Who Can Buy Bitcoin? | Terence Zimwara
In the past, readers have questioned why bitcoin, which currently trades at over $11,000 for one coin, is touted as some sort of inflation hedge. Clearly, at that value, it means the many cannot afford to buy this unless if there is a way to buy fractions of a bitcoin.
Well, that was precisely one of the initial ideas that one does not really have to purchase the entire coin but just the portion that they can afford. This is one important aspect of bitcoin, anyone can actually buy a small portion of bitcoin or a satoshi as these small portions are known.
Named after the anonymous creator(s) of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, the satoshis or sats are the smallest units of the bitcoin. A satoshi is equivalent to 100 millionth of a bitcoin. Due to this divisibility attribute, it is possible to own or, as others prefer, to invest into a $10 worth of bitcoin, which is an equivalent of just under 100,000 satoshis.
In practice, however, bitcoin users seem hardly concerned about the name of the little bitcoins but are only interested in transacting successfully. Because bitcoin is divisible, one can make online payments for such small things like mobile phone airtime or for utilities. On places like Amazon and Alibaba, it is possible to pay albeit indirectly with bitcoin through the use of gift cards.
Understanding these attributes of bitcoin is very important because this will come in handy when one is approached by scammers. Cryptocurrencies and bitcoin have gained popularity as speculative trading assets and naturally, many investing platforms that specialise in such digital currencies have emerged. Sadly, many people continue to get scammed by fraudsters that are taking advantage of the limited knowledge and information about cryptocurrencies.
For instance, there are examples where prospective bitcoin investors are told of a minimum amount they need to deposit for them to acquire the cryptocurrency. Since there is not enough information sharing, ignorant individuals have been convinced to put forward amounts as high as $500 with some online bitcoin trading companies. In some bizarre instances, ignorant investors have been made to pay a fee so that a typical bitcoin wallet like blockchain.com can be created for them.
As explained above, one does not really have to deposit $500 to be able to buy their first bitcoin because with $10 you can still buy. Also, creating a wallet on Blockchain or Paxful does not cost anything except data. When you are told it requires a fee it is probably because the scammers are aware of your ignorance. The best way to beat scammers is to educate yourself. Opening a bitcoin with Paxful comes in handy because you will get access to information about how to trade as well as some useful tips.
Perhaps the worst thing one can do is trusting one’s life savings with a stranger or an unknown internet-based investing platform. It sounds absurd…
