If you have any interest to buy Internet Computer (ICP), you will be required to have either Bitcoin abbreviated as (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) for trading purposes. I have reviewed the major cryptocurrency exchange Binance in this post to help you determine the best sites to buy cryptocurrency using a credit card or bank account. Take a read and get tips on the best cryptocurrency trading.
Step 1: How to create a Binance account:
1.1 Visit Binance’s Website (https://www.binance.com/en)
There have been several phishing cases reported over the past years that are imitations to the original site, it is essential to scrutinize the URL to the website keenly. First, be on the lookout for the ‘Secure’ certificate that should pop up in your address bar and that acts as a confirmation of the site’s genuineness. Second, to be extra safe while trading on the platform, ensure to bookmark the authentic site to evade any confusion in future searches.
1.2 Fill in your trading details
You have to fill in your details by going to the ‘’Register” tab found in the right-hand corner of the website’s page and fill in your trading details. For instance, you will need to fill in your mobile number or you choose to use your email address. For the email address, it is necessary to use your main email that you can access easily and the most secure one since you will need it to sign in to your Binance account always.
You also need to choose a strong password for your email; a strong password should comprise a mix of numbers, symbols, upper and lower-case letters. You will receive a 6-digit code via the email you provided as your account’s verification code and for completing the registration process.
1.3 Allow 2FA-Two-factor authentication (Optional)
To make your account more secure you need to allow use of a two-factor authentication after your first log in. Trust me; it is vital to set up the 2FA because it makes your account more secure from any hacking activity!
Every time you log in with the two-factor authentication, you will need to provide a unique code once your type in your email and password. To get your unique code, use the Google authenticator app downloaded into your smartphone.
Step 2: Buying your first Bitcoin (BTC)
To send money to your Crypto wallet account on Binance either directly via your bank account through SWIFT money transfer or you can opt to use your debit/credit card. For this part, I will guide you on how to use your credit card.
Binance previously didn’t allow the use of credit or debit cards on its platform, but the same has been introduced. Binance partnered with Simplex to allow its users to use their credit and debit cards to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum. This has led to faster Crypto transaction speeds, low transaction charges, and more transaction flexibility.
I highly recommend buying Bitcoin first and then trading it for the right amount of Internet Computer (ICP).
It is easy to purchase Bitcoins via your credit card but I will elaborate on best ways you can do it step-by-step to make sure you understand all the trading nitty-gritty.
- Move your mouse’s cursor to ‘Buy Crypto’ tab found on the top bar and activate the dropdown menu. Then choose the currency, For instance, US Dollars, and click the ‘Credit/Debit Card’ to lead you to the next step.
- You be led to the next page; in this page you will see options to choose the desired Bitcoin (Select BTC), and the amount you need to spend to buy your choice Bitcoin amount. The total amount you need to spend will be displayed according to the Bitcoin amount you request and the matching market price at that time (inclusive of all fees). However, you can choose to first set the total charge then the system will automatically calculate the order amount for you.
- Next, click “Buy BTC. A window that contains all the details of your order will pop up. However, before you confirm your order you need to read the disclaimer and Terms of Use. Once satisfied, confirm your order by ticking the tab and head to “Go to payment’’; click.
- Fill in your credit card details and personal information too. Once done, you need to click “Pay now” and give it a moment to verify your details.
- You will be required to verify your email and phone number if it happens to be your first simplex payment via a code send through your email or an SMS. Complete the verification process by opening the link in your email and type in the code you receive via SMS. Once you do all the above, you can click “Continue”.
- Verification of identity follows next via the use of an official document. Basically upload your identification document photo accompanied by your personal details and click the “Upload Document” tab.
Lastly, your personal document will be approved once verified by the system and an email send to show the confirmation of order purchase. Subsequently, your Binance account is credited with the purchased BTC or Ethereum.
Step 3: Transferring Your Cryptos to an Altcoin Exchange Huobi
Now let me show you how to Internet Computer (ICP) using your investment from Binance.
But not every crypto can be traded in Binance we need to transfer our coins to an exchange that Internet Computer (ICP) can be traded.
