A year ago when my brother @dogguy first told me about Steemit, I instantly wanted to invest in the project! Luckily, I had a brother who knew a lot about Bitcoins, and I was able to buy STEEM coins through him.
After a while I decided to explore how to buy more on my own, and I realized that it is a complicated process if you haven't done it before. I wrote this guide back in 2016 to try and help people through the process. Since then, the websites in the guide have changed, and a lot of people are still using the old guide - so I decided it would be good to post an updated version.
Short Version
- Step 1: Convert your money into bitcoin (BTC).
- Step 2: Use your bitcoin to buy STEEM.
(That's it!)
Buying bitcoin (BTC)
- First you will need to signup for a website that allows you to buy bitcoin. I personally use Coinbase.com, because it has been around for a long time and is popular. If you don't have an account yet, it may take a couple of days to verify your identity before they will let you to make a purchase. LocalBitcoins.com is another popular website. You can also Google "how to buy bitcoin" or "how to buy bitcoin in [your area]" to get alternative ways of purchasing BTC based on where you live.
- Once you are signed up for the bitcoin purchasing website, login and purchase bitcoins using the site's "Trade/Buy" interface. Different websites will have different ways of doing it. Here is what it looks like in Coinbase:
- After your purchase is complete, you will see the bitcoin appear in your BTC wallet.
Use your bitcoin to buy STEEM
- First, open your STEEM wallet. It is located in your profile menu in the upper right on Steemit.com.
- Click on the dropdown in your wallet next to STEEM, and click on the link to "Buy".
- This will take you to an external website BlockTrades.us.
- On the BlockTrades.us site, select "Bitcoin" from the send menu.
- Select "Steem" from the receive menu. (Note, you can also optionally chose Steem Power if you want the STEEM powered up.)
- Enter your Steem/Steemit account name for "Your receive address".
- Click the "Get Deposit Address" button.
- It will output a bitcoin wallet address. Copy this wallet address to your clipboard.
- Go back to your BTC wallet, and send the amount of BTC that you want to use to purchase STEEM to that address. Make sure the wallet address matches exactly with what is shown on the Blocktrades website.
- After you send the BTC to that address, you will need to wait a little while for the transaction to confirm on the network. Most sites like Coinbase will show you the status of the transaction. Periodically check back and refresh. Once the transaction is confirmed, it will show up in your Steemit.com wallet!
That's it!
Thanks for taking the time to read this guide. I hope you found it useful! If you have any questions, please feel free to reply to the post and I will do my best to answer.
Think of the devil and there he is. This awesome helpful blog couldn't have come anytime earlier. I am a newbie, yet to post my intro and was wondering today morning about this whole steem purchase thingy. And here it is, a comprehensive guide to buy steem. My mentor @firepower recommended me that I follow you to receive some great advise and blogs and how right he was.
Thanks @timcliff.
Did you end up buying any?
Awesome. You have a great mentor :) I really like @firepower!
Yup. @firepower, my mentor is just awesome !!! And I have reasons to believe now that so are you.
There MUST be an easier way to buy Steem! Steemit cryptocurrency money exchanges
Rather than go through one or more third parties, why not buy Steem from Steemit.com, or Steem.com? Am I making any sense here??? Or am I being too simplistic here? Am I being an idiot for stating the obvious??
Buying through third parties is very discouraging and suspicious to most normal people.
The steem eco system could very easily set up there own e-commerce payment gateway. Why don't they?
Perhaps tere is strategic brand marketng reason to sell steem through third-party exchanges, istead of diect to customers..
Followed & Upvoted
Follow back please :) and upvote one of my blogs thankyou ;)
@thecrytotrader
Already following u @topdog
As a fellow new member who is yet to swns his first post too, I hope to get great contents to read & upvote like am planning...good luck
Thanks this is the kind of post new members will need to keep referencing. I look forward to when people can buy Steem directly for fiat.
I'm a newbee and this is my first post at steemit - maybe I did not get it - why should someone buy Steem if he can earn it by posting, commenting, and so on. What can I do/buy with a Steem? or is it just the speculation on a higher price?
I just did an upvote on my own post !?!
Me too :)
Oh, that'll be the day. If ETH and LTC can do it, then STEEM can too.
