How to buy IOTA — for dummies by a dummy
[Se norsk versjon 🇳🇴]
I am in no way an experienced investor and I do not work in finance. Investing in cryptocurrency (crypto from now on) is just a small hobby I have picked up to learn more about what is happening in the world of crypto. I do this because I really believe in the future of crypto, but also because I believe the technology behind will revolutionize a lot of areas in the years to come.
I believe there are a lot of people out there that wants to know just how to buy IOTA, but it is a lot to read and learn before you can do it. Google Trends shows an increasing number of searches for IOTA.
Disclaimer:
- Crypto is an EXTREMELY volatile currency and it is recommended to only invest money you can afford to lose.
- Security is extremely important. If you are not sure what you are doing I recommend you ask someone who does, or simply wait until you do. You can risk losing all your investment if you do something wrong.
Below is a how to list explaining what I do to buy IOTA — after some trail and error.
Please comment if you see any errors or if you have better tips on how to do things.
How to buy IOTA
#1) Create an account with Coinbase (this link contains a referral code which gives you, and me, 10 dollars in Bitcoin if you trade for over 100 dollars). At the same time start the process of creating an account at Bitfinex (this link contains a referral code which gives you 10% on all trade the first 30 days), the only exchange where you can buy IOTA. I recommend setting up two-factor authentication as security is extremely important to avoid being hacked and potentially robbed of what you have invested.
#2) Go through the verification process of both Coinbase and Bitfinex. This could take some time since you have to upload copies of your passport and/or driving license and then it has to be manually approved. Follow the instructions and you could be verified in under a week (a friend of mine just did this and got verified in just a few minutes…). You are not able to perform any transaction until you have been verified.
#3) Once verified with Coinbase you can now buy Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin. But first you have to add a payment method and the easiest, and fastest, is to add a credit/debit card. Money wire is also possible but it can take a while to set up.
#4) Once payment method is in place you can buy Bitcoin. Click on “Buy/Sell” in the menu and make a purchase by using the payment method you just entered.
Enter the amount you want to invest and hit “Buy Bitcoin Instantly”. If you buy for 50 Euro the fee will be 1,99 Euro.
#5) Once you have bought Bitcoin you are ready to transfer you Bitcoin to Bitfinex. You do this by clicking on “Send” in the menu.
#6) This next step is important and for most people something entirely new. You will be asked for an e-mail address or Bitcoin address. You can retreive this address (not e-mail addresse) by logging in to Bitfinex → click on “Deposit” → click on “Bitcoin”. Copy the address generated under Exchange Wallet (or click to generate one).
Go back to Coinbase and paste the copied address from Bitfinex into where it says “Recipient” (after clicking “Send” in the menu in Coinbase). Enter the sum you want to transfer from the BTC Wallet → As an option you can add a note saying i.e. “From Coinbase to Bitfinex” → and click “Send funds”. Then you have to verify the transfer. This will vary based on what kind of security level you have set up in your preferences. I.e. two-factor authentication or e-mail, or both.
The address generated in Bitfinex is not very sensitive. If this is shared with the world then all they can do is transfer you money — which is a good thing.
#7) After some time (it varies from minutes to hours) you will be able to see the transfered funds in you Bitfinex account. To see this all you have to do is to click “Wallets” in the menu. You are now ready to buy your first IOTA.
#8) Once logged in to Bitfinex choose (on the left side of the screen) IOTA/BTC to make a purchase. The easiest way is to then go down to “Order Form” → make sure “Limit” selected in the tab called “Exchange” → go to “Amount” and click the green circle. Then it will add all the Bitcoin in you wallet automatically → then you click the green button that says “Exchange buy”. Normally this is all you have to do.
I have on multiple occasions experienced error messages when completing an order. I have just tried again a couple of times and it has worked. I suspect this is because the price for IOTA changes very rapidly and you might not pay enough a couple of seconds later. If you wish to enter “Margin” or “Funding” you have to figure this out yourself, since I do not know anything on this subject.
#9) Once an order is successful you can easily see it by entering “Wallets” from the menu. Your new IOTA will be visible and can now be transferred to you own wallet. The description of how you set up your own wallet is described further down.
Congratulations; you have bought your first IOTA. 🤓
PS: If you wonder why it is called MI in Bitfinex it is because IOTA is traded with something called MegaIOTA. Read more about it in the link below.
Extra information
Below you will find more information and my personal opinion on some topics.
What is IOTA
Hopefully you know this by now, but in stead of explaining it I recommend seeing the video below.
Pay attention to the community
I have spent a lot of time reading up on different subjects related to crypto and about all the different exchanges out there. For an non-experienced investor, like myself, a lot if this information is very technical and advanced. This is the main reason for writing this article; I am trying to make it easier to understand and to buy IOTA.
The first you should do is to visit the official website of IOTA to learn what IOTA really is and how you can apply it. You have to decide if this is technology you believe in.
Then you should create an Slack account and sign up for the group iotatangle.slack.com. Here you will find news, discussions, problems, challenges, updates and help. The community is growing rapidly so it can at times be a little bit chaotic. Still; I recommend joining.
If you wish more information regarding buying and selling IOTA, then there is a Slack group called ydx.slack.com (you need to get an invitation to be a member. I can give it to you if you send a message to @ bustebartebill). This group is much more chaotic, but here you will actually find a lot of help. People are genuinely trying to help where they can. I was skeptic at first, but when I tried the chat I got immediate response.
IOTA Wallet
One of the core concepts behind crypto is that you can store the coins in your own wallet. That means you are not dependent on an exchange or a bank to hold these. This is too much for me to explain here, so I recommend this video below (even though I do not understand why Eric Bana is in it…).
Two things about this video:
- The latest version of the IOTA Wallet is now 2.4.0, and not 2.3.o as mentioned in the video (per august 19th 2017). Pay attention in Slack to see if a new version is released, or follow this webpage in Github. You must always install the newest version to make sure everything works the way it should.
- The video mentions an autogenerated seed, but this is not longer an option. But you can go to this webpage and find different ways of creating your own seed. Remember that this seed is STRICKTLY SECRET as someone with this seed easily can empty your wallet. I used the method for Terminal on my Mac and it just took a second. I also suggest changing up the proposed seed a little bit — just to be sure.
I have set up my own wallet on my Mac and all the IOTA I have bought has been transferred there (it is not a lot, dear hackers). This has worked flawlessly for me. The common recommendation is to transfer all the IOTA you buy to you own IOTA since Bitfinex can be unstable and has experienced being hacked in the past.
Coinbase
To be able to transfer money to Bitfinex you have to buy crypto with some sort of exchange. I recommend using Coinbase just because I know this works. This is also a recommendation many other people have given me. I also know there is another exchange called Kraken, but I can not recommend it since I have never tried it.
My experience with Coinbase is not just good as it at times can be very slow and act strange. Also, Coinbase support is not very fast.
At the moment it is not possible to wire money (USD) to Bitfinex. That means that your only option is to transfer crypto. Money wire has been paused for quite a while now and it does not seem like this will change any time soon.
Crypto development in 2017
Even though crypto in general is soaring these days, we can expect a lot of corrections and even a crash. This is the same with the stock market — though not as volatile. Only invest money you can lose and invest for long term if you believe in the technology.
EDIT
I have stated in the article that the only exchange where you can trade IOTA is on Bitfinex. That is not entirely correct. You can also trade on the YDX Slack group. It is a little bit more complicated and I have not yet tried it. Will probably make another article when I have… Here is how this works:
Written by
Kristoffer Førde Aarskog
