Bitcoin can be bought online quickly and securely on a wide variety of crypto exchanges and brokers.
These platforms allow one to deposit traditional money using popular payment methods, and exchange it for Bitcoin in a cost-effective manner.
How to Buy Bitcoin step-by-step
While buying Bitcoin on exchanges and brokers is pretty straightforward, the process of investing in Bitcoin is slightly different from traditional assets. Below, we demonstrate buying Bitcoin on numerous Bitcoin exchanges with practical guides.
Select one of the available Bitcoin exchanges below to see a step-by-step guide on how to buy Bitcoin:
Whether you're a complete investing beginner or an experienced traditional investor who is starting out with Bitcoin, our above-displayed guide on how to invest in Bitcoin can help you give an overview of what it looks like to buy Bitcoin.
Where to buy Bitcoin
As the largest and by far the most stable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is an integral part of many portfolios, so it is important to know where to buy Bitcoin safely in 2024.
The most common way to buy Bitcoin is on cryptocurrency exchanges with Bitcoin, which are trading platforms run by actual companies that allow you to deposit your traditional money via common online payment methods, and trade it for Bitcoin - or vice versa.
Even though many trading platforms allow users to invest in Bitcoin, they are by far not all equally recommendable for those just learning how to invest in Bitcoin.
When getting started with buying Bitcoin, we believe the most important factor for a good Bitcoin trading platform is fast registration and an easy way of buying actual Bitcoin and not futures. This way, you buy actual Bitcoin on the blockchain that can be withdrawn to your own wallet.
Practical guides on how to buy Bitcoin on good trading platforms that meet these criteria the best are listed in our buying Bitcoin guide at the very top of this page.
Where to buy Bitcoin Derivatives
Another popular way of investing in Bitcoin for more advanced traders is on so-called derivatives platforms, which allow you to buy Bitcoin derivatives to:
Invest in Bitcoin's price rising (longing)
Invest in Bitcoin's price falling (shorting)
While these platforms do not actually buy the underlying bitcoin on the blockchain, BItcoin derivatives platforms are the go-to trading platforms for investors looking to invest in Bitcoin actively in either direction, allowing them to even bet on Bitcoin's downfall.
Different Options for Buying Bitcoin
While buying Bitcoin on exchanges is the conventional way for users to get their hands on their first Bitcoin, you should also be aware of other options for buying Bitcoin that may be more suitable for you:
| Option for buying BTC | 💬 Description | ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin Exchanges | Buy bitcoins directly from others who sell theirs on the exchange | Low fees, You can buy any amount (order book) | Requires registration, sometimes hard to use |
| Bitcoin Brokers | Let a broker buy bitcoins from other exchanges for you | Often very easy to use | Requires registration, higher fees |
| Bitcoin ATMs | Buy bitcoins instantly on the go | Cash accepted, no registration required | High fees, Low daily limits |
| P2P Bitcoin Marketplaces | Buy bitcoins directly from others who sell theirs | High privacy | Lacking liquidity & flexibility as you only buy the exact amounts others sell |
Benefits of Buying Bitcoin on Exchanges
There are many different reasons why investors who learn how to buy Bitcoin choose Bitcoin exchanges for buying BTC, such as:
💳 Many payment methods: Many Bitcoin Exchanges allow users to buy Bitcoin with literally any payment method of their choice, making it very easy to buy Bitcoin.
🚪 On- and off-ramping: The vast majority of Bitcoin exchanges partner with traditional banks, offering users an easy way to both cash in and out of Bitcoin.
💰 High Liquidity: Bitcoin exchanges facilitate trades between users who sell, and those looking to buy some Bitcoin. And because high-volume markets such as Bitcoin often have a nearly matching amount of buyers and sellers, it's unproblematic to find a counterparty to both sell or buy very high amounts of Bitcoin on exchanges.
🛡 Regulatory Safety: Many Bitcoin exchanges have licenses in the country they operate in making them legitimate companies, meaning that users located in the same country do not have to worry that the Bitcoin exchange will steal their funds or their newly bought Bitcoin.