I will show you how to use Huobi which is a famous exchange to trade altcoins. We will use the link below to register your new account.
Once you have completed similar processes as you have done before with Binance you are ready to transfer our Bitcoins.
Step 4: Depositing BTC to Exchange
After you have created your trading account setup at one of the exchanges that trades Internet Computer (ICP), you will need to transfer your BTC from Binance to that specific exchange.
Usually done through a wallet system. to huobi deposit move your mouse over to “Balances” on the top right and click “Exchange Account”. Look for “BTC” from Token section and copy the given “Deposit Address”
To do this part may be a little difficult but don’t worry, it is easier than a bank transfer. Then copy your unique BTC wallet address and go back to Binance.
Then move your cursor to “Wallet” on the right hand side of the topbar and once the popup shows up, click on “Fiat and Spot (Deposit & Withdrawal)”. Look for BTC in the list and click on “Withdraw” on the right hand side.
You have to paste the deposit address you just copied from the other exchange and select BTC as the transfer network. Type down the amount that you want to withdraw (you may click the Max button if you want to withdraw all).
Next, click on the Submit button to begin with the withdrawal process. To proceed with the withdrawal, Binance may ask you for your 2FA code and also you will have to confirm the withdrawal with an e-mail.
That’s all, now you should wait for a while so that the blockchain to confirm your transaction.
Step 5: Trade Internet Computer (ICP)
Now you have to go back to Huobi to buy Internet Computer (ICP) with the Bitcoins you sent.
Move your mouse over “Spot Trading” and click “Exchange” then you will see trading menu. Look for huobi trade in the left column make sure to select “BTC” pair and in the search bar type in “ICP”.
After you move your coin click on it and now you will see a price chart of ICP/BTC in the middle of the page. Select the “Market” tab as that is the Easiest way of buying orders.
Also, you can either type in your amount or choose what portion of your BTC deposit you would like to spend on buying, by clicking on the percentage buttons.
Once you have confirmed everything, click “Buy ICP”. Now you own your ICP!
Other Exchanges to Buy Cryptos
The following are other sites you can buy from these exchanges:
HotBit (Which permits US investors)
MXC (This exchange allows US investors)
On top of the above-listed exchanges, there are some more common crypto exchanges where daily trading volumes and a huge user base is available. This helps to ensure that you can sell your coins any time you want and the charges for the trading are not high. It is recommended that you should also register on these exchanges because whenever Internet Computer gets listed there it give the traders who have already registered a large amount of trading volumes, that means you will be provided with some great trading opportunities!
Final Step: How to Store Internet Computer securely in hardware wallets
1. Ledger Nano S
- Easy to set up and has a friendly trading interface.
- Allows use on desktops and laptops
- Lightweight and Portable too
- Has been designed to Support most blockchains and a wide range of (ERC-20) tokens
- Has many trading languages.
- Designed by a well-established company found in 2014 with great chip security
- It is not expensive but can be acquired at affordable price
2. Ledger Nano X
- It made with a more advanced and secure element chip (ST33) than Ledger Nano S
- Has an easy design that allows the use on desktop or laptop, or even smartphone and tablet through Bluetooth connection.
- Also Lightweight and Portable and has a built-in rechargeable battery
- Has a Larger screen
- Comes with more storage space compared toLedger Nano S
- It supports most blockchains and wide range of (ERC-20) tokens
- Provides several languages for every customer
- It was designed by a famous company found in 2014 with great chip security
- Can be obtained at an affordable price
If you still have plans to stay at hodl” as some people call it, basically misspelt “hold” (which become famous as time passes) your Internet Computer for some long time, you need to find ways to ensure it stays safe safe,
However Binance is the most safe cryptocurrency exchange, in the past few years there have been hacking incidents and funds were lost. Because of the design of the wallets in exchanges, they will be accessible always via the internet (“Hot Wallets” as they are called), therefore exposing certain aspects of weaknesses.
Thus safeguard your cryptos by putting them in “Cold Wallets”, where the wallet will only have access to the blockchain(or simply “go online”) when you send out funds,. This reduces the chances of being hacked. For example, use a paper wallet which is a type of free cold wallet. It can also be defined as an offline-produced pair of public and private address and that you write on a paper for keeping safely with you. But, it is not permanent and may be faced by certain risk.
