Best Place to Buy Bitcoin [Updated 2024]
Trading is risky and you might lose part, or all, of your capital invested. The information provided is for informational and educational purposes only and does not represent any type of financial advice and/or investment recommendation.
Our top picks:
eToro – Best For Beginners
Blockchain.com – Best for coin giveaways
Crypto.com – Best for staking
Uphold – Best for diversifying
CoinSmart – Best for seamless interface
Kraken – Best for bitcoin pros
Gemini – Best for wallet protection
Binance – Best for trading choice
Robinhood – Best for US beginners
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin (BTC) is probably the most well-known cryptocurrency that is available and was really the digital coin (or digital asset) that started the trend for alternative, decentralised currency.
Other cryptocurrencies include:
Binance
Ethereum
Dogecoin
Ether
Launched back in 2009, bitcoin was given out as a prize for completing online Captcha and won by playing some games online – and those early adopters would be very rich indeed given the meteoric rise in value that bitcoin has seen when compared to normal (or fiat) currency.
Bitcoin can be bought, sold and traded through an online exchange, and, as a digital currency, it can be stored in a wallet, which can also be online or on a hard drive, depending on your preferences.
Created through completing a calculation on the blockchain, each bitcoin is unique and can be tracked, but the decentralised nature of both the blockchain and most cryptocurrency exchanges means that it cannot be traced to an individual, making each transaction nominally safer.
Bitcoin can be used to replace fiat currency in making some transactions, both in the online world and in the physical world, and it is possible to have a debit or even a credit card based on your bitcoin balance that can be used like a normal card.
One of the biggest draws to bitcoin is that it is not controlled by any government or tied to the price of any other currency or commodity. This means that it can be used across borders with no currency conversion charge, and it holds value in and of itself.
The Best Sites to Buy Bitcoin in 2024
1. eToro
Best for: Beginners
Pros
Well regulated (FCA/ASIC) as a trading platform
Excellent copy trading options
Easy-to-use mobile app
Cons
Not all facilities are available in every country
Must use USD as fiat currency
eToro was established in 2007 and has become well-known as a regulated and trusted place for traders of all kinds of financial instruments, with a particular focus on social trading.
In terms of buying and selling bitcoin, eToro is simple to use and has lots to offer the beginner trader, including a demo account so you can get used to how the platform works. Using the demo account alongside the extensive educational offering will help you get a grasp on the best ways to trade.
Alongside this unrivalled education is the opportunity to trade other financial instruments if you want to diversify your portfolio, so you can also trade stocks, ETFs and CFDs (depending on location).
CFD is not available in the United States. US users cannot trade CFDs.
eToro charges a flat fee of 1% for buying and selling cryptocurrency.
Don’t invest in unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
2. Blockchain.com
Best for: Coin giveaways
Pros
Pioneer of blockchain technology
Visa card available
Simple fee structure
Cons
Not as many choices of cryptocurrency
Customer support limited to email
Blockchain.com was an early adopter of this innovative technology, having launched in 2011.
This popular exchange offers both a trading wallet and a storage wallet, with the option to put your bitcoin in – so you can keep it offline in cold storage if you are not going to be using it to trade.
Blockchain.com offers a wider range of fiat base currencies, which makes it less likely that you will need to factor in currency conversion fees when you are depositing. The fee structure is simply based on maker-taker, which means it is straightforward to see how much a trade will cost you.
Although the customer support is much more limited than on other exchanges, the education offered is brilliant, so you should be able to work your way around the native mobile apps and the platform in general without needing too much help.
3. Crypto.com
Best for: Staking
Pros
Designed to be simple enough for beginners
NFTs and DeFi available
Earn up to 14% interest paid weekly on staked coins
Cons
Not all features available globally
Trading fees can be expensive if you don’t trade high volumes
Crypto.com used to be known as Monaco when it first launched in 2016 with its own crypto token. It rebranded in 2020 to Crypto.com and launched a Visa card, which users can spend their crypto holdings with and earn money back.
CRO is the exchange’s own token, and there are plenty of other cryptocurrencies to buy, sell and trade, including BTC.
