Best Sites to buy Bitcoin

The first step to start investing in cryptocurrencies is to choose the best platform according to your needs, since we will be entrusting our capital to a company and we have to agree with their policies. The websites where you can buy Bitcoin and other tokens are fundamental pillars for crypto adoption, since they connect users seeking to invest fiat currency in digital assets with the market, which directly influences the market cap of each coin.

In this opportunity, we will review the qualities of some of the best sites to buy Bitcoin to decide which options are more convenient for our objectives.

What should I consider when buying BTC?

• The Bitcoin exchange platform: The place where you will buy your Bitcoins is probably the first aspect that you should take into account. There are many companies that offer this service and each of them charges different rates and sets its own limits, so you will have to do a rigorous search to find the right one for you. At this point, you will have to look for a platform that accepts the currency you currently have (USD, EUR, GBP or funds in a payment processor), since these companies establish different payment methods. Having credit/debit cards is also very useful to buy Bitcoins on exchange platforms.
• The Bitcoin price: Although the price of Bitcoin is established by supply and demand in the crypto market, each exchange company defines a specific price that, although it is very close to the others, is not the same. For example; While the price of Bitcoin on Binance is $18,000, other platforms like Coinbase can have it at $17,900, or $18,100. At the end of the day your tokens will get the value you wanted, but depending on the BTC price you will have to spend more (or less) to acquire a full token.
• KYC verifications: KYC (Know Your Customer) verifications are mechanisms that exchange platforms use to successfully identify users through citizenship documents, such as driver’s license, identity card or passport. Through these documents, the exchange company will verify the user’s account and recognize him as a natural person and official member of the platform, giving him access to all available functions, including buying Bitcoin. Make sure you have these requirements handy and think of this step as the first when signing up for any platform.
• Good exchange interface: Each exchange platform is designed differently and while some have intuitive and friendly interfaces, others were created with expert users who already know all the options and processes to buy cryptocurrencies. If we don’t understand the platform well, we could make a mistake and spend more than necessary (or take longer than it should), so the ideal thing for those who want to buy Bitcoin would be to choose a website that they can understand and guide them through each order.
• Wallet security: After successfully buying BTC tokens, they will be sent to a wallet address (integrated in the platform or external) and will be stored in cold or hot storage. Cold storage means that the funds are stored offline, so no user connected to the internet will be able to access them, as is the case with hardware wallets and some services. Hot storage means that the funds are kept online and this is usually the case with some exchanges, but not all.

To increase security, it is recommended to store your tokens in a service that uses cold storage or in hardware wallets such as Trezor or Ledger and ensure that no one but you can access your funds.

 

What are the best sites to buy Bitcoin?

Binance – best overall Exchange

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where you can buy Bitcoin and a huge list of altcoins and ERC20 tokens (Ethereum, NEO, USDT, TRON, EOS, OMG, etc) through a friendly interface. This exchange company was founded by Changpeng Zhao in 2017 and continues to lead as CEO to this day.

In addition to having a great variety in its assets, Binance also allows different payment methods for those who are not yet crypto users and wish to be, enabling purchases with a debit / credit card, bank wire transfers and a section dedicated to P2P commerce.

It should be noted that in order to fully enjoy these functions, the user will have to pass a KYC verification in order to be recognized as a natural person within the exchange and to be able to establish any type of negotiations.

Users can pay with Visa and MasterCard debit/credit cards by entering the amount, confirming the payment details, and completing the 3DS security certification.

For bank transfers, users who want to deposit EUR can choose SEPA transfers, while for deposits with USD they can make SWIFT transfers. It should be noted that Binance does not charge fees for these deposits.

The Binance platform offers different trading modes depending on the level of experience of the users and they are divided into: Basic, Classic and Advanced. If you have never had experiences with trading platforms, choose the “basic” option and enjoy a simple and straightforward process to buy Bitcoin, while the “classic” and “advanced” options are more suitable for those who really know how Bitcoin orders work.

Pros

• Friendly interface with all the options that a first time user needs for a simple experience.
• Huge list of available cryptocurrencies.
• More than 90% of the funds are kept in cold storage.
• Multiple fiat deposit methods, which makes it easier for users to use the platform.

Cons

• Tedious customer support service.
• It is not a regulated exchange.

 

 

 
 
 

Cex.io –  great for Swift & Credit Cards

Cex.io is a British exchange platform founded in 2013 by Oleksandr Lutskevych, being one of the first crypto exchange companies to emerge in Europe since the boom with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Cex.io supports spot and margin trading, although it also has a popular staking program where you can earn interest by “lending” your digital assets and holding stablecoins.

The Cex.io interface is extremely easy to use and friendly, as it tells you what to do through small windows through the entire process of buying Bitcoin or any of the available tokens, specifying how much you want to spend and how much you will receive.

The graphs are very well designed and allow you to analyze the market at different times through highly intuitive colors and limit, market and margin trading order bars.

For fiat currency deposits, Cex.io supports USD, EUR, GBP and RUB. Users who do not yet have cryptocurrencies will be able to add balance to their CEX accounts through bank transfers and credit card purchases.

The fiat deposit methods on this platform are:

International SWIFT transfers (for USD, EUR and GBP), SEPA domestic transfers in EUR (Only for countries belonging to the European Union), ACH domestic transfers (for USD in the USA) and Faster Payment transfers in GBP (Only for UK).

