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The Bootstrapper’s Guide To Bitcoin Remittances

30 January 2015 | Luis Buenaventura | Techcrunch.com

Editor’s note: Luis Buenaventura is a co-founder and head of product at Rebit.ph, a bitcoinremittance startup wholly owned and operated by Satoshi Citadel Industries in the Philippines.

There’s a lot of rhetoric about bitcoin and its impact on the $430 billion international remittance industry. One of the cryptocurrency’s most obvious uses is, after all, sending money across the planet with roughly the same effort as sending an email.

The potential effect on emerging markets — savings in aggregate that are larger than most countries’ education budgets — cannot be overstated. But beyond all the pontificating there is still the practical implementation that has yet to be sorted out.

What a week for the Bitcoin price! Bitcoin's volaitlity has always been a staple of the industry, with big swings going up or down with the price, but this week has been quite the roller coaster ride.

Learn about what's happening on this week's From The Bitcoin Desk!

The Great Bitcoin Price Drop of 2015

Starting off 2015 with a slow price decline, the market didn't even expect what was going to happen in the next few days. First, Bitstamp, the top bitcoin exchange, was hacked for 19,000 BTC or five million dollars worth. This was resolved with professionalism and speed far from what was the norm just year ago when Mt. Gox collapsed. Bitstamp recovered well and got back online in a few days, and then, for no apparent reason, the price of Bitcoin started to drop, and drop, and drop.

In a matter of hours, it dropped to as low as $160, which was seen last around October of 2013! The bitcoin world watched in anticipation to see if it would drop lower, but similar to previous crashes, the price rebounded strong to recover more than 40% in a matter of hours too! Right now the price is steady again but still low at $220. The Bitcoin world kept on though, knowing that the price is the least important thing about Bitcoin and that the utility and technology is stronger than ever.

While the price dropped, Tim Draper, who purchased 30,000 BTC just a few months back, also dropped three million dollars of investment into a new bitcoin venture, Blockcypher. The company builds web services and APIs for Bitcoin and is lookiing to expand its company. 

Rebit launches ZERO processing fees!

Rebit.ph just recently launched it's new ZERO processing fee policy! Learn more about it on www.Rebit.ph!

Bitcoin faucets are all well and good but what if you want to own enough to actually use in daily life?

In that case, buying Bitcoin is the easiest place to start. Since Bitcoin is a currency, buying Bitcoin means you’re actually just exchanging your money for another kind of money, similar to buying dollars or any other kind of national currency.

To buy Bitcoin, you need to go to an exchange, of which there are several types.

Buy and Sell Exchanges Buy and Sell Exchanges are sites that are the most similar to the foreign exchanges we’re familiar with here in the Philippines. These sites have a set buy and sell price, at which people can obtain or sell off their Bitcoin at.

The process here is simple; just go to a trusted exchange website, check out their prices, and decide if you want to buy there. Once you have decided, you will have to sign up (usually a one-time thing) with the service so you can place an order. Once an order is placed, you will then have to go to a bank and pay for your Bitcoin. You will be asked to show your proof of payment to confirm the transaction. Once confirmed, the exchange sends you your purchased Bitcoin right away.

When familiarity with Bitcoin is low, these kind of exchanges dominate, as we see locally. Notable Buy and Sell Exchanges include:

xbt.ph + rebit.ph 

buybitcoin.ph

coins.ph

coinxchange.ph

Peer to Peer Exchanges Localbitcoins.com allows person-to-person transactions through their website. Their service lists users looking to buy and sell Bitcoin near your location. You can then pay or be paid through cash upon meet up, bank deposit or through local remittance services (if preferred by the seller). Once payment is confirmed by the seller, Local Bitcoins send the purchased Bitcoin along to you.

On Peer to Peer exchanges, individual users set the price so may see premium pricing at play. Always compare prices and user reputations before making a trade.

localbitcoins.com

Order-Book Exchanges Order-book exchanges allow for a more professional type of trading and is usually where the global price of Bitcoin is determined. Similar to LocalBitcoins, Bitcoin buyers and sellers set the price they want to buy and sell their Bitcoin at, contributing to the site’s book of orders. The exchange matches and fulfills the orders automatically.

Due to the volatile and sensitive nature of the Bitcoin market, we recommend that you do extensive research before deciding to actively trade on order-book exchanges. Remember too, that unlike traditional markets, the Bitcoin market never stops trading!

Some examples of order-book exchanges accessible in the Philippines are:

Coinage.ph

Btcxchange.ph

Bitstamp.net

There are many, many ways to buy Bitcoin nowadays, and almost all of them are guaranteed safe and secure, but you can never be too careful. Research and due diligence on websites and companies you plan to transact with is a must!

For a handy comparison tool of local exchanges, check out http://btcphp.com