Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) is all the rage lately, so the best place to buy bitcoins is of course on many minds.
There are a lot of people out there searching for information on buying cryptocurrency safely and easily.
Don’t you hate missing the boat?
If you’re not invested in Bitcoin yet, then you’ve probably missed the boat for huge gains. The reason being that one coin is now so expensive that you would need a lot of money invested to reap large returns. But there is hope and other coins than just Bitcoin, but you can buy all, including Bitcoin. You don’t need to buy an entire Bitcoin in order to have Bitcoin in your digital wallet.
So how do you start acquiring these things?
You might want to read on to learn many things you probably don’t know about the exciting world of cryptocurrency buying and trading.
You might want to first learn what is cryptocurrency and then come back to this article to complete your knowledge, but read them in any order that you wish.
There are a selection of other cryptocurrencies, also known as digital coins, or tokens, that are available. They are worth less than Bitcoin, but also have appreciated amazingly. For example, in January 2017 you could have bought the Ethereum (ETH) coin for less than US$10 each. Now it’s been over US$300 and even over US$400 at times. I am STILL kicking myself for not getting into that one sooner. That coin alone could have made so much money just for being in early and being able to buy up a lot at a low price.
There are other alternate coins (known as altcoins) as well. You can simply read up on what their claim to fame is.
With Bitcoin, it’s just an alternate cryptographic digital currency aimed at being an alternative to fiat paper money that is controlled by governments and banks. It is limited and hard to create new one, and there is a hard limit, so it simulates the rarity of a commodity like gold. Think of it as “digital gold”. With some, it’s added privacy and security features (Monero), with others, like Ethereum, it’s using the ETH blockchain for smart contracts. They are saying that this is a technology that will replace lawyers as middlemen. The terms of the contract are coded into the system and it can’t be altered or corrupted, and it’s self-enforcing using trigger events, so it’s completely transparent and fair. Software companies are already using it for their projects and doing pilots with it, so ETH is rising fast. Some are saying that ETH could surpass Bitcoin for value. Of course, you can speculate on the currency token and make money the same way that you can with Bitcoin or any other crypto currency token. Buy low, hold, or sell high.
Many large corporations are doing blockchain trials and using these features to save money when moving money around internationally, and the blockchain smart contract features are really starting to take hold in many pilot projects.
Banks are looking to use the Ripple (XRP) altcoin technology to move money around faster and cheaper than the current SWIFT system that banks use.
Blockchain is the public digital ledger that these things use to record ALL transactions for the currency in question. Every cryptocurrency has its own blockchain that it uses to record this data. This is not just a lot of people thinking this is a cool thing to invest in.
There are real business cases driving prices of many of these coins upward.
Getting Started with the Best Place to Buy Bitcoins
You need a digital wallet to store your cryptocurrencies, and also a way to get your local regular currency converted when you buy a cryptocurrency.
Fiat currency is regular money issued by a government.
To use fiat currency to buy cryptocurrency, you have to have an account with an exchange that supports money transfers from regular banks to your account during the BUY operation.
Not every exchange supports every cryptocurrency. That being said, sometimes it’s good to be boring.
The Best Place to Buy Bitcoins Might Look Boring to Some
Cryptocurrency Exchanges (and online wallet services)
For example, one of the most popular exchanges (which is also a wallet – not every exchange is a wallet or can exchange traditional money for cryptocurrencies) and the best place to buy bitcoins for many, is Coinbase, which lets you buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. Others, like Kraken, allow you to buy and hold many additional altcoins. (but currently, their wait to be verified is slow bordering on “why bother doing business as an exchange?”) The ones that deal with regular national currencies like US Dollars, require lengthy verification processes like uploading ID documents to prove that you are who you say you are, before you can send these national fiat currencies to them for cryptocurrency purchases.
Coinbase’s online verification is actually pretty quick IF you do it the right way. For example, after uploading all of your ID, they want a selfie. The selfie needs to be you HOLDING your ID that you submitted.
