Chapter 7: How to get Bitshares

So you have decided you would like to purchase some Bitshares. I have chosen to do the same and I hope it works out very well for both of us.

As of November 2014 the only way to get Bitshares is to first get some Bitcoin and then purchase some Bitshares with Bitcoin. This will change early next year, but for now that is the process.

Here is a URL where I will update the instructions as they become easier. You may want to check that URL to see if I have posted a video with an update.

You can also leave your email address so I can notify you of future updates. If there is no update then read on.

http://www.bitshares.tv/chapter7

I assume you already know how to get Bitcoin, but just in case I will mention some of my favorite places to get Bitcoin.

If you are in America, you can use Circle.com or Coinbase.com. In Europe I suggest Kraken.com, but for the whole world, no matter where you are, my number one is bitfmex.com. They are my favorite exchange. They are based in Hong Kong and I have always had a pleasant experience with them.

Once you have Bitcoin, you are ready to buy Bitshares.

My personal preference at the moment is www.bter.com. Just so you know, Bitshares is very popular in China and most trading activity is Chinese.

Before I show you www.bter.com. let me show you a cool way to find out which exchange has the most volume and which might be right for you.

If you go to www.coinmarketcap.com, you will see all of the crypto-coins currently trading. Find Bitshares, and in the volume column click on the hyperlinked amount.

This will give you a breakdown of which exchanges are trading Bitshares and how much depth they have.

You will probably be buying Bitshares in Bitcoin, so you want to find the top one or two exchanges that have the highest volume for the BTS/BTC pair. If it says BTSX/BTC, don't worry. They just have not caught up with the rebranding yet. BitsharesX was rebranded to Bitshares in November 2014.

So, as I mentioned previously, www.bter.com or www.btc38.com are the best sites for purchasing.

Below are the steps I recommend you go through. I suggest you go through them with a small amount first to build your confidence. Once it has worked for a small amount (tens of dollars), you can proceed to larger amounts.

As you go through this process, I should warn you that you will probably think, "How on Earth can anyone deal with this horrible experience?" While no step is actually difficult, you certainly have to be motivated to get through it all. They make it really tough. Said another way, there is a high barrier to entry.

Keep in mind these two things: In 2012, when I first got into Bitcoin, it was about as tough to buy. Before companies like Coinbase, Circle, and Blockchain were around to make it easy, this is what early Bitcoin adopters had to go through.

Once many of those problems had been fixed (i.e. the barrier to entry had been reduced), then much larger crowds of people were willing to get involved. These high barriers to entry are part of the reason why in 2012 you could buy Bitcoin for $10. With many of those barriers since overcome, Bitcoin is now worth over $300. I believe the same thing will take place for Bitshares.

Huge improvements in usability are scheduled for December and Q1 2015. If you want, you can wait until then, but who knows where the price will be at that time. If you push through all of these steps, I think you will be rewarded very nicely in the New Year. Of course, I cannot guarantee that and I make no promises, but I know it will be much, much, much, easier very soon.

Okay, here are the lengthy steps you have to go through at the moment.

#1

Sign up for an account with an exchange you have chosen. E.g.: www.bter.com

#2

Fund the account. Find the page that allows you to deposit Bitcoin.

#3

Send your Bitcoin to the exchange. It may take up to an hour after your funds have been sent until they are available for use in the exchange. Remember to use a small amount the first time, to make sure you understand the process.

#4

Once you can see the funds in your balance, find the page where you can buy Bitshares with Bitcoin.

#5

Select the amount and click buy. Be mindful, if the volume is low you can move the market with as little as $3,000. For purchases over that amount, you may want to split them up into smaller amounts and purchase some every 10 minutes or so. In 2012, when I was buying Bitcoin for just $10 per coin I recall moving the market with only slightly larger funds. I know it feels weird, but it's a pretty cool phenomenon.

