Help:Installing Bitcoin Core: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:48, 10 June 2022

An account can effortlessly be created using an eWallet service. eWallet services provide an online wallet to hold your bitcoins.

This guide covers installing Bitcoin without needing a third party wallet service.

For Windows Computers

Download Windows Bitcoin Wallet at http://bitcoin.org/en/download available in 64bit and 32bit.

Click Next to start installation.

(Optional) Choose preferred directory then click Next.

Click Install.

Wait until installation completes then click Next.

Click Finish to start Bitcoin Wallet.

On the first load, Bitcoin Qt will ask you to choose directory where your Bitcoin block chain and wallet.dat will be stored. Click OK when done.

For Mac OS Computers

Download Mac Bitcoin Wallet at http://bitcoin.org/en/download and expand the disk image.

Contents of the Bitcoin disk image after expansion

Drag the Bitcoin icon to the desired install location, and double-click the icon to run the application.

Initialization

The Bitcoin window will open and connections will start up in minutes. The blocks will begin downloading.

At this point, it is recommended to encrypt your wallet before receiving any bitcoins. Encrypting later may leave earlier addresses vulnerable to theft in the case that the system is compromised. This can be done from the Settings menu using the Encrypt Wallet function.

Your wallet will automatically have your first bitcoin address.

Buying Bitcoins

Bitcoins can be bought from individuals, on trading exchanges or from other online services. See the main page about Buying Bitcoins for more information.

Points to remember

You don't need to be online to receive BTC.
You can create as many new addresses as you like. Using a different address each time helps keep you anonymous.
You can be anonymous with adequate precautions.
You cannot send BTC to an invalid address. Typos are not a worry as the payment will refuse to send.
The wallet file holds the keys that allow spending and thus the computer should be protected from the risk of loss and theft.
Leaving Bitcoin open improves connectivity for the network and ensures that you don't fall behind on the block chain. Also see the FAQ about port forwarding

Proceed to the introduction

Technical

Block chain

The block chain is a never-ending story of every transaction throughout the network from day 1 (genesis). The first time you run Bitcoin, it is downloaded and verified on your computer. Every new transaction is added to the end of this chain and verified by the network to be valid.

Addresses

Whenever you send a coin, you are actually sending a cryptographically signed message, associating your coin with the recipient's address. This effectively transfers ownership to the recipient. Once they own the coin, they are free to transfer it to another person.

A wallet is a collection of addresses. You can create as many new addresses as you wish; having more addresses makes you more anonymous, because then people cannot see how much BTC you received. Your wallet contains the secret keys used for spending that money, and must be backed-up regularly. If you lose the wallet then you no longer possess the money.

Generating

New coins are mined through generating hashes. These generators are rewarded with a small fee for the computationally intensive task of incorporating your transactions into the block-chain. This fee halves each time 210000 blocks are added to the block chain, or approximately every 4 years. The fee will keep halving until it effectively reaches zero, at which point 21 million coins will be in circulation.

