Venmo says I can buy BTC??

[DidntMakeBrownies]

So it looks like I can buy some BTC in Venmo? Cool cool but— and forgive me if this is the stupidest question ever asked— can I then use that BTc to buy tirz kits from the vendor? Or does the BTC have to have, like, a pit stop somewhere else before I can send it to the vendor?

Injecting stuff I buy from China directly into my thigh seems fine to me but the crypto is going to do me in!!

 

[randompersonrandom]

Yes. Get an exodus wallet and make that your pit stop. Sending from Venmo straight to the vendor is a great way to get your Venmo shut down. But I sometimes use Venmo to buy PYUSD and move that to my Exodus, and either swap it to USDT or USDC, or just pay the vendor from there if they accept PYUSD.

 

[DidntMakeBrownies]

Thanks. Glad I asked. seemed too good to be true. I am really stuck in the muck on the moving money part of transitioning to grey.

 

[Derby]

Thanks. Glad I asked. seemed too good to be true. I am really stuck in the muck on the moving money part of transitioning to grey.

Everyone here will tell you, that after you do it for the first time, you will be unable to believe how stupidly easy it is and wondering what you were so anxious about!

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Thanks. Glad I asked. seemed too good to be true. I am really stuck in the muck on the moving money part of transitioning to grey.

It is so very, very easy to do! I'm an idiot and I figured it out with very little difficulty. You can buy BTC, ETH, or PYUSD in Venmo, then, get the address for it from your custodial wallet (Exodus, Edge, whatever) and send it right from Venmo to your other wallet.

I just did a purchase of PYUSD in Venmo. Took a moment to complete. I use Edge as my wallet, so I opened that up, added PYUSD, and copied my wallet address. Went back to Venmo, chose "Send" for the PYUSD, pasted my Edge wallet address in, and sent it on its way. Venmo made me send a pic of my driver license and a selfie but otherwise it took just a few minutes to get it over to Edge.

 

[JKLIN]

It is so very, very easy to do! I'm an idiot and I figured it out with very little difficulty. You can buy BTC, ETH, or PYUSD in Venmo, then, get the address for it from your custodial wallet (Exodus, Edge, whatever) and send it right from Venmo to your other wallet.

I just did a purchase of PYUSD in Venmo. Took a moment to complete. I use Edge as my wallet, so I opened that up, added PYUSD, and copied my wallet address. Went back to Venmo, chose "Send" for the PYUSD, pasted my Edge wallet address in, and sent it on its way. Venmo made me send a pic of my driver license and a selfie but otherwise it took just a few minutes to get it over to Edge.

Where do I get a custodial wallet? I've tried to understand crypto for over a year and I can't understand what anyone's talking about.

 

[Neurogroot]

Where do I get a custodial wallet? I've tried to understand crypto for over a year and I can't understand what anyone's talking about.

A custodial wallet is a wallet that YOU own. For example, if you use Venmo and they think you break their rules, they can lock you out of your (or more accurately, their) wallet. I’ve been using Exodus for an easier custodial wallet. It’s good for beginners. Just download the Exodus app, and follow the steps they tell you to do, and voila, you’re set.

I promise, you’ll be happy going this route, and if you need to use crypto for anything else, you’re all set!

 

[JKLIN]

A custodial wallet is a wallet that YOU own. For example, if you use Venmo and they think you break their rules, they can lock you out of your (or more accurately, their) wallet. I’ve been using Exodus for an easier custodial wallet. It’s good for beginners. Just download the Exodus app, and follow the steps they tell you to do, and voila, you’re set.

I promise, you’ll be happy going this route, and if you need to use crypto for anything else, you’re all set!

Everything can be done on the computer, right? I don't use my phone because the screen is too limiting and frustrating.
And, I still don't understand what you're talking about when you say that I own a wallet. What is it and where is it?

 

[Neurogroot]

I believe you can get Exodus on a computer. So, I’ll try to break it down into an analogy.

In Venmo, you get a wallet. Consider it like a folder on your computer. The different kind of cryptocurrencies are files. When you’re using Venmo though, they own that folder. Sure, you can use it, but if you do anything with that folder, using the files for buying things they don’t like you buying, they can lock you out.