CEX.IO will let you fund your account from credit cards or bank transfers, which can be very handy for many people who need this sort of account funding option.
Bittrex was founded by computer security professionals and they take that very seriously.
Other exchanges, like Poloniex, let you buy and sell cryptocurrencies, but you can only fund your account with them from existing cryptocurrency holdings. In that case, you would have to send from one crypto account to the exchange where you want to buy and sell, since you can’t directly buy the cryptocurrencies there by using regular money. You can also use cryptocurrency conversion services to exchange one cryptocurrency for another at current market rates.
If you just want to deal in Bitcoin, there is also LakeBTC exchange, which is pretty secure and also requires account verification for fiat currency deposits.
Uphold is another exchange that comes recommended by friends in the know, and the various currencies are represented by cards in the user dashboard.
While Coinbase has its critics, and there are accusations out there about some accounts in some US states where trading has been halted being frozen, I find that it is still one of the easiest ways to get regular money into the crypto market via credit card and ACH transfer. You can still send from Coinbase to elsewhere to move your assets around. CEXIO is also an option here if you need fast credit card or bank account funding.
Cryptocurrency Conversion Services
There’s even a service, called Shapeshift, that doesn’t require an account that lets you input one type of cryptocurrency and then will send the value equal amount of cryptocurrency to a digital wallet address of your choice. This is helpful if you can only buy and hold certain types of coins on one platform but have an account on another platform where more types of currencies can be held. You initiate a “buy” by sending the desired amount from your digital wallet address there to the conversion service and you also provide the destination wallet with the coin type output. The source and destination wallet addresses MUST be of the coin type that you are sending and receiving.
Shapeshift went down recently and took some flack for that. They say no one’s money was lost in the outage.
A newer cryptocurrency conversion or transfer service is out there competing favorably with Shapeshift, and that one is called Changelly. They charge a reasonable .5% fee.
Changelly:
- Exchange Bitcoin into any other supported cryptocurrency.
- Exchange fees are only 0.5%.
- Supports USD Tether (USDT).
- Buy Bitcoin using a credit/debit card.
- Create a user’s account so that you can track your past exchanges.
Wallets
While these above exchanges will gladly act as your online crypto wallet, and some offer cold storage for further safety, some people just don’t want to trust the big exchanges with their money, since there are stories of some users being locked out of their accounts for various reasons, like ceasing to do business in a jurisdiction, for example.
You can always transfer the crypto from the best place to buy bitcoins into your personal hardware wallet.
Well, yes, there are hardware wallets that can reside on your phone or computer hard drive. Of course, read the instructions and how to back up your keys so that if you ever have an issue you can restore your wallet and not lose your currency, Bitcoins, Ether, whatever.
A hardware wallet that comes recommended is Exodus.
Whatever you do, stay away from JAXX hardware wallet for now. A vulnerability was discovered that supposedly caused users to lose a combined US$400k, although the JAXX team disputes that it was due to the exploit. Either way, why take a chance?
Another novel idea is a hybrid online wallet service that only stores keys that are encrypted on the user’s computer BEFORE being uploaded to the service’s servers. This protects against a user deleting their own keys, hackers hacking a wallet site, rogue employees, etc. Brilliant!! Try it out!
Confused yet?
The best way to get started is to use one of the main currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum (Ether), or Litecoin, and then you can always open an account on a competing exchange (or exchanges) that deals with the other coins and send assets from Coinbase to there. That is how many people do it. (see the conversion transfer services above)
When you think about it, doesn’t it make sense to spread your holdings around so that you are not dead in the water if one major exchange goes down, gets hacked, or otherwise causes your account to get frozen? I’m just saying that these things happen. Protect yourself through spreading it around.
The end result here is that you should not only have your savings in regular fiat currencies, but also in the new and exciting world of cryptocurrencies.
Don’t have the money to invest?
