Old guy needs some basic answers

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PNGento

New member
I know for many of you youngsters who have grown up with technology, some of this is almost second nature to you. But for me (over 60), it is a bit challenging, but I don't mind that. Anyway, we are supposed to introduce ourselves...so there you go. Old guy with not a great deal of computer savvy. However, I absolutely love the whole idea of cryptocurrencies. Central bankers have destroyed fiat currency. So, that pretty much leaves those who feel the same, with either precious metals, or cryptos. I have created wallet accounts on Abra (BTC or fiat currencies only) and Jaxx. I like the way Abra is configured and it is super easy to figure out. I like the idea of Jaxx as it offers a better variety of cryptos (is is ok to call these cryptos?). Anyway, I could use some help with some probably pretty basic questions...here goes:
1) Miners fees for conversions....0.002 for Dash (which works out to around a quarter)....0.003 for BTC, which works out to $7 and change. Why such a large disparity?
2) If I want to transfer BTC from, say, Abra to Jaxx, but I want it to be in Dash in the Jaxx wallet, do I have to transfer it as BTC (providing my Jaxx BTC address to the Abra transfer process)? Or, can I provide my Jaxx Dash address instead? If so, will it get deposited as Dash funds (with the conversion obviously having occurred...if this would work, at what point would that conversion occur?

I would assume I can do a BTC to BTC transfer and then use the ShapeShift feature in Jaxx to convert from BTC to Dash...is this correct? I'm ready to attempt a transfer, but figure if I can get these questions answered, I should have a reasonable chance of being successful.
 
Hi @PNGento ... Welcome to the forum.

is is ok to call these cryptos? of course, call all the other coins as cryptos, but for DASH we prefer Digital CASH :)

1) Miners fees for conversions....0.002 for Dash (which works out to around a quarter)....0.003 for BTC, which works out to $7 and change. Why such a large disparity?

Transaction fees are paid to the miners to include the transactions in a block. The fees are seen as incentive for the miners to include the transactions in a block. If they are too low, your transactions will be ignored by the miners, and get stuck for many hours, many days, even get dropped by the bitcoin network. In the Bitcoin netwrok, the fees have been increasing for a while. Dash is still a younger currency and the fees are still low.


2) If I want to transfer BTC from, say, Abra to Jaxx, but I want it to be in Dash in the Jaxx wallet, do I have to transfer it as BTC (providing my Jaxx BTC address to the Abra transfer process)? Or, can I provide my Jaxx Dash address instead? If so, will it get deposited as Dash funds (with the conversion obviously having occurred...if this would work, at what point would that conversion occur?

Transfer BTC from Abra to Jaxx wallet. Make sure that the addresses are correct before you transfer. After the BTC is deposited in Jaxx use the ShapeShift feature in Jaxx to convert from BTC to Dash.
 
PNGento said:
1) Miners fees for conversions....0.002 for Dash (which works out to around a quarter)....0.003 for BTC, which works out to $7 and change. Why such a large disparity?
Click to expand...
With this question I believe you have gone to the heart of BTC's issue: rising fees as a result of declining capacity.

PNGento said:
2) If I want to transfer BTC from, say, Abra to Jaxx, but I want it to be in Dash in the Jaxx wallet, do I have to transfer it as BTC (providing my Jaxx BTC address to the Abra transfer process)? Or, can I provide my Jaxx Dash address instead? If so, will it get deposited as Dash funds (with the conversion obviously having occurred...if this would work, at what point would that conversion occur?
Click to expand...

I think there are two ways to accomplish what you want:

EASY/possibly more fees: Transfer from Abra to Jaxx in BTC. Pay the maximum fee and try to forget about it. Then, Shapeshift from inside Jaxx, pay another fee.

SLIGHTLY ADVANCED/probably lower fees: Send from Abra to Shapeshift and from Shapeshift to Jaxx in one transaction.
 
dashakti said:
Hi @PNGento

2) If I want to transfer BTC from, say, Abra to Jaxx, but I want it to be in Dash in the Jaxx wallet, do I have to transfer it as BTC (providing my Jaxx BTC address to the Abra transfer process)? Or, can I provide my Jaxx Dash address instead? If so, will it get deposited as Dash funds (with the conversion obviously having occurred...if this would work, at what point would that conversion occur?

