1. Store them securely<\/b><\/p>\n
(CoinDesk<\/a>) Which brings us to the first thing that you\u2019re going to want to do with your How you store the bitcoins will depend on what you want to do with them. If you\u2019re going to spend But you may also be planning on keeping the bitcoins for longer. The currency\u2019s price is pretty volatile, and some analysts think<\/a> So, now you\u2019ve secured your coins. What next? In the spirit of Christmas, Giving bitcoins to charity might be the right thing to do, but if there is a If you are just itching to spend your new virtual currency, there are many Still have no idea what to do with those precious coins? Then flog them. If Whatever you decide to do with your new bitcoins, call the person that gave them
\nnew bitcoins: keep them safe. If you\u2019ve never received bitcoins before,
\nthe chances are that you\u2019ve been given them by someone who created a
\nbitcoin address for you, sent some coins to it, and then gave you the
\naddress somehow. It may have come as a long number pasted into an email,
\nor potentially on a piece of paper.<\/p>\n
\nthem immediately, then you\u2019ll want to put them into what\u2019s called a \u2018hot
\nwallet\u2019. This is a wallet either on your smartphone, your desktop
\ncomputer, or a website, and it allows you to spend your coins straight
\naway.<\/p>\n
\nthat it will bounce far higher than it has already. If you want to keep
\nyour bitcoins for a while, then consider putting them in cold storage.
\nThis is a bitcoin wallet that doesn\u2019t connect to the Internet. No one on
\nthe Internet can steal it because it isn\u2019t stored on your computer, or
\non a remote website. The easiest way to do this is with a paper wallet.
\nIf the bitcoin address isn\u2019t on a piece of paper, or the gift giver has
\npromised you some coins but hasn\u2019t sent them yet, then you can create a
\npaper wallet at various websites. One site that you can use to produce
\nexcellent paper wallets is Bitcoin Paper Wallet<\/a>. Another example is BitAddress.org<\/a>.
\nSites like these will generate a bitcoin address for you. The address has two
\ncomponents: a public key (which you show to everyone else when you want
\nto receive bitcoins to that address), and a private key (which you use
\nto send the coins). The bitcoin address will be printed out onto a paper
\nwallet for you to keep.\u00a0Show the public key to the person sending the
\nbitcoins. They will scan the address and send the coins along using
\ntheir own wallet. It is important that you then keep that piece of paper
\nsafe \u2013 because if you lose it or show it to someone malicious (like
\nJohnson did), then your bitcoins will be gone.
\nWhen you wish to spend these bitcoins, you can import your private key to a hot wallet of
\nyour choice. There are many to choose from, each with their own
\nstrengths and weaknesses. Some, like blockchain.info<\/a>, store your bitcoin private keys both online, and on a mobile app. Others, like Kryptokit<\/a>,
\nrestrict storage to your desktop computer only. The wallet will have a
\nway for you to input or scan your paper wallet\u2019s private key,
\ntransferring it into hot storage so that it is ready to spend. At this
\npoint, it effectively has an Internet-connected copy of that paper
\nwallet, meaning that the paper wallet can\u2019t be considered as cold
\nstorage anymore.
\nCheck out our handy guide to bitcoin storage<\/a>.<\/p>\n2. Give them away<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nwe thought we list the most obvious option near the top: giving them
\naway. There are several organizations that take bitcoin donations listed
\nhere<\/a>, one of which is Connie Gallippi\u2019s BitGive Foundation<\/a>.
\nIt is a respected organization, with members of the Bitcoin Foundation
\non its board, which takes bitcoin donations to build up a charitable
\ninvestment fund. It makes financial contributions to charities that
\nfocus on public health and the environment. Most recently, it raised
\n$4,850 for Save the Children.<\/p>\n3. Gamble them<\/b><\/h2>\n
\ndevil sitting on your shoulder, he may advise you to gamble it away
\ninstead. If you fancy a flutter and don\u2019t fancy making the trip to
\nVegas, then you can do it from the comfort of your armchair, in between
\nTurkey-induced catatonia and rounds of rum and eggnog.
\nThere is no shortage of gambling-related sites. SatoshiDice<\/a>
\nis perhaps one of the most famous. Akin to a large, Internet-based
\npenny slot machine, it works by publishing a variety of bitcoin
\naddresses. Players their bitcoins to one of them, and the site\u2019s
\ncomputers evaluate them to see if you won or lost, sending back your
\noriginal bet multiplied by a prize multiplier if you are successful.
\n\u2018Dice\u2019 sites like these allow you to verify the payout either by using the
\nbitcoin block chain, or by using pre-defined numbers which can help you
\nto check that your payout was fair. But for those wanting a more
\nconventional game, there are several bitcoin poker sites up and running,
\nincluding Satoshi Poker<\/a>, and Bits Poker<\/a>. Players do so at their own risk, however. Another poker site, Seals with Clubs, just lost 42,000 hashed passwords<\/a> in a hacking attack.<\/p>\n4. Spend them<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nplaces where you can buy goods and services online. We\u2019re still not at
\nthe point where you can hand them over the counter at your local boxing
\nday sale, but you can spend them online, and at selected physical
\nmerchants. There is a big list of individual merchants organized by
\ncategory here<\/a>, but you can also find bitcoin-based vendors on some online marketplace sites like Etsy.
\nBitdazzle <\/a>is an online marketplace for vendors of all kinds that accept bitcoin,
\nwhich will enable you to magically turn your satoshis into that bar of
\nlavender and oatmeal goat milk soap you always wanted.
\nAlternatively, use a service that will enable you to purchase pretty much anything with bitcoins. All4BTC<\/a>\u00a0will
\ntake your bitcoins and use them to pay pretty much any e-commerce
\nvendor on your behalf. Or, you can buy a gift card from over 200 popular
\nhigh street retailers, by sending your newly-gifted coins to Gyft<\/a>.
\nFor more details on your spending options, check out our in-depth guide here<\/a>.<\/p>\n5. Sell them<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nthere is a bitcoin ATM near you, you may be able to sell them there. You
\ncan sometimes find bitcoin-related Meetup groups<\/a> in your area, where people will lurk looking for bitcoins to buy, or items to sell in exchange for them.
\nYou can also take advantage of direct person-to-person sales via sites such as LocalBitcoins.com<\/a>,
\nwhere you can find people to trade with online, or in person (be
\nsensible and safe when doing the latter). Or, if you\u2019re in the mood to
\norganize a whole bunch of paperwork over the holiday, you can register
\nyourself on one of the many bitcoin exchanges (there will probably be a
\nlocal one for your country) and then deposit your bitcoins there. This
\nwill enable you to sell the bitcoins to a buyer offering a given asking
\nprice.<\/p>\n
\nto you, and give them a happy New Year\u2019s greeting from us at CoinDesk.
\nWe like people that think outside the box. And aren\u2019t bitcoins a much
\nmore interesting present than a pair of socks?<\/p>\n