The Best Places to Buy Bitcoin

A look into the exchanges

Once you have decided to buy some crypto, the next step is finding out where. Although there are some alternatives, exchanges are by far the most popular way to acquire your coins.

There are two types of exchanges — centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX). Here, I will be covering the former since the latter are not really suitable for beginners.

Exchanges are online platforms where you can send your fiat money and then use it to buy some crypto. They offer different kinds of services and there is some cost involved.

To open an account, you have to go to the official website and then fill out an online form. This involves going through KYC (Know Your Customer) clearance by which you share some personal information like ID, address, bank account, etc. This is a measure to prevent money laundering and illegal activities.

You can send money using a credit or debit card, or wire money from your bank account. Here’s when it gets tricky. Banks don’t appreciate the fact that they are losing business to crypto and try their best to block transactions. Depending on your bank, you can expect some delays and difficulties when going through this process.

I regularly use 3 exchanges — Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase Pro — and occasionally I have used FTX. Apart from that, I have bought some coins through Revolut — a fintech company that offers some financial services.

I’m based in Europe so if you are in the US, your options might be different due to regulations but overall I believe it’s mostly similar.

Let’s have a look at each of them.

Kraken is fairly easy to use, their KYC is straightforward, security is good and they have a good selection of available coins.

The fees for trading are about 0.26% which is average for this kind of service.

One thing I particularly like about Kraken is their staking options. You can stake a number of coins and get up to 12% rewards, which is quite generous.

The only problem I’ve had is not actually due to Kraken itself but with my bank which did not recognize Kraken as a safe place to make a transfer. In the…

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