Sending and receiving bitcoins

From your Circle account, simply click the SEND MONEY link from the menu above to access the send options. Circle offers two ways to send bitcoin. You can either send it to a Bitcoin address or an email address.

If you are sending it to an email address, Circle will check to see if the address has a valid account registered to it and make an instant deposit into that user's wallet. If the receiver is not registered, an invitation will be sent with instructions on how to set up an account.

Figure 1.5 - Send bitcoin from your Circle account

In the To field, simply enter the Bitcoin address or the email address of the user you'd like to pay. For the amount, you can specify either USD or BTC. If you enter an amount in USD, Circle will automatically calculate the exchange rate. Optionally, you can provide a memo to describe your transaction.

Figure 1.6 - Circle sending a confirmation

Continuing to the next step, Circle will prompt you to enter your two-factor authentication code. This code will be sent to your mobile phone. Using this two-factor authentication helps protect your wallet from unauthorized access.

Once submitted, your transaction will be recorded instantly.

For payments between two Circle users, the transaction will be confirmed immediately. Circle maintains an internal ledger and will record the transaction off the Bitcoin network.

For payments sent to a Bitcoin address, there will be a short period of time before the transaction is confirmed and accepted by the network. Generally, this takes about 10 minutes, but it can vary depending on the network's computing power.

You can review all your payments by clicking TRANSACTIONS from the main menu.

Figure 1.7 - Circle's account transactions page

Circle provides two ways to receive bitcoin. Similar to sending bitcoin, you can send a request via email or share your Bitcoin address.

To start, click the REQUEST MONEY link from the main menu above. You'll be prompted to create a request:

Figure 1.8 - Requesting money

If you submit an email address, the recipient will receive an email providing them with instructions on how to pay. They will be given the following options:

If you select the option to Create an address and QR code, Circle will generate a new Bitcoin address for you and present a QR code to scan. You can either copy/paste the address and share it with the sender, or allow them to scan the QR using a mobile device.

Figure 1.9 - Requesting money using a QR code