Much of the trading activity is free, such as crypto-to-crypto trades, but low-volume transactions are subject to a maker/taker fee structure of 0.10%/0.16%.
The mobile app is native for both iOS and Android and is the easiest way to get started; it is simple to navigate with an excellent user experience.
For more advanced traders, the Crypto Exchange is available on the web and allows actions like stop-loss and limit orders, much as you would place when trading forex or stocks.
4. Uphold
Best for: Diversifying
Pros
Transparent pricing
Can make more than one trade on each transaction
Well-respected, with lots of users
Low fees
Cons
Customer service is limited
Not many choices of cryptocurrencies
Uphold was launched in 2015, and it has already handled more than $4 billion in transactions in more than 184 different countries – and with a wide user base, it can boast deeper liquidity than some of the other exchanges on this list.
One of the outstanding features of Uphold is that you can make trades between different asset classes in one transaction, which means that if you want to buy gold with bitcoin, you can do it with just one click rather than cashing out to fiat currency first.
For sheer simplicity, Uphold is tough to beat – especially when you consider there are no deposit or withdrawal fees and you will know exactly what each trade will cost before you start.
However, the customer service could be much better and more available, and the lack of deeper research and charting capabilities might be a negative point for the more advanced traders.
5. CoinSmart
Best for: Seamless interface
Pros
Customer support is widely regarded as excellent
Intuitive user interface
Lots of education available
Cons
Not many choices of cryptocurrency are available
Deposit and withdrawal fees apply to some payment methods
CoinSmart is a Canadian company that was launched in 2018, and, although there is only a small number of cryptocurrencies available, bitcoin is one of them.
The biggest selling point for CoinSmart is that the app is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, with a streamlined look, which works equally well on whatever device you have downloaded it on.
The education offering at CoinSmart comes from the Get Smart Hub, which is full of educational articles and how-to guides so you can get up to speed on the best way to trade quickly.
While the trading fee for a standard account is fixed at 0.20%, there are also fees for funding your account using a credit or debit card, and a 1% fee for withdrawals.
6. Kraken
Best for: Bitcoin pros
Pros
High liquidity thanks to a wide customer base
Account opening is fast and uncomplicated
Supports futures trading
Cons
Funding accounts can be expensive
Reports of security concerns after some hacking
Kraken is among the most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges and does a lot more for users than just providing the service to buy, sell and trade bitcoin.
There are more than 120 digital currencies and tokens available, and users can earn interest by staking their crypto holdings – up to 23%, depending on the token.
Kraken has been operating out of San Francisco since it opened and has a good reputation among experienced traders because it is straightforward – and because they now offer futures trading on cryptocurrency, which is not common.
In terms of funding accounts and trading costs, Kraken may charge between 0.5% and 3.75%, depending on the source, but you can buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly from your bank account (subject to a 1.5% fee).
It is worth mentioning, however, that Kraken has been under investigation for security issues following some attacks.
7. Gemini
Best for: Wallet protection
Pros
First exchange to be SOC-2 certified
Transparent fee structure
Reward credit card available
Cons
Customer support could be better
Lacking tools for more sophisticated traders
Gemini was founded in New York in 2014 and has built an exchange based on reputation and trust, with a focus on security that has earned them SOC-2 certification. This means that your bitcoin wallet is much safer in their hands and they can prove it.
There are 100 cryptocurrencies available to buy and sell on Gemini, and the trading interface is simple and easy to use, so it is a great option for a savvy beginner.
More advanced traders might find the lack of extra tools and research a problem, as these features are necessary for more complicated trading strategies to work.
While the fees are transparent, they are based on the volume and cost of each trade, so they can seem a little bit complicated.
8. Binance
Best for: Trading choice
Pros
Lots of features
More than 365 cryptocurrencies available
No trading limits
Cons
Charges fees for debit card deposits
Has had some regulatory issues in some locations
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and it was founded in China in 2017.
What makes Binance stand out is that there are literally hundreds of different cryptocurrencies available to buy, sell, and trade – and the platform is designed with the more experienced trader in mind because they provide extensive research and charting tools.
