Current price per coin: $
Project Golem will be a global, open sourced, decentralized supercomputer that anyone can access.
Golem coins are the gas for the Golem engine.
DO NOT BASE ANY INVESTMENT DECISION UPON ANY MATERIALS FOUND ON THIS SITE. The author is not registered as an investment adviser either with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The author is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. This guide is not and should not be interpreted as investment advice, a recommendation regarding a course of action or as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade. Cryptocurrencies are speculative and complex, and they involve significant risks—they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable, and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances and obtain your own advice before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant regulators' websites before making any decision. The author may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed. All product names, trademarks, brands, photographs and logos are the property of their respective owners.
Notes: If you're confused by any terms used, a glossary can be found here.
This guide is kept up-to-date as much as possible, but websites & software are being constantly updated- your experience may differ from what is documented.
There are three parts to this guide (click to skip to them): Setting up a Golem wallet, buying Ethereum and then exchanging Ethereum for Golem.
This guide previously advised using myetherwallet.com as the wallet option for storing Golem coins.
However as crypto has become more popular security has become a pressing issue, and using MyEtherWallet alone just isn't secure enough.
So in this authors personal opinion your coins will be safest stored on the exchange you purchase them or, ideally, on a hardware wallet. Here's why:
Computers and phones get hacked. Websites run illicit code to steal passwords. Phishers trick people into clicking links that steal information from their computers.
A line of defence to keep our coins from being siphoned out of our crypto wallets is essential.
And that's a hardware wallet.
Hardware wallets plug into your computer like a USB stick, and they have one job- to be a firewall between your Golem and the outside world.
To do this, they encrypt the private keys to your cryptocurrency wallets so that no-one- not even you- can know them. That way only someone with physical access to your hardware wallet- and who also knows its password- has a chance to access and move your coins.
Hardware wallets made by Ledger and Trezor support the storage and sending of Golem.
Our recommendation is to either get a Ledger Nano S from their official website or Amazon, or a Trezor from their official site or Amazon.
The Nano S makes it easy to manage your coins- it's compact and discreet, and wallet management is achieved through a small LCD screen and two buttons.
The Trezor is just as easy to use, small and also featuring two buttons, with a lot of information packed into its small LCD screen.
Here's the Ledger setup guide, and the Trezor user manual.
If you get a hardware wallet, once it's set up you will be given the option to create a Ethereum wallet. Do so, and you'll be given a personal wallet address, which consists of a long string of letters and numbers.
Copy this address and keep it somewhere safe.
Now we'll purchase the popular cryptocurrency Ethereum, so that we can exchange it for Golem (if you already own Ethereum you can skip ahead).
Choose which Ethereum exchange you'd like to use (by clicking on the logo), and the guide will continue:
If you use this link to sign up to Coinbase we'll both receive ten dollars of free coins when you spend over $100 (or the equivalent in your currency).
Press the 'sign up' button and fill out your name (make sure this is exactly how it's written on your photo ID), email and a password.
Just like a US bank, Coinbase is regulated by the US government, and has to follow strict financial rules. So they take verifying your identity very seriously. It's a pain, but it does give Coinbase a reputation for being the most trusted way to convert fiat currency to cryptocurrency.
To verify your account you must supply a phone number, upload an image of your photo ID and verify a credit/debit card or bank account before you can buy.
Using a credit/debit card on Coinbase means higher fees but offers instant purchasing. Using a bank transfer is cheaper but slower (taking up to a week to get your coins).
Once your payment details are verified, click 'buy/sell' on the top menu.
Select 'Ethereum', and at the bottom of the page choose how much to spend in your local currency / how many coins you want to buy.
Once you're happy with the amount, click the big 'Buy' button.
You'll be asked to confirm your purchase.
Press the 'Confirm Buy' button.
Congratulations! You now own some Ethereum. But don't close Coinbase yet, we're going to need it again in a few minutes.
Click here to go to Coinmama.
In the sign up form, enter your email address and first and last name (make sure these are exactly the same as on your photo ID).
Enter a strong password (that you won't forget!).
Select your country, tick the box to show you understand their terms and conditions and press 'Register'.
You will be sent an email to confirm your email address.
Go find that email and click the link in it.
You will be informed that your email is now confirmed. Press 'Continue'.
You will be prompted to log in. Enter your email and password and press 'Login'.
You won't be able to buy any Ethereum until you verify your account.
In the left-hand menu, click 'Verify your account'.
You will be asked to fill in your personal details. Once you have, press 'Next'.
Here you need to upload some pictures of your ID.
