.

He later in 2009 released the first Bitcoin client and mined the first block, which is usually referred to as the Genesis Block.

No one has ever seen or met Satoshi Nakamoto. However, early core developers to join the project, in particular, Gavin Andresen, did communicate with the personality behind the name online before it left the project in 2010.

Despite the fact Nakamoto remains anonymous users have found every reason to trust Bitcoin. The payment system is not only decentralized, but also runs on an open source protocol and software that everyone is welcome to scrutinize and contribute to.

While 2008 is the year when Bitcoin was born, all of its constituent technologies did exist before then. For instance, by 1970s there was a discourse on the use of public-private key cryptography. The Proof of Work concept, which secures the bitcoin network, was already in use in the 1990s as an email spamming deterrent mechanism.

Is Bitcoin legal money?

Bitcoin is not a legal tender; debtors are not compellable by law to accept it. However, where two users recognize it as money and agree to exchange it for goods and services, hardly any law stands in their way anywhere in the world.

Bitcoin Wallet Address Naming and Customizing

You will agree that the 32 alphanumeric character string serving as your bitcoin wallet address is complex and at least not user-friendly. It is hard to memorize, and you cannot share it verbally nor copy it down one character at a time without making mistakes.
Fortunately, technology is presenting solutions to this little obstacle to Bitcoin adoption. One innovation that already stands out, in this case, is the QR scanning. Sending to or receiving bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency from someone with a smartphone next to you is simple and easy with this feature.

It is not easy to use the long Bitcoin address

On the other hand, if the sender or receiver is far away, the process is not only a cumbersome but also risky. Sharing the wallet address often requires you to copy and paste it into an email, Facebook inbox or similar forms of messaging.
Unfortunately, these channels have been known to expose your communications Men In The Middle in the form of server admins or hackers, who could easily get hold of your wallet data and use it for an unauthorized purposes.
The good news is that this part of Bitcoin wallet address is also getting a fix. Several wallet name service providers have come up to make the Bitcoin wallet addresses, at least the part that comes into contact with you, shorter and in human readable format.

What Bitcoin wallet name customization does

That means a bitcoin wallet address like this 1CpLXM15vjULK3ZPGUTDMUcGAT GR9xGitv could be presented as daniel.bit. This is not only easy to memorize but also easy to share to those intending to send you bitcoins. You could just call them and dictate the wallet address name as they write it down.
Some of the startups making this service available include Onename and Netki. Their services are built on top of Namecoin, a blockchain Domain Name System (DNS) platform.
However, this is not the first attempt to customize Bitcoin wallet addresses. Vanity addresses have been around longer. But unlike what the likes of Onename and Netki are offering, these are addresses that are created with proffered letters and numbers.

Vanity addresses do not offer much

The vanity address generators, websites where you can customize the addresses, allowed users to customize just a small section of the wallet address string of characters. For instance 1CpLXM15vjULK3ZPGUTDMUcGAT GR9xGitv could be customized into 1Daniel15vjULK3ZPGUTDMUcGAT GR9xGitv
Therefore, Vanity addresses are not really different from the random addresses in terms of the length and ease of sharing.
The second generation of customized bitcoin wallet address customization offers a better user interface UI and thus a better user experience.
However, given that you have to depend on a third party to generate the two generations of wallet address customization, you should be wary of the security implication. It is possible that during the process of creating the address your private keys leak. It is, therefore, important to interrogate the security and privacy mechanism of whatever platform you choose to use.

Why You Should Not Reuse Your Bitcoin Wallet Addresses by Eric Grill

Our hangovers from the use of the fiat currency have led to huge misconception and misunderstanding of the Bitcoin ecosystem and in particular how a bitcoin wallet works. There is nowhere that our old understanding of how money should work than in the use of our public addresses.
The confusion begins with the naming. The Bitcoin wallet is a not a wallet but a key chain. Furthermore, the public address is not really an address, at least not in a traditional way. It is not supposed to function like your email address or your PayPal username.
You are supposed to use every public address only once. Nevertheless, nothing has stopped bitcoin users to use a bitcoin address the way they use an email address. The technology allows it anyway. That said, it is a bad practice.
This is majorly for two reasons; privacy and security.

Privacy

To understand how reusing your bitcoin address affects your privacy and that of other users who transact with you need to understand how far the anonymity goes in bitcoin transaction.
It is critical to marry the public ledger and the anonymity that Bitcoin is supposed to offer its users. First and foremost, bitcoin transactions are anonymous as long as someone is not able to match an identity to a public address on the blockchain.
Remember that the blockchain, where every transaction is posted, confirmed and recorded, is public. All and sundry can see the public receiving and sending bitcoins all the transactions if they want to.
By using the same address to receive and send funds you increase the chances of someone to find out who you are without a little effort. This is not only bad to you but also to anyone who sends or receives money from you.
Therefore unlike a bank where your earnings and expenditures are private, reused bitcoin address gives the public access to your earnings and expenditures

Security

You always have to use private keys to prove ownership of bitcoins on the blockchain. If you lost ownership of this private keys or someone gets them from you in one way or another, then the bitcoins associated with the corresponding public keys ceases being yours.
The easiest way to lose them is if you record them somewhere and someone comes across them, they are taken from you by force or someone hacks your computer and accesses files with the keys.
However, while not very common, it is possible for very technically knowledgeable hackers to reconstruct your private keys by comparing data exposed every time you sign a transaction for the same public key.

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