Jan 01, 2021 Getting a Bitcoin Wallet to Store Coins. After you have invested in bitcoin, you need a bitcoin wallet to store your bitcoins safely at a secured location where you have complete ownership. Different type of bitcoin wallets that you can use are under. Mobile or App-based wallets; Web wallets (an exchange wallet is a form of web wallet) Hardware. An example paper printable bitcoin wallet consisting of one bitcoin address for receiving and the corresponding private key for spending. A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, 1 physical medium, 2 program or a service which stores the public and/or private keys 3 for cryptocurrency transactions.

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?”

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:

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

Learning how to send bitcoin may seem like a daunting task, but it isn’t. In fact, it could be compared to the simplicity of buying and selling, just with some slightly different steps.

In this article, we will show you how to send coins between addresses, using a Coinbase account as an example.

Sending and receiving digital currency may look a little different, depending on which service/wallet you chose, but the steps do share a typical standard.

Receiving Bitcoin

To receive:

Step 1: Log in to your Coinbase account and go to the dashboard.

Step 2: Under “Your Accounts” go to the wallet of the coin you wish and click “Receive.”

Your wallet is set to receive automatically. All you need to do is give the sender your address or QR code. On the window that pops up, hit “Show Address.” Give the address/QR code to the sender to copy/scan.

Make sure that the sender gets your address correct when sending it as mistakes are not allowed. An incorrect address may mean that not only will you not get your coins, but your coins may also be irretrievable if they make it to a different wallet.

My Bitcoin Wallet App

Sending Bitcoin

Sending digital currency to another wallet is not so different from sending a payment via PayPal.

To send digital currency directly:

Step 1: Log in to your Coinbase account and go to the dashboard.

Step 2: Under “Your Accounts” go to the wallet you wish to send from and hit “Send.”

Step 3: Select “Wallet Address” and enter the recipient’s wallet address in the recipient box. Typically, wallet addresses are easy to copy and paste in or scan when using QR codes. Select the wallet you wish to send from and then input how much you wish to send in USD or in BTC, adding a note if you wish.

Note: Pay attention to the network fee as this cost will be deducted from the total you send, so be sure to top up the value of the send accordingly.

Step 4: Hit “Continue.” and you will see a confirmation screen. Enter the verification code that was sent to you via your two-step verification. Hit “Confirm” when you are ready to send the digital currency.

Once confirmed, your coins are sent. This process can be instant or take up to an hour or so.

If you do not want to send coins directly to a wallet address, you have the option of sending coins to an email address. Here are the steps to do so:

Step 1: Log in to your Coinbase account and go to the dashboard.

Step 2: Under “Your Accounts” go to the wallet you wish to send from and hit “Send.”

Download Bitcoin Wallet

Step 3: Select “Email Address” enter the recipient’s email address. Select the wallet you wish to send from. and how much you wish to send in USD or in BTC, the note is optional.

Step 4: Hit “Continue.” You will see a confirmation page. Enter the verification code that was sent to you via your two-step verification. Hit “Confirm” if you are ready to send the coins.

How To Use A Bitcoin Wallet

The recipient will receive an invitation via email to log into the Coinbase system and enter his or her wallet address. Once the recipient enters a receiving wallet address, the coins will be transferred.

Fees

Transferring coins between wallets is not free unless it is between wallets from the same provider or wallets you own. Fees are paid to miners for confirming the transaction and keeping the blockchain secure, and this cost is determined across a number of facets, including which wallet provider you are using.

There are resources available to help you determine what the fee will be, but note that this figure is always changing.

For web-based and software-based wallets, there may be a service fee that is charged separately by the wallet’s provider as an addition to the fee paid to miners. This is not often added to the transferral for sent coins, but typically automatically withdrawn from your wallet or from incoming transmissions, so do pay close attention.

Related Articles:

Ready to learn more? Then subscribe to the Bitcoin Market Journal newsletter for daily digital asset market updates.