Learn How to buy Cryptocurrency and list of top 10 sites where you can buy online

Cryptocurrency is a term that we hear more of with every passing day and the buzz is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

Bitcoin is probably the most popular and valuable cryptocurrency there is at the moment, but there are several other cryptocurrencies apart from just the Bitcoin as well. Some other popular cryptocurrencies are Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, etc.

So, what is a cryptocurrency? You may ask people this question and get different, vague explanations from them as to what a cryptocurrency is. Despite its growing popularity, there seems to be some ambiguity and confusion as to what exactly a cryptocurrency is and this makes it difficult for lay men to wrap their heads around the concept.

At its essence, a cryptocurrency is digital currency which is protected through cryptography, a technology that makes duplicating or counterfeiting the currency virtually impossible. Furthermore, it also facilitates lighting quick, cheap transactions that are peer to peer without the requirement of a third party such as a bank. These transactions may also be anonymous which is yet another added inherent advantage of a cryptocurrency.

There were digital currencies based on the concept prior to the Bitcoin, but they failed to really take off. Bitcoin is solely responsible for putting cryptocurrencies on the map. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by either a single person or a group of individuals that with the alias name – Satoshi Nakamoto and there has been no looking back since then.

During the initial stages right after its launch, the Bitcoin was worth literally nothing, however, at the time of writing a single Bitcoin is valued at $11,075 USD. With such an incredible spike in worth, it is no wonder that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as the Bitcoin has really turned a lot of heads and people are flooding in to get their hands on Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as an investment. Having said that, most people who have not dealt with Bitcoins or cryptocurrencies may find it a bit challenging and confusing when it comes to actually purchasing cryptocurrencies.

When you look up how to buy cryptocurrencies on the internet, you will most likely be told that you need two things:

1. A cryptocurrency wallet
2. A cryptocurrency exchange platform.

Let’s look at what these are and the procedure you can follow to buy cryptocurrency using traditional fiat currencies (such as the US Dollar or the British Pound) on some of the most trusted and legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges on the World Wide Web. So, without any further ado, let’s start answering some questions.

What is a cryptocurrency wallet?

As mentioned earlier, cryptocurrency transactions do not require the involvement of any third – party organizations such as a bank or any other kind of financial institution. Ergo, you will need to store your cryptocurrency coins somewhere (like how you store your traditional fiat currency monies in bank accounts). This is where cryptocurrency wallets come into the picture.

A cryptocurrency wallet is basically where you can store your cryptocurrencies coins, make payments from and receive payments to. A cryptocurrency wallet will have two addresses, a public address and a private address.

The public address maybe shared with anyone and that person may then use the public address to make deposit or payments to your wallet as required.

However, the private address will have to be kept confidential, and this what allows you access and control over your own wallet (the private address can be compared to the secret pin associated with your credit card or debit card which allows you to withdraw money, make payments and such).

There are several cryptocurrency wallets that you can use, you may choose the best wallet for you depending on the type of cryptocurrencies you want to store and deal with and also based on personal preference with regards to user interface, charges, features on offer etc.

Wallets	Supported Coins	Validation	Anonymity	Ease of use	More Info
Trezor	BTCLTCETH DASHBHC+ 8 more coins	Full Node	Medium	Intermediate(Lower)	More Info
Enjin Wallet	BTCLTCETH ENJERC20	Centralised	High	Easy (Beginners)	More Info
Agama Wallet	BTCLTCUNO ZETSYS+ 11 more coins	Full Node	High	Advanceddifficulty	More Info
Electrum Wallet	BTCLTCSTRAT	SPV	Medium	UpperIntermediate	More Info
Exodus	BTCLTCETH DASHEOS+ 13 more coins	SPV	High	Easy (Beginners)	More Info

What is a cryptocurrency exchange?

A cryptocurrency exchange is very similar to a forex exchange. Essentially, a cryptocurrency exchange is to cryptocurrencies what a forex exchange is to traditional, fiat currencies.

