Digital currencies have gained significant momentum in the past few years. Therefore, the cryptocurrency market size can grow from USD 1.6 trillion in 2021 to USD 2.2 trillion by 2026, at a CAGR of 7.1%. Interestingly, owing to several developments in 2020 and 2021, cryptocurrencies are no longer limited to serious investors and crypto experts. Today, youngsters and newbie investors are looking for ways to buy bitcoin to enhance their investment portfolio. If you are a beginner, here is all you need to know about buying bitcoins seamlessly.
Cryptocurrency Exchange
If you want to buy bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange can be a viable means of buying or selling bitcoins in exchange for fiat currency. In other words, an online exchange is a crypto equivalent of a stockbroker that comes with all the tools you require to buy or sell digital currencies
As the crypto space has several options like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, KuCoin, and more, when it comes to a cryptocurrency exchange, you must consider a few things before going for any deal. Some of the factors that should be considered before choosing your exchange platform are supported currencies, pricing, withdrawal policies, and security.
Investment Brokerage Firms
Many people buy bitcoin as an investment as they consider bitcoin to be the future currency. You can try out online brokers as they allow investors to trade cryptocurrencies. First, however, you must find out which broker suits your purposes and interest as different brokers have different sets of strengths and weaknesses.
Most crypto brokers levy a charge whenever you buy or sell bitcoins, which means you have to pay more for your cryptocurrencies. Interactive Brokers is one of the few brokerage platforms that does not charge a spread or hidden costs. Other great crypto brokers are Robinhood, eToro, and Pionex.
Payment Services
Leading global payment services like CashApp, Venmo, and PayPal have introduced new features to their payment platforms that allow investors and crypto investors to buy, sell or hold cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. For example, if you already have a PayPal account, you can now buy bitcoin just by clicking the option crypto and choosing the coin of your preference.
On PayPal, you can purchase bitcoin if you have available funds, a linked debit card, or a linked bank account. However, like other online crypto exchange platforms, PayPal charges an extra fee on buying or selling cryptocurrencies, depending on your buying or selling volume. On the other hand, CashApp allows you to win bitcoins every time you purchase using your CashApp card.
Bitcoin ATMs
In simple words, a bitcoin ATM is an ATM location that lets you buy bitcoin with fiat money. However, unlike traditional ATMs, bitcoin ATMs produce blockchain transactions to send cryptocurrencies to your digital wallet via QR codes. In these ATMs, users deposit their cash converted and sent to the dedicated wallet in cryptocurrencies.
According to coinatmradar.com data, there were a total of 33,896 bitcoin ATMs installed till December 31 globally. The instant transactions of these ATMs are a great way of avoiding the volatility of the crypto space. At the same time, bitcoin ATMs use passwords and two-way authentication to yield secure transactions.
Retail Stores
Today, several retail stores and crypto merchants allow you to buy or sell cryptocurrencies. A platform like LibertyX will enable users to buy bitcoin at several retail stores across the US. You can easily purchase cryptocurrencies in these retail stores using traditional cash. You will receive your bitcoin in your digital wallet within a few minutes of making the payment.
You can also use Coinmap to locate the closest place or vendors to buy or spend your cryptocurrencies anywhere in the world. It is one of the best bitcoin heatmap websites that allows you to add venues, edit venues, and like venues to build a comprehensive list of all the places that accept crypto.
Person-to-person
Some websites like LocalBitcoins offer person-to-person bitcoin trading opportunities to their users. These person-to-person bitcoin marketplaces connect the dots between the sellers and buyers to acquire an easy and secure bitcoin buying experience. From cash in-person to cash deposits to cash by mail to PayPal, LocalBitcoins supports several payment methods for smooth and reliable bitcoin purchases.
If you are looking for trustworthy sellers to buy bitcoin, person-to-person marketplaces can be valuable to identify such sellers and avoid any fraudulent transaction. Additionally, you do not have to verify your identity, revealing your details. So, you can maintain your privacy using face-to-face services.
Mobile or Online Games
Mobile or online games are perhaps the most fun way to earn free bitcoins without serious investment risks. Many online games offer a small number of bitcoins as a reward. Gamers and crypto enthusiasts can easily do two activities like earning money and entertainment simultaneously using this play-to-earn approach.
One of the best P2E crypto games is Coin Hunt World (CHW), a mobile-app-based game reminiscent of Pokemon Go. In this geo-location game, the players scavenge for bitcoins and Ethereum instead of Pikachus and Charizards. Other free crypto games are I Am The Law, Battle Royal, Fly, Piggy, and more.
Write about Crypto
If you are a crypto expert, you can easily monetize your crypto knowledge by writing and sharing your insights about cryptocurrencies. In addition, some blogs, news outlets, and publications pay in crypto just for reading and writing crypto content to stay motivated.
PublishOx is one such publishing forum that rewards publishing content or just for going through the content available on the platform. So, even if you are a newbie in the crypto space, you can earn in crypto while learning about the space, thanks to PublishOx.
Bitcoin Faucets
A bitcoin faucet is a website or app that rewards the users with tiny amounts of bitcoins for completing simple tasks like watching product videos, viewing ads, or completing a captcha. Even though the payouts are typically meager, bitcoin faucets are a great way of earning free bitcoins.
