TOP-10 Best Places to Buy Bitcoin
When it comes to finding the best place to buy bitcoin, things are not all that easy. The first thing to consider when looking for the top bitcoin exchange is how safe are the website and server. Secondly, you should lookout for available currency pairs: are you looking to trade bitcoin for USD, Euros, or other fiat currencies and what type of payments you can use to buy a bitcoin. However, the largest bitcoin sites usually have many options for buying bitcoin with government issued currency and altcoins. In this guide, you will find the top ten best places to buy Bitcoin that will help you with that decision.
CEX
This is a highly reliable and secure exchange registered in the UK and having an MSB status in the USA.
CEX started out as a bitcoin mining pool but has since discarded mining to become an exchange. The platform features a dynamic user interface, which is friendly for new users while still maintaining trading features that enable easy and sophisticated trading. Users can sign up to CEX using their social media accounts. You can also use your ordinary Visa/MasterCard in any currency to load funds, buy bitcoins, and even withdraw fiat funds (such as USD, EUR, RUB) to the card.
CEX also has a Level 2 PCI DSS data security clearance meaning that this site is extremely trustworthy with users’ data and money.
If you are just entering the world of cryptocurrency, then CEX would be a perfect exchange for you to begin with as Customers can learn easily on CEX thanks to a fully beginner-optimized process. However, the exchange has relatively high fees and its customer service is not up to par with other exchanges.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes Yes No No
Coinbase
Coinbase is the best used bitcoin exchange.
Coinbase’s reputation lies with its presence in 32 countries across the world – especially in the USA, UK, and Brazil, which represent their largest customer base. The San Francisco-based company allows users to purchase bitcoin, as well as several altcoins, using the US dollar (USD), the Euro (EUR), and the British Pound (GBP). Users can make payments using bank transfers and credit cards. PayPal payments are also supported but only within the US.
The exchange is suitable for beginners, with an easy-to-use interface and fairly fast transaction speeds. Security and customer support are also satisfactory.
All you need to do is sign up, connect your bank account, debit or credit card, and you are ready to go. Coinbase also has apps for Android and iPhone as well as a browser platform. In terms of security, the vast majority of the Bitcoin they hold is stored offline. Coinbase also has insurance for the coins held on their servers. However, the fees are a lot higher than other exchanges and it requires identification, so you need to wait until your identity is confirmed before you can withdraw.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes Yes No Yes (USA only)
Localbitcoins
Localbitcoins is one of the first and largest P2P exchanges (person to person). The system pairs your location with that of sellers in the area nearby.
LocalBitcoins is an escrow service that helps to match bitcoin buyers and sellers. The most common method of payment for purchase is cash deposit. However, users may advertise trades for whichever payment method they prefer.
Buying bitcoins via an in-person meeting, secured and facilitated by LocalBitcoins, may be one of the fastest and most private ways to buy bitcoins in any country.
The site is easy to use and it holds funds in escrow until trades are completed to ensure transactional safety. Furthermore, its customer service team helps resolve disputes between users to ensure smooth usability.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
No Yes Yes Yes
Coinmama
Coinmama is best known for facilitating the purchase of bitcoins and ether with debit and credit cards. Its services are accessible from most parts the globe.
While the site remains relatively small, they have never yet experienced any known security breaches, and they continue to successfully sweep-up market share right from under the feet of the largest trading sites. Coinmama delivers within minutes after an order is placed, allowing users to make the most of advantageous price movements
The website is nicely designed and works perfectly on a mobile browser as well as desktop. Coinmama is really easy to use for beginners. Customer support is truly amazing compared to Coinbase or other large exchanges. It is registered with FinCEN in the US as a money service business (MSB), but its headquarters are located in Ra’anana, Israel.
One of the disadvantages is that it’s not possible to sell cryptocurrency back to the exchange.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes No Yes No
Poloniex
Poloniex does not support deposits, withdrawals, or trading in any fiat currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.). It is a cryptocurrency only exchange. It prides itself on offering advanced trading features and maximum security.
Poloniex consistently has some of the highest trade volume of all cryptocurrency exchanges. Those who are new to the cryptocurrency world or want to buy their first Bitcoin or Altcoins may find Poloniex a little daunting at first. As mentioned, the exchange deals only with cryptocurrency, so you cannot make your first crypto purchase via this exchange. In order to buy cryptocurrency on Poloniex, you must already have another cryptocurrency that they support. There is also no mobile app, making Poloniex somewhat challenging to use on the go, although it does have a mobile-friendly website. There are no deposit fees, although withdrawal fees will vary depending on the cryptocurrency you’re withdrawing.
You can find a range of efficient data-analysis tools, along with very detailed charts that let you make educated decisions regarding trades. The high-volume nature of Poloniex also appeals to traders, particularly the ability to do lending and margin trading.