Despite some cons such as lower privacy due to identity verification, good Bitcoin exchanges form the easiest and most cost-efficient way to buy Bitcoin for normal money.
Buy Bitcoin with Cash
Bitcoin, being the biggest cryptocurrency, can easily be purchased through ATMs that allow for the selling and buying of Bitcoin for cash in many regions worldwide.
Bitcoin ATMs function similarly to traditional ATMs, but instead of dispensing your local currency, they allow users to buy Bitcoin and directly send it to their personal Bitcoin wallet.
Because more and more individuals are interested in buying Bitcoin, these Bitcoin ATMs are accessible in most major cities worldwide, making it pretty straightforward to invest in Bitcoin with cash.
However, it is important to note that buying Bitcoin for cash through ATMs has both pros and cons.
One advantage of buying Bitcoin for cash at ATMs is having slightly more privacy, as they typically do not require users to provide as much personal information when purchasing Bitcoin as exchanges and brokers. Additionally, users can buy Bitcoin instantly with cash without waiting for days to perform verifications.
However, there is a major drawback to using Bitcoin ATMs that prevents most investors from buying Bitcoin for cash: The fees charged by Bitcoin ATMs are significantly higher than those of other methods of purchasing Bitcoin online, which has a major impact on your potential profit from investing in Bitcoin.
Buy Bitcoin with Euro
As the number of reputable Bitcoin exchanges in Europe is constantly growing, it is quite easy to buy Bitcoin with Euros, and without any additional effort.
International Bitcoin brokers and exchanges also usually accept deposits with Euros: be it directly via bank transfer or through payment providers.
If one wants to buy Bitcoin for Euros, it can be done with a few steps:
Register on a Bitcoin exchange that accepts Euro €, e.g.
Bitvavo .
Deposit euros on the platform using any payment method you like
Buy BTC for euros, which you have deposited previously
In our Bitcoin buying guide on this page, we demonstrate how buying Bitcoin with Euros looks in practice on popular Bitcoin exchanges.
Important note: Since some Bitcoin trading platforms internally work with US dollars only, there are potential fees for converting euros to US dollars on some Bitcoin exchanges.
However, if you choose a European crypto exchange like Bitvavo to buy Bitcoin, this is not the case, as Bitvavo allows you to buy Bitcoin with Euros without any conversion fees. You will see that the price difference between Bitvavo and the live Bitcoin Price in Euro is nearly non-existent.
How to invest in Bitcoin
You can invest in Bitcoin (BTC) in three major steps, which usually don't take more than 15-30 minutes in total on most popular Bitcoin exchanges:
Make an account on an exchange or broker with Bitcoin
Deposit money to your account with a payment method of your choice
Buy Bitcoin
Optional: Withdraw the newly purchased Bitcoin to your personal wallet
Note: Investing in Bitcoin refers to buying and holding Bitcoin. Hence, after completing the above steps, you invest in Bitcoin by simply holding the newly purchased coins, gaining exposure to the Bitcoin market.
We have practically demonstrated this process of investing in Bitcoin on numerous different exchanges at the top of this page.
How buying Bitcoin works: Spot and Futures
When learning how to buy Bitcoin, you will encounter exchanges and brokers that offer two different types of Bitcoin investing:
🪙 Bitcoin spot exchanges and brokers are the conventional types of platforms for buying Bitcoin, which allow you to buy actual bitcoins that at best are withdrawable to your crypto wallet.
When you buy bitcoins on spot exchanges and brokers, the platform funds your account with actual bitcoins that a different user has previously deposited from the Bitcoin Blockchain, just as you would expect. 👍
📄 Bitcoin derivatives trading platforms on the other hand only allow you to trade so-called derivatives of Bitcoin, which follow price but do not actually purchase the underlying asset and hence also do not allow you to withdraw your newly bought bitcoins.
