Where to buy bitcoin today is much simpler than at the beginning of that market. For a long time, it was difficult to find reliable, safe and easy to use brokers. Nowadays, buying Bitcoin has become very easy, especially thanks to online brokers. The Bitcoin is the first and most popular cryptocurrency and attracting more and more interest from users and investors.
In this guide, we explain how to buy bitcoin step by step, including how to choose the best platform, how to choose your Bitcoin wallet, store your BTC tokens and how to sell them.
Where to buy Bitcoin?
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Choosing a broker like eToro to buy physical Bitcoin or CFDs
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Create an account on the broker’s platform
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Deposit funds to the account
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Select Bitcoin and Buy
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Specify Stop Loss, Leverage and Take Profit to open a Bitcoin trading position
Buying Bitcoin: the detailed steps
Buying Bitcoins has never been easier. There are indeed different ways to acquire crypto-currencies, and the offer has become very rich and varied.
However, it has also become more difficult for a novice to find the most relevant and safe offers for where to buy Bitcoin.
There are a few steps you need to take to complete your first bitcoin purchase, but if you’re ready and willing to take them, we’ll quickly teach you how to buy Bitcoin.
In this article, we will indeed describe in detail the best ways to buy bitcoin. After reading this you will know exactly what to do to buy your first bitcoins and how to choose the best online broker.
1.1 Choose a platform to buy Bitcoin
To buy Bitcoin easily, you must choose an online platform where to buy Bitcoins. There are a number of online Bitcoin platforms, some of which offer certain benefits.
eToro: Buy BTC physically or trade Bitcoins CFDs
eToro offers the ability to buy cheap Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin Cash.
With eToro, it is possible to buy Bitcoin securely from an online broker whose reputation is well established. Several payment methods are offered and you can buy Bitcoin with Paypal, CB, Neteller, Skrill and more. The platform is very easy to use.
The broker eToro offers the possibility of buying BTC tokens physically or trading Bitcoin in CFDs (contract for difference) with leverage.
eToro also offers CopyTrader technology which allows beginners to invest in bitcoin by copying the best investors.
Benefits
- Easy to use and interactive platform
- Low fees
- Possibility to trade Bitcoin CFD or buy Bitcoin physically
Disadvantages
- Inability to buy Bitcoin with Paysafecard for those who use this service
Coinbase: Ideal for beginners in the Bitcoin
Coinbase is one of the biggest and most popular platforms to buy Bitcoin in the United States. It also operates in several European countries, including France.
Its platform is appreciated for its user-friendliness and also offers a mobile trading application. It is secure and accepts wire transfers, credit/debit cards, PayPal and other payment methods.
Benefits
- Well established platform
- User-friendly interface
Disadvantages
- High fees
- Not available in many regions of the world
Libertex: A broker to trade Bitcoin
Libertex is an online Forex and CFD broker. It is one of the brokers with the most experienced in the industry as it is a subsidiary of The Forex Club Group which was founded in 1997. The broker was nevertheless launched in 2015.
The broker offers to invest in Bitcoin, as well as other crypto-currencies, in particular via CFDs.
Benefits
- Old and solid online broker
- Relatively low fees
- Trading BTC CFDs with Leverage
Disadvantages
- Low deployment in France
- No possibility to buy bitcoin tokens physically
1.2 Open a Bitcoin account
Go here to register on the eToro site and open a bitcoin account.
Once on the registration page, all you have to do is fill in the personal information fields, including last name, first name, email and telephone number. You must also choose a username and password.
###1.3 Deposit funds
Once registered, you will be redirected to the eToro platform.
To deposit funds and fund the account to be able to buy bitcoin, just click on the “Deposit funds” button at the bottom left of the screen.
Then, you must enter the amount you want to credit and the currency. Finally, you must select the desired payment method and related information.
Click on “Submit” to complete the transaction.
