Why you might want to own some bitcoin (and how to do it responsibly)

A curriculum developer’s guide to learning Bitcoin in 2021

You can store bitcoin on this lil guy.
  • Introduction to Bitcoin
  • Skin in the game & off the exchange
  • What is money?
  • Choose your own adventure
  • I’m still having doubts
  • Improve your self-custody setup
  • Practice with testnet
  • Buy more bitcoin
  • Upgrade your opsec
  • Join the community
  • Next steps
  • Mobile device (Android or iOS)
  • Internet connection
  • Email address
  • Bank account
  • 90 minutes to buy and custody your first satoshis
  • A few days/weeks to determine if you want to buy more
  • A few days/weeks to improve your bitcoin security
  • I’m a curriculum developer and educator.
  • I fell down the Bitcoin rabbit hole last year.
  • I’ve been giving tailored Bitcoin Q&A sessions to interested friends and family.
  • Starting simply and improving is better than not starting at all
  • It’s more engaging to use tools before reading a detailed explanation
  • Control your bitcoin when you’re ready (learn non-custodial tools)
  • Stay focused and avoid altcoins (use bitcoin-only tools & services)

Introduction to Bitcoin

Skin in the game & off the exchange

A reminder of the basics (5 minutes)

Get a wallet (15 minutes)

  • Download the Casa App. iOS and Android links at the bottom of this support article.
  • Sign up for a Casa account. (Consider signing up pseudonymously. These sections of the post are relevant for this guide: “Use a pseudonym or alias,” “Use an email that isn’t tied to your identity,” and “Use a VPN.”)
  • Set up your wallet. Follow the instructions in this support article.

Buy some bitcoin and withdraw it to your wallet (30 minutes)

  • Sign up for an exchange service. bitcoin-only.com has good recommendations.* (If your country is not listed there, try buybitcoinworldwide.com.) Fund your account with a small amount of money to start.
  • Buy bitcoin on the exchange service. Again, a small amount.
  • Withdraw the bitcoin to your Casa Wallet. Find and click the exchange service’s Withdraw Bitcoin button. Open your Casa App. Click Receive. Copy the address shown and paste it into the address field the exchange provided. Click to request a withdrawal. The exchange will send bitcoin to your Casa Wallet, which usually takes ten minutes to an hour depending on the exchange service and the activity on the Bitcoin network.
The Receive button displayed in the Casa Wallet.

What is money?

What is money? Magic Internet Money answers that question in the context of Bitcoin as it relates to cryptography, economics, finance, governance, and more.

Choose your own adventure

Bitcoin is different things to different people.

  • Technology
  • Finance
  • Economics
  • Price projections
  • Society
  • Law & Politics

Technology

Finance

Economics

Price projections

Society

Law & Politics

I’m still having doubts

I’m not sure if I want to buy more bitcoin

I want more bitcoin, but I’m not confident I can store it safely

  • Buy bitcoin through an exchange service and trust them to hold it for you. See bitcoin-only.com for options in your country. I also like Kraken and Gemini (note: referral link where we’ll both receive $10 if you buy $100 worth of BTC) for this use case because of their investments in security.
  • Buy a bitcoin investment vehicle: the world’s first Bitcoin ETF is BTCC, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. GBTC is a popular option in the United States. Watch out for their premiums.
  • Buy bitcoin on CashApp or PayPal.

Improve your self-custody setup

Practice with testnet

How you’ll feel the instant you send your first meaningful amount of BTC without practicing.

Buy more bitcoin

I tell my clients to do their own homework (from my research and others) and risk manage their position size relative to their level of conviction and unique financial needs/goals.

Upgrade your opsec

Join the community

Next steps

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