Thank you so much @timcliff for the very informative post! 😀 I'd like to try to invest and follow your steps. As a matter of fact I've known to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies just this month. With all your posts I am learning a lot. My big thanks to you. It is worth following you! 😀💖
Awesome! Glad they are helping :)
You give us knowledge with all your blogs. That's what I am grateful of. 😀💖
Thanks for sharing ...
Very good guide especially to people new in the industry ^_^
Thanks for the tip!
You're welcome dear
have a nice day ^_^
Wow just 2 steps, that's seems easy!! Really nice guide to buy Steem easily. By the way, what do you recommend. Buying Steem or Steem power?
I like to keep around 80-90% of my STEEM powered up so I can have more influence in the platform, as well as earn higher curation rewards. I try to keep 10-20% in liquid STEEM though, so if there is a price spike I can cash in on some profits. A lot of times you can even sell on a spike then buy back in a dip and end up with more STEEM than you started with.
Good tip @timcliff, you're awesome man
Wow, that's a nice strategy. Thanks for letting me and all others know about it. :)
If you are able to use ETH instead of BTC you will save time & money. The transactions are faster and with much lower fees.
Good call, thanks for adding the tip!
Thank you, your steps are neat and easy to understand. That's very clever for you to invest in Steemit at such an early stage and STEEM has already risen over 400% in a year. Smart choice!
Well, I wish I could claim that I got in that early. Technically I bought in right when it was around $4 per coin :)
@timcliff what do you think is the future price of Steem in the next 24 months? Taking in account the growth of Steemit.com for the past months I feel it can grow to 1BN , 2 BN , 4 BN in Marketcap?
Actual it is at 500MIO $. I would like to have your take on that!
Cheers,
Christian
Sorry, I don't do predictions :)
I am still continuing to keep more in the site than I am cashing out though, because I do believe that in the long term my STEEM will be worth a lot more than it is today.
Appreciated ! I am just wondering how big this can be ! I guess addicted we are already :)
Yeah I guess so!!!
I am pretty sure I have been on the website every single day since I signed up last July. Yes, it is safe to say I am addicted :)
Oh, such a pity, never mind, Steemit definitely will have a bright future that many and many users are pouring into this platform now
Yeah, I have never regretted the purchase I made (even when STEEM dropped below 10 cents a coin). I always have and still do believe that there is a ton of upwards potential :)
Nice tutorial and I am sure it will help those who just want steem only. I would think those who already own bitcoin know how to buy any other crypto.
You'd be surprised. I had purchased BTC before (to play an online casino game), but it was still an extra set of things to learn to be able to use it to buy STEEM. I'm fairly technical, so it wasn't too bad - but I've tried to explain the process to many of my friends and a lot of them find it quite confusing. "Wait, you are telling me I need to use three different websites..."
Yeah, it's definitely not a one stop shop for crypto sometimes. I can see why non-tech people stay away
That was nice of you to write this article for the newcomers.. Looks amazing though probably only crypto traders would probably buy steem.. Most people come to make profit w/o investment.
Cheers and much love for the great post :)
Thank you for sharing this informative post to me.I do not know how to buy steemit before, this post could really help me to buy steemit and I think Steemit would rise so I would make use of my bitcoin to buy some Steemit. As Bitcoin is now hitting the record high, I think Steemit would have higher potential to rise when I hold it in current price.
I agree. One thing just to clarify - when you are buying the coins, you are technically buying "STEEM" coins. Steemit is a website that interfaces with the 'Steem blockchain'. The tokens are technically generated by the blockchain (not the website).
I used to use your old guide and I am honestly so happy that the process continues to get easier. The next time you write this guide it'll be even more simple!!
I look forward to the day when I can write a guide on how to go directly from USD to STEEM :)
I 2nd that! I'm wondering why it hasn't been done already? Someone could make a fortune if they knew how to replicate that Internal Market and make it so that buyers and sellers can trade directly with each other and the middleman acts like PayPal and takes care of all the transactions while collecting a processing fee! And not just USD, but Canadian and Euro as well.
There are several million dollars of regulation fees to pay if anyone wants to do it in the US. That's why there are very few sites besides Coinbase that offer that type of thing.
Its all about controlling the market, isn't it? But since the blockchain is everywhere at the same time, can it not avoid US controls? I guess its the fact that we need to access our local banks to move the fiat currency that is the sticking point! Darn!