Thus, Hardware wallet is therefore the best compared to cold wallets. Since they are usually USB-enabled devices that can hold the key information of your wallet in the safest manner. Also they are designed using military-level security and their firmware’s are continuously upgraded by their manufacturers and this makes them extra safe to use. For example, Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X and are most common hardware wallets, you can buy one at $50 to $100 depending on the specifications they have. I highly recommend these for holding your assets because these wallets are a worthy every penny according to my experience and opinion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to buy Internet Computer with cash?
The answer is No. Because there is no way you can directly buy Internet Computer with cash. But, using marketplaces such as LocalBitcoins to first buy Bitcoin, and completethe rest of the steps by transferring your bitcoin to respective AltCoin exchanges.
How do I Buy Bitcoin from local sellers?
You can go to LocalBitcoins that is a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange. It is more of a marketplace where users can buy and sell Bitcoins to and from each other. Users, known as traders, make advertisements to show their price and the payment method they want used. Then buyers buy from the traders to buy from sellers in a particular nearby region on the platform. LocalBitcoins is after all a good place to go to buy Bitcoins when it is impossible for you to find your favorite payment methods somewhere else. The site’s prices are high and you have you have to be extra careful to avoid conmen.
What are the quickest ways I can buy Internet Computer while living in Europe?
While in Europe you have the advantage of buying cryptos in an easy and quick way. Because Europe has even online banks which help buyers to simply open an account and transfer money to exchanges such as Coinbase and Coinmama. Such banks which are common as online banks in Europe are Bunq, N26 and Revolut.
Can I use alternative platforms to purchase Internet Computer or Bitcoin with credit cards?
Yes you can, you just need to visit Changelly which an easy to trade in site especially when it comes to buying Bitcoin with credit cards. It provides an automatic cryptocurrency exchange that gives a buyer the opportunity to exchange crypto fast and buy them using credit card. It has been designed to allow users to have easy crypto buying since it has a simple user interface and provides instructions that are easy to follow too.
About Internet Computer (ICP)
What is the Internet Computer (ICP)?
The Internet Computer is the world’s first blockchain that runs at web speed with unbounded capacity. It also represents the third major blockchain innovation, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum — a blockchain computer that scales smart contract computation and data, runs them at web speed, processes and stores data efficiently, and provides powerful software frameworks to developers. By making this possible, the Internet Computer enables the complete reimagination of software — providing a revolutionary new way to build tokenized internet services, pan-industry platforms, decentralized financial systems, and even traditional enterprise systems and websites.
The project was founded in October 2016 by Dominic Williams, and attracted notable interest from the crypto community. DFINITY raised a total of $121 million from contributors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, SV Angel, Aspect Ventures, Electric Capital, ZeroEx, Scalar Capital, and Multicoin Capital, and several notable early Ethereum supporters. In 2018, over 50,000 registerter participants received ICP utility tokens in an airdrop. On December 18, 2020, DFINITY launched the alpha mainnet of the Internet Computer. In a final step towards decentralization, on May 10, 2021, DFINITY launched the Internet Computer into the public domain. This major milestone means that the internet now functions as a decentralized global computer — marked by the release of all of the Internet Computer’s source code into the public domain, as well as ICP utility token allowing tens of thousands of community members to govern the Internet Computer network.
Who Is The Founder of the Internet Computer?
Dominic Williams is the Founder and Chief Scientist of DFINITY. He is a crypto theoretician, responsible for inventing Threshold Relay, Probabilistic Slot Consensus, and other novel crypto techniques, serial entrepreneur, and early member of the Bitcoin and Ethereum technical communities. Previously, he was President and CTO of String Labs, an incubator for venture-backed crypto projects, early pioneer of DeFi at Mirror Labs, and Founder and CEO of Fight My Monster, a MMO game for children that scaled to millions of users. He also founded several startups such as System7, Airdocs and Smartdrivez. Graduated King’s College London 1st in Class in Computer Science.
What is the DFINITY Foundation?
