Bitcoin is increasingly see as a strong fund of value , and a there are a grasp of dissimilar ways you could take reward of its big swings in Leontyne Price to generate some earnings for yourself , or create a digital nest eggs for the future . But futures and ETFs aside , if you want to own your own Bitcoin , and follow the mantra of " Not your keys , not your coins , " then you ’ll need to buy Bitcoin directly .
Fortunately , buying Bitcoin today is more straightforward than ever before , with a wide range of methods for doing so . Here ’s our favourite .
Sign up to an exchange
The safest , most straightforward way to buy Bitcoin is to do it through an exchange . These platform will let you forthwith trade a ambit of up-to-dateness for a range of cryptocurrencies , but you will need to complete Know Your client checks to confirm your indistinguishability .
There are a all-inclusive range of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading exchange , but for the welfare of this article , we ’ll be usingCoinbase , which is arguably the most popular and beginner - favorable of the exchanges . It has had some issues with outages during efflorescence trading times , but it is a well established ship’s company that ’s been trading for closely to 12 class , and it is headquarter in the U.S. , so it does have some real oversight .
Alternatives for more experient traders admit Kraken for its low fees , or Gemini , for its improved security .
take note : you could also complete this outgrowth within the Coinbase app . The summons is much the same , just with a dissimilar interface .
Step 2 : assert your email using the connection Coinbase sends you , then sign on back in to the site using your login information .
footfall 3 : When prompted , select the land you populate in and add a phone number . Complete phone number verification when prompted .
Step 4 : Add your personal information , like first and last name , appointment of parturition , and address . These should equal those on your government ID that you ’ll be using to verify your identity shortly .
When cue , respond the respective security and KYC questions .
Step 5 : Complete personal identity registration . This is dissimilar depending on the country you endure in , but typically for U.S. customers involve comparing a photo of yourself with a government issue ID , like a driver ’s licence , pass , or greenish card .
Step 6 : You’re now rig up to expend Coinbase ! You may also want to tote up a two - step - verification app to further protect your account , if you wish well . you could do that through the circumstance computer menu .
Deposit currency in your Coinbase account
Before you’re able to bribe Bitcoin , you need to sum up some funds to your score to purchase with . You want fiat .
stair 1 : Login to Coinbase and select the blueDepositbutton at the top of the Thomas Nelson Page , or within the app .
pace 2 : Select a deposit payment method acting . These will be different for you , depending on your country of origin .
stride 3 : The most aboveboard tone , is " Easy Bank Transfer . " Select that , and then habituate the on - screenland button and prompts to add a bank of your pick , or select an existing bank if you ’ve already added one .
Step 4 : Select how much money you want to deposit , then selectContinue .
Step 6 : The money will then start out transferring . It ’s usually fairly instant , but can take up to 24 hour depending on you , your account , your bank , and a range of other gene . If it does n’t arrive after 24 hr , middleman Coinbase support .
How to buy Bitcoin
Now that you have some funds in your accounting , you could use them to purchase Bitcoin . Here ’s how .
Step 1 : SelectBuy & Sellfrom the top of the sieve , or from within the Coinbase app .
stair 2 : Use the drop down to select the cryptocurrency you want to buy ; In this case , Bitcoin . Then select the current wallet you want to bear with in the same manner .
footstep 3 : choose how much you want to bribe in either your fiat currency , or in Bitcoin . you could toggle this by selecting the little up and down arrow release label with " BTC . "
Step 4 : When you ’re quick , select theBuy Bitcoinbutton to complete the transaction .
stone’s throw 5 : Wait a second or so and you should have the Bitcoin in your write up .
Storing your Bitcoin? Get it off the exchange
If you plan to store your Bitcoin long term — a practice known as " hodling " ( from grip on for dear life ) — it ’s a ripe musical theme to get it off the commutation so you have complete control condition over it . If the telephone exchange has an outage , or gets hacked , you do it your coins are secure . The best elbow room to do this is with a personal wallet . software package options likeExodusare fantabulous , but the most inviolable method is using a computer hardware billfold like aTrezor .
The various options and the method for doing this go beyond the ambit of this article , but if you control memory access to your Bitcoin , then you could make indisputable it ’s secure .
