How to buy Ethereum token using Coins.ph

If you are from the Philippines and are familiar with Bitcoin, then you probably know how to use Coins.ph. It is by far the easiest way to buy Bitcoin in our country. If you still have no Coins account, you can easily register here and get ₱50 sign-up bonus .

Setting up your Coins.ph account

If you are done creating your account, you are now ready to buy Bitcoin with your wallet. You can choose from over a dozen different ways to cash in like 7-Eleven outlets, SM Department stores, M Lhuillier and different banks like BPI, BDO, Unionbank, etch. I personally like to cash in via Unionbank and BDO because the cash in fees are rebated by Coins. There are many helpful FAQs on Coins' website if you are having a hard time on navigating their website. They also have an Android and iOS app.
Now that you have Bitcoins in your Coins.ph wallet, you can now transfer it to any exchanges to buy Ether(ETH), the token of Ethereum.

Transferring funds to exchanges

You can choose any Cryptocurrency Exchange site but I currently use Poloniex because it has the best user interface for beginners plus you are not required to verify your identity unless your transaction limit exceeds $2000. Register an account on Poloniex and then follow this steps to transfer your BTC from your Coins wallet to your Poloniex account.

• After you successfully created your account on Poloniex, click Balances on the upper right side of the screen then go to Deposits & Withdrawals. A list of cryptocurrency will appear in the page, find Bitcoin then click Deposit.

• A unique BTC address should appear after that. You can also click Show QR code for smooth transaction later in coins.ph if you are using your mobile phone.

• Open your Coins account then go to your wallet (Peso and BTC wallet both works) and click Send. Enter the amount of money that you will send. Enter the unique BTC address in the recipient text box. (WARNING: Always double check the BTC address, you can also send a small amount first like 0.001 BTC to test it) Choose your blockchain fee then click Continue. Review your transaction then click Send.

• Wait for coins.ph to process that transaction for about a minute until the transaction number appears. (Note: The Bitcoin scaling problem currently affects the speed of transaction confirmation which could take from 1 hour to 3 days) After that, the unconfirmed transaction should appear on the Deposit and Withdrawal History page immediately. Wait for the transaction to be confirmed.
• Your BTC should be credited by now. Go to the Exchange Page then find ETH/BTC on the right side panel of the screen. Scroll down until you see this boxes. Enter the desired amount of ETH you need then click buy.

Congratulations! You have successfully bought your first Ether! But before you celebrate, let's talk about the security of your digital coins in my next post. Storing your ETH on an exchange site like Poloniex is a bit risky base on the history of cryptocurrency (Search for Mt. Gox). I will teach you how to create an Ethereum cold wallet to safely secure your investment. Thank you once again for reading!