Hey fellow Steemians!
Today is a really exciting day for me, because I actually achieved something on SteemIt that I never thought I would be able to do.
I had been dead set on not powering down, because I was SO sure (as I still am) that the value of Steem is only going to go UP, UP, and AWAY!
However, there's been this little voice in my head that's been nagging me for months, and it's been saying "Hey man, getting paid to write on SteemIt is great and all that, but what good is it if you can't spend the money?"
Now, I know a lot of you might have some juicy answers to that question, and if you do, PLEASE leave a comment and share them with me. Nonetheless, that little voice was nagging away, and so about 10 days ago I found about a brand new feature that SteemIt implemented called the "power down" slider. That did it for me. I could power down without having to use all of my Steem Power! Awesome! I immediately went about the task of finding out just how to turn that wonderful Steem into "Fiat" currency. Listen to me, using technical "crypto" terms already!
Well, I did what any red-blooded SteemIt junkie would do. I began searching out articles on SteemIt about how I could go about turning Steem Power into that coveted cold, hard, green US Dollar. Boy, what a task. There was no problem not finding enough information. In fact, I was finding TOO MUCH information! Well, what else can you expect from a community as AWESOME as SteemIt?
I ended up finding several articles that talked about a method that entailed opening an account at Bittrex to use as an exchange, and then using Coinbase for a Bitcoin wallet. I saw a few articles that recommended Poloniex, but the majority of them said to go with Bittrex, so that's what I did.
It was a little confusing at first, but with the help of a few good articles, which I'll list below, I ended up getting the job done!
I experimented with transferring a very small amount of SBD first, and then I experimented with transferring a small amount of STEEM to Bittrex. Once the transfers went successfully into my Bittrex account, I transferred the entirety of my very first power down!
I successfully turned the SBD and STEEM into Bitcoin on Bittrex, and then I deposited the entire amount of Bitcoin into Coinbase. I got a little bit nervous at this point, since the deposit into Coinbase was "pending" for a little over an hour. However, my fears were unfounded as I checked again a bit later and all was well. So here is the result of my very first HUGE MILESTONE on SteemIt:
As you can see, I now have $68.87 worth of Bitcoin that I can turn into actual money that I can spend! However, I've decided not to do that just yet, as I want to wait until I understand how to "play" the market better. I really need to learn how to understand the Bittrex exchange better, because I want to get into investing crypto BIG TIME. I want to learn how to buy, sell, and overall make money like I see a lot of other people doing.
I know I've got a STEEP learning curve ahead, but I believe I'm up for the task. Now, I know this may not seem like a big achievement to a lot of you, but to me this is huge. It's given me the confidence to know that I can actually earn SPENDABLE money from writing!
Some of my other notable achievements thus far have been getting over 500 followers, being recognized on @Curie a few times, and having one of my articles make over $100! Again, this may be small time to a lot of you, but to me it feels pretty good!
Anyway, moving forward, I do have a couple of questions for you all, and I would REALLY appreciate your help.
Question #1:
What is the best place to withdraw my Bitcoin after I've turned it into cash (Fiat currency)? I have it set up so I can withdraw to my bank account and also to a credit card, but I've heard a lot of horror stories about banks closing down accounts if there is too much (or any) crypto activity? I've heard of special Bitcoin debit cards that people use. Can anybody make any recommendations?
Question #2:
Can anyone recommend a good course/video series/eBook, etc, that can teach me how to use the exchange proficiently and how to buy and sell crypto for a profit (arbitrage)?
Question #3:
Lastly, and this is not really a question. It's more of a cry for help. I have been trying to get my reputation to 60 for what seems like FOREVER! I'm not one to beg, but can you all help me out? Give me some suggestions, upvote me, follow me, comment, etc. Just... HELP!
I also wanted to share the articles that helped me out the most in this achievement. These authors did a great job and they deserve a lot of credit. I think you will find these articles very helpful as well.
Here are the links to three extremely helpful articles:
Turning STEEM and SBD into Cash! (Bittrex and Coinbase examples)
How to send Steem Dollars from Steemit to Bittrex exchange
How to Withdraw Bitcoin from Bittrex
Well, that's my post for today!
I feel a renewed excitement in SteemIt, and I feel like I'm well on my way to becoming a crypto millionaire (in my dreams)!
I wish you all the best of luck, and remember, if a newbie like me can do it, anyone can!