Get a second job, or start in the world of affiliate marketing, where you build an email list and market various products, services, and businesses to other online opportunity seekers.
Set up a system that can create a self-running money machine. Think it’s impossible? People are doing just that.
Sell some unwanted goods on Ebay to get started with your initial crypto fund.
Have a garage sale!
What I’m trying to say is that money is out there if you get motivated.
You can roll some of your profits from online business ventures back into buying stakes in the various cryptocurrencies.
Some of these altcoins (coins worth less per coin than Bitcoin) are forecast to reach very high values in the coming years, so while you may have missed the huge investment compounding that early Bitcoin investors saw, you might be able to repeat that history with some of the alt coins.
They are cheaper and you can build nice positions in several of them for a fraction of Bitcoin or fiat currency, and if you hit a real compounding winner, you can see thousands of percent gains.
Of course, you can see losses too, so do your research.
The overall crypto trend is up, however, and many of these currencies have novel use cases that make them very attractive to various segments, and when they rise in value, they have that investment potential as well.
The beauty here is that all you have to do is open an account with an exchange like Coinbase, and get all verified with your bank and credit/debit card, and then when you have some periodic disposable income it’s easy to buy small positions in something. You don’t have to buy a whole unit of these coins. You can buy fractional amounts equaling the amount of fiat that you are investing at any one time.
The trend is up and honestly it’s one of the best ways today to build real wealth. (if you are smart about it and not skittish)
Even if there is a correction and it goes lower from where you bought it at, just hold it, because the trend has been steadily up for a long time.
Whichever is your best place to buy bitcoins, just buy whatever you can afford over time, but do it regularly to build a portfolio.
Bitcoin and some of the others have already created a new generation of millionaires who got in early and bought many when the price was low, only to see the values skyrocket, along with their net worth. Once you find the best place to buy bitcoins for you, you’re set to get started.
The rush is not over yet, not by a long shot and some of the forecasts for these digital currencies are predicting amazing gains in the coming years.
Of course don’t bet the rent or other necessary funds, but you would do well to diversify into this area.
Remember that long term buy and hold people will almost always benefit over the long haul, while daily speculators can lose a lot if they aren’t careful.
This is nothing new, and very familiar to those who know the stock trading sector.
Above I explained how to get into an exchange, some differences between various types of exchanges, and I showed the best place to buy bitcoins for most people.
These two specific questions get asked a lot:
How to Buy Bitcoins with Credit Card?
How to Buy Bitcoins with Debit Card?
Well, they’re actually one and the same.
When you create your account with Coinbase, or another exchange that offers fiat currency funding, (see above) you get verified with your identity credentials and then you put your credit card or debit card into the system for verification.
Coinbase and CEXIO are known credit/debit card funding options. (see above) If you need this funding option, then these can easily be the best place to buy bitcoins for you.
Once verified, you can easily buy bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency offered by the exchange with your credit or debit card. The benefit here is that it’s instant. Bank transfers have less fees, but they can take 4-5 days to get the money from bank to exchange. Of course your buy price is cemented at the time you bought, but there is a wait to actually get the bitcoins or altcoins into your online wallet. With credit or debit card it’s instant, but there is usually a 3%-5% fee involved.
Conclusion?
I don’t like ending articles abruptly without a closing statement.
So, here’s mine.
Get into the crypto game, and even if you can’t buy lots of Bitcoins, you can get verified and get lower cost currencies and get your feet wet that way. Once you know the ins and outs of buying in one place and sending digital assets somewhere else where you can buy other altcoins, then you can buy cheaper ones that you think will rise exponentially in the future and hopefully make you a lot of money in the long run.
The best place to buy bitcoins is merely the one that you discover is the easiest and safest place that offers the convenience that YOU need.
Think of this also as an investment in up and coming “paradigm shift” technology (especially in the case of Ethereum’s Ether for smart contracts) so really this is not just pure “currency speculation” as many wrongly believe.
