Feathercoin has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a branch of Litecoin. Launched in 2013, Feathercoin manages to set itself apart with its use of NeoScrypt. Bitcoin uses NeoScrypt, which is a quicker and simpler algorithm. This makes Feathercoin an easier to use altcoin. That is just one feature that recommends Feathercoin. If you’re interested in starting with other altcoins like this one, then better begin by getting a Feathercoin wallet and getting a few Feathercoins.
Starting step
A Feathercoin wallet should be easy enough to get. Right now, the community has not developed an alternative to the base wallet, which is part of the Feathercoin client. The Feathercoin client is located in the Feathercoin website. The Feathercoin wallet installer is pretty easy to figure out. Just download it and run the installer to get started. The client/wallet is available for several operating systems. There is the default Windows installer, but there is also a version for Mac, Linux, and Android. If you are tech-savvy, you can even download the source code and check out exactly how it all works!
Now that you’ve got the Feathercoin wallet installed, the next step is to get it to work. The Feathercoin wallet will download the blockchain to your computer on the first run. This may take a long time since the blockchain is a record of all the transactions that have occurred on the network since the cryptocurrency was released. The network would not be able to work without the blockchain’s presence. Furthermore, every time that the wallet is opened, the blockchain will update itself.
Once the wallet has downloaded the blockchain, then it will be ready for use. Got to the “Receive Coins” tab to see the specific wallet address you will use to receive Feathercoins.
Taking it further
Once you’ve set-up your wallet, you’ll need to secure it. Fortunately, the wallet has its own encryption. To activate it, you will need to go to the “Settings” tab and click on the “Encrypt Wallet” button. The program will then ask you for a passphrase composed of 10 or more characters or eight or more words. Remember this passphrase since it will be impossible to open your Feathercoin wallet without it.
After securing your wallet, you will need to add Feathercoins to your wallet. The easiest way to do this right now is to buy from exchanges. Several exchanges trade in Feathercoin and can be trusted to deliver. Bitcoin exchange sites like Bittylicious, Local Bitcoins, and BTC-e are the notable places one can go to get your first Feathercoins.