A cryptocurrency exchange is an online platform which typically brings together sellers and buyers of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, this is a platform where you can trade cryptocurrencies for one another or trade traditional fiat currencies for cryptocurrencies and vice versa.

It must be noted that some cryptocurrency exchanges do not support traditional fiat currencies and only encourage trading between cryptocurrencies, obviously, these may not be the ideal platform for someone looking to invest in cryptocurrencies for the first time.

Going ahead, I will help you break down the procedure of purchasing cryptocurrencies on some of the most secure and trusted crypto currency exchanges in the world.

Please note that some cryptocurrency exchanges also offer a cryptocurrency wallet out of the box, so you don’t have to setup another wallet separately, and you can just use one account to access both the exchange and the cryptocurrency wallet.

How to buy cryptocurrency on Coinbase.com

First things first, if you are not familiar with Coinbase, then you should know that it is the single biggest Bitcoin broker in the world.

It is available to users in over 30 countries and is one of the most popular Bitcoin exchanges on the internet.

Especially with regards to first time Bitcoin buyers, this is one of the most convenient places for you to purchase Bitcoins as you can use traditional payment methods and currencies to be able to do so and the procedure is rather straight forwards.

Apart from Bitcoin, you can also buy Ethereum on Coinbase.

In order to buy your first Bitcoin, just follow these simple steps.

1. Go to the https://www.coinbase.com and create an account by clicking on sign up. Singing up is free and you just need to provide basic details such as your name and email address. Make sure to click the checkbox agreeing to the user agreement and privacy policy prior to clicking on sign up.
2. Once you have signed up, a verification email will be sent to the email address that you provided. If you do not find the email in your inbox, you may also want to check your social, and spam or junk folders. There should be a link in the email that you can click on to verify your account and login to your Coinbase account for the first time.
3. You are almost set to go ahead and purchase your first crypto coins, you just need to complete your profile. At this point, I would also highly recommend setting up two factor authentication as this is will ensure that your account does not fall prey to the hands of hackers and cyber criminals.
4. Once you have completed the registration and filled up your profile information. You will now have a link to your Coinbase profile. Just like the public address, you can then use this link and share it with people who can make payments to you. The payments may be made in any traditional currency such as the US dollar, but Coinbase will automatically convert it to Bitcoin. This is one way to go ahead and start amassing Bitcoin. This is possible on Coinbase.com since it is not only a Bitcoin exchange, but also a Bitcoin wallet.
5. Once your account is setup and verified, you can navigate back to the dashboard and you will see the Buy & Sell option. Click on this link. At this point, you be required to either upload a copy of any Government issued identity card or take a picture of the ID card on your web camera. The ID will be verified online.
6. The moment your verification is done, you can now start purchasing and selling Bitcoins. From this point onwards, making a purchase is pretty simple and is similar to making any other online purchase, just select how much you want to buy, and pay for it using the supported payment method you prefer.

How to buy Cryptocurrency on Bittrex

Bittrex is an online cryptocurrency exchange which is highly popular and used by millions around the world. Bittrex is known for the sheer amount of trading pairs that it has to offer. Unlike Coinbase.com where your options are basically Bitcoin and Ethereum, at Bittrex, you choose from a whole array of crypto coins. Bittrex is among the top three cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of trading volume and you can rest assured that it is a completely legitimate cryptocurrency exchange platform that offers not just some of the fastest and most convenient crypto currency trading options, but also highly secure trading.

Buying cryptocurrency on Bittrex is not best suited for someone who has never brought any cryptocurrency in the past, instead, it is a great option for those who have already purchased Bitcoins and are looking to venture into other cryptocurrencies that also show potential of a promising future.

