How To Buy And Sell Bitcoin ...

Before Buying Bitcoin
Selecting an Exchange
Connecting Your Crypto Exchange to a Payment Option
Placing a Crypto Order
Safe Secure Storage
Hot/Online Wallets
Offline "Cold" Wallets
How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal
Using Your Credit Card to Buy Bitcoin
Buying Bitcoin Alternative Ways
Bitcoin ATMs
Peer-To-Peer P2P Exchanges
How to Sell Bitcoin

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Before Buying Bitcoin

Although Bitcoin investing might seem complicated, it's much easier when it's broken down into steps. It's actually getting easier week by week to buy and sell Bitcoin and crypto exchange legitimacy is also increasing as is the legitimacy of wallets.

Every aspiring Bitcoin investor is going to require a number of things. These include personal identification documents if you're using a "Know Your Customer" (KYC) platform, a cryptocurrency exchange account and a secure Internet connection and a secure payment method.

It's also recommended having your own personal wallet separately from the exchange account. Valid payment methods include debit and credit cards as well as your bank account.

It's also possible to buy Bitcoin at specialized ATMs as well as by using P2P exchanges. But be aware that since early 2020 Bitcoin ATMs have been increasingly requiring government issued identification documents.

Security and privacy are significant issues for Bitcoin investors because although no physical Bitcoin exists, large holders rarely brag openly about it. Note that anyone who finds out the private key to a public address on the Bitcoin blockchain can authorize transactions.

Private keys need to be kept secret because criminals can and may well try to steal them if they learn about a large holding. Note also that anybody can see the balance of a public Bitcoin address you are using.

Crypto Currency Converter Cryptocurrency Prices by Coinlib

So it's a good idea to keep significant crypto investments at public addresses which aren't directly connected to ones used for transactions.

Remember that anybody can see a history of transactions made on the blockchain, even you. But whilst Bitcoin transactions are publicly recorded on the blockchain, identifyable user information isn't.

On the Bitcoin blockchain it is only the public key of the user that is visible next to a transaction and thus it makes transactions confidential but not anonymous.

It's important to note that looked at in a certain way, Bitcoin transactions are more traceable and transparent than cash, but cryptocurrencies can also be anonymous.

The USA Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) as well as international researchers have claimed that they are able to track transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain to the online accounts of other users, including their digital wallets.

E.g. If somebody creates an account at Coinbase they are obliged to provide their ID. Then, when that person buys Bitcoin it is tied to their ID and if they then were to send it to another wallet it can still be traced back to the Coinbase purchase which was connected to the identity of the account holder.

This doesn't usually concern most investors because Bitcoin is legal in the USA and in most other developed countries.

Selecting an Exchange

When you sign up with a cryptocurrency exchange, like Coinbase, Changelly, Binance, Kraken or the UK's Coinfloor, you will be able to purchase, hold and sell cryptocurrency.

It's usually best to use an exchange that also permits its users to withdraw their crypto to their own personal wallet for better safekeeping. However, if you're only interested in trading Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies this may not matter to you.

Note that many types of cryptocurrency exchanges exist and, because the Bitcoin ethos is about individual sovereignty and decentralization, some exchanges do allow users to remain anonymous and don't require users to enter personal data.

Those exchanges operate autonomously and are typically decentralized, meaning they don't have a central point of control.

While systems like this can be used for illegal activities, they're also used to provide services to those in the world without any bank account.

For people living in countries with little to no bank infrastructure, anonymous exchanges often help bring them into the mainstream economy.

However, the most popular exchanges, like those mentioned above, are not decentralized and do personal data.

When creating a cryptocurrency exchange account, it's important to use secure internet procedures like using 2-factor authentication and a password that is long and unique, including special characters and numbers as well as a variety of capitalized and lowercase characters.

Connecting Your Crypto Exchange to a Payment Option

After selecting a cryptocurrency exchange you'll need to have your personal documents handy.

Documents needed can vary from exchange to exchange and may include a scanned image of your driver's license, social security number, as well as info concerning your employmentr and your source of funds.

The data required can also vary according to which country you live in. The process is broadly similar to setting up a brokerage account.

Once the exchange has verified your ID and your legitimacy you can then connect a payment option. At most exchanges it's possible to connect your bank account direct or to connect a credit or debit card.

Although you can use a credit card for buying cryptocurrency, it is normally something to be avoided because of the volatility that cryptocurrencies often experience.

Despite Bitcoin being legal in the USA some banks may question or even refuse deposits to crypto related exchanges, so it's advisable to check that your bank will allow deposits at your chosen crypto exchange.