Exodus though, that wallet is a folder owned by you! You’ll get a password (well, password made of 12-24 words), and as long as only you know that password, Exodus can’t tell you what to do with your folder (wallet), or block you from using your files (crypto)

 

[JKLIN]

I believe you can get Exodus on a computer. So, I’ll try to break it down into an analogy.

In Venmo, you get a wallet. Consider it like a folder on your computer. The different kind of cryptocurrencies are files. When you’re using Venmo though, they own that folder. Sure, you can use it, but if you do anything with that folder, using the files for buying things they don’t like you buying, they can lock you out.

Exodus though, that wallet is a folder owned by you! You’ll get a password (well, password made of 12-24 words), and as long as only you know that password, Exodus can’t tell you what to do with your folder (wallet), or block you from using your files (crypto)

I use Venmo weekly and have never seen a wallet anywhere. It's nothing I signed up for when I first opened my Venmo account.

 

[Neurogroot]

I use Venmo weekly and have never seen a wallet anywhere. It's nothing I signed up for when I first opened my Venmo account.

So you won’t ever “see” a wallet. You’ll see addresses though. I know this is going to make things more confusing, but… when you’re using Venmo, the first time you buy your crypto of choice, you’ll be given a crypto address. A wallet holds all the crypto addresses.

A big help for me was looking through a couple dozen posts on Reddit’s CryptoBeginners subreddit. Maybe that can help? They have a lot of visualizations that helped me, at least.

 

[JKLIN]

So you won’t ever “see” a wallet. You’ll see addresses though. I know this is going to make things more confusing, but… when you’re using Venmo, the first time you buy your crypto of choice, you’ll be given a crypto address. A wallet holds all the crypto addresses.

A big help for me was looking through a couple dozen posts on Reddit’s CryptoBeginners subreddit. Maybe that can help? They have a lot of visualizations that helped me, at least.

Thank you for trying to help, but my blood pressure is spiking and my head is about to explode. I've tried reading and watching videos and I have no idea what they're talking about. Unttil I can have someone sit down beside me and do it for me the first time so I can see what's happening, I won't ever be able to use crypto. Sadly, that leaves me extremely limited when it comes to vendors. I just need someone to do it for me.

Thanks anyway. I'm out.

 

[Schism]

Thank you for trying to help, but my blood pressure is spiking and my head is about to explode. I've tried reading and watching videos and I have no idea what they're talking about. Unttil I can have someone sit down beside me and do it for me the first time so I can see what's happening, I won't ever be able to use crypto. Sadly, that leaves me extremely limited when it comes to vendors. I just need someone to do it for me.

Thanks anyway. I'm out.

I'd just buy $5 or $10 worth of crypto and practice sending it about. Make multiple wallets and try the apps you want. Don't even bother placing an order until you've send some crypto to a friend or to yourself on a different device.

 

[Not_Your_Dad]

Thank you for trying to help, but my blood pressure is spiking and my head is about to explode. I've tried reading and watching videos and I have no idea what they're talking about. Unttil I can have someone sit down beside me and do it for me the first time so I can see what's happening, I won't ever be able to use crypto. Sadly, that leaves me extremely limited when it comes to vendors. I just need someone to do it for me.

Thanks anyway. I'm out.

If it helps, think of it like this:

You have $100 in good old cash. You stick it in your pocket. You are in possession of that cash, and you can do with it as you see fit. No one else knows what you're doing with that cash either.

You can take your $100 to the bank and deposit it in your checking account. Now you don't have possession of that cash, the bank does. Your checking account is pretty much an IOU from the bank, right? They have to give you $100 if you ask for it, or write a check for it, but until that happens, they can use your $100 for whatever they want. Also, if you write a check to someone, the bank knows to whom you wrote that check. If you use your debit card at the store, they know you went shopping at the store. If you buy something online and use your bank info to pay, they know what you bought online.


The analogy here is, when you buy crypto from Venmo, it's like putting your cash in the bank. Venmo can do whatever they want with your crypto until you sell it, send it somewhere else, whatever. Venmo also knows if you send the crypto to someone else to buy something.

Sending your crypto to one of the wallets we've been mentioning is like withdrawing your cash from the bank. You tell Venmo to send your crypto to a particular wallet, and then they do. All they know is that you sent the crypto somewhere, and they won't know what's happening with it afterwards. Just the same as if you got physical dollars from the bank -- once you leave, they don't and can't know what you're doing or not doing with that money.