Venmo says I can buy BTC??

[DidntMakeBrownies]

So apparently Venmo lets me purchase BTC now? That's neat and all, but— and pardon me if nobody has ever asked a dumber question— after I get that BTc, is it possible to hand it over to the vendor in exchange for tirz kits? Or is there some kind of middle stop the BTC needs to make first, before it's allowed to go to the vendor?

Sticking needles full of stuff from China right into my thigh doesn't bother me at all, but somehow the crypto is what's going to be the death of me!!

 

[randompersonrandom]

Yes. Set up an Exodus wallet and treat it as your midway point. If you send funds from Venmo directly to the vendor, there's a strong chance Venmo will close your account. That said, I occasionally purchase PYUSD through Venmo and transfer it over to my Exodus, then either convert it into USDT or USDC, or simply pay the vendor from there when PYUSD is accepted.

 

[DidntMakeBrownies]

Thanks. Good thing I asked. seemed too good to be true. The money-moving side of going grey is where I'm really stuck in the muck.

 

[Derby]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Thanks. Good thing I asked. seemed too good to be true. The money-moving side of going grey is where I'm really stuck in the muck.

After your first time doing it, everyone in this community will say the same thing: you'll look back and think it was absurdly simple, and you'll wonder why you ever felt nervous!

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Thanks. Good thing I asked. seemed too good to be true. The money-moving side of going grey is where I'm really stuck in the muck.

Honestly, it's incredibly straightforward! Even someone like me—who's not tech-savvy at all—managed to work it out without much trouble. Over on Venmo, you've got the option to pick up BTC, ETH, or PYUSD. Once you've done that, grab the receiving address from whichever custodial wallet you're using (Exodus, Edge, or any other), and just transfer it straight from Venmo into that wallet.

Not long ago, I grabbed some PYUSD through Venmo. The whole thing went through pretty quickly. My wallet of choice is Edge, so I launched it, enabled PYUSD, and snagged my wallet address by copying it. Then I headed back to Venmo, hit "Send" next to the PYUSD, dropped in my Edge address, and off it went. Venmo did ask me to upload a photo of my driver's license plus a selfie, but apart from that, it only took a couple of minutes before the funds landed in Edge.

 

[JKLIN]

Not_Your_Dad said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Thanks. Good thing I asked. seemed too good to be true. The money-moving side of going grey is where I'm really stuck in the muck.

Honestly, it's incredibly straightforward! Even someone like me—who's not tech-savvy at all—managed to work it out without much trouble. Over on Venmo, you've got the option to pick up BTC, ETH, or PYUSD. Once you've done that, grab the receiving address from whichever custodial wallet you're using (Exodus, Edge, or any other), and just transfer it straight from Venmo into that wallet.

Not long ago, I grabbed some PYUSD through Venmo. The whole thing went through pretty quickly. My wallet of choice is Edge, so I launched it, enabled PYUSD, and snagged my wallet address by copying it. Then I headed back to Venmo, hit "Send" next to the PYUSD, dropped in my Edge address, and off it went. Venmo did ask me to upload a photo of my driver's license plus a selfie, but apart from that, it only took a couple of minutes before the funds landed in Edge.

How do I go about getting a custodial wallet? I've spent more than a year trying to wrap my head around crypto, and I still can't make sense of what people are saying.

 

[Neurogroot]

JKLIN said:

Not_Your_Dad said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Thanks. Good thing I asked. seemed too good to be true. The money-moving side of going grey is where I'm really stuck in the muck.

Honestly, it's incredibly straightforward! Even someone like me—who's not tech-savvy at all—managed to work it out without much trouble. Over on Venmo, you've got the option to pick up BTC, ETH, or PYUSD. Once you've done that, grab the receiving address from whichever custodial wallet you're using (Exodus, Edge, or any other), and just transfer it straight from Venmo into that wallet.

Not long ago, I grabbed some PYUSD through Venmo. The whole thing went through pretty quickly. My wallet of choice is Edge, so I launched it, enabled PYUSD, and snagged my wallet address by copying it. Then I headed back to Venmo, hit "Send" next to the PYUSD, dropped in my Edge address, and off it went. Venmo did ask me to upload a photo of my driver's license plus a selfie, but apart from that, it only took a couple of minutes before the funds landed in Edge.

How do I go about getting a custodial wallet? I've spent more than a year trying to wrap my head around crypto, and I still can't make sense of what people are saying.

A custodial wallet is one that belongs to YOU. Take Venmo: if they decide you've violated their rules, they can shut you out of what you think is your wallet—though really it's theirs. For a custodial wallet that's simpler to handle, I've gone with Exodus. Beginners tend to do well with it. You just grab the Exodus app, do what the prompts say, and that's it—you're ready.

Going this way will make you glad, I'm sure of it, and should you ever want crypto for other purposes, you're covered!

 

[JKLIN]

Neurogroot said:

JKLIN said:

Not_Your_Dad said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Thanks. Good thing I asked. seemed too good to be true. The money-moving side of going grey is where I'm really stuck in the muck.