#6

You are now the owner of Bitshares. Congratulations. You could stop here, but I do not recommend it. I never recommend leaving your funds on an exchange. If the exchange goes bankrupt, you will lose everything. Better to bring the Bitshares over to your wallet.

#7

Go to http://www.bitshares.org and in the top right-hand corner click on download. Scroll down and download the right client for your machine.

#8

Go through the installation process.

#9

Open the application. The first time you do this you will be asked to create a password. Just like with Bitcoin, if you lose your password you will lose your funds. Do not store your password on your computer. Write the password down on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place. Do not choose a password that is easily guessable and do not use a password that you use elsewhere. Write it down in at least one or two locations and store safely.

#10

The program will start downloading the Bitshares Blockchain. You may need to wait for several hours or even days, depending on your Internet connection, to download the Blockchain. Be patient, and think about how great it is that this is so complicated that most people will just not bother. That means you are still getting Bitshares at a really low price.

#11

The password you chose in step 9 is not your private key. Your private key is in an encrypted fde on your computer. Your password will decrypt that file. I suggest at this point you back up your encrypted wallet and store it somewhere. In the menu, choose File then Export Wallet. Save this file to your desktop. Then find another location to store it. Either put it on a USB and place it in a drawer or email it to yourself. Do not store the USB in the same place as the password on the piece of paper. You now have a pretty secure system. In the event your computer breaks or is stolen, the thief cannot get the funds and you can recover the encrypted private keys. As long as you remember or can get to the piece of paper with the password on it, you will be able to decrypt the file.

#12

The next step is to create an account and choose a user-friendly name. In the menu system click on Accounts then Create Account. You can choose a name. This will be public. You will give it people so they can send you funds.

#13

Once you have created an account, find the Keys tab and click on it. There it will tell you your Account Key. It is a big long string of characters starting with BTS. Copy this. You will need it in the next step.

#14

The next step is to register the account you just created on the Blockchain. This is a pain because there is a small fee to register a name, but until you have the name you can't pay the fee. This circular riddle will be fixed in the update next month, but for now we have a work around. Get an existing user to send you a Bitshare the old-fashioned way so you can register the easy-to-use name.

Let me introduce you to the Bitshares community. Go here https://bitsharestalk.org and register to use the forum. Do not use your password from your wallet here or anywhere else on the Internet. The forum is free and is full of great resources for you. Once registered, go here:

https://bitsharestalk.org/index.php?topic=6439.0

and follow the instructions in the first post.

Tell them Max sent you and they will take good care of you. They will ask you for your public key. It is perfectly safe to send it to them. Just paste the public key in a post and soon, some kind Bitshares citizen will send you a Bitshare. It may take you up to 24 hours. With this, you will be able to register your account.

#15

Once you have received the Bitshare in your Bitshares client program, go to My Accounts and then click on the account you created in the previous step. In the top right hand corner you will find a blue button that says Register with the name you chose. Click on that and click OK. You have now registered that name on the Blockchain.

#16

Go back to the exchange and withdraw your Bitshares. When asked where you want to send the money, you can type in your account name from the previous step. Depending on how the exchange is set up, they make take a few hours to actually send you the Bitshares. Use a small amount the first time to make sure it arrives safely.

And it is as simple as that, (joke) 16 easy steps to safely store your Bitshares.

Jeez Louise. Given that exhaustive process, its quite amazing that there is S1 million dollars in Bitassets in circulation and Bitshares has a market cap of over $30 million. That is how exciting the promise of Bitshares is. People are willing to push through all of that just to get involved in this early stage.

As I said in the beginning, if the barriers to entry were much lower then the price would already have jumped significantly higher. As frustrating as all of those steps are, it is an indication that you are probably getting a great price, because other people will simply give up.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this book as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It has been my pleasure teaching you all about Bitshares.

If you do decide to get involved, keep an eye out for 2015. It is going to be a wild ride.

Don't forget the Bonus Chapter on Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS). I think it will be a real eye-opener for you.