Cryptocurrencies are undeniably shaping the future of digital payments, and the emergence of other virtual coins is bringing changes of various forms in the financial sector.
But while Bitcoin continues to be a major digital asset, its demand has slowly dropped over the past year. At the same time, the value of other assets has tremendously grown.
In this regard, we note that in the past year or so, the value of Bitcoin has fallen from slightly over $20,000 in December 2017 to about $4,000 in December 2018. During this period, the asset has lost over 75 percent of its value.
However, if you compare the price of Bitcoin to where it was some five years ago, its price has increased significantly.
This is a clear indication that the price of the commodity is highly volatile. Despite all these factors, people are still buying it and using it for various purposes.
As of now, there are countless ways to buy cryptocurrency-and Bitcoin in particular-over the internet. Among them is the use of crypto exchanges, which have gained prominence over the last few years.
With that in mind, take note that before one can decide to acquire crypto, certain factors need to be taken into consideration.
Among them is the terms and conditions of the exchange and their geographical location, since not all trading platforms are allowed to operate in every jurisdiction.
One of the platforms we have today is VirWox. Using a credit card, you can quickly and easily purchase Bitcoins on the platform.
In this guide, we will take you through a step-by-step procedure of how you can use this avenue to acquire Bitcoins.
Now before you begin the whole process, you need to understand that various online platforms have put in place a wide array of measures to ensure that others do not use their platform for illegal purposes.
For that reason, most have put in place some strict measures to prevent fraud.
Account Registration
You can visit VirWox's official website here. Homepage screenshot below:
If you are an already existing member, you may proceed and log in. If not, then you can start creating an account by clicking the "Not registered yet" icon as shown above.
After you have done so, the page below is displayed on your screen. This is the first step of registration and where you fill your details.
Here, you can start off by entering your username and email address. After that, there is an optional part where you can insert a link to your avatar, which we skipped as it is optional.
Then we move on to the third step, which is mandatory. Here, you can input your name, country and preferred language. Based on your location, some payment options may be or may not be available or unavailable to you.
Now the last two parts are the terms of service and entering a CAPTCHA. You must tick these and then proceed and click "Register" to get started.
A confirmation link with a password will then be sent to your email. The link expires in 24 hours, and it is important to confirm it as soon as you can do so.
After logging into your email and confirming the link by clicking it, you will then be directed to a VirWox page where you enter your username and the password sent to your email.
The registration step is now complete, and you are now set to start using your Virwox account for transactions.
However, it is advisable to immediately change your password to one that you prefer because the one sent to the email was one generated by the system automatically.
To change the password, click on the "Change Password" option as shown above.
Due to security measures, VirWox users should ensure that their password meets a specific criterion for it to be considered strong. Otherwise, it will be rejected by the system.
As shown in the screenshot above, the password needs to be at least 12 characters long, have a combination of both uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers. After entering the new password and it meets the criteria above, the system will accept it, and you are set to proceed.
Selecting a Payment Option & Funding Your Account
Now that you have set up a new password, your account is secure and you may proceed to the next step, which is funding your account before you can buy Bitcoins.
By clicking "Deposit" as shown below, you will be taken to a new page where you will have the option of depositing funds. As mentioned earlier, not all payment options are acceptable by the platform.
In our case, we cannot fund our demo account directly using credit/debit cards. For that reason, we can use Skrill or PayPal as a gateway.
You need to ensure that the name on the Skrill or PayPal account is the same as that on the VirWox account because if it is not, then it may not work. Also, if you are using PayPal, the account needs to be verified for it to work.
Another thing to note about VirWox is that the limits will vary depending on how you choose to fund your account.
For example, the maximum you can deposit using Skrill or PayPal is 90 euros. Alternatively, you could use SOFORT Banking (a payment method available in select European countries) or paysafecard -their limits are 250 and 300 euros respectively.
However, the limits are subject to an increase depending on how you use your account. The more one uses it, the more Bitcoins they can buy because of increased deposit amounts.
Generating a Bitcoin Address
Our next step is to generate a Bitcoin Address. This will be the address where you coins get deposited. You will also use it to send and receive funds from other wallets.
To get an address, go to the area below the deposit options, then click on "Generate Bitcoin Address." The address will be generated instantly, then a page like the one below appears.
Making a Deposit
Now that you have selected a payment mode and have a Bitcoin address generated, you can now go to the next step and proceed to check out.
If you have a credit/debit card and you cannot use it within your jurisdiction, then the best option is to create a PayPal or Skrill account and then add the card and use it as a payment gateway.
In our case, we choose to deposit funds using Skrill.
Once you have decided on the amount and currency, enter it as shown above. Please note that buying using the other modes is more or less the same because the procedure is standard.
As shown in the screenshot below, if you are not logged in to your account, then you will be required to log in to initiate the payment. If you don't have an account, you can create one here.
Simply follow all the steps until you see the page below displaying. That is when your account will have fully been funded, and you can now start the process of buying cryptocurrency.
Buying Bitcoins After Making a Deposit
After funding your account, you are now set to start the process of buying. However, this cannot be done right away as you need to make some conversions based on market prices of some virtual tokens.
Note: Depending on the funds deposited, you can still deposit more depending on the limits which are dependent on account activity.
The limit resets itself after every 24 hours and increases with time.Step #1: Convert USD to SLL
VirWox allows users to buy Linden Dollars (SLL), which is the currency traded in Second Life, a popular virtual world game. Users acquire Linden Dollars using USD, EUR and other currencies, then convert the funds to Bitcoin (BTC).
To do this, click on your Balance and acquire Linden Dollars (SLL) as shown below by clicking on USD/SLL. The option can be found on the left side of the page.
You need to make sure you check the currency rates for conversions based on the Satoshi unit you want.
After that, a page like the one below displays where you enter the exact value of USD you want to be converted to SLL.
By selling USD, you receive SLL. You then click "Next" and then confirm your order in the next page, as shown below.
Now you have successfully converted your USD to SLL, and the balance can be seen as shown below.
Step #2: Change SLL to BTC
The next and final step of acquiring Bitcoins using VirWox is to covert the SLL to BTC. Just like the previous step, we will do the same thing on this occasion and follow the procedure to the end.
Simply click on the BTC/SLL icon located at the bottom right of the page. After doing so, a page like the one below appears.
You then enter the number of Satoshis you want depending on your available SLL balance then proceed by clicking "Next."
The screenshot below is then displayed and here is where you confirm the order before the SLL is converted into BTC.
Proceed and click on "Place order." Now you have Bitcoins in your VirWox account.
Withdrawals
This is the last step that entails withdrawing funds from your VirWox account to another wallet. It can be a personal wallet or one that belongs to someone else.
To do so, click on the "Withdraw" option located on the left side.
After that, the page below is displayed. Now depending on how you funded your account, withdrawals of USD/EUR can be made using the same means.
In our scenario, we used Skrill, and that is the most convenient way we can withdraw our USD balance in the account.
For Bitcoins, you can send them to an external wallet by entering the amount you wish to withdraw and the Bitcoin address of the receiver. This is the last step; now you can click "Request withdrawal."
For new accounts, it might take some time (up to 48 hours) for VirWox to process the withdrawal as they are done manually for security reasons. But the more you use the account, the easier it becomes since you can buy more coins and send money instantly.