Setting up and acquisition of bitcoin donations

BITCOIN

Bitcoin is digital money, a unit of measure, a new global currency.

It is decentralized, which means not owned or controlled by anyone, or any entity, it’s protocol is open source, and

everyone can take part.

The best relatable analogy to understand bitcoin especially in Africa is mobile money (mpesa, msente etc.)

Bitcoin is simply a new and exciting online payment system, that is rapidly gaining popularity globally by the day.

INTRODUCTION TO BITCOIN

The Wikipedia foundation, a non profit organization received more than 140,000$ in bitcoin donations in a

week, since it started accepting contributions in the digital currency.

Many other organizations have followed suit since.

Below are the benefits that the new digital currency presents to non profit organizations

• It is a tool to target specific demographics, specifically constituents who are more tech- minded, The ICT center in Mattru Jong would attract donors

interested in exactly this kind of development.

BENEFITS IN RELATION TO NON PROFIT

ORGANIZATIONS.

• It is transparent, the flow of money from address to address is completely public and the value of every

account is evident on the block chain, allowing complete transparency about donations received, without the donors having to provide their own platform for metrics, they can instead focus on

helping those they set out to help.

• Many payment processors for bitcoin such as coinbase have dropped all processing fees for non

profit organizations, meaning the organization receives exactly the amount of bitcoin donations

sent.

Other benefits are; fast transactions, International, widely accepted as a currency, hard to steal, easy to divide, easy to

store, etc.

BENEFITS IN RELATION TO NON PROFIT

ORGANIZATIONS

Without a bitcoin wallet, one cannot send or receive bitcoin payments, so the first step is to acquire a bitcoin wallet.

A bit coin wallet refers to a file that contains the number or numbers of accounts that hold money.

More simply put, using bitcoin platform is like having an email account. To receive bitcoin one needs a unique public

address ( like a personal email address) created on a bitcoin client (like Gmail/yahoo/outbox) when accessing

your bitcoin program, you enter your bitcoin address and private key (just like you would log into your email

account).

It is crucial that this combination of address and private password is kept safe, anywhere you keep it is called a

bitcoin wallet.

BIT COIN WALLET.

There are many different types of wallets categorized into four segments each with separate advantages to suit your

need.

• Online wallets- can be accessed on the web from any internet connected device. Examples include; greenaddress, coinspace, bitgo, coinbase etc.

• Hardware wallets- physical devices designed to secure bitcoin. Examples include; ledger Nano, ledger Nano s,

trezor, keepkey

CHOOSING A WALLET

• Software wallets- wallet applications downloaded to your phone, computer or tablet. Examples include;

airbitz, mycelium, green address Etc.

• Paper wallets- bitcoin private keys printed on an offline computer.

You choose your wallet depending on the frequency, medium and amount of payments. One may also choose a

combination of wallets for the safe keeping of their bitcoin

CHOOSING A WALLET

There are three main ways to acquire bitcoin:-Mining- This is the way new bitcoin are made. Miners are rewarded coins for verifying transactions recorded in a transparent public ledger called a

block chain. It explains the backbone and mechanism of the entire architecture. It is very Tech savvy and requires a broader knowledge of

computer related programs, and not compulsory for just trading in bitcoin.

Donations – To receive donations you can either set up an integrated payment system like ‘bit pay’ (by downloading it or buying it )that can

simplify the donation process so that you may convert the bitcoin to your local currency immediately or you can set up a dedicated page for

donations like the American Red cross.

Buying bitcoin- involves visiting an online exchange like ‘coinbase’. There you can connect your bank account service and exchange or buy

dollars for bitcoin

GETTING BITCOIN

In conclusion, after setting up an address and a bitcoin wallet you/ your company/ organization is ready to start trading in

bitcoin.

Consider enlisting on bitcoin100, which lists non profits and other charities that accept such donations.

Good luck and welcome to the new age!

Lynda Biteete, Enthusiast

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