It seems like every single week, Bitcoin’s value hits a new high. Maybe the cryptocurrency is piqued your interest. Maybe you want to see what the fuss is about and buy a small sliver of Bitcoin from your disposable income. But you don’t want the overhead of going to a marketplace, exchanging money for Bitcoin and then figuring out where to save it.
If you just want to quickly get started with Bitcoin, buying using an exchange is the best way. It only takes a couple of minutes to get started. Coinbase is the best exchange to buy Bitcoins right from your iPhone (if you’re in the US).
Step 1: Sign up with Coinbase
Editor Note: Use this link to signup for Coinbase. Once you buy or sell $100 of digital currency or more, we both will get $10 of free bitcoin. It’s a cool way to earn free Bitcoins.
Alternatively, you can signup via the app, but you won’t get the free bitcoin. When you launch the Coinbase app for the first time, it will ask you to sign up for the service. Enter your email, password and create your account.
Download: Coinbase app
Step 2: Verify Your Identity
As Coinbase is an exchange, it’s trying to keep everything above board. So they won’t sell you bitcoins if you don’t verify your identity. In a way, this defeats the purpose of a semi-anonymous nature of Bitcoin. But if you just want to get started buying a little bit of Bitcoin, using Coinbase is the easiest way.
Step 3: Connect Your Bank Account
Once you’ve verified your Identity (the steps will differ based on your state and country), you’ll be asked to connect your bank account. Here too, the steps will be different based on your location.
If you connect your bank account, it can take a couple of days for Coinbase to complete the process. If you want to buy Bitcoins instantly, you can try using your Credit card or Debit card (it will have lower limits).
Step 4: Buy Bitcoins
It might take a couple of hours for your identity to be verified and for your bank account to be linked. Once it’s done, Coinbase will tell you about it.
Now you’re ready to actually buy Bitcoins. Go to the app’s home screen. You’ll find the current price of Bitcoin at the top.
Tap on the Buy button and enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to buy (in your local currency). For example, you can say you want to buy Bitcoins worth $100.
Next, select the Wallet you want to deposit the Bitcoins into. Select your payment method, authenticate and you’re done. You now own Bitcoin!
How to Sell Bitcoins?
Selling off Bitcoins is just as easy as buying them (the bitcoins you have in your Coinbase wallet).
From the app’s home screen, tap on Sell. If you haven’t connected to your bank account at this point, you’ll need to. That’s the only way to withdraw the money from selling the Bitcoin.
Enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to sell (in your local currency) and then choose the bank account you want to withdraw to. Authenticate and you’re done.
Read more: Top Bitcoin Apps for iPhone
Are You Buying Bitcoins?
If you’re going to buy Bitcoins in higher quantities, we recommend that you do your own due diligence and figure out the best way for storing it (offline on your PC or on an encrypted stick).
What do you think of Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies in general? Are you investing in Bitcoin or are you using it for payments? Share with us in the comments below.
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