1.4 Buy bitcoin
To buy bitcoins from eToro, it’s extremely easy. You must first click on “Markets” in the left menu of the platform.
Then, you must click on “Crypto” in the top menu.
All the crypto-currencies available on the site are listed, including bitcoin.
To buy bitcoins, just click on “Buy” below the cryptocurrency.
Then follows the menu to open the buy position.
Here you must enter the number of bitcoins to buy, or change the unit to choose the number of bitcoins to buy.
Finally, you must click on “Open position” to start your first purchase of bitcoins.
1.5 Create a bitcoin wallet
Before buying bitcoin, you need to have a place to store it.
A wallet is where one can store bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies after purchasing them. You can compare a portfolio with a bank account. In the same way, as we store traditional currencies (EUR, USD, GBP …) in a bank account, we store bitcoins purchased in a bitcoin wallet.
There are many options.
1.eToro: the best choice for securing your bitcoins
One of the best choices for storing bitcoins is probably eToro wallet, the wallet of online broker eToro.
eToro is one of the world’s best-known CFD and Forex online brokers with a proven track record of reliability and seriousness. The broker has been around since 2007 and has grown into a major player in online trading and places to buy bitcoin.
Subsequently, the broker decided in 2018 to launch its eToro X electronic wallet, which was very quickly and widely adopted by its thousands of customers.
eToro X is particularly appreciated for its security and ease of use.
Thus, eToro has become one of the best sites to buy bitcoin, but also to store it.
2. Coinbase Wallet: ideal for beginners
Another option to store after buying bitcoin is the Coinbase Wallet.
Coinbase, which is also a crypto-currency exchange, is a player specializing in crypto-currencies, one of the first to offer bitcoin purchase and storage services.
Coinbase Wallet is innovative but suffers from limited possibilities in terms of crypto-currencies to store.
3. Ledger Nano: physical BTC wallet
Ledger Nano is a physical device, like a USB stick.
It is a device for storing crypto-currencies offline, with optimal security.
The flip side is more complex use, and if the device is lost, there is no way to get your cryptocurrency back.
1.6 Keep your bitcoins
After learning where and how to buy bitcoin safely and easily, it’s time to learn how to store it in your e-wallet.
1. eToro x
To keep your bitcoins in eToro X, you must first download the application which is available on Android and iOS.
eToro X is automatically linked to the account opened at eToro. In order to use eToro X, your profile must be verified.
It is, therefore, possible to deposit bitcoins purchased on eToro, but also to convert cryptocurrencies between them and transfer them via the application.
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To start, just press the “+” at the top right of the screen.
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Then just select the bitcoin by pressing “Add”. A green tick then appears.
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Going back will give you access to your bitcoin wallet. Click on it to manage it.
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To deposit your bitcoins, you must click on “Receive” or by displaying your public address just below to send your bitcoins.
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To deposit bitcoins purchased on the eToro platform, just follow the following steps.
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Click on the “Portfolio” tab of your account.
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Click on the asset you want to transfer. This will show you all of your open trades for that asset.
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Click on the specific position you want to transfer. You can also follow these steps on your mobile device.
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On the “Change Position” screen that appears, click “Transfer to Wallet” to review the details of the transfer.
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Click “Upload” to start the process, which takes 1 to 3 days. You should receive a notification to confirm that your request has been submitted.
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Your bitcoins will then be processed in your eToro X account.
2. Coinbase Wallet
At Coinbase, to create your address and store your bitcoins you must:
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Go to “Tools”, then “Address” then select BTC Wallet and click on “+ Create a new address”.
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Then your new address appears
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After purchasing bitcoin, you can store it in a safe
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Create a safe by clicking on “Create your safe”
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Name your safe and click on next
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Then choose the withdrawal and security mode for your safe: “Individual” requiring two e-mail addresses from the same person, and “Group” requiring the approval of several people to withdraw their bitcoins.
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By choosing Individual, you will then need to add a secondary verification email address, different from the primary address.
