How to buy Bitcoin

Bitcoin has over the years gained popularity as both an investing and trading currency. In order to mine Bitcoin, a person requires a processing farm which is not available to the common computer user so if you would like to venture into Bitcoin mining or buying for investment purposes one first needs a Bitcoin wallet.

Most countries allow people to trade in Bitcoin and have the resources in place to allow the public to buy Bitcoin through different means like credit cards and debit cards or e-wallets such as Paypal or Neteller.

The next step to buying Bitcoin is to find an exchange or broker that you can use to buy and sell Bitcoin. The difference between an exchange and a broker is that the broker will save you the trouble, if you do not have experience with trading, to buy Bitcoins from an exchange. The broker will charge a small fee on top of the Bitcoin market price.

Bitcoin Exchanges or brokers

First of all, you will need to register with one of the bitcoin exchanges or broker's website. After you have registered you can start buying straight away.

You will then need to go to the tab that asks whether you would like to buy Bitcoin or sell. If you are new you will need to buy. You choose the trader that you would like to use and what method you would like to pay. Around the world, there are different systems allowed by the certain governments but you can use cash, credit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, and BTM which are Bitcoin ATM's. Not all countries have these available.

Europe accepts most payment methods and will allow you to buy directly using your bank account. This is like paying for any other commodity where you will need to state the normal details like swift and IBAN numbers. You do need to pay attention to the currency stipulation which in Europe will be the Euro. So even if you are buying from a country that does not trade in Euro you will need to stipulate to your bank that the currency transfer is in Euro which most banks have the facility for.

This type of payment does have a verification process, therefore, you will need to make sure that your proper names and details are used.

Recommended brokers

For a list of Bitcoin exchanges see our Bitcoin exchange list where you can find at which exchange you can buy Bitcoin at what fiat currency.

Buying using Debit or Credit Card

The first thing you need to check is if your card supports "3D Secure". If it does not then it will not be accepted because that is used as part of the verification process. The way to check if it is 3D Secure is to put in the details when you sign up with the trade and if it does not comply you will receive an error report or you can ask your Bank.

Once you have confirmed that you can purchase the Bitcoin and each trader has a different type of user interface but it will ask once your credit or debit card has been verified how many Bitcoin you would like to purchase. At this stage make sure that you do not exceed the maximum limit that is stipulated by the trader. This will vary from trader to trader but it is important to remain below the maximum wallet allowance.

The difference between exchanges could be their specific charges. most of them will not charge any fees when you deposit money but once you start trading in Bitcoin they could charge a certain percentage. For bank transfers, the charges are normally less than when you use a credit or debit card but these do vary. The one criteria you need to establish if you are using bank transfers how long it would be before the transfer is through.