Help:Installing Bitcoin Core
For Windows computers
Installation
Download and install Bitcoin.
Initialisation
The first time you run Bitcoin, it needs to download all the blocks to setup. You already have your bitcoin address at this point, but you won't see any transactions before the initialisation is complete (it can take from half to a few hours).
Your address (you can have as many as you want) is at the top. Below is your balance which will be zero. The list below shows your transactions.
Getting my first coins
The Bitcoin Faucet website currently hands out 0.05 BTC to new bitcoin users. Fill in the form with your bitcoin address.
A new entry should appear in Bitcoin. The network hasn't yet confirmed it, but you know it's being processed. After about one hour it should get 6 confirmations. You are able to spend the coins when there is only one confirmation.
The confirmation counter will, just like the block counter, increase by one roughly every 10 minutes. Six confirmations are considered as 100% sure a transfer has been processed.
Points to remember
- You don't need to be online for receiving 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 from the risk of theft.
Online wallet
An account can easily be created and funded using an eWallet service. These services keep your wallet on their website instead of on your computer, saving you the effort of installing Bitcoin.