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How and where to buy Bitcoin (BTC) in 3 steps

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Author: Matthew Pigott Updated: March 18, 2022

Bitcoin is the world’s first decentralised cryptocurrency and is the number one digital asset by market capitalisation. Once easily mined on home computers and worth fractions of a cent, Bitcoin went on to capture the imagination of first Cypherpunks, then institutions and governments.

With El Salvador making history in 2021 by listing BTC as an official currency alongside the US dollar, and the city of Lugano in Switzerland announcing, in 2022, that both Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) are now to be accepted as legal tender, other jurisdictions will invariably make moves to do the same. 

Today, so-called Bitcoin Maximalists consider BTC the saviour of a broken financial system that drives inflation by printing money. Because there is a finite amount of Bitcoin—a maximum of 21 million can be created—and there is a halving of production every four years, Bitcoin is considered deflationary. This means that as supply dries up and demand increases, the price of Bitcoin should increase over time.

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This page will guide you through the process of buying Bitcoin, plus how you can store it safely. 

Step 1: Sign up to a broker or exchange

Register with one of our recommended cryptocurrency brokers or exchanges. You'll need to provide some personal identification and contact information to get your account set up, including proof of address and a scan of your passport or driving licence. It’s worth noting that exchanges are increasing their use of biometric technology via mobile phone cameras to complete this process.

Step 2: Deposit funds

Deposit some money into your account. You can usually do this with PayPal or with a debit or credit card. If you don’t have one of these, you can generally do a bank transfer though it can take a few days for the money to reach your account if you choose this method.

Step 3: Buy Bitcoin

On your chosen exchange, search for Bitcoin (BTC) and enter the amount you’d like to purchase. Due to its high price, it’s likely you’ll be buying less than one BTC, so the figure will appear after the decimal point. These fractions are known as Satoshis—SATs for short. Think of these as being similar to what cents are to the dollar. When you’re ready to buy, click the buy button, and your purchase will appear as BTC in your trading account in seconds.

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.

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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. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Bitcoin miners use powerful computers to solve tasks to validate Bitcoin transactions. Once a block of transactions gets validated, the miner receives BTC as a reward. This is sent to the computer that solved the task, ready to be stored, spent or exchanged.

  2. Yes. On traditional exchanges, Bitcoin holders can swap BTC for traditional currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR or any other denomination available on that exchange. It’s also fairly straightforward to swap BTC for another currency using the peer-to-peer service available on most exchanges.

  3. As long as you’re buying from a reputable and audited source, getting some Bitcoin is relatively easy and safe. That said, the internet abounds with scammers eager to lay their grubby little mitts on your hard-earned cash, so take time to read reviews and only use the most highly regarded exchanges.

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