Send Bitcoins

You're the rightful owner of some Bitcoins, which hopefully means you have a Bitcoin wallet or have used a service (such as a Bitcoin exchange) to acquire them.

In this section we will cover everything involved in sending Bitcoins to another person or party. Once the basics are dealt with, we will also examine some of the differences to using Bitcoin as a payment network compared to conventional payment networks such as Visa or Master card and also looks at some of the dangers and pitfalls to avoid.

Who are you sending Bitcoins to?

This may sound a silly questions to ask, but the answer will determine how easy the task on your hands is. Let's consider the different categories of person that you might be sending Bitcoins to.

• Sending to another person that already uses Bitcoin
• Sending to a 'tech-savvy' internet user
• Sending to a friend or family member overseas

Sending to another person that already uses Bitcoin

This is by far the easiest situation for sending Bitcoins. The other person already uses Bitcoin, and therefore will already have their own Bitcoin wallet. So sending them Bitcoins amounts to little more than asking for their wallet address. Each Bitcoin wallet has at least one wallet address linked to it (each wallet can in fact have a virtually unlimited number of addresses).

A Bitcoin wallet address looks like this:

12EDu59HhBC9mQWDJ1sAZuxy5DgjA2TTgo

The same address can also be represented as a QR code (similar to the one below), which makes it readable by the camera on smartphones.

Most of the Bitcoin wallet applications for smartphones allow you to scan a Bitcoin QR code as a handy way to read the address.

Sending to a 'tech-savvy' internet user

This situation requires a little more effort, than dealing with someone who is already a Bitcoin user as you need to get the recipient to set up a Bitcoin wallet. That said, once you've been through this step, it's plain sailing from there.

The key obstacles are really, down to the abilities and motivations of the recipient. Assuming they're motivated enough to receive money from you, then the key thing to do is help get them set up with a Bitcoin wallet.

Bitcoin wallets come in a variety of forms, there are Wallet applications for Desktops PCs, Smartphones and many others. For more detail on different types of Bitcoin wallets available check out our wallets page.

For now we're going to look at some of the easiest ways to get someone set up with a Bitcoin Wallet.

There are a few ways to go about this:

• Suggest a suitable Bitcoin wallet for them to use, and advise them on installing and configuring it. More details on the various Bitcoin wallets can be found on the wallets page.

• Point them to a resource (such as this very website send-bitcoins.com) and tell them to call you when they're done installing their wallet application.

• Use a service such as BlockChain.info's 'Send via Email/SMS' service. This service sends the recipient a link with which they can Claim the Bitcoins which have been sent to them.

As for other methods, watch this space a tremendous amount if innovation is taking place right now. The companies, organisations and individuals involved in the Bitcoin economy are focussing heavily on building services and applications on top of the Bitcoin network, with new announcements being made almost on a weekly basis.

Sending to a friend or family member overseas

One of the most popular examples of Bitcoin's usefulness is for people working away from home wishing to send remittances back home to their family. The combination of lower fees (compared to existing money transfer services) and simplicity mean that ever increasing numbers of people are looking to Bitcoin as an alternative method of payment when sending overseas.

There are a range of potential obstacles to negotiate here, alongside helping your friend or family member set up their wallet.

Legality

One important concern is the legal status of Bitcoin in the country where the recipient lives. Currently Bitcoin is viewed very differently by governments around the world. Countries such as Russia, China, Thailand and Vietnam have imposed legal restrictions (and in some cases bans) on the use of digital currencies.

Some of the more Bitcoin friendly countries have begun moves to tax Bitcoin or Bitcoin related transactions. Therefore it's important ensure that both you and the recipient understand the legal status and tax laws surrounding Bitcoins in your respective countries.

Bitcoin adoption in the destination country

Assuming you have overcome the hurdle of getting a wallet set up and your freind or family member is ready to receive your Bitcoins, there is still the question of what they can to with them at the other end. For instance:

• Are there Bitcoin exchanges set up in their country where they can exchange their Bitcoins back to their local currency?

• Is there a market for Bitcoin in that country?

• Do shops or businesses accept it and are people willing to accept it in exchange for work or labour?

That said, Bitcoin adoption is growing very steadily all over the world with more and more businesses (especially online businesses) are now accepting it as a payment method.

Of course, not everyone wants to spend their Bitcoins, they may wish to hold on to them until they have more options to spend them, or simply hold them as an investment.