HOW TO PAY WITH BITCOINS

Cryptopayments

This guide will show you the crypto payment process from start to finish.

Before you start

Before you start, you need to get a crypto wallet and acquire some cryptocurrency. If you already have both, you are good to skip to the next section of the guide. —> Payment process.

Even if you never used crypto before, the whole process of setting up your wallet and getting the funds will take 1-2 hours at most.

Setting up a wallet

Basically you can set it up in two ways.

· Custodial wallets

This type of wallet is similar to a bank account. You own the funds, but they are actually stored by the bank. Getting such wallet would usually mean registering with some service provider like https://localbitcoins.com/, Binance, Coinbase or some others.

The nice feature of such wallets is that they usually have fast and direct access to crypto exchanges and offer the ability to buy crypto with your credit card. We will need this at the next step.

On the flip side, if something happens to the platform (i.e. it gets hacked), you are risking your funds. These platforms can also impose certain limitations on your wallet, like lock-up period, fees and commissions for transferring crypto. Some of them may have some weird ‘security’ measures, like being able to transfer crypto only after the receiving wallet has been in your address book for 24 hours.

For the purpose of just paying for your order and not storing crypto, such a wallet should be okay, but, if possible, we recommend using non-custodial wallets.

· Non-custodial wallets

This type is more like a physical wallet in your pocket or a safe deposit box. You are the sole owner of your funds and only you can access them. To get one you won’t need to register with any service. In most cases it is just a matter of installing software (Electrum for Windows, Exodus for iOS and Mac devices, Metamask for Ethereum, and other) and setting up your new wallet. Your only risk here is forgetting your password or losing access to your device. In this case you usually can use your recovery phrase to restore your wallet on a new device. This option is much safer and it’s perfect for long-term storage of your crypto. You are also spared from lengthy KYC procedures, withdrawal limits and fixed high fees. Another nice perk of such wallets is that you can set your own transfer fees to either save some money or make your transaction faster.

For the purpose of paying for your order on CosmicNootropic both options are fine. In case of custodial wallets, just be sure to verify legitimacy of the company you are opening your wallet with. And, we, personally, use non-custodial wallets for payments for the reasons described above.

Getting the Crypto

Now we need to get the crypto into your wallet. You can easily do it with your credit or debit card through one of the crypto exchanges. The whole process takes about 10-25 minutes and varies a bit from exchange to exchange.

Here are some common steps you will need to take:

Visit the exchange of your choice and create an account
Complete the KYC procedures by verifying your account with the ID
Select the cryptocurrency and the amount you want to purchase
Enter your Bitcoin address for your wallet or use one provided by the exchange
Pay for the purchase with the card as you do when shopping online

As of right now, these are top exchanges that allow you to buy bitcoin (or other cryptocurrency) with your card:

· Coinmama

· eToro

· CEX.io

· Coinbase

· Binance

· LocalBitcoins

99Bitcoins offer a description of a payment process for each of these in their article.

Payment process

Now, when you are all set up, you are ready to pay for your order. Find in your wallet a tab Send or Transfer, enter the desired amount in BTC or fiat currency, enter the address of the BTC wallet you want to transfer the payment to, and click "Submit". Within a few minutes your payment will be delivered.

Be sure to inform the recipient that the transfer has been sent.