Now that you have some Bitcoins, you can use them to purchase other crypto currencies or altcoins. To be able to do this on Bittrex, follow the below step:

1. Go to https://www.bittrex.com and click on login in the top right of the screen. You will be asked for your email address and password, since you do not yet have an account. Click on the sign – up hyperlink at the bottom. The sign – up process is pretty simple, you just register an email address and a verification email will be sent to that address. Click on the link in the verification email to complete the sign up process
2. You can now login using your username and password and you will be redirected to the homepage where you can go ahead and make a Bitcoin deposit. Click on wallets, look for Bitcoin in the list that comes up and then click on the + button which implies you want to add Bitcoins.
3. Once you click on the add Bitcoins button, you will see the BTC deposit Address. Go ahead and copy this address and use this as the send address from your Bitcoin wallet to deposit money into your Bittrex account. Then make a payment to this address and you would have successfully deposited Bitcoin into your Bittrex account.
4. Now that you have Bitcoin funds in your Bittrex account, you can use it to purchase other forms of cryptocurrency such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and several others. Now in order to make an actual purchase, click on Markets in the homepage and select the altcoin that you would like to buy.
5. Specify how much of that coin you want to purchase. You can then buy it by making a buy request, buy requests come in the form of Last, Bid and Ask. I would recommend going with either Last or Ask in order to make your purchase.
6. Once you have purchased the different altcoins that you wanted to. You can get a summary of all the altcoins you own in wallets section. Just click on wallets and a whole list of wallets will be displayed (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin etc.) to make things easier, you can click on hide zero balances and only the list of coins that you actually own will show up and you can check how much of each you owe.

How to buy cryptocurrency on Binance

Binance, like Bittrex is where you can buy tons of other crypto coins and not just the Bitcoin. However, like Bittrex, you will need Bitcoins to be able to purchase other crypto coins. Binance is basically another option and an alternative to Bittrex. A lot many times, Bittrex closes registrations to new members as they start experiencing trouble managing the sheer load of the number of users and all of their data. Binance makes the perfect platform to continue your trading at this point so you never lose out.

In order to use Binance to buy cryptocurrency, you will need to have Bitcoins. You can buy Bitcoins as described in an exchange platform that accepts traditional fiat currencies. One of the easiest ways to buy Bitcoin is on Coinbase.com. The procedure to buy Bitcoins on Coinbase.com has even been explained in detail above. Once you have your hands on some Bitcoin, you can then create a Binance account and start venturing into other cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, Ethereum and more.

In order to buy cryptocurrency on Binance.com, follow the simple steps below.

1. You will need to create an account with Binance.com. This is pretty easy, just go to https://www.binance.com and click on login on the upper right corner of the screen. It will prompt you for your username and password. However, since you don’t yet have a user name and password, just click on the Register link which may be found below the login button. This is will bring up the registration form where you need to enter your email ID, a password, confirm the password, and click register. Make sure that you have checked the checkbox to agree to the terms of use.
2. The next step is to deposit some Bitcoin into your Binance account. Go to the deposit section from the homepage and search for Bitcoin, then click on Deposit. The BTC deposit address will be displayed. Copy this address to the clipboard. This is basically the public address of your Binance Bitcoin wallet. This will be the address to which you sent your Bitcoin payment.
3. Once you have the BTC address copied, you will have to login to your wallet where you already have purchased and stored Bitcoins (like Coinbase.com). Once here, you need to make a payment and when prompted for the payment address, you can provide the BTC address that you have copied from Binance. Enter the amount you want to pay and confirm the transaction.
4. Your Binance Bitcoin wallet should now have bitcoins and you can now use these to buy other listed altcoins from within Binance itself. In order to do this, navigate to the Exchange section of Binance and click on Basic. (advanced maybe better suited for you once you are more experienced). There should be a list of cryptocurrencies and you can either type in the altcoin you want to buy in the search box or look for it manually and click on it. You can then enter the amount of this altcoin that you want to purchase and confirm the transaction by clicking on either Limit or Market. Market means Binance will automatically complete the purchase at the best price possible (whatever that may be) and Choosing limit will allow you to set a limit as to within how much you want to buy the altcoin.