There is no limit to the amount that can be traded, either, which is important for high-volume or professional traders.
It is one of the cheapest platforms to buy crypto – the fees on the platform are among the lowest in the industry and are simply based on the maker/taker structure, but there is a funding fee of 4.5% if you use a debit card to make a deposit.
9. Robinhood
Best for: US beginners
Pros
More than 14 million active users
No fees
No minimum trade volume
Cons
Limited features available
Not available to traders outside the US
Robinhood was founded in 2014 but shot into the mass media spotlight when it became synonymous with the disruption of the GameStop stock.
Known as an innovator in the brokerage industry, Robinhood offered investors the opportunity to buy into stocks, cryptos and other trading instruments without any minimum deposit, and charged no fees – allowing access to those who would not usually have the financial ability to get involved in investing.
The interface is designed to be mobile-first, with a simple and intuitive app that makes for a streamlined trading experience.
The features on the exchange, such as research and education, are lacking – but for a beginner, it is simple to get up and running quickly, as everything works the way you think it will.
The Advantages of Investing in Bitcoin
Accessibility and Liquidity
You can purchase bitcoin (BTC) in many different places online, and all you need to do is choose the exchange that is right for you.
One of the other important things about bitcoin that make it a great investment tool is its liquidity.
While there are a limited number of bitcoins available and scarcity is helping the price stay so high, people are constantly buying and selling both full bitcoins and fractional bitcoins, the smallest of which is called a Satoshi, which is worth 0.00000001 BTC.
User Anonymity and Transparency
While most exchanges do require some sort of identification through the Know Your Customer protocols that financial institutions use, there are some who hold to the decentralised ethos of not tracking clients, and either way signing up to buy, sell or trade bitcoin is simple and straightforward.
The premise of the blockchain is that every transaction has a history and can be verified – that is how each coin is created – and this means that as a currency it is very transparent.
You can follow each BTC using its digital signature, and while you might not be able to identify the current owner thanks to the anonymity of decentralisation, you will be able to see that the BTC is valid and real.
Independence From a Central Authority
This is an important reason that many people cite when they first get involved in investing in BTC and other cryptocurrencies – it is not linked to any government or a particular commodity.
This independence means it is not subject to inflation in the same way that fiat currency is, and no government can withhold BTC or change its value or worth.
What this also means is that it can be bought, sold and traded for other cryptocurrencies or even goods and services without the need for currency conversion – the value is held across borders and all the way around the world.
High Return Potential
Volatility, especially for the short-term investor, is a great selling point for bitcoin.
The market changes quickly – sometimes within a few hours but regularly every day. As has already been mentioned, those who bought into this digital currency back in 2009 could potentially be millionaires today (but remember, they could also have lost everything).
Getting in on bitcoin for the long term is also an excellent strategy for high return, as while short-term volatility might influence day traders and the like, in the long term, BTC and other cryptocurrency have had an upward trend that is showing no signs of slowing down – especially in times of economic uncertainty where fiat currency tumbles, interest rates are rising and the only safe investments seem to be commodities like gold and oil – or bitcoin.
Cons of Investing in Bitcoin
Volatility
The volatility of the whole cryptocurrency market might be initially what encourages someone to invest, but the prices can change in an instant for many reasons and that can encourage some traders to panic sell and lose out in the longer term.
Bitcoin was introduced with built-in scarcity – there will only ever be 21 million coins available. This scarcity adds value, which is great for those who have BTC holdings, of course, but it can be affected by other factors, such as the mainstream media.
As an example of this, when it was announced that Tesla was going to start accepting BTC as payment for their cars, the value of the bitcoin rose. When Elon Musk said later that he was selling all his bitcoin holdings because of the effects of crypto mining on the environment, the price tumbled.
Unregulated
The idea of a decentralised currency that does not rely on government sanctions and can be used across borders is a great idea in a globalised community, but in practice, the fact that the industry is unregulated can cause problems.
Lack of regulation means that you lack anywhere to go if something does go wrong. Your BTC might be in a wallet that is looked after by the exchange – a perfectly usual scenario – but if they suffer a hacking attack or collapse financially themselves, you could lose it all. There is no legal protection for a decentralised currency like there is for other trading instruments.
