This guide will teach you how to buy Bitcoin, where to buy Bitcoin and what to avoid when buying Bitcoin.
It is suitable for beginners and for more experienced investors looking for the best place to buy Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is the world’s largest cryptocurrency and it enjoyed a remarkable bull run in 2020 and 2021, so many people want to buy Bitcoin.
However, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin means it is not as simple as buying a fiat currency.
This guide will arm you with all the information you need about the best way to buy Bitcoin.
“Where can I buy Bitcoin?” is generally the first question most people ask when they want to get into the wonderful world of crypto investing. You actually have several sites as well as Bitcoin trader apps to choose from and they all have their different strengths and weaknesses. These are the key options for anyone that wants to buy Bitcoin online or Buying Bitcoin With A Credit Card:
This Estonia-based business allows you to buy Bitcoin quickly and easily with no hidden fees.
It is renowned for strong security and a user-friendly dashboard. You can hold Bitcoin in the exchange wallet and exchange it for a fiat currency at any point. Take a look at our in-depth Zeply review for more information on this reliable Bitcoin platform.
Zeply is amongst the easiest crypto exchanges to buy bitcoin from right now and are amongst our top recommendations.
This is the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume and traffic. It has high liquidity and low slippage, and it allows you to buy and sell more than 300 different cryptocurrencies. The site is rich with features, and it has built up a large ecosystem. Trading fees are reasonable, but Bitcoin withdrawals are expensive if you want to buy Bitcoin and transfer it to an external wallet.
This is a popular option among people searching terms like “how do I buy Bitcoin”, because it is extremely user friendly. The user interface is clear, uncluttered and perfect for beginners – and there’s even a Bitcoin app. It has a tight, narrow range of cryptocurrencies, but you can buy Bitcoin there. The withdrawal fees are also pretty reasonable and transactions are handled quickly, so you can buy Bitcoin and easily transfer it to a hard wallet at Coinbase.
This site is renowned for high levels of security, a user-friendly interface, high liquidity and strong levels of transparency. It is not as easy to use as Coinbase for beginners, and the site can be slow on certain occasions, while the customer service is a little sluggish, but that is true of almost every Bitcoin exchange. Kraken is also popular among people that buy Bitcoin in large volumes and sell Bitcoin in large volumes.
The Winklevoss twins, who shot to fame by helping to create Facebook and were played by Armie Hammer in The Social Network, launched Gemini in 2015. It is a secure site with professional service levels, helpful customer support and a simple interface. The fees are low and you can sometimes benefit from free withdrawals.
This site allows users to buy and trade stocks, commodities, currencies and cryptocurrencies. It is famous for allowing customers to copy traders and for online ads fronted by Alec Baldwin. It is suited to beginners due to the low minimum deposit, simple registration process and slick design, but it has high non-trading fees and withdrawals can be slow.
This popular digital asset exchange expanded its offering by accepting pound sterling, euros and Australian dollars in October 2020. It allows users to buy Bitcoin alongside a wide range of altcoins, it has deeper liquidity than many of its rivals and it offers plenty of advanced features, but it might not be the best option for beginners.
You can buy Bitcoin and around 20 altcoins at Bittrex, but customer support is patchy and accounts have been frozen in the past, while it is not as user-friendly as some of the sites mentioned above.
All of these sites accept GBP as a fiat currency, so they can all be used by UK investors wondering where to buy Bitcoin. They are all centralized exchanges, meaning they are owned by a particular company. Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency, meaning nobody controls it, and you can find decentralized exchanges if that appeals to you. Bisq, Curve and Atomex are all examples of decentralized exchanges that allow you to buy and sell Bitcoin.
Now you know where to buy Bitcoin, you have to work out which site appeals most to you. Many beginners choose Coinbase due to its simplicity, but Binance has more advanced features and deserves its status as the world’s leading place to purchase Bitcoin. Yet none of these sites are perfect, so you have to weigh up their relative strengths and weaknesses and choose the platform that appeals the most to you.
