Launched in July 2014, Bitshares is a decentralised platform designed to offer a more efficient global payment network. It’s used to trade crypto assets without intermediaries in a secure manner. The platform is powered by the BTS token that serves as a utility token used to reward stakers and a few other use cases. It runs on an open-source blockchain known as Graphene that is believed to process up to 100,000 transactions per second. This piece will focus on how to buy Bitshares (BTS) to ensure you make the most of the opportunities this platform offers.
Fill all the requested information using your personal data accurately. Check your inbox for a confirmation email and log in with your selected email and password.
Choose your favourite payment method and follow the steps to make your first deposit. The minimum deposit amount might change depending on your location.
Search for BitShares on the list of available cryptocurrencies. Use a "Buy Order", choose the amount of BTS to buy, set up other trade details and confirm the order.
Brokers offer one of the easiest ways for anyone to access the BTS market and profit from it since there isn’t much required to get started. All you need is to be of legal age to trade various financial instruments and have the minimum capital required to fund your account. These platforms are accessible from any corner of the planet and allow users to speculate on the price of Bitshares with potentially higher profits using various financial instruments attached to the asset. Unlike an exchange, you don’t have to worry about acquiring and storing BTS since you will not be dealing with the actual asset on broker platforms.
Before you start your journey of buying Bitshares, there are a few things you need to pay attention to as it will determine if you will have a pleasant experience or not.
Cryptocurrency exchanges and online brokers that allow the purchase of Bitshares will support various payment modes that one can use. These include bank transfers, use of credit/debit cards, third-party payment processors, and use of other cryptocurrencies. It’s up to you to choose a mode that serves you well.
If you plan to interact with the actual asset on an exchange, you will have to consider acquiring a safe, secure wallet to store the private keys to your tokens. Contrary to popular belief, crypto wallets don’t store your coins but the private keys that offer access to them on their parent blockchain. If you own coins, let’s say on an exchange, and don’t hold their private keys, then they don’t really belong to you. However, if you plan to use a broker to access BTS, you don’t need a wallet.
The security of the platform you choose to use to access Bitshares is another thing you need to pay attention to since the last thing you want is to signup on a platform where you lose your funds. Regulators require platforms offering access to assets such as BTS to hold the highest level of security to protect user funds. Some will employ encryption and SSL certificates. They will also offer users the ability to activate two-factor authentications to protect personal accounts.
Bitshares employs cryptography, decentralisation, and consensus mechanisms to protect its network from bad actors as a digital currency. This prevents the occurrence of 51% attacks where a few bad actors can take over the staking power of the network and change transactions in their favour.
This is another factor you need to pay attention to before signing up on various platforms. The fees charged for buying and selling will differ. Also, the payment mode you choose to fund your account will determine the kind of fees you get charged for funding your account. The section covering fees will cover the likely costs you should look out for in detail.
More important than identifying a platform that offers access to Bitshares is finding one that you can navigate with ease. Most top platforms are built with users in mind, which means offering a simplistic user interface that doesn’t intimidate beginners. Also, they will offer tutorials on how to use the platform and offer easily accessible customer support to help out whenever you get stuck.
Below, let’s look at some of the modes you can use to buy Bitshares on various platforms where the token is supported.
Buying Bitshares with Debit/Credit Card: This is one of the common ways to buy Bitshares that you will find on brokers and exchanges. It’s easy to use, just like online shopping, where you specify the cryptocurrency you want to buy, enter the amount you would like to spend, enter your card details, and complete the transaction.
Buying Bitshares with Crypto: This is another common way to buy BTS; however, you need to have crypto before swapping it for BTS. Since it’s easy to find platforms offering access to BTC, ETH, and other top coins, you can join one and purchase a popular token. Then proceed to join a platform that supports BTS and make the swap.
Buying Bitshares Peer-to-Peer (P2P): This is another option to acquire BTS, especially if you reside in a country with strict regulations making it hard for crypto platforms to offer their services within the region. P2P trades are possible on decentralized exchanges that allow people to operate anonymously. Also, they offer support for many payment modes tailored to every region you choose to trade, which makes them ideal for users with limited options to buy cryptocurrencies.
Buying Bitshares Using Third-Party Payment Options: Third-party payment options such as PayPal, Skrill, and many others are also popular options for buying and selling BTS. These modes are integrated on platforms that offer access to BTS and can be used by those who feel it’s the ideal way they can make the purchase.
When you join various platforms to buy BTS, you will notice there are various fees involved. Service providers charge these fees to cover their overheads. Below let’s take a look at some of the common ones you will encounter.