Irreversible
Although the blockchain makes transactions traceable and holds them on account, if you make a mistake, you cannot rectify it.
What this means is that if you were to send some of your BTC to another wallet and you mistyped the amount or some of the account details, you would not be able to get it back.
The other issue is the security of your wallet. Most wallets have a public key, which is like your bank account number. These are the details that are needed to put cryptocurrency into your wallet.
There is also a private key, which works like the PIN on your credit card – allowing access to the funds within. If you lose this private key, you cannot access what is in your wallet, and there is no way of recovering this information.
Limited Use
While bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream and recognised as a viable investment option, using crypto for everyday purchases is not particularly simple.
You can use BTC to make purchases online, and there are ATMs that allow you to withdraw from a crypto wallet, but there isn’t all that much that you can achieve with crypto at the moment.
If you are investing in BTC for the long term, or you want to use it to make trades for other instruments or different currencies, that might not be a problem, but if you are investing in it as a viable alternative to fiat currency, then you might be waiting for it to become a recognised payment option everywhere.
How to Choose the Best Platform to Trade Bitcoins
Fees
Exchanges need to fund themselves to be able to offer a service, and in most cases, a bitcoin exchange will charge transaction fees.
With cryptocurrency purchases, this is usually demonstrated as a maker/taker percentage, with the person offering the bitcoin paying a certain fraction, and the person buying paying a fraction (usually slightly more).
There are other fees that may be charged by the platform that you are using; some might charge for deposits or withdrawals or have some sort of account maintenance fee.
While looking for the cheapest place to buy bitcoin UK might work for someone who just wants to buy the cryptocurrency and hold it, the slightly more expensive options are more likely to have extra benefits, like education, research or access to other trading instruments so you can build a diversified portfolio.
Make sure you know what the fees are and how they are charged before you decide – instead of just opting for the cheapest place to buy bitcoin.
Liquidity
Liquidity and availability are the main factors in the cost of certain cryptocurrencies, and the manufactured scarcity of BTC is partly why it holds such a high price in comparison with other cryptos.
An exchange with high liquidity has more availability for buyers and sellers, which means they can often offer better prices, which helps the market to grow.
When you are looking for an exchange, one with higher liquidity is usually a better option – not only because you will get more for your fiat currency, but you are also likely to be able to get a better selection of cryptocurrency.
You can then take advantage of related activities, such as staking your holdings to earn interest or getting a linked card to spend your crypto balance.
Customer Service
While most of the services listed are quite straightforward, you might need some help with setting up your account, making a deposit, or you might have some technical issues come up.
Customer service can come in different forms, and some exchanges might offer a phone service, email, or live chat – or a combination of all three, plus others (like social media messaging or WhatsApp, for example).
The best customer service is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides fast and reliable answers to your questions. To see how well actual customers receive customer service, check out independent reviews.
Speed
Fast execution can mean the difference between getting a competitive price or making a loss, so you want to be with an exchange that can make the transaction happen in microseconds with one click.
Cryptocurrency trading is much like forex in that if you are using it as a short-term trading strategy, you want to be able to buy, sell or trade at exactly the right moment.
You will want to make sure that your internet connection is fast, but the connection from the platform to the exchange also needs to be like lightning for the best results.
Ease of Use
Many bitcoin purchasers are using mobile devices to access the platforms and exchanges, but some people are still using web trading software.
Whichever way you are buying BTC, you want the interface to be user-friendly and simple, with all the features available to be intuitive and make sense.
Of course, if you are new to trading, you will be looking for some sort of platform tutorial, as well as more general education in how to buy bitcoin and a glossary for some of the more unfamiliar trading terms that you might come across.
You also might want to trade and make withdrawals using easy and safe platforms like PayPal, or via bank transfer, or be able to make withdrawals regularly to the bank of your choice and with no fees.
Minimal Investments
Minimum deposits can sometimes be a barrier for new traders, especially when trading a new or volatile instrument like bitcoin.