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A confirmation email will then be sent to the secondary address, which you will need to click.
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After you have verified that all the settings for your safe are correct, you can click on “Continue to safe”.
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In your new safe, click on “Deposit” to store your bitcoin
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Indicate the amount of bitcoin to store, then click “Continue”
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Your bitcoins are now stored in your Coinbase safe
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Click on “Bitcoin Address” if you want to retrieve the address and QR-code of your safe
3. Ledger Nano
To store your bitcoins on the Ledger Nano device you must follow these steps:
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You will first need to download the Ledger Live mobile application.
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Open the app and follow the setup instructions.
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On the device, press both buttons simultaneously to initialize it.
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Go right to choose a PIN code consisting of 4 to 8 digits.
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You must then copy a security sentence of 24 words to keep scrupulously aside.
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Confirm the sentence after verification, and your Ledger is ready to use.
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To connect the device to the application, you must turn on Bluetooth via the application or connect the supplied cable to the phone.
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Once the device has been detected, you will need to configure a new password for the application.
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On the application, you will then need to create a bitcoin account by pressing “Add account” and follow the procedure.
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Now that the bitcoin account is available in the application, go to the tab of your bitcoin account.
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Press “Receive” and continue with the instructions, including performing an address verification on the Ledger Nano device and on the smartphone.
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Your bitcoin address and the QR-code are then displayed on the application.
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Then just send your bitcoins to this address from the platform where you bought your bitcoin.
Buy bitcoin with different payment methods
At eToro, and some other platforms, it is possible to buy bitcoin with different payment methods:
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Neteller
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Skrill
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UnionPay
Most of the people who visit eToro do so for the ability to buy bitcoin with Paypal, buy bitcoin with bank card and all of those other payment methods.
Some platforms in particular offer the possibility of buying bitcoin with Paysafecard.
1.1 Buy bitcoins at an ATM
When looking for where to buy bitcoin, we can also opt for solutions to purchase bitcoin physically via ATMs, or distributors. This purchase method is ideal for those who want to buy bitcoin without registration or verification.
ATM bitcoins are bitcoin buying machines, resembling cash withdrawal machines. They are therefore quite simply bitcoin vending machines.
Indeed, there are such distributors in several countries in the world and their popularity is increasing day by day.
In France, there are a few in the big cities, but their number is still very limited, while in the United States, they are more and more numerous.
To buy bitcoin on an ATM you must:
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Choose the option “Buy”
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Select bitcoin
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Select the amount of bitcoin to buy
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Then specify your bitcoin address
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Pay the requested amount and you will receive your bitcoin
Buying bitcoin on an ATM, however, has drawbacks, such as the inability to compare prices and follow bitcoin prices in real-time, or even higher fees than online platforms like eToro.
1.2 Buy bitcoin anonymously
Some investors are looking for ways to buy bitcoin anonymously. And this for various reasons.
The first way to buy or get anonymous bitcoin is to buy it in darknet markets (in the dark web), or to sell products (completely legal) there for bitcoin. But while the darknet remains one of the best ways to buy bitcoin anonymously, it’s neither the fastest nor the most convenient. This solution is aimed at an informed audience already comfortable with the darknet environment.
The other solution to buy bitcoin anonymously, discussed above, is to buy bitcoin on an ATM. So you have to find an ATM and buy the bitcoin on it with an anonymous means of payment, namely in cash.
Finally, it is also possible to buy anonymous bitcoin by physically meeting a seller, in complete anonymity. There are indeed platforms and blogs that connect buyers and sellers of bitcoin who then meet for the transaction in person. However, be careful, this solution for buying bitcoin anonymously can be dangerous if you come across an unscrupulous seller.
1.3 Buy bitcoin free of charge
To buy bitcoin free of charge, once again you have to think outside the box of the standard ways of buying cryptocurrency.
Almost all, if not all, online platforms where to buy bitcoin charge a fee, in one way or another. The trick is to know how to select the platform that has low fees, like eToro.