Honestly, it's incredibly straightforward! Even someone like me—who's not tech-savvy at all—managed to work it out without much trouble. Over on Venmo, you've got the option to pick up BTC, ETH, or PYUSD. Once you've done that, grab the receiving address from whichever custodial wallet you're using (Exodus, Edge, or any other), and just transfer it straight from Venmo into that wallet.

Not long ago, I grabbed some PYUSD through Venmo. The whole thing went through pretty quickly. My wallet of choice is Edge, so I launched it, enabled PYUSD, and snagged my wallet address by copying it. Then I headed back to Venmo, hit "Send" next to the PYUSD, dropped in my Edge address, and off it went. Venmo did ask me to upload a photo of my driver's license plus a selfie, but apart from that, it only took a couple of minutes before the funds landed in Edge.

How do I go about getting a custodial wallet? I've spent more than a year trying to wrap my head around crypto, and I still can't make sense of what people are saying.

A custodial wallet is one that belongs to YOU. Take Venmo: if they decide you've violated their rules, they can shut you out of what you think is your wallet—though really it's theirs. For a custodial wallet that's simpler to handle, I've gone with Exodus. Beginners tend to do well with it. You just grab the Exodus app, do what the prompts say, and that's it—you're ready.

Going this way will make you glad, I'm sure of it, and should you ever want crypto for other purposes, you're covered!

The computer can handle all of it, correct? My phone goes unused since that screen feels cramped and annoying.

Also, the idea that I own a wallet still makes no sense to me. Where does it live, and what exactly is it?

 

[Neurogroot]

I think Exodus is available for desktop. So here’s an analogy to explain it.

With Venmo, you’re given a wallet. Think of it as a folder on your computer. Each type of cryptocurrency is like a file inside it. But when you use Venmo, they control that folder. You can access it, sure, but if you use those files to buy something they don’t approve of, they can shut you out.

With Exodus, the wallet is a folder that belongs to you. You’ll have a password (actually a set of 12-24 words), and as long as that password stays private to you, Exodus has no say over what you do with your folder (wallet) or your files (crypto).

 

[JKLIN]

Neurogroot said:

I think Exodus is available for desktop. So here’s an analogy to explain it.

With Venmo, you’re given a wallet. Think of it as a folder on your computer. Each type of cryptocurrency is like a file inside it. But when you use Venmo, they control that folder. You can access it, sure, but if you use those files to buy something they don’t approve of, they can shut you out.

With Exodus, the wallet is a folder that belongs to you. You’ll have a password (actually a set of 12-24 words), and as long as that password stays private to you, Exodus has no say over what you do with your folder (wallet) or your files (crypto).

I open Venmo every week, and a wallet has never shown up for me. When I originally created my Venmo account, that wasn't something I opted into.

 

[Neurogroot]

JKLIN said:

Neurogroot said:

I think Exodus is available for desktop. So here’s an analogy to explain it.

With Venmo, you’re given a wallet. Think of it as a folder on your computer. Each type of cryptocurrency is like a file inside it. But when you use Venmo, they control that folder. You can access it, sure, but if you use those files to buy something they don’t approve of, they can shut you out.

With Exodus, the wallet is a folder that belongs to you. You’ll have a password (actually a set of 12-24 words), and as long as that password stays private to you, Exodus has no say over what you do with your folder (wallet) or your files (crypto).

I open Venmo every week, and a wallet has never shown up for me. When I originally created my Venmo account, that wasn't something I opted into.

So a wallet isn’t something you’ll ever actually lay eyes on. Addresses, on the other hand, you will see. This probably adds to the confusion, I realize, but… with Venmo, once you make your first purchase of whichever crypto you pick, an address for that crypto gets issued to you. Every crypto address you own is stored inside a wallet.

What really helped me was scrolling through a few dozen threads over on Reddit’s CryptoBeginners subreddit. Might be worth a look? There are plenty of visuals there that did the trick for me, anyway.

 

[JKLIN]

Neurogroot said:

JKLIN said:

Neurogroot said:

I think Exodus is available for desktop. So here’s an analogy to explain it.

With Venmo, you’re given a wallet. Think of it as a folder on your computer. Each type of cryptocurrency is like a file inside it. But when you use Venmo, they control that folder. You can access it, sure, but if you use those files to buy something they don’t approve of, they can shut you out.

With Exodus, the wallet is a folder that belongs to you. You’ll have a password (actually a set of 12-24 words), and as long as that password stays private to you, Exodus has no say over what you do with your folder (wallet) or your files (crypto).

I open Venmo every week, and a wallet has never shown up for me. When I originally created my Venmo account, that wasn't something I opted into.

So a wallet isn’t something you’ll ever actually lay eyes on. Addresses, on the other hand, you will see. This probably adds to the confusion, I realize, but… with Venmo, once you make your first purchase of whichever crypto you pick, an address for that crypto gets issued to you. Every crypto address you own is stored inside a wallet.

What really helped me was scrolling through a few dozen threads over on Reddit’s CryptoBeginners subreddit. Might be worth a look? There are plenty of visuals there that did the trick for me, anyway.