You're also asked to take a selfie of yourself holding your ID, as well as writing 'Coinmama' on a piece of paper with today's date.
Make sure none of these pictures are blurry, or they will be rejected.
Once you've uploaded the files you'll be informed your documents are under review- unfortunately you'll have to wait until you're verified to continue your purchase.
Enter your email address and a secure password. Click the checkbox to agree to the terms.
Click 'Register'.
You will now be asked to set up 2-factor authentication for your new account. It is strongly advised not to skip this step, as 2-factor authentication makes your account far more secure.
We recommend using the 'Smartphone App' option.
Once your security has been set up, you'll be taken to your account dashboard.
Before we do anything else, head on over to your personal email account- there will be an email from Cex.io asking you to click a link to verify your account. Click it.
You will be taken to a page telling you your email has been confirmed. Click 'Go back to the site'.
Look for your user ID in the top menu, hover your mouse over it and in the drop down menu click 'Verification'.
Every exchange that lets your buy cryptocurrencies for cash require you to verify your identification before doing so.
Complete the Cex.io verification process by supplying your personal information and uploading your ID.
Once you're verified, click the 'Deposit' button along the top menu.
You now get to choose how you'd like to deposit money:
Via credit/debit card
If you choose credit/debit card you can buy instantly, but you pay commission on the money you deposit.
Via bank transfer
This option takes a few days for the transfer to arrive but has no commission fees.
Choose the method you prefer and follow the instructions to deposit your money.
Once your money is in your account, click 'BUY/SELL' on the top menu.
Choose 'ETH' and the currency you'd like to buy it in (Dollars, Euros, Pounds or Rubles).
You will be offered some precalculated amounts of Ethereum, or you can scroll to the bottom of the page and input the amount of Ethereum you'd like to buy in the 'Custom amount' box.
Once you've decided, click 'Buy'.
You'll be asked to confirm your buy.
Check everything looks correct and click 'Confirm the order'.
Congratulations- you now own some Ethereum!
Press 'Ok'.
While you're waiting to be verified, we'll sign up for Binance, so you'll be ready to exchange your Ethereum for Golem.
We'll use the site Binance to exchange your Ethereum for Golem.
We'll use the site Binance to exchange your Ethereum for Golem.
We'll use the site Binance to exchange your Ethereum for Golem.
Click here to go to Binance, and click 'Register' on the top right menu.
Enter your email and a strong password (that you won't forget!).
Click 'Register'.
You will be sent an email to confirm your email address.
Click the link in the email.
You will be taken back to Binance as your email is confirmed.
Press 'Login'.
On the login form, enter the email and password you just used to sign up, then press 'Login'.
A pop-up will advise you to set up 2FA (two factor authentication) on your account.
We strongly advise you to do this- in the event a hacker manages to get hold of your password, this second level of security makes it very unlikely they will be able to get into your Binance account.
We recommend using the Authy app on your mobile phone or web browser.
Hover your mouse over 'FUNDS' on the top menu and click on 'Deposits'.
Click the box that says 'Select token/coin to deposit'.
Type 'Ethereum' in the search box.
This will narrow the wallets displayed to just a few- in those, find Ethereum.
You will be given a Ethereum deposit address (a long string of numbers and letters).
Copy this address and keep it somewhere safe as we're going to need it soon.
Note: Double check you've actually selected Ethereum (ETH)- if you send your coins to the wrong wallet you will lose them.
Now, return to Coinbase.
Click 'Accounts' from the top menu, then find your Ethereum wallet listed on the left.
Click 'Send'.
In the 'Recipient' box, paste the Ethereum wallet address we just copied from Binance.
In amount, type how much Ethereum you wish to send (there is a 'use max' option if you wish to send it all).
Click 'Continue'.
Coinbase may ask you to confirm with your password/phone. Follow the instructions until it confirms the Ethereum are sent.
Go back to Cex.io
Press 'Withdraw' on the top menu.
Under 'Select currency and amount' click 'USD' and select 'ETH' in the drop down menu.
Input the amount of Ethereum you're sending.
In the box labelled 'Enter the recipient's address below' paste the Ethereum wallet address we just copied from Binance.
Once you've looked everything over, click the check box to confirm you've double checked everything is correct.
Press 'Withdraw'.
You will be asked for a 2-factor authentication number.
Use your selected method of authentication to generate the number and write it in the box. Press 'Confirm'.
You will be sent an email to confirm the withdrawal.
Go to your personal email and click the link Cex.io has sent you. This will send the coins on their way.
Go back to LocalBitcoins.
You should still be in your wallet page.
In the box labelled 'Receiving Bitcoin address' paste the Ethereum wallet address we just copied from Binance.
