Best Places to Buy Bitcoin

If you’re new to the world of crypto and are wondering where’s the best place to buy Bitcoin, this guide has everything to help you get started on the right foot. You’ll also learn how to store your Bitcoin safely.

Buying BTC requires just a few steps.

1. Choose an Exchange
2. Sign-up and verify your account
3. Pay for Bitcoin
4. Store Bitcoin - Keep it on an exchange or transfer it to a crypto wallet.

You can buy Bitcoin online through a crypto exchange. But with so many exchanges, it can be difficult to pick the right one. We’ve rounded up the top three best exchanges to buy Bitcoin:

• Kraken
• Binance
• Coinbase
• Gemini
• Uphold

Kraken

Kraken is one of the most established crypto exchanges on the market. To buy Bitcoin on Kraken, create an account and connect a funding method. With as little as $10, you can buy Bitcoin and store it in a digital wallet.

Read our full Kraken review.

Binance

Binance lets you buy Bitcoin through its website or app. The signup process is seamless, meaning you can purchase your digital assets in minutes. You can buy Bitcoin using a credit or debit card, bank deposit, or P2P trading. You also can store your BTC in your personal crypto wallet or hold it in your Binance account.

Read our full Binance review.

Coinbase

Coinbase makes it simple to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin. Once you have an approved Coinbase account, you can fund it and purchase however much Bitcoin you wish. The intuitive interface makes it easy for beginners to invest in digital assets.

Read our full Coinbase review.

Gemini

Gemini offers an easy-to-use (basic) trading interface and Active Trader interface, which offers lower fees. To buy Bitcoin on Gemini, create an account and connect to your bank or PayPal account. With a low minimum order of just 0.00001 BTC, you can start buying Bitcoin on Gemini.

Read our full Gemini review.

Uphold

Uphold makes Bitcoin buys a breeze with the option to repeat your purchase daily, weekly, or monthly automatically. To buy Bitcoin on Uphold, create an account and add your bank account or debit card. You can start buying BTC with no minimum trading amount.

Read our full Uphold review.

If you want to buy Bitcoin, there are several ways to own the most popular digital asset. Here are five common ways to buy Bitcoin and the benefits of using each.

• Credit Cards: It’s possible to buy Bitcoin using a credit card as long as your credit card issuer and crypto exchange allows it. This means you can buy crypto even when you don’t have cash. However, transaction fees can be very expensive because it is often considered a cash advance.
• Debit Cards: Like credit cards, you can buy Bitcoin with a debit card. As long as your card has sufficient cash, you can link it to your crypto exchange, and you’re good to go. Transaction fees for debit cards are lower than for credit cards.
• ACH: If you’ve ever used your bank account to pay a bill online, you’ve used ACH (Automated Clearing House). You can use this same online banking system to buy Bitcoin. This option is perfect for you if you plan to purchase crypto in large quantities. One downside of using ACH is that banks may limit the amount you can send or the number of transactions you can make each month.
• PayPal: You can buy Bitcoin through PayPal’s website or app. Provided that you have a PayPal account, you can purchase digital assets on the go.
• Bitcoin ATMs: Another option is a Bitcoin ATM. A Bitcoin ATM allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using cash or a debit card. However, you may need a Bitcoin wallet to make a transaction. In addition, transaction fees can be high.

• How to Buy Bitcoin with a Credit Card

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  Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to buy Bitcoin with a credit card on Kraken.

  Step 1: Log in to your Kraken account and select Bitcoin.

  

  Step 2: Enter the amount you wish to spend and pay with your credit card.

  

• How to Buy Bitcoin With a Debit Card

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  Here are the steps to buy Bitcoin with a debit card on Binance.

  Step 1: Log in to your Binance account and go to "Buy Crypto", and choose credit/debit card.

  

  Step 2: Enter your debit card information and click “pay now.”

  

• How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal

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  You can buy Bitcoin directly through the PayPal website or app. You can also use PayPal to fund your crypto exchange account. Here’s how to buy Bitcoin with PayPal on Coinbase.

  Step 1: Log in to your Coinbase account.

  

  Step 2: Add a payment method to link PayPal to your account.

  

  Step 3: Enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to buy and then pay.

