How to Use Blocktrades - The Fastest and Easiest Way to Buy and Sell STEEM/SD

The Guide Part: How to Use Blocktrades

Here is the URL to use: https://blocktrades.us
~. Login is optional unless you have OCD
You don't neeed to create a login but if you want to see your previous transactions or have OCD about such things I did - use the menu options at the top of the page.

Just click on Signup, make a user name/password and click the Sign Up button. You will receive a confirmation email, along with a link to activate your account.

~. Look at the Main Window
Here is an annotated view of the main exchange window. It really is very simple:

Select the currency you wish to convert from
In my case it is was Bitcoin which I wanted to convert to Steem Dollars.

5~ Select the currency you want to convert that into.
For me it is Steem Dollars but you can choose whatever you want as long as they list it e.g. litecoin

6~ Check the Exchange Rates and Deposit Limit

See the screenshot above. If the exchange rate is to your liking and the deposit limit is enough for your transaction go to the next step: Enter your Receiving Address

Here I entered my Steem address to receive Steem Dollars.

Click on "Get a new Deposit Address".

You will see a little window with an address/QR code appear at the bottom of the page:

Send your currency to this address using either the alphanumeric address or the QR code. (Note I have partially obscured these so people don't accidentally send me their coins!)

~ Wait a few minutes and a confirmation of the transaction should appear. Like this:

~ Check Your Receiving Wallet and the Coins should be there
In my case I sent the Bitcoins and within a few seconds the transaction was complete. Not long after this the Steem Dollars were in my Steem wallet. It seemed to make the transaction the moment my Bitcoins appeared on the blockchain so I didn't have to wait the usual 10 minutes or more for confirmation.

Blocktrades Advantages vs Disadvantages

Rather than going through the rest of the points paragraph by paragraph I thought I would bring them all together and summarise:

-Simpler interface with no login necessary.
-Better exchange rates overall (unless you are making minuscule transactions).
-Fixed rate for a single transaction (i.e. you don't need to span multiple rates for anything above a small amount), no fighting bots.
-Less complicated to calculate your costs.
-Allows direct purchase of Steem Power and Steem Dollars (not available on Shapeshift).
-Greater purchase/deposit limits compared to Shapeshift (58.9 BTC vs 0.29 BTC today).
-Much faster - seems to send your purchased currency as soon as the transaction is on the blockchain.

Summary of Disadvantages:

Nothing of significance when compared to it's main competitors for Steem/SD exchange.

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