Where to buy Bitcoin
You can purchase Bitcoin from various exchanges, brokers and decentralised exchanges. If you don’t already have an account with a cryptocurrency exchange or broker or aren’t happy with the one you’re currently using, try one or more of the recommended options below.
Why buy Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency managed by a public, unalterable blockchain. Created by the anonymous and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto as a reaction to the financial crash in 2008—and a solution to the problems associated with fiat currencies— Both Bitcoin and Ethereum has changed finance in much the same way the internet changed publishing.
Another advantage with Bitcoin is that it can be sent from person to person (known as peer-to-peer) across the internet without fees or arbitrary limits set by banks.
Regularly compared to gold, Bitcoin nonetheless has distinct advantages over the commodity, the main ones being that it is easy to store and easy to send. There is also a hard cap of 21million BTC, whereas gold deposits still exist. If these were to be extracted, it would increase the supply and could negatively affect the price.
Because Bitcoin and all transactions of BTC exist on a decentralised, uneditable ledger known as the blockchain, it's also challenging, if not impossible, for governments or third parties to manipulate its value or alter its underlying code.
These things contribute to making the world’s first financial digital asset robust and trustworthy. In an uncertain world, where manipulation and inflation undermine fiat currencies, Bitcoin has the advantage of providing a potential hedge against uncertainty.
After more than a decade of great scepticism and often outright scorn, many financial institutions and blue-chip businesses now buy and hold Bitcoin. Where once Bitcoin was a maligned asset to all but a few die-hard followers, it is now seen as vital to a growing number of former naysayers to have at least some Bitcoin in their portfolios.
Finally, Bitcoin needs no marketing to attract attention. This is due to its headline-grabbing volatility, increased institutional adoption, astronomic price growth* and the simple fact that it was the first in a long line of the new digital asset class.
Where to store your Bitcoin
After you buy your Bitcoin you can store the coin in a non-custodial wallet. This is safer than keeping it on an exchange where there is always a risk of the exchange going down or, in rare cases, disappearing altogether. Two good Bitcoin wallets that fall into this category are Bitcoin Core and Armory. However, the best thing to do for better security is to use a hardware wallet such as Ledger Nano and Trezor. These are battle-tested and among the most popular crypto wallets in use today.
