How to buy bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. A non-technical guide
In my previous posts, I broke down what Bitcoin is and how Bitcoin works. In this post I will explain how to buy your first bitcoin (or portion of one) and any other cryptocurrency. I know buying bitcoin might seem confusing, but hopefully this post will help demystify the process so you can try buying your own.
There are a few different ways to buy bitcoin, but for this post I’m going to focus on the easiest — centralized broker exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchanges are very similar to traditional fiat currency exchanges, but because bitcoin is purely a digital asset there isn’t a need for physical locations to exchange your money.
Criteria for choosing an exchange
There are dozens of cryptocurrency exchanges and, to be honest, in general they are all fairly similar. That said, there are three key aspects to consider when choosing which exchange to use. A. Determine whether the exchange is available to do business in your country. For a list of exchanges by country check out this site. B. If the exchange will accept your local currency for bitcoin. Some exchanges only accept the purchasing of cryptocurrencies using bitcoin or another cryptocurrency which isn’t ideal if you’re just starting out. C. Reputation of the exchange. Ask your friends, colleagues, or another source you trust for suggestions, to double check you’re using a reputable service. Most of the larger named exchanges should be reliable. Here in the US, some of the big names are Binance, Coinbase, itBit, Gemini and Poleiniex.
Once you choose an exchange sign up is free. Just keep in mind, depending on local laws, don’t be surprised if you need to provide a fair amount of personal info so they can verify your identity. This may include providing your social security number, bank information, driver’s license details, and more. This is part of adhering to local KYC (Know Your Customer) laws and it can take between a few minutes to a few days to be approved.
Once approved, it’s pretty simple. By using your bank, credit card, or paypal details you can purchase Bitcoin fairly quickly. That’s it!
If you end up investing quite a bit into bitcoin or other cryptos, you should definitely look at the exchange fees more carefully and getting a specialized crypto wallet to protect these digital assets. I can go into wallets further in a future post.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. And if you thought this post was helpful, please consider liking it or sharing it. Thank you!
