Signup and Use of Exchanges
Coinbase
Coinbase is the largest site for buying Bitcoin with fiat (your local currency), and we will be using it for buying Bitcoin.
Signup
To sign up for a Coinbase account go to Coinbase and click signup in the top right corner.
You will be prompted to enter details such as: your name, your email, your location, etc. When inputting your personal information make sure to make it match the information on your bank account, PayPal, and credit card to prevent issues when adding a payment method.
After inputting your personal information you will be prompted to input a phone number. Coinbase will send a verification text to your phone number. Input the verification code to continue to the next step.
Once your phone number is verified you will be prompted to add a payment method to buy Bitcoin with fiat. From this screen you can choose whether you want to add a credit card or bank account for buying Bitcoin.
If you choose bank account you will be prompted to sign in with your bank provider to link your bank account with Coinbase. If your bank provider is not listed you will need to add your bank checking information (routing number, account number) and your name. Coinbase will send 2 small amounts of money to your bank account and you will need to identify what the two small amounts were to confirm this bank account.
If you choose credit card you need to input your credit card details (credit card number, CVC, expiration date), your full name, and zip code. Please note that Coinbase only accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Buying Bitcoin
Once you have finished the signup process on Coinbase you will be greeted by the Coinbase dashboard where you can buy and sell Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. To buy Bitcoin click on the “Buy and Sell” tab located in the top left.
In the “Buy and Sell” page you can see a box on the left where you can see buy and sell options. Make sure you are on the Buy tab. From the Buy tab you can select which currency you want to buy. You should buy Bitcoin by indicating which payment method you want to use, how much you want to buy, and whether you want to repeat the current buy. Fill out all of the options, and once you are done click “Buy Bitcoin” at the bottom of the screen. If you used a bank account to buy Bitcoin it will take a few business days to transfer the money from the bank account to Coinbase but if you used a credit card you will have the Bitcoin instantly.
Bittrex
Bittrex is one of the highest volume trading sites for cryptocurrencies. We will be using Bittrex to convert the Bitcoin we bought on Coinbase to Vertcoin.
Signup
To sign up go to the Bittrex signup page and sign up with your email. Bittrex will send a confirmation email before you can login.
Create a Bitcoin Address
Once you have confirmed your Bittrex account and have logged in, you will generate a Bitcoin address to recieve the Bitcoin that you bought from Coinbase. To generate a Bitcoin address on Bittrex go to the Bittrex wallets page by clicking the “฿ Wallets” button located in the top right of the Bittrex home page.
On the Bittrex wallets page there is a box under “Account Balances” that lists all the currencies that Bittrex supports. At the top of that list there will be Bitcoin with a + and - sign to the left of it. Click the + sign and there will be a pop up where you can generate a new address. To generate a new address just click the “New Address” button. Now there will be a Bitcoin address on the previous popup.
Convert Your Bitcoin to Vertcoin
Now that you have made a Bitcoin address on Bittrex and have bought Bitcoin with Coinbase you need to send your Bitcoin to Bittrex and convert the Bitcoin to Vertcoin.
Send Bitcoin From Coinbase to Bittrex
Go to Coinbase again and log in. From the main dashboard you will see the “Accounts” button on the top left. Click the “Accounts” button and you will see a few different wallets on the left. Click the send button under “BTC Wallet” and there will be a popup that asks for the BTC address you are sending to, where you want to withdraw the BTC from, and how much BTC you want to send. In the BTC address field you need to input the BTC wallet address you generated in the “Create a Bitcoin Address” section earlier in this guide. Once you are done inputting the necessary information hit continue to complete the withdrawal.
Convert Your Bitcoin to Vertcoin in Bittrex
Once you have sent your Bitcoin from Coinbase to Bittrex you will be able to see the Bitcoin under “Account Balances” in the “฿ Wallets” page. If the Bitcoin you sent is under the “Pending Deposit” column, that means your transaction is still confirming on the Bitcoin blockchain. To check the status of the transaction scroll down until you see “Pending Deposits”.
Once your transaction is confirmed you can buy Vertcoin by going to the Bittrex VTC -> BTC markets page. Under the value graph you will see the “Trading” section where you can buy and sell Vertcoin. To buy Vertcoin use the “Buy Vertcoin” section. From the “Buy Vertcoin” section you need to input how much Vertcoin you want to buy, what price you want to buy it at (price in Bitcoin) and what type of order you want to place. Once you have inputted all the necessary information click “Buy Vertcoin” and confirm the buy order.
Send Your Vertcoin From Bittrex to Your Vertcoin Core Wallet
Once your buy order has filled, it is crucial to transfer your Vertcoin from Bittrex to your local wallet. When your coins are on an exchange you don’t actually own your own coins and private keys, if the exchange were to lose your coins you would not be able to get them back. If you have not already set up your Vertcoin Core wallet, do so by going to the Core wallet page located in the wallets section.
Get your Vertcoin Address from Vertcoin Core
To get your Vertcoin address from Vertcoin Core, open Vertcoin Core and go to File -> Recieving Addresses, where you will see all of your Vertcoin addresses. Select one and hit copy to copy the address to your clipboard.
Withdraw Vertcoin from Bittrex
To withdraw your Vertcoin from Bittrex to your Core wallet go to the Bittrex wallets page and click the - sign next to Vertcoin in the “Account Balances” section. There will be a popup where you will input the details of your withdrawal; the address you got from Vertcoin Core, and how much Vertcoin you want to withdraw. Once you are done inputting all the required information click withdraw and confirm the withdraw.
Now that you have withdrawn your Vertcoin from Bittrex you will see the coins arrive in your wallet after a few minutes.
LiteBit
If you do no want to or cannot use Coinbase and Bittrex, you can use LiteBit. Here it is possible to buy and sell Vertcoin (and other coins) without converting to Bitcoin first. There is a catch, however: LiteBit has a spread between buy and sell prices of about 5%. This means that using $100 USD to purchase VTC will give the buyer $95 USD worth of it. Selling this Vertcoin immediately (on Litebit) will give the user $90 USD.
Please observe that you also can buy LiteBit Credits from the same site. Each LiteBit Credit costs 1 Eur. The upside of using LiteBit Credits is that if you directly wire, or send via SEPA, money from your bank account to LiteBit it’ll buy from that exact moments price. This in cryptocurrency can mean huge difference for you as a buyer. By using LiteBit Credits you as a buyer can choose the exact moment to buy, and at a better price hopefully. As with cryptocurrencies, you have the freedom to sell your unused LiteBit Credits back to the exchange at a very slight loss, if you later on decide against investing.
Creating an account
Creating an account on Litebit requires basic details like your name and e-mail address. There are 3 verification tiers. A higher verification tier allows a user to make greater purchases. Verification methods vary from bank account validation to copying a bill or bank note. These processes are straightforward and can be done in a couple of minutes.
Wallets
You can store your Vertcoins in two ways: in your own wallet or in the online wallet provided by LiteBit. Trading is a lot easier when using the wallet provided, but do keep in mind that having your Vertcoins in their wallet might be a security risk. They would not be the first exchange to fall prey to hackers, so bear that in mind when making your decision.