Once you have decided where to buy Bitcoin, you can now start to get your head around how to purchase Bitcoin. We have created this step-by-step Bitcoin how to buy guide to help you understand the process. This example teaches you how to buy Bitcoin at Coinbase, as it is the simplest site to use, but the process is pretty similar at the other exchanges mentioned above.
You now know how to buy Bitcoin and where to buy Bitcoin, but there are some general tips to bear in mind when you decide to take the plunge:
When you have managed to buy Bitcoin, you need to decide where to store it. You have a few key options at your disposal:
This is known as a hot wallet, as it is online and it can be targeted by hackers, phishing scam artists and so on. Many leading Bitcoin exchange sites have been hacked in the past. This is a convenient way to store your BTC, and perfect for day traders, but risky for long-term holdings.
Once again, this is a convenient way to store your Bitcoin, as you can simply log into your account from any device, send and receive crypto and manage your account. However, it is also highly risky, as it is online.
You can download wallets like Exodus for free, and they sit on your desktop. This is great if you sit at your desk all day, but less helpful if you want to use the wallet when out and about. You can link it to a mobile wallet, but this option is also risky, as your wallet becomes vulnerable when you go online.
This is also a convenient option, as you can easily manage your Bitcoin from your phone, but it is also at risk of hacking and it can be a bit of a nightmare if you lose your phone.
This is literally a piece of paper with your wallet keys written on it. In one sense, it is safe, because it is offline and cannot be hacked. However, someone could steal the paper, or it could be damaged by fire or water, or the ink could simply fade.
This is generally the safest option. It offers cold, offline storage, and it is a lot more durable than a paper wallet. The latest offerings from companies like Trezor and Ledger have PIN codes, touch screens and advanced authentication systems, and can be linked up to mobile apps. The main downside is that you have to pay for them, whereas most of the other options are free.
Once you figure out where to buy Bitcoin, how to buy Bitcoin and so on, you might wonder what you can do with it. Many people prefer to leave it sitting in their wallets, hoping that it goes up in value. In that regard, Bitcoin has been dubbed “digital gold”. People buy Bitcoin because they see it as an inflation hedge during times of quantitative easing, just like gold.
However, Bitcoin was initially designed to be a decentralized digital currency, and you can actually buy a huge range of goods and services with it. Hundreds of merchants across the world accept Bitcoin, so you can use it to buy food, beverages, cars, furniture, real estate, flights, hotel stays, gift cards, hardware, software, toiletries, commodities, stocks, jewellery and much more.
Bitcoin is arguably not the most efficient cryptocurrency – the likes of Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash are faster – but in general it is cheaper, quicker and safer to transfer Bitcoin than a fiat currency. For that reason, many people use it to pay friends and family, to fund accounts at online casinos and to purchase various digital assets.
It is imperative that you stick to safe, secure, reputable sites when buying crypto. Where to buy Bitcoin is the most important consideration for any investor. This article explains how to buy Bitcoin, but now you must make sure you find sites with reasonable fees, robust security measures and strong service. New and exciting sites will spring up in future, allowing you to buy Bitcoin with increased ease, speed and convenience, but you should always conduct thorough research into a new exchange before making a purchase. Then find the safest possible place to store your BTC and take all the necessary steps to protect your wallet.
Most people buy Bitcoin from a popular exchange with high liquidity, such as Binance, Coinbase or Kraken. You should always stick to secure, reputable exchanges that have a long history of paying their customers, and avoid any sites that have poor security records. To find out the best places to buy Bitcoin, check out our finance reviews here at TradersBest.
You must first register with a cryptocurrency exchange, verify your account and link up a payment method. You can then choose how much you would like to spend, check the fee you will be charged and confirm the transaction. You can also check out decentralized exchanges – be sure to take a look at our guides here at TradersBest.
You are by no means obliged to buy an entire Bitcoin, as they have grown pretty expensive over the past few years.
Exchanges allow you to buy a fraction of a Bitcoin. Just enter the amount you wish to spend in your fiat currency and it will tell you how much you can expect to receive in BTC. For more advice on buying Bitcoin and storing it on a Bitcoin wallet, be sure to consult our reviews here at TradersBest.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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