Hi, do you have an updated version now, since you wrote this a couple years ago, has there been a major changed? Just wondering.
The guide should still be fairly up to date. If you have any questions let me know and I'm happy to help.
Alright. Thanks. Will keep it in mind. :)
Can a newbie in steemit start buying bitcoin and converting it to steems
Yes, definitively!
@timcliff
Your detailed and simplified way of explaining a hitherto complex procedure for some of us who r not vast on such things shd make me vote for ubas professor emeritus of steemit. Am happy to be following you as I get to learn sometn new from ur blog posts. Keep steeming for us. Upvoted
Thank you, @timcliff! I have so far bought Steem on Poloniex and Bittrex and sent it here.
It looks like your way is faster since you buy from within your wallet here. Is there also a price difference or any other (hidden) advantages to doing it directly from the Steem wallet?
I know small things can make a big difference here :)
Thank you!
Anja
Most likely you will get a better exchange rate if you use an external exchange like Poloniex or Bittrex. The "in site" tool (BlockTrades) is better for convenience and lower risk.
OK thank you!
It is good you are posting this again because we are getting a ton of new users from outside the crypto currency world which is exactly what the platform needs. Great job!
Thanks!
It sounds like you and your brother have a very good relationship. I had told my brother about Bitcoin when I was in highschool and it was practically free to get Bitcoin. Because of my lack of resources (money for pc) i was unable to mine/ get some. He completly disregarded me and told me that i was dubm. couple months later it exploded to 300 dollars.
Nice :)
Well I am a huge idiot and locked myself out of my Coinbase account and everyone knows they're swamped with so many new customers lately so who knows when I can buy some Steem. After I think I am going to buy Steem every single month.
Thank you, I was wondering how. Your explanation is plain and simple. I am using Luno is it also OK?
Never tried it. Seems cool though, I'll have to check it out.
Very well explained; from A to Z. I like it, that's why you 'll receive my (modest) upvote. With love.
Thanks :)
nice tutorial for regular people to also get behind the technicals. I was also planning to do something similar in German. Also for Iota, Ethereum and realted wallets there have been lots of requests how that works. I have around 20 cryptos, using 6 exchanges and a few different wallets. recently i wrote a german explanation with practical example for an ICO (CryptoPing)... keep sharing knowledge =)
Feel free to do a translation of this post. Just plz cite my post as a source.
thx. I am not sure what exactly I will do. but if I quote you, I will of course reference you... keep up the good work
Thanks @timcliff and just to confirm the memo on blocktrades really is optional? Just trying this now and I think Poloniex used to make me fill that part out...
Yes.
So I just answered my own question if anyone else is curious - 1 confirmation is required.
@timcliff, you are indeed boosting this wonderful community up write your awesome educative write up. I thank you a lot for tipping me.
Tim! I got 2 Steem from you. What did I do right?!? And thank you.
A week or so ago I ran a 'bounty' post where I paid everyone who replied to my question with useful information. You participated, so you got 2 STEEM :)
Yep. I remember now. Thanks. Quite generous. I'm 3 weeks in but already gave away 10 SBD and 1 LTC. I've given away so much on my Instagram page. This platform is much more lending to generousity and charity. Thanks again!
Thank you. Right now I'm frustrated bevause Ive initiated BTC purchases through coinbase and glidera and date of arrival keeps getting pushed back.
Glidera kinda weirded me out so i canceled and requested account deletion (wrote a blog about this)
Coinbase purchase on 6/7 was to arrive 6/17 now pushed back 6/22. Frustrating. Why does it take so long
I don't know the answer. The last time I made a purchase (about a month ago) it worked fine. Maybe something else will have an answer.
One thing I found was that if you have a bank account and debit card linked, it lets you buy a certain amount (around $2,000 I think) instantly.