Keep in mind, that some users complain about their customer support that has been known to take as long as 90 days to respond.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
No No No No
Kraken
Kraken offers deep liquidity for large volume buyers in European and North American markets and ensures a price close to fair market rate.
Kraken is one of the exchanges who prefer using the official “XBT” currency code instead of “BTC” and supports deposits from US, European, Canadian, British, and Japanese customers. Deposits can be made via bank wire, SEPA, SWIFT, and bank deposit (Japan only).
Kraken offers the cheapest rates and fastest times for trading, depositing and withdrawing
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
No Yes No No
Gemini
Gemini is secure and safe, and they have offline reserves for storing the cryptocurrency, which makes them a completely reliable wallet.
Gemini is a fully registered, New York-based exchange that holds the status of a NY state limited liability Trust that was founded in 2014 by the famous duo, the Winklevoss twins. It allows users to withdraw and deposit directly to and from their bank accounts. Although it serves a relatively small number of countries, the trust gives investors a bit more confidence compared to other entities in the cryptocurrency space.
Gemini is fully operational in over 45 states of America, along with UK, Singapore, Canada, South Korea, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong and the platform is easy to use for both beginners and experts. The only fiat currency that can be used on Gemini is the US Dollar.
Another interesting feature about Gemini is its ‘AUCTIONS’ function. It should not be confused with the auctions that happen on New York Stock Exchange, but there are similarities. Auctions happen twice a day, where large volumes of crypto-assets (particularly Bitcoin and Ethereum) are traded in the short-time.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes Yes No No
Bitstamp
Bitstamp is perfect for large volumes. But you will be required to go through privacy-invading KYC/AML checks though.
Bitstamp provides more than just debit and credit card purchases. It also allows you to buy with a bank transfer, SEPA transfer, and more. You can even cash out your balance in gold. Debit card purchases, like with most services, require identity verification. Once the account has been verified, just link your debit card and make purchases as desired. Withdrawing is just as fast. Bitstamp also offers very low prices compared to most other services. The ease of use here makes it an excellent choice.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes Yes No No
Paxful
Paxful – where else can you exchange virtually anything for the most popular cryptocurrency in existence?
It’s a peer to peer Bitcoin marketplace connecting buyers with sellers, similar to Localbitcoins where over 150 payment methods can be used to purchase bitcoin including but not limited to PayPal, Skrill and Neteller, cash – or even iTunes & Amazon gift cards.
Paxful is very similar to Localbitcoins. You choose the amount of Bitcoins you want to buy and your payment method, and then you are presented with available sellers. Each seller has a reputation from past trades and each specifies their Bitcoin exchange rate.
However, Paxful has significantly higher fees compared to other p2p platforms.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes No Yes Yes
Xcoins
Xcoins describes itself as a Bitcoin lending service that allows traders to get bitcoins by using a credit card or PayPal.
Xcoins is a California-based company that offers bitcoin to the public through a unique peer-to-peer lending model that connects borrowers and lenders through a series of “secure loans” while Xcoins is merely the middleman that facilitates the transaction.
Xcoins is available in over 40 countries and supports bitcoin only. Transactions are instant for returning users. First-time users typically wait up to 3 hours if the transaction is entered between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. PST, or up to 12 hours if entered between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. PST.
But Xcoins doesn’t seem stable enough at the moment to use for large purchases. However, if the only way you can acquire Bitcoins is through PayPal, it might be a valid option for you.
Available payment methods:
Credit Card
Bank Transfer
Cash
PayPal
Yes No No Yes
Summing up
CEX has adequate security features, having never been compromised to date.
Coinbase is the most user-friendly and trusted platform, currently has 200 million page-views per month and has apps for Android and iPhone.
Localbitcoins is great because in most cases no verification is needed, meaning that it is possible to stay anonymous and you can use cash to buy a bitcoin.
Coinmama is another excellent site to keep things as private as possible and to buy a bitcoin as fast as possible.
Poloniex is a crypto-to-crypto exchange that does not support trading in any fiat currencies. As a result, creating an account on Poloniex is relatively simple due to lack of regulations.
It is super cheap and fast to deposit, withdraw, and trade on Kraken.
Gemini provides increased security features, as it holds most of its Bitcoin and Ethereum in offline wallets, and fiat deposits & withdrawals.
Bitstamp is the cheapest place to trade BTC USD or EUR for high-volumes.
Paxful is very simple and extremely fast! On Paxful you can use not only PayPal to buy bitcoin, but also Amazon gift cards as well as OneVanilla, Walmart, BestBuy, and GameStop. Even a Google Wallet is accepted by vendors here.
Xcoins allows users to buy bitcoin through PayPal and receive it instantly upon paying the lender.
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