Another issue to watch are the varying fees for deposits via a bank account, credit or debit card. Coinbase is a useful exchange for beginners and charges 1.49% fee for bank accounts and 3.99% fee for credit and debit cards.

It's important to check out the fees associated with each payment option and select an exchange that works best for you.

Crypto exchanges also charge fees per transaction which can be a flat fee if the trading amount is relatively low or the fee can be a percentage of the trading amount.

Note that credit cards usually incur a processing fee in addition to transaction fees.

Placing a Crypto Order

After you've selected a crypto exchange and a payment option you are now able to buy Bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrencies. In recent years crypto currency exchanges have grown significantly in terms of liquidity and features and their charges have adapted accordingly.

An industry, once thought of as a scam, is slowly developing into a legitimate industry that has attracted interest from many important members of the financial services industry.

Almost all crypto exchanges today offer both market and limit orders and some of them also offer stop-loss orders. Of the exchanges mentioned above, Kraken offers the most order types and allows market, limit, stop-loss, stop-limit, take-profit and take-profit limit orders.

Crypto exchanges also offer various ways of setting up recurring investments, so permitting clients to dollar cost average into their chosen investments. E.g. Coinbase permits users to set recurring purchases dayly, weekly or monthly.

Safe Secure Storage

Cryptocurrency wallets are a place to store your digital assets with more security. If you have your crypto in your personal wallet rather than in the exchange, this ensures that you have full control over the private key to your funds.

This also provides you the ability to store funds safely away from any exchange, where there is a risk of being hacked and losing your funds.

Although most crypto exchanges offer their users wallets, security isn't their primary concern, so We generally don't recommend using a crypto exchange wallet for large or long term holdings.

Some wallets have more features than others with some only for Bitcoin while others will store many altcoin types and some additionally having the ability to swap one crypto token for another.

When choosing a Bitcoin wallet you have a number of options and the first thing to understand is the concept of "hot" wallets, which are online wallets, and "cold" wallets, which are hardware or paper wallets.

Hot/Online Wallets

Online wallets are also known as “hot” wallets because they run on internet connected devices like computers, mobile telephones and tablets and consequently they are vulnerable to online hacks.

This is because because online wallets can generate the private keys to your crypto coins allowing the hacker to steal your coins. So while a hot wallet can be very convenient for accessing and making transactions quickly, storing your private key on an internet connected device makes it vulnerable.

So people who aren't using enough security with their hot wallets can have their funds stolen. This doesn't happen infrequently and it can happen in several ways. E.g. Boasting when on a public forum like Reddit about how much Bitcoin you are holding while you have little or no hot wallet security would be unwise.

Nevertheless these online wallets can be made secure as long as sensible precautions are taken, like two-factor authentication, strong passwords and safe internet browsing as minimum precautions.

Given these drawbacks online/hot wallets are best used for small cryptocurrency amounts or crypto you are actively trading with on an exchange.

You can think of a hot wallet a bit like a checking account where financial wisdom would be to hold only spending money while the bulk of your money is held in a savings account or some other investment account.

So, as already mentioned, online exchange wallets are custodial accounts provided by the exchange, so you, the user, are not the holder of the private key to the funds held in that wallet.

If an event occurs where the online exchange is hacked or your account gets compromised, your funds would be lost. Remember this popular crypto community saying: “If it's not your key, it's not your coin!”.

Offline "Cold" Wallets

A cold wallet is a crypto wallet that is not connected to the internet and consequently has a far lower risk of being compromised. These wallets can also be referred to as hardware wallets or offline wallets.

These wallets store your private key in a way that is not connected to the internet and can come with software that works in parallel so that you can view your portfolio without risking your private key being compromised.

The most secure method to store crypto offline is with a paper wallet, which is a wallet you can generate at some websites like WalletGenerator.net.

It generates both public and private keys that you print out onto paper for safekeeping. It's only possible to access cryptocurrency in these addresses if you have that piece of paper.

Many people laminate these paper wallets and store them in safety deposit boxes at their bank or in a safe in their home. These wallets are intended for high security and long-term investments because you can't quickly sell or trade Bitcoin stored by this method.

Another popular type of cold wallet is a hardware wallet, which is usually a USB device which stores your private keys securely offline. Hardware wallets have significant advantages over online/hot wallets because they are not affected by viruses that could be on your computer.

Using a hardware wallet your private keys never come in contact with your Internet connected computer or any potentially vulnerable software.

These hardware devices are also usually open source, so allowing the community to determine its safety through code audits rather than a company declaring that it's safe to use.