Many trading platforms instigate a minimum deposit to start trading, but these can be as low as $10 – and in some cases, you can start trading for free using a demo account to get used to the platform and the way the market works before staking any real currency.
The other thing to consider when buying bitcoin especially is the cost per BTC token – this can be too high for most people, which is why fractional BTC might be a better investment.
As an example, the smallest fraction of a bitcoin is known as a Satoshi (named for the creator of Bitcoin) – and it is 0.00000001 of a BTC – so probably the cheapest way to buy bitcoin for a newbie.
Security
Security of your money, whether fiat or crypto, should be top of mind when you are looking at an exchange. While decentralised currency might offer some freedom from the restrictions of regulation, it also makes it a little riskier for consumers.
Location of the exchange can help mitigate this risk – look for a physical address of where the exchange is based and check to see if they are a regulated financial business (like Pepperstone or eToro, for example).
Platforms that offer cryptocurrency as part of a wider trading instrument offering are more likely to be regulated by top-tier jurisdictions like the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
For crypto-only exchanges, your money is more likely to be safe if they offer cold storage as part of their service – what this means is that you can store your bitcoin holdings offline, making them inaccessible to hackers, for example.
They might also follow the Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols which have been put in place to stamp out money laundering, so you know that the other traders on the platform are not likely to be criminals.
Tips for Investing in Bitcoin
Know the Risk
BTC and other cryptocurrencies are very volatile, which makes them a high-risk investment strategy.
If you do invest, you need to be prepared to lose every penny – because while some traders can make money, the risk is much higher with digital currencies than it is with other trading instruments.
If you are wary of the risk involved, then investing in a more stable trading instrument might be more suitable.
Diversify Investments
A popular strategy to ensure that your investment isn’t too affected when a market drops is to diversify.
What this means is a variation of the idea of not putting all your eggs in one basket – by investing in different things. You might want to stay with cryptocurrency and choose some other coins alongside your bitcoin holdings.
You might consider investing in something more mainstream, like a commodity or some stocks, or even some forex.
The benefit of this is that if the market for BTC falls, the markets for your other investments might be rising, which means that you are not risking your total portfolio.
Start Investments Small
The best way to buy bitcoin, especially if you lack knowledge of the BTC environment, is to start small.
You might have a certain pot of money that you have earmarked for investing – but it is a good idea to start with the smallest amount you can until you get familiar with the platform, the exchange and the movements of the market.
You can learn about your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the best strategies, without risking all your investment finances.
Learn to Spot Fraud
With unregulated and decentralised investments, it can be difficult to spot fraud – and this can be an expensive mistake. Crypto investment scams in 2021 cost users more than £20,000 according to Action Fraud, including things like fake coins and fraudulent offers of free cryptocurrency.
Wallets are another problem for the crypto investor – while it might be more convenient (and cheaper) to use the wallet provided by the exchange you are using, savvy investors will use one of the more well-known wallet providers like Trezor or Electrum.
Be In It for the Long Term
With a volatile market, it can be very tempting to watch movements daily – or sometimes even hourly, but this can be dangerous to any potential profits.
While short-term trading strategies can turn a profit, it is not always easy to time the market to make the most of what is happening on an hourly basis – and even professional traders can find it difficult to get it right.
Monitoring the market like this might lead you to panic sell if the market starts to drop, making a loss and then not being able to recover.
For most investors, buying a small amount of bitcoin alongside other trading instruments is a long-term strategy that should see a general upward trend – which makes it a better way to make the most out of your portfolio.
Automate Purchasing/Trading Bots
Buying lesser amounts of bitcoin on a regular basis is a good way to make the most out of your investment, and if you can automate your purchases, you are much less likely to suffer when the market isn’t as suitable.
If you set a bot to buy £50 of bitcoin every month, some months the price will be lower than average, while others it will be higher. The idea is that you should get an averagely good fiat value on your purchases by doing it automatically, rather than waiting for the price to be better.
Mistakes to Avoid When Trading in Bitcoin
Buying Just Because the Price Is Low
The market can move in mysterious ways, and while everyone wants to buy bitcoin for cheap UK, it is worth looking at the historical data about the market movements before just grabbing it anyway.