To buy bitcoin free of charge, you have to rely on the same methods as to buy anonymous bitcoin. Namely here the darknet and some back doorways to find a bitcoin seller in person. Matchmaking platforms also charge fees.
Bitcoin ATM generally has higher fees than other solutions.
What are the advantages of Bitcoin?
1. No entry possible
Since there are multiple redundant copies of the transaction database, no one can grab bitcoins. The best that can be done is to force the user, by other means, to send the bitcoins to someone else. This means that governments cannot freeze someone’s funds, and therefore bitcoin users retain ownership of their money at all times.
2. No taxes
There is no way for a third party to intercept Bitcoin transactions, and therefore there is no viable way to implement a Bitcoin taxation system. The only way to pay a tax would be on a voluntary basis, which seems difficult to set up.
3. Protected information
Unless users publish their wallet address, no one can trace it back to them. No one except the wallet owners will know how many Bitcoins they have. And even if the wallet address has been made public, a new address can easily be generated. This considerably strengthens the protection of privacy compared to traditional financial systems which routinely use third parties who have access to information.
4. Negligible transaction fees
Sending and receiving Bitcoins requires users to keep the Bitcoin client running and connected to other nodes. Essentially, by using bitcoin, users will contribute to the network, and thus share the burden of authorizing transactions. Sharing this work dramatically reduces transaction costs, and thus makes transaction costs negligible.
5. No risk of cancellation of transactions
Once the Bitcoins are sent, the transaction can no longer be reversed. Since the Bitcoin address will be replaced with that of the new owner, it is impossible to go back once it has been changed. Since only the new owner has the associated private key, only they can change the ownership of the parts.
6. Bitcoins cannot be stolen
The Bitcoin ownership address can only be changed by the owner. No one can steal bitcoin unless they have physical access to a user’s computer and send the bitcoin to their account. Unlike regular financial systems, where only a few security details are needed to access accounts, Bitcoin requires physical access, which makes theft much more difficult.
FAQs
1. How Much Money Can I Make With Bitcoin?
This is a difficult question to answer. Indeed, if you actively trade Bitcoin, your earnings will depend on the number of your trades, your average earnings targets and losses, as well as your winning trade rate, and of course the leverage used.
To sum up, both gains and losses can be unlimited with active trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
But if you want to buy Bitcoin for the long term as an investment, studying the past evolution of Bitcoin allows you to make some more precise projections.
2. How much money would I have made buying Bitcoin in early 2020?
For example, over the first 7 months of 2020, Bitcoin went from around 7,200 dollars in early January to 11,350 dollars in late July. This represents an increase of over 57 per cent.
In other words, if you had bet 1,000 dollars on Bitcoin at the start of January, you would have had $ 1,570 at the end of July.
3. How much money would I have made betting on Bitcoin when many didn’t believe it anymore?
In the longer term, the gains can be even greater. In December 2018, Bitcoin fell to a low near 3,200 dollars, following a downtrend that lasted a year from the all-time highs above 20,000 dollars in December 2017. At that point, many were betting on the death of Bitcoin. However, 6 months later, Bitcoin had climbed back to a high of 13,765 dollars, an increase of 330%. Bitcoin has more than quadrupled
In other words, an investment of 1,000 euros in Bitcoin at the end of 2018 was worth 4,145 euros 6 months later.
Conclusion: where and how to buy bitcoins safely?
As we have seen in this guide, there are multiple places to invest in bitcoin.
Online platforms offer ease of use and security, while those seeking anonymity or no fees have other options to explore.
However, a trusted, secure, easy-to-use and a low-cost online platform like eToro is still probably the best way to buy bitcoin quickly and easily.
In addition, eToro offers the possibility of buying bitcoins, but also of trading Bitcoin in CFDs.
Read Also
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Where to Buy Bitcoin?
How to Mine Bitcoin?