When you buy Bitcoin derivatives, the trading platform gives you nothing more than a contract that you will be able to sell in the future for Bitcoin's price - not necessarily suitable for crypto beginners learning how and where to buy Bitcoin. 👎
This difference is important to understand when learning how to invest in Bitcoin, and we believe that the majority of users looking to buy Bitcoin will prefer spot platforms over futures.
Therefore, in our guide on buying Bitcoin, you can find Bitcoin exchanges and brokers that allow you to buy actual, spot Bitcoin and not solely futures.
Should I buy Bitcoin?
There are many reasons ranging from practical usage to monetary gains why people buy bitcoins, such as:
To directly transact with people around the world in a peer-to-peer manner with barely any fees on the Bitcoin network
To invest in Bitcoin's long-term success as a form of money
To sell their bitcoins in the future at a hopefully higher price
To hedge one's traditional assets against the devaluation of fiat money
Buying Bitcoin is not solely tied to a specific use case or single application as most other cryptocurrencies, which come nowhere close to Bitcoin's potential impact on global finance.
You also do not need to necessarily use Bitcoin to invest in its success, which marks a common myth among beginners before buying their first Bitcoins.
While Bitcoin's long-term success probably depends on mass adoption, many beginners who decide to learn how to trade Bitcoin start by simply leaving their bitcoins in their wallets instead of actively using them.
Given Bitcoin's potential to disrupt the world of traditional finance, many investors believe that it's less risky to buy a little bit of bitcoin than not owning any at all.
As Bitcoin is the biggest and the relatively most stable cryptocurrency, you will find Bitcoin in almost all portfolios of experienced crypto investors.
Still, like with all cryptocurrencies, one should research Bitcoin independently to fully understand how it works and which risks investing in Bitcoin involves before learning how to buy Bitcoin.
In the end, while Bitcoin is the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency and can be seen as a safe haven in the crypto world, it fully depends on your personal risk tolerance whether you should buy Bitcoin or not.
Is Bitcoin a good investment?
In general, investing in Bitcoin means investing in the long-term acceptance of Bitcoin as a form of decentralized money and store of value. Because Bitcoin represents an opposition to the traditional financial system, investing in Bitcoin also represents a certain bet against the success of the financial system we know today.
Especially if you believe that the global monetary system will fail people in the future and more and more people will seek a decentralized form of money that is disconnected from governments, Bitcoin could be a good investment for you.
| Name | Bitcoin |
|---|---|
| Symbol (Ticker) | BTC |
| Price | 61377.97$(+0.69% 24h) |
| Market capitalization | 1,212,083,216,903.1,782$ |
| All time High | 73738.00$ (Mar 14. 2024) |
| All time Low | 67.81$ (Jul 6. 2013) |
| Tradable on |
Over the past few years, Bitcoin has experienced remarkable price growth, which has made Bitcoin a good investment. In 2013, for example, Bitcoin was trading for around $13 before the price rose to nearly $20,000 in 2017. This massive increase in value has made Bitcoin one of the most successful investments one could make in the last decade.
However, it is important to note that Bitcoin's (BTC) past performance is not an indicator of future results and that the crypto market is highly volatile. Bitcoin has been hit by severe price corrections several times in the past and it is impossible to predict whether Bitcoin will continue to be a good investment in the future.
Do you have to buy a whole Bitcoin?
A great misbelief among Bitcoin beginners is that you must buy a whole Bitcoin, which is wrong, as you can buy any arbitrary fraction up to a hundred millionth of a Bitcoin.
Because bitcoins are divisible, you can invest any amount of money into Bitcoin, even just $1 or $5, and are not forced to commit thousands of dollars to buy entire bitcoins.
Unlike traditional currencies such as the dollar, in crypto jargon, even fractions of a bitcoin, e.g. 0.5 BTC or 0.25 BTC, are referred to as "bitcoin" or "bitcoins". So when we talk about buying bitcoin(s), that also includes buying a quarter bitcoin, an eighth bitcoin, and so on.
The fact that you don't have to buy whole bitcoins is especially great for beginners who just started learning how to buy bitcoin, as they can start with small amounts they are willing to lose.