How to invest in bitcoin: a guide for novice crypto investors

Bitcoin is one of the fastest growing assets in the world. Since 2013, when the cryptocurrency first came to exchanges, bitcoin would bring its investors more than 7000%. That is, the amount of your investment would have grown more than 70 times over during this time, and $100 invested would have brought you $7000. So many people are wondering: how to invest in bitcoin?

You will find the answer in this article. In fact, it is much easier than it might seem at first glance.

How to invest in Bitcoin for a beginner

This does not require any special knowledge. All you need: a cryptocurrency wallet for storing Bitcoin, crypto exchange or exchange where you will buy your first coins, and a bit of patience.

In order to invest, you have to perform a few simple steps:

• Create a bitcoin wallet;
• Choose a platform for buying cryptocurrency. We will compare the terms and consider the advantages of buying in different ways;
• Create an order and make a payment (or exchange it on the exchange);
• Receive cryptocurrency to your wallet and proudly declare yourself a crypto holder!

So let’s get down to business and discuss the process step by step.

Which wallet to choose

Before you buy bitcoin with a credit card or any other method, you need to have a secure BTC wallet to store the cryptocurrency. If you are going to store a large amount, then you need to buy a hardware wallet, such as Trezor or Ledger Nano S. But for storing small amounts, light and online wallets are suitable, which are less secure, but more convenient.

Here are some popular software wallets for bitcoin:

• Bitcoin Core (or Qt) is an original BTC full wallet. It is safe enough, but it is unlikely to be suitable for beginners. Although, if you are a crypto enthusiast or plan to become one, it will not be superfluous to familiarize yourself with it;
• Electrum is a light bitcoin client. You don’t have to download the entire blockchain history to use it, but it is considered secure. In addition, Electrum supports additional methods to enhance security: two-factor authentication, multi-signature, and hidden addresses;
• Trust Wallet is fast, convenient, and reliable. This is how you can describe a well-known wallet from the Binance exchange. This is a mobile client that, in addition to storage, allows you to buy cryptocurrency directly in your wallet. Isn’t it convenient?
• Coinbase is a secure wallet from a well-known exchange;
• SoFi is the best crypto wallet for beginners.

Note. If you want to buy Bitcoin for long-term storage, we do not recommend storing coins on exchanges – it is not safe. You must have access to your private keys. This is the only way you will truly own the asset.

How to buy cryptocurrency

You can buy Bitcoin in several ways: through a cryptocurrency exchange, via an exchanger, or from a private person. Let’s look at these methods in detail.

Cryptocurrency exchanges

This is one of the cheapest ways to buy bitcoin. The problem is that not all cryptocurrency exchanges support fiat currencies. However, some exchanges support deposits or purchases via a crypto gateway via credit cards, bank transfers, or payment systems.

What are the advantages of this method:

• The price is closest to the market;
• Low exchange fees – the average fee varies from 0.1% to 0.2%;
• Instant exchange. However, it is instant only if you have already topped up your balance;

Disadvantages:

• Not the most convenient way: you first have to register, top up your account, convert funds, and then withdraw to your wallet.

• It is time consuming. So if you need to quickly buy/sell cryptocurrency, this is not the best way, since it may take some time to top up;
• Additional fees for deposits and withdrawals. Trading fees are low, but you may be charged about 3% of the deposit amount when you make a deposit. The same applies to the withdrawal.

The conclusion here is simple: buying through the exchange is most suitable for traders or short-term investors.

Popular crypto exchanges for buying bitcoin:

• Binance;
• OKEx;
• Huobi;
• Kraken;
• CEX.io

Purchase via a bitcoin exchanger

This is the fastest and easiest way. Most crypto exchangers support automatic exchange. You only need to register, specify the purchase amount and pay the invoice. After that, the bitcoins will be transferred to your bitcoin wallet. But this method also has its drawbacks:

• High fees, which can reach 5% or more, or the rate may simply be higher;
• Mandatory verification when working with fiat currencies.

But the exchange is:

• Safer. You do not need to store funds, you only use the platform as an intermediary for buying Bitcoin;
• Faster. The waiting time is minimal. Usually Bitcoin is sent to you immediately after payment;
• More convenient. Register, make a request, pay and wait for your coins.

List of popular exchanges:

• Coinbase;
• Coinmama;
• Mercuryo;
• Bitpapa;
• Changelly.

But you can use a different type of exchangers – peer-to-peer. In this case, you can buy bitcoin even cheaper than on exchanges. Here you buy coins directly from other users. You need to register and place your offer to buy bitcoin. Usually the fee does not exceed 1%. But do not forget about the withdrawal fee: to ensure the security of transactions, P2P exchangers use an internal account. This way they can freeze coins so that users don’t cheat when exchanging them.

Popular P2P exchanges:

• LocalBitcoins;
• Paxful;
• Binance (P2P section);
• LocalCoinSwap;
• Bitzlato.

Congratulations! Now you know how to buy your first cryptocurrency or at least you have refreshed your memory. If you need to sell bitcoin for dollars, we can advise you on an interesting service – HiRiBi.

The HiRiBi platform has several great features:

• BTC exchange for PayPal USD. HiRiBi is one of the few exchange platforms that supports this payment system;
• The rate is higher than the market average. It changes dynamically depending on the rates on crypto exchanges and the margin can reach 10%. How is it possible? The trick is that the service monitors more than 20 major trading platforms. Some of them have significantly different rates than others. You can see this for yourself by crypto exchanges monitoring services (https://www.cryptocompare.com/coins/btc/markets/USD). And that’s the secret;
• A profitable affiliate program that allows you to earn up to 2% of each exchange.

If you invest in Bitcoin, you can sell it for PayPal USD, thus getting an average of 10% more revenue than when exchanging through a regular exchange or exchanger. And with a normal exchange, you would still spend part of the profit on fees – here is a small inside that will help you get profit from the first transactions.