A guide to Beam and where to buy it

Beam is an anonymous privacy-oriented cryptocurrency based on the Mimblewimble protocol. Its transactions are private and anonymous by default.

In this guide, we'll explain what sets Beam apart in the world of cryptocurrency as well as where you can currently buy, sell and trade it.

Where to buy Beam

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Learn more about Beam

Step-by-step guide to buying Beam

At the time of writing (February 2019), you can only buy BEAM with bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or Tether (USDT). You cannot yet buy it directly with fiat currency such as AUD or USD.

• Step 1: Get some BTC, ETH or USDT

  If you want to buy Beam, you will first need to buy cryptocurrency. The easiest way might be to buy bitcoin first, although Ether or Tether are all available in pairings with BEAM.

  Check out our 101 guide to buying bitcoin in Australia.

• Step 2: Sign up for an account at an exchange listing BEAM

  While there are many cryptocurrency exchanges, only a few trade Beam at the time of writing (February 2019). Check out where to buy BEAM.

• Step 3: Deposit funds

  Now you'll need to deposit your BTC, ETH or USDT onto the exchange where BEAM is listed. This is the cryptocurrency you'll be trading for Beam.

• Step 4: Buy BEAM

  Once your funds have arrived, you can start buying BEAM.

  Look for the trading pair of BEAM/BTC, BEAM/ETH or BEAM/USDT as applicable. Select the relevant pair and confirm the details to lock in your trade.

  Once you've bought BEAM, you can either leave it on the exchange or get a Beam wallet.

How to sell BEAM

If you want to sell BEAM, the process for doing so is the same as buying, except you reverse the coins you're buying and selling.

To sell BEAM, you can either buy BTC, ETH or USDT with BEAM, or sell your BEAM in exchange for BTC, ETH or USDT.

Wallets for Beam

At the time of writing (February 2019), the only wallet that supports BEAM is the official one created by Beam.

You can download it from Beam's website.

What is Beam?

Beam was the first cryptocurrency to go live with the Mimblewimble protocol. It combines the ideals offered by the privacy protocol with the regulatory friendliness of opt-in auditability.

Privacy cryptocurrency

Anonymous cryptocurrencies facilitate private transactions by allowing you to move money without revealing who's sending or receiving it.

There are several privacy cryptocurrencies that use different systems to achieve this.

For example, Monero hides the identities of its users by mixing decoys into a transaction. Zcash conceals addresses and allows for optional shielding of transaction values.

In Beam's case, it doesn't even show the transaction amounts or the addresses of the sender or receiver. But where needed, it allows users to attach data to a transaction in order to create an audit trail for regulatory and compliance purposes.

Beam achieves anonymity with something called the Mimblewimble protocol. It's one of the only cryptocurrencies in existence to use this protocol.

Mimblewimble

Mimblewimble is a framework people can use to build privacy cryptocurrencies. It consists of several key elements, each of which grants a certain type of privacy. For example, one element hides transaction amounts and coin histories while another conceals wallet addresses.

These individual elements were separately designed for bitcoin originally, but Mimblewimble was the first to put them all together in a way that they could work together.

The result wasn't compatible with bitcoin though, which is why Beam was created from scratch.

Learn more about how Mimblewimble works.

What makes Beam different?

Two cryptocurrencies quickly emerged and started building on top of Mimblewimble. One of them is Beam, and the other is Grin.

One of the main differences between them is that Beam is a corporate venture with organised development, venture capital backers and commercial branding. By contrast, Grin is the work of mostly anonymous volunteer developers.

The technical foundations of Beam have many people regarding it as a promising competitor in the privacy coin space.

As the thinking goes, privacy is a highly desirable feature for digital currency in a quickly changing world. But at the same time, a completely anonymous digital currency is unlikely to receive a warm welcome from regulators. Beam, with its opt-in disclosure modes, is an effort to solve this.

What to watch out for

Buy/sell BEAM

Frequently asked questions

• Is it profitable to mine Beam?

  Beam uses the Equihash algorithm. These days it's only possible to profitably mine Equihash coins with purpose-built ASIC machines.

• Do I have to run a node to use a Beam wallet?

  Yes. The privacy elements of Beam mean you have to connect to a node in order to transact.

Disclosure: At the time of writing the author holds ETH.