The king of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, has cooled off a bit as of lately. After hitting an all-time high price of over $63,000 in August, the digital currency has taken a step back in value, falling around $30,000 today.
With bitcoin’s cash price trading at such a discount, many investors are now asking themselves, “where can I buy bitcoin?”
If you are wondering how you can get involved, keep reading this guide to learn how to buy bitcoin and start investing today.
Step 1: Select a Platform
The first thing you will have to do when you are looking to buy bitcoins is decide which platform you would like to use to facilitate the investment. You have two primary options available to you. These include either:
- An exchange
- Or, a brokerage
There are several different cryptocurrency exchanges you can use to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. However, these exchanges will vary in terms of the services they offer and how much they charge for their services, so be on the lookout.
On the other hand, brokers are also beginning to offer users the ability to buy and sell bitcoin. Popular stockbrokers like Robinhood and Tradestation provide cryptocurrency services to their clients, while others are planning on offering them soon.
One last option you have available is to buy bitcoin through a bitcoin atm, such as ByteFederal, and skip the sign-up process.
Step 2: Fund Your Account
To buy bitcoin, you will need to fund your account with a currency that you can convert to cryptocurrency, such as the U.S dollar. If you sign up for a brokerage or exchange, they will often prompt you to fund your account immediately after the sign-up process.
Some companies will offer you incentives to fund your account, so be on the lookout for these offerings that can save you money.
Step 3: Decide When It’s the Right Time to Buy
Just because you funded your account and the funds clear doesn’t mean that it’s a good time to start buying bitcoin. This is the time to start doing your due diligence and finding a price level you are comfortable buying at. Beware of any “guru” that says their bitcoin prediction is going to happen.
Bitcoin, like most cryptocurrencies, is volatile and can change values in a matter of seconds, making your purchasing price critical.
Step 4: Storing It
Now that you know how to buy bitcoin, you will need a place to store it. The idea is like keeping cash in a wallet, except bitcoin will be held in a digital wallet.
There are two kinds of digital wallets:
- Hot
- And cold
A hot wallet will secure the bitcoin in a trusted server that can be accessed via the cloud and provided by an exchange. On the other hand, Cold wallets will be removable devices that can store the bitcoin in an encrypted offline wallet.
Where Can I Buy Bitcoin: Making Your First Purchase
Now that you can answer the question “where can I buy bitcoin?” it’s time to make your first purchase and start investing in digital assets. It’s best to start with small investments to learn the process. Then, once you feel comfortable, you can start putting more money towards the investment.
For more information on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, check out the rest of our blog!
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