I appreciate the attempt to assist, but my blood pressure is climbing and my head feels like it's going to burst. I've gone through reading material and watched videos, and none of it makes any sense to me. Unless somebody can actually sit with me and walk me through it that first time, so I can watch it happen, crypto is just never going to be something I can use. Unfortunately, that means my options with vendors are very narrow. I just need a person to handle it for me.

Thanks anyway. I'm out.

 

[Schism]

JKLIN said:

Neurogroot said:

JKLIN said:

Neurogroot said:

I think Exodus is available for desktop. So here’s an analogy to explain it.

With Venmo, you’re given a wallet. Think of it as a folder on your computer. Each type of cryptocurrency is like a file inside it. But when you use Venmo, they control that folder. You can access it, sure, but if you use those files to buy something they don’t approve of, they can shut you out.

With Exodus, the wallet is a folder that belongs to you. You’ll have a password (actually a set of 12-24 words), and as long as that password stays private to you, Exodus has no say over what you do with your folder (wallet) or your files (crypto).

I open Venmo every week, and a wallet has never shown up for me. When I originally created my Venmo account, that wasn't something I opted into.

So a wallet isn’t something you’ll ever actually lay eyes on. Addresses, on the other hand, you will see. This probably adds to the confusion, I realize, but… with Venmo, once you make your first purchase of whichever crypto you pick, an address for that crypto gets issued to you. Every crypto address you own is stored inside a wallet.

What really helped me was scrolling through a few dozen threads over on Reddit’s CryptoBeginners subreddit. Might be worth a look? There are plenty of visuals there that did the trick for me, anyway.

I appreciate the attempt to assist, but my blood pressure is climbing and my head feels like it's going to burst. I've gone through reading material and watched videos, and none of it makes any sense to me. Unless somebody can actually sit with me and walk me through it that first time, so I can watch it happen, crypto is just never going to be something I can use. Unfortunately, that means my options with vendors are very narrow. I just need a person to handle it for me.

Thanks anyway. I'm out.

Grab $5 or $10 of crypto and get the hang of transferring it. Set up a few wallets, test out whichever apps you're considering. Before you even think about ordering, move some crypto over to a friend or to another device of your own.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

JKLIN said:

Neurogroot said:

JKLIN said:

Neurogroot said:

I think Exodus is available for desktop. So here’s an analogy to explain it.

With Venmo, you’re given a wallet. Think of it as a folder on your computer. Each type of cryptocurrency is like a file inside it. But when you use Venmo, they control that folder. You can access it, sure, but if you use those files to buy something they don’t approve of, they can shut you out.

With Exodus, the wallet is a folder that belongs to you. You’ll have a password (actually a set of 12-24 words), and as long as that password stays private to you, Exodus has no say over what you do with your folder (wallet) or your files (crypto).

I open Venmo every week, and a wallet has never shown up for me. When I originally created my Venmo account, that wasn't something I opted into.

So a wallet isn’t something you’ll ever actually lay eyes on. Addresses, on the other hand, you will see. This probably adds to the confusion, I realize, but… with Venmo, once you make your first purchase of whichever crypto you pick, an address for that crypto gets issued to you. Every crypto address you own is stored inside a wallet.

What really helped me was scrolling through a few dozen threads over on Reddit’s CryptoBeginners subreddit. Might be worth a look? There are plenty of visuals there that did the trick for me, anyway.

I appreciate the attempt to assist, but my blood pressure is climbing and my head feels like it's going to burst. I've gone through reading material and watched videos, and none of it makes any sense to me. Unless somebody can actually sit with me and walk me through it that first time, so I can watch it happen, crypto is just never going to be something I can use. Unfortunately, that means my options with vendors are very narrow. I just need a person to handle it for me.

Thanks anyway. I'm out.

If it helps, picture it like this:

Picture $100 in plain old cash. It goes in your pocket. That cash is in your possession, and you can spend it however you like. Nobody else has any idea what you're doing with it either.

Now suppose you carry that $100 to the bank and deposit it into your checking account. The cash is no longer in your possession — the bank holds it. What you have is basically an IOU from them, correct? They owe you $100 whenever you ask for it or write a check against it, but until that moment arrives, they can put your $100 to work however they please. On top of that, when you write a check to somebody, the bank learns who that was. Swipe your debit card at a shop and they learn where you shopped. Buy something online using your bank details and they learn what you purchased.

The parallel here: buying crypto through Venmo is like handing your cash to the bank. Venmo is free to do as it likes with your crypto until you sell it, move it elsewhere, whatever. And Venmo also knows the moment you forward that crypto to someone else to buy something.

Moving your crypto into one of the wallets we keep bringing up is like taking your cash back out of the bank. You instruct Venmo to forward your crypto to a particular wallet, and they do it. All they see is that the crypto left for somewhere, and whatever happens after that is invisible to them. Exactly as if you'd withdrawn physical dollars from the bank -- the instant you walk out, they neither know nor can know what you're doing with that money.