The Internet Computer was incubated and launched by the DFINITY Foundation, a not-for profit scientific research organization based in Zurich, Switzerland, comprised of the world’s top cryptographers and distributed systems and programming language experts, with nearly 100,000 academic citations and 200 patents collectively. Notable technologists at DFINITY include:
* Jan Camenisch, PhD (VP of Research) – world-renowned cryptographer & privacy researcher, led IBM’s Cryptography / Research department for 19 years
* Andreas Rossberg, PhD (Principal Engineer and Researcher) – the co-creator of WebAssembly and former team lead for the Google Chrome V8 engine
* Ben Lynn, PhD (Sr Staff Engineer and Researcher) – world-renowned cryptographer and Google Engineer, the “L” in BLS cryptography, the key signature system being used in Ethereum 2.0
* Jens Groth, PhD (Principal Researcher) – world-renowned cryptographer, known for pioneering non-interactive zero knowledge proofs
* Timo Hanke, PhD (Principal Researcher) – creator of AsicBoost, one of the few proven algorithmic optimizations for Bitcoin mining
* Paul Liu, PhD (Staff Engineer) – architected Intel’s Haskell compiler and received his PhD under Paul Hudak, a key designer of Haskell
* Johan Georg Granström, PhD (Director of Engineering) – former Sr Staff Software Engineer at Google responsible for scaling YouTube system infrastructure
After public launch on May 10, 2021, the DFINITY Foundation will now be one of many organizations committed to improving and maintaining the Internet Computer network.
What Makes the Internet Computer Unique?
The purpose of the Internet Computer is to extend the public internet, so it can also be the world’s compute platform. Today, the internet is a network that connects everybody and everything, but systems and services currently run from private infrastructure.
The scientific breakthrough behind the Internet Computer is Chain Key Technology, which encompasses dozens of advanced technology such as novel Consensus, Non-Interactive Distributed Key Generation (NI-DKG), Network Nervous System (NNS), Internet Identity, etc.
Chain Key Technology consists of a set of cryptographic protocols that orchestrate the nodes that make up the Internet Computer. It is one of the fundamental breakthroughs behind the Internet Computer, enabling it to have a single public key. This is a huge advantage because it allows any device, including smart watches and mobile phones, to verify the authenticity of artifacts from the Internet Computer. In contrast, this is not possible for traditional blockchains.
The single public key is just the tip of the iceberg: Chain Key Technology is the engine that drives the Internet Computer and makes its operation possible. It allows for adding new nodes to form new subnets to scale the network infinitely; replacing faulty or crashed nodes with new ones without ever stopping; reviving subnets even if too many nodes within have failed; and upgrading the Internet Computer Protocol seamlessly, allowing the network to fix bugs and add new features.
The DFINITY R&D team has invented a new noninteractive key resharing protocol. Each of the old signers only needs to broadcast a single message to the new signers. To ensure that this is done securely, many concepts from advanced cryptography are utilized, including encryption with forward secrecy and noninteractive zero-knowledge proofs. Because it is noninteractive, the way the key resharing protocol operates is ideal for an asynchronous environment, and the benefits include key preservation. Throughout the lifetime of a subnet, it is known by a single public key, and the other parties on the Internet Computer do not have to keep track of changing public keys.
Who Runs the Nodes in the Internet Computer Network?
At Genesis on May 10, 2021, the Internet Computer is supported by 48 independent data centers — located across North America, Europe, and Asia — running 1,300 nodes. The network will continue to grow exponentially to support the next generation of mega dapps, with 123 data centers running 4,300 nodes scheduled by the end of the year, and eventually thousands of data centers running millions of nodes to support the decade-long building out of the Open Internet.
Importantly, anyone can become a node provider, interested parties apply for a Data Center ID (DCID) to the Network Nervous System (NNS), procure specialized machine nodes, install the ICP protocol, and connects to the Internet Computer network.
How Fast is the Internet Computer Network?
The scientific breakthrough called Chain Key Technology allows the Internet Computer to run at web speed — where query calls execute in milliseconds, and update calls take 1-2 seconds to finalize. More importantly, at Genesis, the Internet Computer will have a block rate of 2.5 blocks per second (bps), then quickly to an industry leading bps of 10.3 bps, and ~1,000 bps by end of the year.