Follow Me: @ContentKing
Disclaimer: The Coinbase links are my referral links. If you sign up to Coinbase through them, I will receive $10 compensation.
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STOPyes!! @contentking my recommendation is Crypto Nights - check it out on my blog.
Educational and gives good and honest advice - new episodes every weekend.
Alex
Thanks a lot! I'll definitely check it out.
Question 1- From Coinbase you can send to your banking account etc... Also apply for a Shift Card which will be connected to your Coinbase account the Bitcoin Debit Card costs $10. Don't do anything fancy with your Coinbase account. Read their rules and don't be a risk taker. They will close your account over any small discrepancy.
@cleverbot Question 2-3 read blogs here on steemit about those topics and contact the author if you have any questions after reading their post. Hustle Hard!!!
Thanks a lot for that info. That's great!
Yes, I have my Coinbase wallet hooked up to my bank account, and have done a small withdrawal (less than$100). It went through and was deposited into my bank account in less than 2 days and I was able to withdraw it from my bank with no problem.
I've just heard of people that are withdrawing and buying large amounts of crypto (more than $5000 per transaction and more than $10,000 per week) having issues with their banks closing their accounts on them.
I've got a LONG way before I ever got to making any transactions like that, if I ever do.
I was just looking for something like an ATM card that was made just for Bitcoin. I've heard of several, but I'm not sure what would be the best ones to use.
If you don't mind, could you elaborate on what you think Coinbase might consider "risky?"
Shift Card is the ATM card and it is linked to your Coinbase account. Sign up it's a simple process. Risky is using your Coinbase account for anything like gambling websites, maybe even sending to crypto-exchanges. I don't know but read their terms of service so you don't risk your account. That's what I meant by risky. Laws are the reason they're getting caught up when you deal with a certain amount of money... Uncle Sam wants his cut. They were probably not letting the bank account for the taxes owed which most banks give you the option to pay now or later when you owe the taxes. More reading for the person that needs to know. I could be wrong but opinions are like..... everyone has one.
When referring to Coinbase, you think it would be risky buy Bitcoin with my Coinbase wallet and then transfer it to Bittrex? Why would that be bad? If I wanted to buy crypto could I buy right from my Bittrex account?
I don't mean to ask so many questions, but it's a bit confusing as a newbie.
I'll have to log into my Bittrex account and see if I can buy crypto right from there.
There's really a pretty steep learning curve with this stuff.
Let's say I want to trade/buy/sell crypto to make money. A lot of people are doing it and making lots of money.
What's the best way do you think?
It's a lot of ways to skin a cat. I agree with you about transferring coins to wherever you want but read over there terms because it is risky to think you can move freely there.
Hi @contenking, This is one of the best written posts on this topic. Thank You. But at the same time, it's a pity that such a good post made just $1.31. In my humble opinion, you this post deserves more. So, give it a Shout Out.
I'm not the right person to answer your questions. YouTube is the place, I guess.
Keep writing man. You got a loyal fan.
Steem On!
Thanks for your kind comment. I put a lot of work into my posts, and many of them don't make more than a couple of bucks.
When I first started last October, it was much easier. However, in the past few months it seems tough to get noticed.
Sometimes I do get discouraged when I see posts that are nothing more than an image or a few sentences make lots of money, but that's life I guess.
At any rate, I do it for fun mostly, so it's not that big of a deal. Right now my next task is trying to get my reputation up to 60. Seems like I've been stuck at 59 forever!
Best of luck to you. I'll check out your blog and follow you, too.
@eileenbeach has voted on behalf of @minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowpond on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond. To be Resteemed to 4k+ followers and upvoted heavier send 0.25SBD to @minnowpond with your posts url as the memo
@contexting plz help me .upvote my post if u dont mnd ?
First of all, I've taken a look at your posts, and most of them are simply an image that you found somewhere online and posted (and did not cite the source at that). Another one looks like it was copied and pasted, and is so noted by @steemcleaners.
Second, you had the time to leave a comment on my post asking me to go and upvote your posts, yet I see that you couldn't take a second to upvote mine, which, unlike yours, is actually worthy of an upvote.
So, yes, I DO MIND, and cannot in good conscience upvote your posts.
If you want to get votes and comments on your posts, maybe you should create some quality, original content. And comment spamming asking for upvotes and resteems is not appreciated in the SteemIt community, so you might want to stop doing that, too.