Transaction Fees: These exist as network fees, and the exchange will add a small fee for facilitating the transaction. You can get a discount on these fees by using exchange tokens to pay for fees. Brokers will charge commissions based on the volume of trades they execute. Also, if you go for long without using your account, some platforms may also charge an inactivity fee.
Deposit Fees: The platforms that allow you to purchase BTS will not charge any deposit fees, but you will likely encounter these fees from the payment service you opt to use to fund your account. The fees will vary depending on the platform, and it’s up to you to decide which method serves your needs best.
Withdrawal Fees: When taking funds or coins out of the platform, the broker or exchange will charge a small fee. In the case of BTS, these fees are minimal and shouldn’t concern you that much unless you are making many withdrawals.
This section will cover a few options you have when it comes to safeguarding your BTS investment. There are many different types of wallets and these are discussed below.
Web Wallet: Bitshares web wallets exist as browser extensions or exchange-provided wallets. When you sign up on an exchange and make a purchase, your token balance will reflect in your BTS account. The problem with these wallets is the exchange owns them, and in case the platform is breached or goes under, you will lose your coins. On the other hand, browser extensions offer better security since you get to keep your private keys which means you are the only one with access to the tokens. However, since these wallets are always online, there is a chance they can get breached, and you can lose your tokens.
Mobile Wallet: These apps allow you to hold your private keys and access your tokens from a smartphone. They offer convenience, especially for individuals that want to conduct regular transactions such as trading since you have access to your coins at all times. The only issue is they can get breached if your mobile device is infected by malware or virus. Guarda is an excellent example of such a wallet.
Desktop Wallet: This software you download on your PC helps you store your tokens safely compared to web wallets. They offer an interface that allows you to analyse various aspects of the Bitshares blockchain, including managing your portfolio and transferring coins. This wallet helps users keep their private keys and seed phrases to recover the wallet if they lose the wallet. Bitshares GUI is an excellent example of this type of wallet. However, it can be breached if your machine is infected with a virus or malware.
Hardware Wallet: This physical device resembles a USB flash drive that hosts apps you can use to store the private keys of various tokens, including BTS. It stores private keys offline since it’s always offline, and this makes it the most secure. If you plan to invest in BTS for a long time or if you hold a substantial number of these tokens, then this is the wallet you should go for. Ledger and Trezor are two excellent examples of such a wallet.
Wallet Combinations: As an investor, there is no limit to the number of wallets you can hold. This means it’s possible to own a wallet in all the above categories or a combination of these wallets to serve different needs. If you are actively trading, especially on decentralised exchanges, a browser extension wallet can help you transfer coins quickly. Also, a mobile wallet can help you track your portfolio on the go. And for tokens you want to keep for the long term, you can have a hardware wallet.
Since BTS is one of the top coins within the cryptocurrency market, you can trade plenty of other tokens for the asset. The most common options include the use of stablecoins and other popular coins such as BTC and ETH.
It’s possible to buy BTS worth a few cents since the token can be divided into several decimal places. However, most exchanges will require you to buy coins worth at least $10 due to transaction fees and so on. There may also be some limits imposed by regulators on the amount of BTS you can purchase depending on your place of residence.
Bitshares offers a platform where users can buy tokens without the need for intermediaries. This makes it the ideal place to buy BTS tokens without having to disclose your identity. Also, you can use other decentralised exchanges where you can trade with other users peer-to-peer. Here you will negotiate on the price before setting the transaction. Also, plenty of payment modes are supported since you can narrow down the location you would like to buy from. The only problem with this mode of purchase is the existence of scammers who hide behind pseudonyms. You can easily get scammed if you are not careful. Also, most decentralised exchanges are complex to use for the average user, which makes them even riskier.
Therefore, you are better off using centralised exchanges that will ask you to verify your identity, but your investment is more secure on such platforms.
The project is one of the top protocols within the crypto space with great use cases, and this has seen a lot of interest for the platform. As more people have embraced the protocol, the interest has been reflected on the BTS tokens, whose value keeps growing. While the token can be bought for long-term gains, it can also be actively traded. However, both strategies would require researching the price history of BTS. To learn more about the price action, head over to our Bitshares Price Page.
There are many ways to spend your BTS tokens today, thanks to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. You can pay for goods and services at merchant points where crypto is accepted, especially this token. Also, you can visit freelance platforms that allow users to get paid in crypto and buy services using your tokens. Most importantly, you can convert your tokens to fiat and spend them as you wish.
The selling process is easy, just like buying, and will take place on exchanges that allow you to purchase the tokens. However, if you trade using a CFD, then the process is simple as you don’t need to transfer the tokens from a wallet to exchange but here you need to simply close the CFD trade.