Siacoin (SC) for starters: Learn how to buy SC, how it works and more.
Sia (pronounced: saia) is a decentralized cloud-storage platform working on blockchain technology. Sia was developed by the Boston-based company Nebulous, Inc.
The developers of the Sia platform believe that cloud storage should be decentralized and that no entity should censor or deny access to cloud data. With that in mind, they created the Sia platform with the goal to run the storage marketplace without an intermediary by connecting hosts and renters worldwide. Siacoin (SC) is the cryptocurrency of the Sia network. It is used to pay for renting and hosting cloud storage on the Sia network.
If you’re curious about where you can buy SC, how it works and what you should bear in mind before buying it, read on.
Where can I buy Siacoin (SC) in the US?
You can buy Siacoin tokens at several exchanges using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH).
The following are some of the exchanges that list SC:
A step-by-step guide to buying Siacoin (SC)
If you’ve decided to buy SC, here’s an example of what you could do.
Step 1. Create an account at an exchange that offers SC
If you compared all exchanges that list SC, you can create an account at the one that best suits your needs. Keep in mind that at some exchanges, you will have to verify your identity in order to deposit funds and trade. You might also want to bear in mind that most crypto exchanges listing SC don’t accept deposits of fiat currency like US dollars.
Step 2. Deposit funds into your account
If you opened an account that doesn’t accept fiat currency deposits, you would first need to buy cryptocurrency that is pairable with SC (such as BTC) from another exchange that supports fiat deposits. If you don’t have BTC, you can follow our guide on how to purchase BTC.
After this, you would transfer your BTC bought with fiat currency to the exchange that lists SC. Your account on an exchange should have its own wallet and a unique wallet address, which is frequently found in the “Wallet” tab on dashboards. When you opt to transfer your BTC out from one exchange, you should be prompted to enter the amount you wish to transfer as well as the wallet address of the exchange where you wish to receive BTC.
Enter your wallet address carefully, as sending your BTC to the wrong wallet could be irreversible. After ensuring your wallet address and the amount to send are both correct, you would hit the “Send” button.
Step 3. Buying SC
Typically, you would buy SC at any exchange that offers it by first clicking on a button that says “Exchange” or “Markets”. Next you would search for the pairing. For example, you would search for the SC/BTC pair if you wanted to buy SC with BTC. After that, you would select this pairing and enter the number of SC tokens you want to buy before hitting the “Buy” button.
How can I sell Siacoin (SC)?
You could sell SC tokens on the exchange where you bought them. The process is similar to buying outlined in step 3, except this time you would reverse the pairing order. For example, if you were selling SC in return for BTC, you would select a “BTC/SC” pairing. You would then enter the number of SC tokens you want to sell and hit the button to sell in the “Sell” tab.
Which wallets can I use to store Siacoin (SC)?
To store Siacoin, you can download the official Sia client and use the digital wallet included. Once you’ve launched the Sia client, you will be guided through a process to connect to the network and will also receive a unique address for Sia wallet.
Siacoin has two types of core software that includes wallets:
- Sia UI. An option with a Graphic User Interface (GUI) for less technical users who prefer this interface over a command line. It is also available on Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Sia Daemon. This option is offered on GitHub and used with the user’s preferred Command Line Interface (CLI).
Find out more about cryptocurrency wallets in our ultimate guide.
What is Siacoin (SC) used for?
The founders of SC and the Sia platform aim to create a reliable and affordable storage marketplace. Also, the Sia platform encrypts every file and distributes it across the network to increase security and to have continuous uptime in case one of the storage providers fails. The renter has the encryption key, and no one else has access to their files.
As the cryptocurrency of the Sia network, SC is used to pay for renting and hosting cloud storage on the Sia network. SC’s hashing algorithm is BLAKE2b, and you can mine it with a graphics card.
As the hosting services offered by the Sia network are intended to be affordable, the developers of the Sia network enable users to pay in micropayments that are less than 1 SC. A Hasting is the smallest unit of SC and equals 10-24 SC.
How does Siacoin (SC) cloud storage work?
In the Sia network, hosts (or farmers) are the ones who store data. Hosts have to be reliable with 95%-98% uptime, and only a few hours of downtime a month are allowed. Sia incentivizes hosts by paying them not to leave, but the hosts also have to put up some of their SC tokens as collateral so they don’t break the contract.
Hosts prove legitimacy by burning Siacoin tokens. This means that they have to burn up to 2.5% of their own revenue to demonstrate their legitimacy. The goal of this measure is to prevent abuse by someone who wants to forge multiple hosts (burning tokens makes forging unfeasible).
Learn more about Siacoin and the Sia network in our introductory guide.
What to consider if buying Siacoin (SC)
If you are wondering whether to buy Siacoin or any other cryptocurrency, make sure you understand the risks involved. Here are some points to take into consideration:
- Supply. According to CoinMarketCap, the circulating supply of SC at the time of writing (March 2018) was 32,832,383,999 tokens with no fixed supply. However, a number of SC tokens are constantly burned by hosts to prove legitimacy.
- White paper. To find out more about the intent of SC’s founders and the Sia platform, you can read their white paper.
- Siacoin use. If you’re interested in accessing services offered by the Sia platform, you will need to purchase Siacoin tokens first.
- Availability. You can buy Siacoin tokens on several exchanges as listed above.
- Industry’s potential for growth and its unpredictability. The team behind Sia believes it can compete with the large cloud-storage providers like Amazon and AT&T by providing lower prices and data encryption. Yet despite speculation about the exponential growth of the cloud-storage market by sources such as Business Wire, note that given the volatility of cryptocurrency and related industries, potential and past performance is not an indicator of actual performance.
- Market competition. Other companies that provide blockchain-based cloud storage are Minebox, Filecoin and Storj.
