Unless you are living in a cave completely disconnected from the world, you must be aware of the bitcoin craze. Everyone seems to be buying bitcoin or another digital currency, everyone is flaunting their gains, and you feel like you are missing out on one of the biggest opportunities in decades. If you are wondering how to buy bitcoin, ripple, ethereum or another virtual currency, let me tell you that it’s pretty easy. Before I tell you how to buy bitcoin using Coinbase, remember that there are tons of risks involved and bitcoin prices have been highly volatile. Some countries such as South Korea have even threatened to ban cryptocurrency trading.
Bitcoin started out 2017 at around $1,000 and ended the year at $14,219 per coin. That’s a crazy rate of growth. The prices have since fallen to around $11,000, though. If you want to get into the game, you should know that it’s more like a speculative investment than a regulated currency at this stage. With that in mind, let’s see how you can buy bitcoin right from your iPhone or Android device.
Before you can buy bitcoin, you have to find a digital currency exchange or broker and a wallet where you can store your virtual currencies. There are many bitcoin exchanges out there such as Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, Gatehub, Poloniex, BitPanda, and others. Coinbase is the most popular and reliable of them all. Coinbase offers an app for iOS and Android that serves as both a cryptocurrency exchange and a wallet, making things ridiculously easy for people just starting out.
For the ease of use, we’ll see how to dip your toe into the cryptocurrency world using Coinbase. It has a simple interface and has been rated highly for its customer service (No, this is not a sponsored post. And I’m not getting a commission).
How To Buy Bitcoin Or Any Other Cryptocurrency From Your Phone
Step-1: Download the Coinbase app
Go to the App Store or Google’s Play Store to download the Coinbase app on your phone. Besides combining the exchange and wallet services into a single app, Coinbase offers a certain amount of insurance for the bitcoin you store.
Step-2: Setup your account
Once you have installed the app, start setting up your account. You’ll have to provide your name, email address, where you live, enter the password, and agree to their terms & conditions.
Step-3: Add a payment method
After having setup your account with Coinbase, you have to connect your bank account to the exchange. That’s how you can transfer money from your bank account to Coinbase to buy bitcoin, ethereum or any other virtual currency. To add your payment account, tap the “Buy” button near the bottom of the screen.
You can add your credit card or debit card to start buying bitcoin almost instantly. But these cards allow you to buy bitcoin worth only $150 per week. You also have the option to link your bank account, which would give you higher buying limits. But linking a bank account could take up to 4-5 days.
Step-4: Make your first bitcoin purchase
Now you are all set to buy bitcoin or ethereum and store it in the Coinbase wallet. Go to the home screen on the Coinbase app and tap the “Buy” button. Enter the amount of bitcoin you want to buy and select the wallet you want it to be stored in. While carrying out the transaction, you may get a call from your bank to verify your attempt to buy cryptocurrencies. Just approve the transaction.
Since bitcoin can be divided in up to eight decimal points, you can buy one bitcoin, 0.00000001 bitcoin or anything in between depending on your budget.
Step-5: Using or selling bitcoin
There are many businesses that accept bitcoin in exchange for goods or services. If you want, you can buy their offerings using your bitcoin wallet. If you are looking to sell your bitcoin (hopefully at a profit), just tap the “Sell” button on the Coinbase home screen and enter how much bitcoin you want to sell. You’ll have to connect your bank account to Coinbase to be able to withdraw cash to your account.
In the last few weeks, many global leaders such as British Prime Minister Theresa May have said that they were looking to regulate cryptocurrency transactions. Regulating virtual currencies would mean that you’ll not remain anonymous when carrying out bitcoin transactions. It means criminals who want to remain anonymous may have to find other ways to transact for illegal activities. But regulations could actually help bitcoin in the long run, according to CoinMetro CEO Kevin Murcko.
Murcko said recently that government regulations would act as a “legitimizing force” for virtual currencies. As a result, the larger population would feel safer while buying and investing in bitcoin.
