Violet Rollergirl’s Cryptocurrency Quick(est) Start
If you’re reading this page, you’re ready to pay in crypto. Awesome! Only one problem: you don’t have any, and haven’t done this before.
ⓘ This guide presumes you have no existing digital payment services at all. If you already have a digital payment app that supports cryptocurrency and want to use that one (like CashApp, PayPal, or Venmo), see my list of cryptocurrency guides.
In this article
Overview: How to understand what’s happening here
Using cryptocurrency is just like using money in another country. Let’s say you have a bank account full of United States Dollars (USD), but you’re taking a trip to France. When you arrive in France, you need to change your money from US Dollars into Euros, the local currency accepted by businesses there.
That’s exactly how cryptocurrency works: you start with US Dollars (or whatever currency you’re familiar with, sometimes also called a “fiat” currency), and you’ll exchange those for one of any number of other (crypto)currencies. Those currencies have names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Monero, and more. Most providers accept many different cryptocurrencies but, if they accept any crypto at all, they also almost certainly accept all of those I just named.
So, here’s what we’ll do:
- Sign up for an account at a cryptocurrency exchange.
- This is the crypto equivalent of the foreign currency exchange at airports.
- Some digital payment apps like PayPal, CashApp, or Venmo are also cryptocurrency exchanges, so if you already have one of those, you’re more prepared than you thought and you can just use those.
- Link your bank account or other traditional payment method (like a debit card) to your cryptocurrency exchange account.
- Use the exchange to buy crypto (really exchange fiat money for crypto money) that your companion or creator accepts. If you’re not sure which to buy, ask your worker what crypto they’re willing to accept from you.
- Finally, make your payment by sending the crypto you bought to your worker.
Here are some key things to keep in mind:
- If you’re doing this for the first time, you’ll likely need your legal identity documents, such as a driver’s license, at the ready.
- Making your account only takes about 30 minutes, but…
- …you still may not be able to actually pay in crypto for a little while longer.
- How long exactly you’ll need to wait before you can withdraw newly purchased crypto funds depends on a number of factors, so being patient and planning ahead will make things go smoother.
Which cryptocurrency should I buy?
This is probably the most common question I get and it’s very easy to answer: choose a cryptocurrency your provider supports! You can simply ask them what they want to receive, or you can stick to this ordered list of the popular currencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Solana (SOL)
- Zcash (ZEC)
- Monero (XMR)
Also, keep the following points in mind when buying crypto:
- get enough crypto to cover both the price of the service or good you’re paying your worker for as well as covering any service fees, which can and do fluctuate.
- A good rule of thumb is to buy 20% more crypto than you think you’ll actually need, but in practice it rarely amounts to that much overhead.
- you can make a purchase very quickly after creating an account at a crypto exchange but you may not be able to send those funds to your worker until a withdrawal hold period is over, which can last between a day to a week. It’s best to plan ahead!
Next step: get started with Gemini
If you don’t already have any digital payment app or crypto exchange account, I recommend you set yourself up at Gemini as it is probably the simplest way to get started. Let’s do that together next.