Transfer BTC from Abra to Jaxx wallet. Make sure that the addresses are correct before you transfer. After the BTC is deposited in Jaxx use the ShapeShift feature in Jaxx to convert from BTC to Dash.
Click to expand...

Thanks to both repliers for answering my questions...this is about what I suspected. I think I'll start with a small (ish?) transfer of around $50 of BTC. Fees will obviously kill me by making small transfers, but think it would be smart to make sure everything works as expected.
 
I don't know how much you want to transfer but shapeshift has upper limits. A couple of thousand dollars might be okay but I wouldn't go much higher. Maybe someone else knows what their upper limit is.
 
Acedian said:
I am in my 20's and trying to explain this shit to anyone gives me a headache.
Click to expand...
LOL...then I am in the right place. 1) So, is it ever not safe to give out your cryto address? Seems you have no choice if you want to receive funds or make a transaction...so, I assume this is at least safe. 2) So, whether I am using a crypto to make a purchase or simply transfering funds from one wallet to another...if I am taking money out of one wallet for whatever reason, I WILL be incurring miner fees...is that correct? If so, then at this time, using Dash is much more affordable as far as fees go, with a transaction costing only approx. $0.20 or so, versus $7+ if using BTC...do I have that right? If so, I have to wonder why people are sticking so tightly to BTC...
 
PNGento said:
LOL...then I am in the right place. 1) So, is it ever not safe to give out your cryto address? Seems you have no choice if you want to receive funds or make a transaction...so, I assume this is at least safe. 2) So, whether I am using a crypto to make a purchase or simply transfering funds from one wallet to another...if I am taking money out of one wallet for whatever reason, I WILL be incurring miner fees...is that correct? If so, then at this time, using Dash is much more affordable as far as fees go, with a transaction costing only approx. $0.20 or so, versus $7+ if using BTC...do I have that right? If so, I have to wonder why people are sticking so tightly to BTC...
Click to expand...

1) Your public address is safe to post on-line e.g. the address to the left of this post. Your private address (or key) should remain private. Anyone with your private key can spend your crypto. Most wallets don't display a private key without you asking it explicitly to do so.

2) Yes, you have to pay a transaction fee. However, when evolution is released for Dash, it will be possible to have the merchant pay the fee instead. As for Bitcoin, many people see it as a store of value. This means they aren't using it as cash to make purchases. If you are moving relatively large amounts of Bitcoin then the fee is negligible. Bitcoin doesn't seem to want to be a cash alternative the way that Dash does.
 
Acedian said:
1) Your public address is safe to post on-line e.g. the address to the left of this post. Your private address (or key) should remain private. Anyone with your private key can spend your crypto. Most wallets don't display a private key without you asking it explicitly to do so.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. The only things I have seen so far, are what I'd guess is the public address and a backup phrase. I have seen nothing indicating a private key. I will search for this so I know what it is, but in meantime, what would the private key be used for?
 
Your private key is what your wallet uses to sign transactions. It provides the proof that you own the Dash. You don't need to do anything with the private key -- the wallet does all the work using the private key. The most important thing you must do is keep them secret, so don't export them and show them around. They are safe in your password protected wallet.

Your backup phrase MUST also be kept secret, because with that phrase, anyone can get your private keys.
 
Just one more thing... don't worry if you somehow lose your public key because there's a copy of that in your private key. (I know it's unlikely but I'm just saying so you know)
 
jimbursch said:
Your private key is what your wallet uses to sign transactions. It provides the proof that you own the Dash. You don't need to do anything with the private key -- the wallet does all the work using the private key. The most important thing you must do is keep them secret, so don't export them and show them around. They are safe in your password protected wallet.

Your backup phrase MUST also be kept secret, because with that phrase, anyone can get your private keys.
Click to expand...

First, thanks for the reply. I found how to have the app show me my private and public keys, but it shows me 3 private and 3 public keys...why 3 of each? For any given transaction, would it matter which of the 3 public keys I would provide? And should I print out these and keep them in a very secure location? If so, do I need all 3 of each or just any of each private and public?
 
Well, just did my first transaction...transferred BTC from one wallet to another, then converted those to DASH...easy peasy. Thanks to all for your assistance.
 
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