If it swings back up again straight away, that is great – but the market is just as likely to continue downwards.
Going ‘All-In’
While it might happen in the movies, it is not likely to happen to you – going all-in is not a magic spell that will ensure you make masses of profit – in fact, this is a terrible investment strategy.
As mentioned above, the best strategy for maximising the opportunity for profit is to diversify your investments.
Believing That Cryptocurrency Is ‘Easy Money’
There is no such thing as ‘easy money’ when it comes to investing, and even if you just buy a small amount of bitcoin and let it sit for the long term, you are not guaranteed to make a profit – or even get your money back.
If you are being attracted by an entity that is promising ‘easy money,’ it is likely to be a scam.
Forgetting the Crypto Key Phrase
Your private key phrase is the only way for you to get access to the bitcoin you have in your wallet – and if you forget this series of numbers and letters there is no way to recover it – so your altcoins will be lost forever.
Make sure you keep this information safe – so you can remember it and keep it away from potential hackers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I invest in bitcoin?
The amount you should invest in bitcoin depends on your financial situation, and you should never invest more than you can afford to lose. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, is a volatile trading instrument, and there is a high potential for loss.
How can I buy bitcoin directly?
To buy bitcoin you need to go through a cryptocurrency exchange. Some trading platforms offer cryptocurrency trading as well as stocks and forex, which means you can buy through them.
You can also register for an account with an exchange directly, so you can buy bitcoin using fiat currency.
What is the minimum deposit required to invest in bitcoin?
The smallest fraction of bitcoin that you can purchase is one Satoshi (0.0000001 BTC), making it the cheapest way to buy BTC. The price of this depends on the market.
Some exchanges will have a minimum deposit amount that you must have before you can make any cryptocurrency purchases.
What are the best sites to buy bitcoins if you’re a beginner?
The best sites to buy bitcoins are either eToro or Robinhood because all of these are easy to use with minimum fees and the process to buy BTC is straightforward.
Is bitcoin the best cryptocurrency for investment?
As the earliest example of a cryptocurrency, bitcoin is a great option for investment. It has held the highest overall value on the market and remains high when other altcoins are falling.
However, it is an expensive investment in comparison with other cryptocurrencies, so a less well-known coin might be a better place to start for the experience.
Are bitcoin trading sites safe?
Bitcoin exchanges themselves tend to be decentralised and unregulated, which means there is no recourse if something goes wrong.
Even some of the bigger crypto exchanges have had issues with hackers and legitimacy, but you can take steps to check on the safety of the platform that you are using to make sure that your money stays as safe as possible.
Can you get rich by trading bitcoin?
If you were an early adopter of bitcoin, or one of the earlier miners, you could have made millions by now.
However, with the current high price of BTC, getting rich from just buying and selling this one altcoin is not as likely anymore. However, diversifying a portfolio and including BTC might be an effective way to boost profits.
Do you need a bank account to trade bitcoin?
You do not need a bank account to make deposits to trade bitcoin; most exchanges accept credit and debit cards. However, you might find that the cheapest way to buy bitcoin is to make a deposit using your bank account.
What are the main factors to consider when choosing a bitcoin trading site?
There are several things to consider when choosing the best platform to trade bitcoins, including:
Fees
Security
Liquidity
Choice of coins
Is investing in bitcoin a gamble?
Investing in bitcoin, as with many trading instruments, is a bit of a gamble even if you have experience in trading. Bitcoin is a volatile instrument that can change drastically in value even over the course of a day, so it is more of a gamble than forex or commodities like gold.
Final Thoughts
If you want to get involved in selling, trading and buying cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, there are platforms and exchanges available that make it easy.
Make sure that you are choosing the platform that works for you in terms of fees, security and liquidity. Keep in mind that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are well-known for being volatile and a bit of a gamble in terms of investments.
Diversifying your portfolio or using cryptocurrency as a ‘fun’ investment can help you develop new trading strategies and learn more about the blockchain and how it affects the digital world – just be sure that you are taking care not to overinvest – or fall for frauds.