In the case of an open version of Reddit running on the Internet Computer, when a user browses the forum, customized views of the hosted content would be formulated and served into their web browser by the execution of query calls, which run in milliseconds on a nearby node, providing a fantastic user experience. But when a user wishes to occasionally make a post, or provide a tip of tokens to the author of a post, this would involve update calls, which would take 1–2 seconds.
What Does the ICP Token Do?
ICP are native utility tokens that play three key roles in the network:
- Facilitating Network Governance: ICP tokens can be locked to create neurons that participate in network governance by voting, through which they can earn economic rewards.
- Production of Cycles for Compute: ICP provides a source store of value that can be converted into cycles; which power computation in the role of fuel that is burned when it is used. The NNS converts ICP to cycles at a variable rate, so chosen to ensure users of the network can always create new cycles at approximately constant cost in real terms, such that the cost of acquiring fuel is predictable.
- Rewarding Participants: The network mints new ICP to reward and incentivize those playing important roles that enable the network to function, including: a) the provision of voting rewards to those participating in governance, b) the provision of voting rewards; to those operating the node machines hosting the network, and c) other miscellaneous activities.
What Do Cycles Do?
Cycles power computation in the role of fuel. They also have a constant value over the long-term, which contrasts with ICP, whose value will naturally vary over time. Moreover, Cycles will be pegged to the SDR, which is a logical currency unit defined by the International Monetary Fund, and 1 SDR worth of ICP can be converted into exactly one trillion Cycles to power computation.
What Do Neurons Do?
A neuron locks a balance of ICP utility tokens and enables its owner to participate in network governance, through which they can earn voting rewards.
Who Are the Natural Buyers for ICP Tokens?
- Token Holders who want to participate in network governance and earn voting rewards
- Developers who need to convert ICP tokens into Cycles to pay for computation
ICP Token Supply and Tokenomics?
There will be 469,213,710 ICP tokens at Genesis.
Circulating supply depends on the dynamics of the market. However, it is approximated to be 26% at Genesis.
Genesis Initial State Token Allocations
- Early contributors: 9.50%
- Seed donations: 24.72%
- Strategic: 7.00%
- Presale: 4.96%
- Strategic partnerships: 3.79%
- Community airdrop: 0.80%
- Initial community and developer grants: 0.48%
- Node operators: 0.22%
- Internet Computer Association: 4.26%
- Team members: 18.00%
- Advisors and other third-party token holders: 2.40%
- DFINITY Foundation: 23.86%
How Does the Internet Computer Network Nervous System Work for Voting?
The NNS works by receiving proposals and deciding to adopt or reject them based on voting activity by neurons; that network participants have created. Neurons are also used by participants to submit new proposals. After submission, proposals are either adopted or rejected, which can happen almost immediately or after some delay, depending on how the totality of neurons vote.
Who Might List the Internet Computer?
Coinbase, Huobi and OKEx have announced they will list Internet Computer utility tokens (ICP) when the Internet Computer launches on May 10 at 9AM PT / May 11 12AM China Time.
What Are The Prominent Projects In The Internet Ecosystem?
The Internet Computer launched with several high profile entrepreneurs and applications being built on it. These include:
DeFi
- Enso Finance – Decentralized exchange that has raised $5mn
- Tacen – A high-performance non-custodial exchange that has raised $2.5mn
- SailFish – A gateway to open financial services
Social
- Distrikt – A decentralized, professional social media network. It is the Open LinkedIn application shown off by DFINITY in Davos at WEF 2020 that is now being taken to market
- OpenChat – An open version of your standard chat app that is not owned by a large tech corporation
- CanCan – An open version of TikTok that shows the scalability and power of the Internet Computer
- Capsule – A decentralized social media platform which is safe from censorship that has raised $1.5mn
Infrastructure
- Fleek – Allows easy building of open web sites and applications. 14,000 websites already running
Pan-Industry Platforms - Origyn – A pan-industry platform for tracking the provenance of luxury goods, starting with luxury watches