As in other exchange platforms, the user must enter their identity documents to complete the KYC verification, which will make them an official user and increase their limits for different operations within the exchange.

Pros

• Regulated, very well-reputed exchange platform.
• Supports margin trading with leverage up to 100x.
• Multiple fiat deposit methods, which makes things easier for non-crypto users.
• Simple, smart designed platform with a very intuitive interface.

Cons

• Fees can be considered a little high.
• Quite an exclusive exchange.
• KYC verification can take a while.

 

 
 
 

Kraken – the most secure Exchange

Kraken is a Bitcoin exchange platform that has been providing its trading services since 2011, the year in which it was founded by Jesse Powell. This company is recognized in the crypto ecosystem for its excellent legal situation in the United States (where it was registered) and its compliance with regulations.

Being a regulated exchange, it is one of the platforms with more options for fiat deposits, accepting currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF and AUD.

The first thing a user should know when depositing to their Kraken account is that, after the first deposit, they will not be able to withdraw their funds within 72 hours as a temporary measure, which will only happen that time.

There will be a limit for deposits that will depend on the level of verification, since the KYC processes are very important within this platform. Each deposit in Kraken will be deducted a small fee for the costs that the exchange generates to accept the funds.

Users who want to deposit USD to the platform will be able to do so through SWIFT and FedWire transactions, while deposits in EUR will be processed through SEPA transfers.

Deposits in CHF, GBP and JPY can be processed through SWIFT transfers and bank transfers with AUD are allowed. In addition to the deposit fee, it is possible that your bank will charge you some commission for the transactions made, although none of this will be attributed to Kraken.

The Kraken interface is very simple and has sections for spot, margin and futures trading, which will be adjusted to each user depending on their level of experience. Upon entering the platform and logging in, you can click on “Get started” to buy and sell digital assets at the price you want.

There is a “Support” section that will explain each trading mode, the fee models and everything you need to know to successfully place orders in the cryptocurrency market.

Pros

• Regulated exchange.
• Very easy to use and available for all kinds of traders.
• It has plenty of deposit methods.
• Kraken listed the most popular cryptocurrency pairs.
• High security exchange platform.

Cons

• It has a lot of restricted countries and has very strict policies.
• Kraken does not support high leverage levels.
• It does not have a lot of altcoins or ERC20 tokens, unlike other exchange platforms.

 

 
 
 

Bitpanda -great european Exchange

Bitpanda is an Austrian exchange platform founded by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek, and Christian Trummer in 2014 and has continued to offer its cryptocurrency services to date.

This exchange not only has crypto digital assets, but it also has trading sections for metals (gold, silver, palladium, and platinum) with very low commissions, which widens the type of clients it can have.

Bitpanda’s interface is very easy to use and has very well explained sections for all the products it offers. You can review all the available digital assets and decide which one you want to buy or sell, which you can do in exchange for fiat currency.

Bitpanda offers a long list of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, altcoins, and multiple ERC20 tokens that users can trade with, so we are not necessarily talking about a dedicated BTC service.

To carry out deposits in fiat currency to the Bitpanda wallet, you can opt for bank deposits in USD, EUR, CHF, GBP and TRY. These transactions are direct and do not need you to add your bank account to your Bitpanda account (unless you want to withdraw your money), so you will only have to deposit the funds to the account specified on the platform and confirm that the transaction is yours. Know you can also buy Bitcoin with a credit card and a Neteller/Skrill/Giropay account.

Like most exchanges, you require a KYC verification to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through fiat currencies, so you will have to submit identity documents to the platform and wait for approval.

Pros

• Bitpanda supports multiple fiat currency and plenty of deposit methods.
• It has a long list of available cryptocurrencies.
• More than just a cryptocurrency trading platform.
• Bitpanda has an academy section for those who want to learn.
• Interface is simple to handle.

Cons

• Very poor-designed interface.
• Transaction fees exceed 1%.

 

 
 
 

Paxful – Buy Bitcoin via Peer to Peer

Paxful is a P2P exchange platform to trade Bitcoin, but with exchanges mainly focused on gift cards, or balance on payment platforms such as PayPal or Neteller. We can also find exchanges for deposits or bank transfers, although these generally occur in countries like the United States, with a dense population. Paxful was founded in 2014 by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback.

On the other hand, the platform uses a trust system in order to improve the user experience and prevent them from falling into scams, where each user who makes a transaction will leave their comment about the transaction. This system is very similar to the one implemented by LocalBitcoins, another recognized P2P exchange in the crypto ecosystem.

The Paxful interface is recommended for traders of all levels (beginners or professionals) and the exchanges are very easy to complete, as long as the established conditions are respected.

These platforms do not require a deposit to an integrated wallet, but you do the fiat transaction directly with the trader in exchange for the traded tokens.

Pros

• Very direct, straight-forward P2P exchange platform with transparent policies.
• It establishes a trust system where no trader should get tricked or scammed.
• Paxful is a serious and worldwide-recognized company.
• KYC verifications are completed very quickly.

Cons

• Not as many trading opportunities as in other P2P platforms.
• The interface design is a little boring.
• Rates are not the best in the market.