Please dumb it down for me

Drehimpuls

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I'm brand new to all of this. Honestly, I've never touched crypto, and I don't have a wallet, an app, anything like that.

Could I do something like this: get a crypto app, transfer funds into it straight from PayPal, only the amount required for a single order (maybe a bit extra to cover fees and exchange rates), then purchase crypto and forward it to a vendor?

Over the past few days I've done a lot of reading here. I also went through STG.

Say, for instance: through a crypto app, buy 200 dollars' worth of crypto, paying with PP. Then use that same app to pay a vendor? I'm completely lost.
 
No, that wouldn't be a smart move.

Go find the guide pinned at the top of the Crypto Corner in this community. Once you've gone through it, go back and read it another 2 or 3 times.
 
Exodus is what I rely on, and it works the same way for me. Once I open Exodus, I purchase bitcoin through PayPal, paying with a debit card so it goes through right away. Then I move the bitcoin from Exodus to vendors. From start to finish, it is not instant—expect roughly 10 to 20 minutes. My typical purchase is $300 to $500 in BTC per transaction.
 
Drehimpuls said:

I'm brand new to all of this. Honestly, I've never touched crypto, and I don't have a wallet, an app, anything like that.

Could I do something like this: get a crypto app, transfer funds into it straight from PayPal, only the amount required for a single order (maybe a bit extra to cover fees and exchange rates), then purchase crypto and forward it to a vendor?

Over the past few days I've done a lot of reading here. I also went through STG.

Say, for instance: through a crypto app, buy 200 dollars' worth of crypto, paying with PP. Then use that same app to pay a vendor? I'm completely lost.
There's a beginner's guide called Crypto 101 on STG that should help with what you're asking. Wishing you the best!
 
Under 6 months back, crypto was a massive source of anxiety for me. Here’s the path I took:

Grab Kraken Pro (the exchange where you purchase crypto) plus Kraken wallet (non-custodial, the one you use to pay the vendor). Connect the two.

Deposit funds into Pro. Once you’re set to pay, purchase BTC. It isn’t the lowest-cost or most stable option, but it’s about as straightforward as it gets. Move it to Wallet by pressing a single button.

Send your vendor payment in BTC via the BTC network. That means you scan the QR (the one with the Bitcoin logo in the center—double-check there’s no tiny logo beside it) that the vendor provides, type in the amount, hit send. Try about $5 first and wait for confirmation before sending the remainder. The vendor will request the transaction ID.

Check out the Crypto Corner. Same thing on STG. Ask your preferred AI to break it down as simply as possible.

Best of luck.
 
Having recently gone through this myself, here’s the process.

Create a Coinbase account.

Add money to Coinbase via an ACH transfer from your bank. In my case, it was instantly accessible.

After the funds settle, purchase 20 dollars of USDT-ETH beyond the amount you owe your vendor.

Purchase 5 dollars of ETH

Install the Exodus app on your phone and set up an account.

Send ETH to your Exodus wallet by copying the address from Exodus and pasting it into Coinbase when asked.

Send USDT to your Exodus wallet the same way.

The funds should appear in your Exodus account within about a minute and be ready to pay the vendor.

Get the wallet address from your vendor. Copy and paste it, then send the funds.

That’s it
 
So I gave it a try a few days later.

I moved 150Eu out of my bank account into Coinbase. Over there, I picked up BTC worth 125Eu and moved that to my Exodus wallet. Coinbase made me verify the recipient, meaning myself. Then, when I pushed funds from Exodus over to a vendor, out of the original 125 Euros he ended up with only 120Eu.

Does it always work this way, where you have to send a little extra and just hope it lands fine? Meaning if you're getting a kit for 80 Dollars, you'd really be sending the vendor some strange amount, slightly above what's asked? And if that's the case, how are you supposed to figure out how much extra to send?
 
Drehimpuls said:

So I gave it a try a few days later.

I moved 150Eu out of my bank account into Coinbase. Over there, I picked up BTC worth 125Eu and moved that to my Exodus wallet. Coinbase made me verify the recipient, meaning myself. Then, when I pushed funds from Exodus over to a vendor, out of the original 125 Euros he ended up with only 120Eu.

Does it always work this way, where you have to send a little extra and just hope it lands fine? Meaning if you're getting a kit for 80 Dollars, you'd really be sending the vendor some strange amount, slightly above what's asked? And if that's the case, how are you supposed to figure out how much extra to send?
Use stablecoins when paying. BTC keeps swinging either way... and whenever I pick some up, it heads south.
 
If your goal is opsec / discretion, this thread offers a reasonably solid approach for keeping payments from being tied straight back to you, using a XMR -> Bitcoin conversion through Kraken and Cake Wallet:

Method by mybodyisasewer
 
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