Enter the amount of Bitcoin you're sending.
Press 'Continue'.
You will be asked to enter your password to confirm the send.
Once entered, press 'Send from wallet'.
You will be taken back to your wallet and a message will appear to confirm the Bitcoin has been sent.
Hopefully you're now verified on Coinmama, so log into your account and press 'Buy Ethereum'.
You will be presented with some buying options- you can either choose to purchase a preset amount, or at the bottom of the page enter the amount of Ethereum you want, or currency you want to convert to Ethereum.
Once you're satisfied with the amount, press the 'Buy Ethereum' button.
You will be asked to supply your Ethereum wallet address. Input the wallet address that you copied from Binance.
Press 'Go to payment'.
You will be asked for your credit/debit card details. Input them and press 'Pay Now'.
You may be informed that Coinmama has received your order but 'are reviewing the order and making sure you're really you.' This just means they're double checking your credit/debit card information to your personal information to be sure this is a legitimate purchase.
Once they've confirmed everything, you will be sent an email to confirm the purchase. Go to your inbox, find the email and double check it shows your correct Ethereum wallet address you copied from Binance. When you're happy, click the confirmation link in it.
Coinmama will now send your coins to your wallet address.
Now we've got to wait a few minutes for the coins to move across the network.
Unless there's an unusually large network backlog, the coins will take between 20 and 60 minutes to appear in your Binance wallet.
While you're waiting, consider sharing this guide with your friends and followers to spread the word about Golem, encouraging its popularity and value to grow.
Here's some share buttons to make it easy:
Click 'Funds' and then 'Balances'. Once the Ethereum shows in your 'available balance' we're ready to trade for Golem.
Click here to jump straight to the GNT/ETH exchange market on Binance.
The exchange page can look overwhelming at first, but don't worry, we're only going to use a small part of it.
There are two ways of buying coins:
A 'Limit' order, which lets you manually set the price at which you want to buy GNT.
A 'Market' buy, which fills your order automatically at the best price available.
As market buy is the simpler of the two options we'll go with that.
Look for the big green 'Buy GNT' button.
Above it, click the 'Market' option.
In the input box marked 'Amount' you now need to fill in how many GNT you'd like to buy. It may be easier to use the percentage buttons below the input box- for example, press 50% if you'd like to exchange 50% of your Ethereum for GNT.
When you're happy with the amount, press the buy button.
Your order will be filled immediately.
Hover over 'Funds' along the top menu, then click 'Balances'.
In the search box, type GNT. You will now see your new GNT in your GNT wallet.
If you're comfortable with it, you could just leave your coins on Binance and they would probably be safe. However, exchanges have been hacked in the past, and people have lost coins, so we do recommend you keep them in a personal wallet. Here's how:
Note: You CANNOT store Ethereum tokens, such as Golem, on Coinbase. If you send your Golem to Coinbase you will lose them.
Hover over 'Funds' and then click the 'Withdrawal' button.
Click 'Select coin/token to withdraw'. Type Golem. Select it from the drop down menu.
In the boxes that appear, fill in this information:
GNT Withdrawal Address: Put the wallet address that you copied from your wallet (in step 2).
Amount: Input the number of GNT you want to withdraw. It's often a good idea to do a small test withdrawal first before sending all your coins.
Once you're sure all this information is correct (double check you've inputted the correct wallet address!), press 'Submit'.
If you've set up two-factor authentication, you will be asked for a code from your phone. Enter it and press 'Submit'.
You will be sent an email to confirm the withdrawal.
Go to your email and click the link that has been sent to you.
Go to myetherwallet.com.
Click 'Access my wallet'. Select 'Hardware' and then the appropriate hardware wallet.
Connect your hardware wallet to your computer and unlock it.
MyEtherWallet will ask which address you want to interact with- select the one you sent your Golem to and click 'Access my wallet'.
You should now see the Golem (abbreviated to GNT) in your wallet under 'Tokens'.
One note of importance is that the example wallet in this guide has no Eth in it. Why is that important?
Golem coins exist as a token on the Ethereum network. To move Golem coins across that network costs 'gas', which are in the form of Ether coins. If in the future you want to move your Golem coins to another address, you're going to need some of those Ether coins to power the transaction.
You already know how to buy Ether, but you can use this guide if you're still unsure how to move them to your personal wallet.
What about when you're ready to sell your Golem?
You simply reverse the order of tasks you performed in this guide.
For example, you send your Golem to Binance, exchange it for Ethereum, send that Ethereum to Coinbase Cex.io Coinmama Local Bitcoins and sell it for your preferred currency.