Well I didn't purchase anything near two grand...as I am new at this I made a very modest investment but it's still an amount I'd be pissed if I lost. ...and yes it is linked to my bank account. It is just discouraging that i can't purchase. Nothing has been pulled from my account but it makes me dubious. Everyone seems to think coinbase is good though so trying to be patient
I consider them a very reputable site, so I don't think that you have to worry too much. Probably the worst thing to expect is some delays. I think the biggest issue people have is they charge you the price of whatever the coins are worth at the time you click the buy button. By the time they arrive in your account they can be worth more or less than they were at the time you purchased them. Depending on the price of BTC between those times it can either work in your favor or against you. That is why I went through the steps to be able to buy some instantly - to remove the volitility risk. Plus I prefer to be able to use my coins right away :)
Ok that does make some sense as it has fluctuated by several hundred since the inititated transaction date. I just logged in and it's got a delay of 11 days. >_<
That far exceeds the "3 to 5 business days " for US Bank account. I wish i had known to just use my debit card to get it immediately. You live you learn I guess
Also i contacted coinbase support to see why.
PS thanks for all you do to help us beginners. ♡ I have a lot of your blogs i will be reading.
Cool :) Welcome!
I think you can try LocalBitcoins.com miss @chelsea. It's flexible and safe for buying Bitcoins.
Thanks @timcliff this has been so useful for a starter. From what I gather you need to purchase from one site, then convert on another site then send over to your steemit account - did I get it? Your posts are awesome - thanks again!!
Pretty much.
@timcliff thats informative article upvoted have a look on my tutorial abou@minnowsupport project and resteem it will help newbies in your follower list
https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@diverse-thinker/it-takes-just-5-steps-to-be-big-whale#@qwasert/re-diverse-thinker-it-takes-just-5-steps-to-be-big-whale-20170617t141326798z
Very nice information please tell me how much steem power we get for 1 steem coin?
You get 1 SP for each STEEM coin. Technically SP is STEEM - it is just "vested" in the platform, meaning that you are agreeing to keep it in the platform (until you decide to power it down) in exchange for more influence, higher curation rewards, and interest on your balance.
thanks @timcliff for the reply.
In Canada there is a website called quickbt.com which allows you to do an instant bank transfer for a small fee.
Your tutorials are always easy to read.. Love the screen shotted menus. Thanks for doing these. :)
Thanks for the tutorial. But what an absolutely, unnecessarily convoluted process.
Haha, I know. I think we all dream of the day that we can go directly from USD->STEEM :)
Great guide! Very neat and informative.
Thanks!
Very good guide especially to people new in the industry. This post is very useful indeed, thanks for sharing
Great guide! :)
Thanks :)
간단명료한 설명! 감사합니다~
고맙습니다!
Its pretty straight-forward. Keep in mind Coinbase has fees (which will be shown to you at the time of transaction - purchase) - 1.5% when using bank account (keep in mind that the bitcoin will be available AFTER some days, not right away! When i bought some it took like 5 days to come to my wallet). Credit card / debit card purchase will be INSTANT, but it has its price - HIGHER fee of 3.99%.
Nicely explained
thanks for sharing ...
WOOW!!! Thats a very well detailed guide,and i am sure it will go a long way helping newbies !!! Thank you for sharing
@timcliff Upvoted and Resteemed.
I think LocalBitcoins.com is the best website to buy Bitcoins because here you can pay directly from your local bank account. It is also safe since it saves the bitcoins in Escrow before releasing them to the buyer or seller. Thank you for this guide @timcliff. I was really confused what to put inside the receive address bar.
Thank you for the very helpful post!!! I have my wallet set up at Coinbase, and I bought a little bit of steem power 3 hours ago to see how it works. Do you know about how long a transaction takes? It hasn't shown up yet.
Great! It will depend on the network of whatever coin you are using to make the purchase (such as Bitcoin). There is some more info on this in the FAQ.
Hello friend, very interesting your guide will help me a lot in this new way, I do not know much about virtual currencies. I hope you can support me. Thank you
Nice work
Thanks!
Thanks for this step by step guide.
Nice...this is very usefull for newcomer:) and thank you for your giving. ;)
Very informative read, thank you! Also, this is explained perfectly for a newby like myself.
@healthiswealth HERE IT IS!!! The comprehensive guide we've been searching for!!!
Ok thank you for the tutorial, it is very helpful.
Thanks for the wonderful article. Great information for a newbie like me.
great post! thanks
blocktrades doesn't work for me on Firefox OSX. The coin selection dropdowns are empty!
It's not just firefox. It is happening on all browsers. I've seen it before though, and it starts working in a little bit. I'll check in with them.
It is back up now.