What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin (or BTC) is the new money of the Internet, which you can use to shop online from the sites and stores which support it, or you can exchange the coins for real money! Here we will explain briefly the easiest ways for you to get some Bitcoins and spend them or exchange them for real bucks.
How to get a Bitcoin account?
The first step, like for a normal bank account, is to register a BTC account to be able to receive the coins from The Bitles game or from other people who use Bitcoin. Unlike a bank account, a BTC account is way easier to get; even kids can have one in a few minutes!
There are two ways to get a BTC account (called also a wallet): the first is by using a special program on your computer which acts as the wallet, but this method can be difficult for beginners, although more secure.
The second way, which we explain here, is by registering at one of the many ad-hoc websites which provide you with an online wallet that you can access from a web browser whenever you want from every device.
We recommend to register at Blockchain.info which is the easiest to use in our opinion and it is shown in the screenshot below. From the homepage click on the Wallet menu link and you can create your wallet from there. If you wish so, you can use a different wallet site like Block.io, Coinbase, Bitstamp and others.
How to receive BTC from The Bitles?
When you solve a puzzle while playing in Puzzle mode, a Bitcoin reward will be added to your balance. And on top of that, you will get a BTC reward everyday if you have just played the game the day before! When you collect enough earnings, you can withdraw the coins to your BTC account: from the main menu of The Bitles game, push the Bitcoin button and you will see your BTC balance. From there you can withdraw by pushing the Withdraw button.
At this point, the game asks you what is the ID (or address) of your BTC wallet. You need to copy/paste that ID from the wallet site you have used to create your wallet. If you use Blockchain.info, login to the site and you will see your wallet ID like in the example picture above: the ID is that long sequence of characters in bold, inside that red rectangle. That is the ID that you need to copy/paste to withdraw. After you have withdrawn, wait for max 30 minutes and you should have the coins in your balance.
How to shop with BTC or send them to another person?
To send BTC to other people, you need them to tell you what is their wallet ID first. Then login to your wallet at Blockchain.info and click on the "Send money" link on the top, that you can see from the same screenshot you have seen before.
You will see a new page which basically asks you the ID of the receiver and how many Bitcoins you want to send. That's about it. When you shop online paying in BTC, or you exchange coins for real money, you will always need to send the coins to some people in this way.
How much are Bitcoins worth and how can i exchange them for real money?
You may ask: how much money can i get from my Bitcoins? Take into account that the value of 1 BTC may vary during the year, so for example if now 1 BTC is worth 300$ (USD), it may be raise to $400 or drop to $200 in a few days. Where can i check the BTC value? Usually people check it at Bitstamp or BTC-e, which are also used for exchanging BTC for money.
If you have many coins to exchange, you better register at Bitstamp or BTC-e, send your coins there and provide them with your bank account info. Then just sell your Bitcoins and withdraw the money to your bank account.
If you have not many coins or you want real money in cash, we recommend to register at LocalBitcoins which you can use to meet real people in your city and exchange BTC for cash with them by hand! An alternative is finding someone in the Official Bitcoin Forum.
