Bitcoin Wallet Hardware

So, I bought a bitcoin. When I saw that Congress was discussing digital currencies and new bitcoin price records were getting daily mentions on CNBC and other mainstream outlets, I decided it was time to take a ride (purely speculation, not an “investment”). It’s not a simple process, especially in America, so I’ll walk you through the steps I took to actually evaluate options and finally, to buy a bitcoin.

Initial Bitcoin Criticism

Earlier this year, I wrote an article (Bitcoin is the Dumbest Investment Ever) lambasting the digital currency and its minions (which I still stand by) but being the hypocrite that I am, I could see the room for further bubble expansion and figured, “why not jump on this wave and make a few bucks during this euphoric rise”. While I believe markets are efficient when it comes to stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities and reflect all known information at the time, in the case of bitcoin, and a few other instances like the ONLY stock I’ve bought in over a year (now up big ), when I start to see the mainstream media reporting on something, google search volume through the roof (chart below) and lastly, when your mom asks about it – it may be signaling mainstream acceptance and further expansion of a major bubble. The trick will be when to actually sell. But here’s the scoop on my experience.

Google Search Trends for Bitcoin (click to enlarge):

It’s been amusing to watch various brands and stores try to jump on the bitcoin bandwagon by showing how hip they are in accepting bitcoins as payment. Richard Branson has jumped on board, as well as various local stores. It’s kinda funny to see a coffeeshop offering to accept bitcoins though then the last quote was close to $1200. That’s a LOT of coffee! I think they’re just trying to look trendy but don’t have any takers.