A bitcoin faucet like Cointiply curates multiple earning free bitcoins by completing simple tasks. Fire Faucet is another free bitcoin faucet that reaches up to $2,000 in bitcoins every hour.
Online Jobs
One of the easiest and most risk-free ways of earning bitcoins is securing a job that pays in bitcoins. As a result of the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, many online job platforms have set their payment methods as crypto. If you do not want to buy bitcoin and want to earn free, these jobs are for you.
Cryptogrind is a popular platform that allows freelancers to earn in bitcoins. From content writing to web development, you can choose from many jobs and earn in cryptocurrencies.
Things to know before you buy Bitcoin
There are numerous vital things that an aspiring Bitcoin investor should know before planning to buy bitcoins. Some of these things are as follows:
- Privacy and Security
- How to buy bitcoins
- Storage of bitcoins
Let's dig in and find out more about these things.
Privacy and Security
Issues related to privacy and security are of paramount concern to any investor, more so for the one involved with cryptocurrencies. So here is some information you should know before you venture on your investment journey.
Private keys
Private keys are unique alphanumeric keys that are mandatory to authorize transactions from your bitcoin wallet. Anyone with your private key can and will approve transactions from your wallet in your name. So, cybercriminals are likely to attempt and steal your private keys, especially if they know that you have significant holdings.
Public Keys
While there is a private key to authorize transactions, there is a public key to record them, and anyone can quickly know the balance of your holding stored on a particular public address. So it is always advised to make multiple public addresses and store the least amount on the address you use to buy bitcoins.
Transactions Traceability
Transactions are open, and anyone on the blockchain can easily view transaction history. However, this doesn't necessarily mean your privacy is threatened. Since only your public key appears on your transaction, they remain confidential, so verifying identity is nearly impossible while transactions can be traced. It, of course, changes if you buy your crypto from a public exchange as they do your KYC, and so if a relevant authority needs to trace your transactions through your public keys, they can.
Steps to follow to buy bitcoins
We have mentioned below some basic steps to follow to buy bitcoins. But, first, you need to remember that you should do your research based on your preferences.
Choosing a Crypto Exchange
The first step to take before buying a cryptocurrency is choosing an exchange that suits your needs and alignments. While you can use brokerages and payment services like Paypal to buy bitcoins, crypto exchanges remain the most favored and easy way to do so. Signing up to a cryptocurrency will let you buy, hold, sell and sometimes even withdraw your cryptocurrency. You can use them at your preferred time or keep them safe. It is generally considered a best practice that exchanges allow users to store their bitcoins in private wallets.
While the most popular bitcoin exchanges are centralized and require you to submit documentation by law, numerous decentralized ones allow you to trade anonymously. While people can use these for nefarious activities, the decentralized exchanges tend to uphold the ethos of the blockchain community regarding anonymity and sovereignty.
Connecting to a Payment Option
Once you have established your account and verified your identity (in cases that require it), you need to connect a payment source to your account. While there is an option to link your credit and debit cards, experts recommend that you connect your bank accounts directly because it saves you from the high volatility of crypto prices and high transaction charges on your cards.
Bank accounts and cards remain the most popular means. However, numerous new-age services are coming up that let you leverage ACH technology to buy bitcoin. Be sure to keep a check for them as they will significantly reduce your transaction charges.
Placing an Order
Once you have connected your bank account, it is time to place an order for your bitcoin. Crypto exchanges these days have reached on par with a stock brokerage when it comes to features they provide for trading. Be sure to check your options like market and limit orders, stop-loss orders, recurring orders, and many more.
Storing your bitcoins
Once you have acquired your bitcoins, it's time to store them in a safe space, also called a wallet. Keeping your cryptocurrencies away from exchanges and faucets means only you have access to your bitcoins and prevents you from being a victim of hacking attacks. Although exchanges do offer wallet services, security is not always their primary concern, so we recommend storing your crypto in your wallets. Here's how you can do it:
Hot Wallets
Hot Wallets, aka Online wallets, can only be accessed on internet-run devices like Computers, Tablets, and Mobile phones. Furthermore, these wallets operate using private keys stored on the cloud, which fundamentally makes them vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, we recommend holding only a small amount of crypto to buy or trade in these wallets.
Cold Wallets
Cold Wallets are physical spaces such as your hard disks and pen drives. These wallets store your private keys on something that is not connected to the internet and are the safest option out there. You can easily download software to view your entire portfolio saved on your cold wallets without internet access. We recommend you put the majority of your bitcoin on your cold wallets because of the safety it offers.
Conclusion
In the modern age of Crypto and Blockchain, it is pretty easy to get bitcoins from various sources, both free and paid. You can either go to Bitcoin faucets or do Cloud mining to mine bitcoins without investment. Otherwise, you can buy bitcoin through exchanges. However, while you try to acquire Bitcoin from numerous sources, it is also essential to be vigilant of all the security risks. Therefore, you have to choose your methods and sources carefully and ensure your sensitive information is safe so that it doesn't do more harm than good.