  

Bitcoin is a highly volatile digital asset, so knowing the right time to buy can be difficult. As investors like to say: “buy low, sell high." Looking at past market cycles may give you an idea of future market expectations.

The growth of Bitcoin adoption started way back in 2009 when its price was barely above zero. In February 2011, Bitcoin’s price hit $1 for the first time. Two years later, the price surged to $1,100, and in 2017, the price soared to nearly $20,000. Since then, Bitcoin has continued to move toward mainstream adoption, and in November 2021, it reached an all-time high of $68,500. But Bitcoin's price has fallen amid the inflation of 2022, to below $16,000.

As you can see, the price can vary wildly. It's important to pay attention not only to the market for Bitcoin, but also to the markets overall.

• Consider Dollar-Cost Averaging

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  Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is an investing strategy where you invest a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals, such as daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly. The strategy is ideal for investors who succumb to emotions such as "fear of missing out" (FOMO). Dollar-cost averaging with Bitcoin has several notable benefits:

  • Lowers investment risk
  • Prevents market timing
  • Helps take emotion out of investing

  As with any investment strategy, DCA has downsides too:

  • High transaction costs due to regular investing
  • Low expected returns because you’re holding onto money as cash for longer

The same way you keep your cash or credit cards in a physical wallet, you can store Bitcoin in a digital wallet. A digital wallet can either be "cold" or "hot." Read on to find out which one is the safest to store BTC.

• Hot Wallets

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  A hot wallet is a virtual cryptocurrency wallet held online that allows you to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. You can access a hot wallet on devices such as phones, tablets, and computers, provided there’s an internet connection.

  While hot wallet wallets allow you to access your digital assets anywhere, they’re vulnerable to malware attacks. For this reason, hot wallets are ideal for storing small amounts of digital assets. Here are the top three hot storage wallets:

  • Exodus
  • Mycelium
  • MetaMask

  Pros

  • Ease of use
  • Instant access
  • Low cost

  Cons

  • Limited storage
  • Prone to malware attacks

• Cold Storage Wallets

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  In contrast to hot wallets, cold storage wallets are not connected to the internet. Instead, digital assets are kept in a hardware device, adding an extra security layer from potential attacks. Here are the top three cold storage wallets:

  • Trezor Model T
  • Ledger Nano X
  • Ellipal Titan

  Pros

  • Portable
  • Less vulnerable to online attacks
  • Easy to recover crypto assets

  Cons

  • Expensive
  • Transfers between cold storage devices can be cumbersome

You can buy Bitcoin through crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken or cash apps like PayPal and Venmo. To buy the digital asset on an exchange, you must register and fund your account. Keep in mind that the transaction fees and trade minimums vary by exchange. Once you’ve purchased your Bitcoin, ensure you store it in a digital wallet to safeguard your private key.

• How do I purchase Bitcoin?

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  You can buy Bitcoin through a crypto exchange, traditional broker, Bitcoin ATM, or financial apps like PayPal and Venmo. Depending on your method, you may need to sign up and fund your account to purchase Bitcoin.

• How do beginners buy Bitcoin?

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  To buy Bitcoin, you need to pick a crypto exchange where buyers and sellers meet to exchange tokens. As a beginner, you want to opt for an exchange that’s easy to use, has low fees, and offers a high level of security.

• What is the best place to buy Bitcoin?

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  There are several places to buy Bitcoin, and the term “best” may vary by investor. Ideally, a good crypto exchange or app makes buying and selling cryptocurrencies easy and has low fees and strong security.

• How much should I expect to pay to purchase Bitcoin?

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  Transaction fees for Bitcoin vary based on the crypto exchange or financial app you use. Two primary factors determine Bitcoin transaction fees: data volume and the speed at which you want the transaction completed. On average, you can expect to pay  $0.0957 in Bitcoin transaction fees.

• How do you buy Bitcoin anonymously?

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  One of the easiest and most convenient ways to buy Bitcoin anonymously is using a Bitcoin ATM. With a Bitcoin ATM, you don’t need to undergo a verification process, and you can buy crypto in cash. The ATM will generate a paper wallet with a private key that you can use to send your purchased Bitcoins to wherever you want.