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-'''Genjix is editing this page. Please don't make any big edits until I've removed this banner in the coming days. You can put stuff on the talk page.'''
+An account can effortlessly be created using an [[eWallet]] service. eWallet services provide an online wallet to hold your bitcoins.
-Anyone can have his own [[Bitcoin]] [[Bitcoin address|address]] in minutes. You just need to be running a [[:Category:Bitcoin clients|Bitcoin client]] and you're ready to go. But before that there are a few thing you might want to know about bitcoin and how to make safe transactions.
+This guide covers installing Bitcoin without needing a third party wallet service.
-== Things to know ==
+== For Windows Computers ==
-It is really easy to use bitcoin, however there are a few things you may want to know first.
+Download Windows Bitcoin Wallet at [https://bitcoin.org/en/download http://bitcoin.org/en/download] available in 64bit and 32bit.
-=== What is a bitcoin? ===
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-welcome-install.jpeg|frame|none|Welcome Wizard Screen]]
-A bitcoin is a virtual cryptocurrency. It is often abbreviated as ''BTC'', ฿TC, or ฿. There is currently no official [[bitcoin symbol]] yet, however BTC is the most widely accepted short form.
+Click Next to start installation.
-=== Bitcoin address you say? ===
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-location-install.jpg|frame|none|Destination Folder Screen]]
-A bitcoin address is a string made of up to 35 characters. It is case sensitive, but your bitcoin client is able to tell if the address you're providing is valid. A bitcoin address on the main network will always start with a 1.
+(Optional) Choose preferred directory then click Next.
-You can create as many bitcoin addresses as you want, your bitcoin client will handle all the adresses for you (inside the "address book") and show your global balance. Adresses are anonymous, and unless you give someone your address, nobody knows who is the owner of a given address. It is a common practice when receiving bitcoins to create a new bitcoin address each time. It also allows tracking who is sending you bitcoins, and for what.
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-start-menu-folder.jpg|frame|none|Choose Start Menu Screen]]
-=== Getting my first coins ===
+Click Install.
-You can get your first coins for free from the [[Bitcoin Faucet]], or buy them on the market or on one of the exchange services.
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-installation-complete.jpg|frame|none|Installation Screen]]
+Wait until installation completes then click Next.
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-finish-install.jpg|frame|none|Finish Screen]]
+Click Finish to start Bitcoin Wallet.
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-data-directory.jpg|frame|none|Welcome Screen of Bitcoin Core Wallet]]
+On the first load, Bitcoin Qt will ask you to choose directory where your Bitcoin block chain and wallet.dat will be stored. Click OK when done.
+== For Mac OS Computers ==
+Download Mac Bitcoin Wallet at http://bitcoin.org/en/download and expand the disk image.
+[[File:BcOSX.png|frame|none|Contents of the Bitcoin disk image after expansion]]
+Drag the Bitcoin icon to the desired install location, and double-click the icon to run the application.
+== Initialization ==
+The Bitcoin window will open and connections will start up in minutes. The blocks will begin downloading.
+At this point, it is recommended to encrypt your wallet before receiving any bitcoins. Encrypting later may leave earlier addresses vulnerable to theft in the case that the system is compromised. This can be done from the Settings menu using the Encrypt Wallet function.
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-main-window.jpg|frame|none|Main window]]
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-preferences.jpg|frame|none|Preferences window on Windows]]
+Your wallet will automatically have your first bitcoin address.
+[[File:Bitcoin-qt-receiving-address.jpg|frame|none|Receive coins window]]
+== Buying Bitcoins ==
+Bitcoins can be bought from individuals, on trading exchanges or from other online services. See the main page about [[Buying bitcoins|Buying Bitcoins]] for more information.
+== Points to remember ==
+* You don't need to be online to receive BTC.
+* You can create as many new addresses as you like. Using a different address each time helps keep you [[Anonymity|anonymous]].
+* You can be [[Anonymity|anonymous]] with adequate precautions.
+* You cannot send BTC to an invalid address. Typos are not a worry as the payment will refuse to send.
+* The [[Wallet|wallet]] file holds the keys that allow spending and thus the computer should be [[Securing_your_wallet|protected]] from the risk of loss and theft.
+* Leaving Bitcoin open improves connectivity for the network and ensures that you don't fall behind on the block chain. Also see [[FAQ#Do_I_need_to_configure_my_firewall_to_run_bitcoin?|the FAQ about port forwarding]]
+Proceed to the [[Introduction|introduction]]
+== Technical ==
+=== Block chain ===
+The [[block chain]] is a never-ending story of every transaction throughout the network from day 1 (genesis). The first time you run Bitcoin, it is downloaded and verified on your computer. Every new transaction is added to the end of this chain and verified by the network to be valid.
+=== Addresses ===
+Whenever you send a coin, you are actually sending a cryptographically signed message, associating your coin with the recipient's address. This effectively transfers ownership to the recipient. Once they own the coin, they are free to transfer it to another person.
+A wallet is a collection of addresses. You can create as many new addresses as you wish; having more addresses makes you more anonymous, because then people cannot see how much BTC you received. Your wallet contains the secret keys used for spending that money, and must be [[Securing your wallet|backed-up regularly]]. If you lose the wallet then you no longer possess the money.
+=== Generating ===
+New coins are mined through generating hashes. These generators are rewarded with a small fee for the computationally intensive task of incorporating your transactions into the block-chain. This fee halves each time 210000 blocks are added to the block chain, or approximately every 4 years. The fee will keep halving until it effectively reaches zero, at which point 21 million coins will be in circulation.
+[[Category:Introduction]]
+[[de:Erste Schritte]]
+[[zh-cn:入门]]
+{{Bitcoin Core documentation}}