Difference between revisions of "Help:Installing Bitcoin Core"

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(Online eWallet alternative: Being less harsh on running bitcoin yourself.)
(Online eWallet alternative: Remove entirely the dig on having to install software.)
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== Online eWallet alternative ==
 
== Online eWallet alternative ==
  
An account can easily be created and [[Getting_started#Getting_my_first_coins|funded]] using an [[eWallet]] service. These services keep your wallet on their website instead of on your computer which eliminates the need to install any software at all.
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An account can easily be created and [[Getting_started#Getting_my_first_coins|funded]] using an [[eWallet]] service.
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An eWallet provider's website allows you to access your bitcoins stored with them.
  
 
== Technical ==
 
== Technical ==

Revision as of 00:10, 11 January 2011

For Windows computers

Installation

Download and install Bitcoin.

Download the "Windows (exe)" version
Complete installation wizard

Initialisation

The first time you run Bitcoin, it needs to download all the blocks to setup. You already have your bitcoin address at this point, but you won't see any transactions before the initialisation is complete (it can take from half to a few hours).

Bitcoin is initialising by establishing a connection to other clients and downloading the blocks.
Completed download of block-chain.

Your address (you can have as many as you want) is at the top. Below is your balance which will be zero. The list below shows your transactions.

Getting my first coins

The Bitcoin Faucet website currently hands out 0.05 BTC to new bitcoin users. Fill in the form with your bitcoin address.

Getting free coins from the Faucet

A new entry should appear in Bitcoin. The network hasn't yet confirmed it, but you know it's being processed. After about one hour it should get 6 confirmations. You are able to spend the coins when there is only one confirmation.

The confirmation counter (like the block counter) will increase by one roughly every 10 minutes. Six confirmations are considered as 100% sure a transfer has been processed.

First btc recv.png
Six confirms bitcoin client.png

Points to remember

  • You don't need to be online for receiving BTC.
  • You can create as many new addresses as you like. Using a different address each time helps keep you anonymous.
  • You can be anonymous with adequate precautions.
  • You cannot send BTC to an invalid address. Typos are not a worry as the payment will refuse to send.
  • The wallet file holds the keys that allow spending and thus the computer should be protected from the risk of loss and theft.

Online eWallet alternative

An account can easily be created and funded using an eWallet service.

An eWallet provider's website allows you to access your bitcoins stored with them.

Technical

Block chain

The block chain is a neverending story of every transaction throughout the network from day 1 (genesis). The first time you run Bitcoin, it is downloaded and verified on your computer. Every new transaction is added to the end of this chain and verified by the network to be valid.

Addresses

Whenever you send a coin, you are in actual fact signing your coin with their address. This is transferring ownership to them. Once they own the coin then they are free to transfer it along to another person.

A wallet is a collection of addresses. You can create as many new addresses as you wish- it makes you more anonymous because then people cannot see how much BTC you received. Your wallet contains the secret keys used for spending that money, and must be backed-up regularly (after every spend). If you lose the wallet then you no longer possess the money.

Generating

New coins are minted through generating hashes. These generators are rewarded with a small fee for the computationally intensive task of incorporating your transactions into the block-chain. At regular intervals this fee halves as more coins are minted. This fee will keep halving until reaching zero, when 21 million coins are in circulation.