Offline/cold wallets provide the best security for storing your Bitcoin or other crypto assets, but generally they do require a little more knowledge for setting up.

One good wallet method is to set up three things:
1.   An online exchange account for buying and selling your crypto.
2.   An online/hot wallet for holding small to medium amounts of crypto for trading.
3.   A cold hardware wallet for medium to long-term storage.

How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal

In the USA there are currently two ways you can purchase Bitcoin using the PayPal payment processor system. The first way is buying crypto currencies using your PayPal account and the second way is using some or all of your PayPal account balance to buy crypto from a third party provider.

This second method isn't as convenient as the first because currently there are very few 3rd party sites that will permit users to buy Bitcoin using PayPal.

Crypto Prices Cryptocurrency Prices by Coinlib

Using Paypal you can currently buy Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash and to create a PayPal crypto account you will need to provide your name, your bricks and mortar address, your date of birth and tax ID number.

However, Paypal currently won't permit you to use credit cards to buy Crypto.

When you buy Bitcoin directly from PayPal they take a cut from the difference between Bitcoin’s market price and exchange rate between the cryptocurrency and US Dollars.

Paypal additionally charges a transaction fee with the fee amount depending on the amount of your dollar purchase.

E.g. There's a flat fee of $0.50 for purchases of $100-$200. Beyond that the fee becomes a percentage of the total dollar amount. E.g. For crypto purchase of $100-$200 there's a 2% fee.

Note also that Paypal won't allow you to transfer any Crypto away from Paypal. Consequently it's not possible to transfer your cryptocurrencies from your PayPal wallet to an external crypto wallet nor to your personal wallet.

Another disadvantage with PayPal is that very few online traders and exchanges permit them to purchase payment. Currently almost the only online trader allowing PayPal for buying Bitcoin is the Etoro platform.

Using Your Credit Card to Buy Bitcoin

The Bitcoin buying process using a credit card is similar to the debit card process. You'll need to provide your credit card details to the online exchange or trading firm and to authorize the transaction. But generally, for the following reasons, it's not a good idea to purchase Bitcoin with credit cards.

1.   Not all exchanges permit Bitcoin purchases with credit cards because of the associated processing fees and the fraud risk. This may be in your best interest because credit card processing usually makes additional charges, so in addition to paying the transaction fees you'll likely have processing fees as well.

2.   Credit card companies usually regard Bitcoin purchases as cash advances and consequently they add hefty fees and interest rates. E.g. Chase and American Express both regard Crypto purchases as cash advances, so say you buy $100 worth of Bitcoin using your American Express card, you'll pay a cash advance fee of $10 plus a 25% annual percentage fee.

An indirect way to buy Bitcoin with a credit card is with a Bitcoin Rewards credit card. These cards work like other rewards credit cards but offer rewards in Bitcoin. An example is BlockFi rewards credit card.

Note however that these cards' annual fee may be high and there might be additional costs related to converting fiat currencies to crypto.

Buying Bitcoin Alternative Ways

Apart from popular online exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, here are a number of other methods for purchasing Crypto currencies:

Bitcoin ATMs
Bitcoin ATMs can be compared to in-person Bitcoin exchanges. You can insert cash into the machine and then use it to buy Bitcoin which is transferred to a secure digital wallet. Bitcoin ATMs are becoming very popular and sites like Coin ATM Radar will help you find the closest machines to where you are.

Peer-To-Peer P2P Exchanges
Unlike decentralized exchanges, which match sellers and buyers anonymously, there are some peer-to-peer exchanges providing more direct user connections.

An example is LocalBitcoins where, once you've created your account, you can post requests to sell or purchase Bitcoin, including info about price and payment methods. Users browse these buy and sell listings, selecting trade partners they want to transact with.

The LocalBitcoins site facilitates some aspects of the trade and although peer-to-peer exchanges don't provide the same anonymity as decentralized exchanges, they do allow users to shop around for the best deal.

Some of these exchanges also offer rating systems so you have a way to judge potential trade partners before you buy or sell.

How to Sell Bitcoin

In general you can sell Bitcoin wherever you purchase, using one of the methods mentioned on this page and the process is typically the selling process is similar to the purchase process.

E.g. you may only need to click a button to specify an order type in order to conduct the sale. Depending on the market and demand the offered price for Bitcoin may vary.

Cryptocurrency exchanges charge a percentage of the transaction amount as fees. E.g. Coinbase currently charges a fee amounting to 1.49% of the overall transaction amount.

Exchanges often maintain monthly and daily limits on withdrawals. Consequently cash from a big sale might not be immediately available to you. However, there are usually no limits to the amount of cryptocurrency you can sell.

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