How to buy bitcoin safely

An easy step-by-step guide to start with bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

Erik Sigblad
Aug 24, 2017 · 6 min read

This guide is for anyone that wants to learn how to buy bitcoin or who is curious about one of the hottest topics of 2017, cryptocurrency. Mini disclaimer; I’ll just be showing you how to buy bitcoin, not why, how much, or when to invest certain amounts (or sell for that matter). Just remember Bitcoin is just as real as traditional currencies, even if your parents may doubt it, so act smart. But not to kill the vibe here, let’s dive into the interesting part!

Today (Dec 14th 2017) one Bitcoin (BTC) is worth $16783 🔥.

So without explaining why I don’t think its too late to start investing in cryptocurrency I’ll lay a few basics before we start buying our first piece of bitcoin.

What is bitcoin and where do I keep it?

There is a few things you need to know before buying in.

  • Bitcoin is a virtual currency which is just one type of cryptocurrency out of many. Today there are over 900 cryptocurrencies, bitcoin being the highest-valued and most popular one. Think of it as an internet currency, which doesn’t get printed in physical bills. Here are the most popular ones.
  • The bitcoin you own sits virtually in something called a Wallet. This work like a bank account works, you see your current balance and activity.
  • You buy and sell bitcoin on exchange websites. The one I recommend start using as a beginner is definitely Coinbase (more on this further down). They have a clean user interface and is very safe (and also has a support section if you need help). For comparison of available exchange sites see this link.
  • You can buy bitcoin online with your credit card or bank transfer, but not in regular exchange offices such as Forex etc.
  • When you trade in bitcoin they are stored encrypted in something called a block-chain. A block-chain is a network technology of people transferring data (in this case money) to one another called Peer-to-Peer, without no involvement of banks or governments, hence why bitcoin is so rapidly growing and invested in.
  • To transfer bitcoin (and other currencies) to people is free, however exchange sites charge a small fee for transfers from/to regular banks as well as they have exchange rates. More on this here.
  • For more info about bitcoin, please look here.

I do recommend reading up on Bitcoin before trading. There are tons of sources out there to learn how it works and what to do/not to do. This guide is mainly to buy smaller amounts to learn how the system works. Also, check Coinbase’s support page. ✨

Part 1 — Set up a bitcoin wallet for free

In this guide I’ll be covering how to buy on Coinbase, you may choose any other exchange site of your liking, there are some differences in fees.

Start by registering a free account at Coinbase.
You even get $10 for free if you buy bitcoin worth $100.

Fill out your information. Pretty straight-forward.

You got mail! Check your inbox and confirm.

Once you’ve confirmed your email you see this screen.
Click on Individual.

Enter your country + phone number and click Next.
Enter the code sent to your phone.

The following step we will cover later, so just scroll down and click
“Skip, I’ll do this later”.

Scroll down if you can’t see it.

Great! Now you have a Coinbase account with empty wallets. This is what the dashboard looks like. Here you can see current prices of the bitcoin and two other currencies. For this tutorial we will only talk about Bitcoin so just focus on that for now.

Step 2 — Add your credit card info before buying

Click Buy/Sell in the menu at the top.

Screen A

In order to buy bitcoin we need to add a credit card. Proceed by clicking Add New Payment Method.

Screen A

Select your identification method before adding your credit card. This does not affect your payment details, it’s just to verify that you and your credit card match.

Select your identification, you will add your Credit Card information in the the next steps. This identification-step does not affect your payment details, it’s just to verify that you and your credit card match.

In the upcoming screens you will be promted to add your credit card. Just follow the instructions on the screen and enter your card info.

Step 3 — Buying some bitcoin!

After you are done verifying your identity and adding your credit card credentials, you will get to this screen. We’ve now setup our coinbase wallet and credit card info. We are ready to buy!

Note that there is one more step after this one where you can review your purchase, so no need to be stressed that you buy too much or too little at this point :)

Make sure you have Bitcoin selected at the top. Start to fill out the left box in the Amount section to see it update automatically in the BTC box. You dont need to calucate what your currency would be in bitcoin, Coinbase does the math for you.

My box is currently in EUR but yours may as well be USD or any other currency so add whatever you feel comfortable with. I’ll add €10.00.

This will exchange X EUR to X Bitcoin.

It can seem small to only buy 0.028 BTC but remember one bitcoin is worth thousands of dollars.

Allright! Review your information and the total amount
and click Confirm Buy.

Lets go!

Boom! If all went well you now have your bitcoin!

Lets look in our wallet if it’s there. To see our wallets we click on Accounts in the menu bar. Here you see you have different types of wallets. We are interested in our BTC Wallet to the left. If it’s not selected, click it and see the latest transaction to the right.

Hm.

🎉You now own bitcoin 🎉

As you can see we now have 0.0027 BTC in our BTC Wallet (which stands for Bitcoin Wallet). It’s no fortune, but we learned how to use coinbase and it’s features. Don’t forget to download their amazing iOS App as well. As I mentioned before the value of your bitcoin will change over time (hopefully increase).

If you like this guide, have feedback or thoughts please comment below.

Gladly accepting donations in BTC at: 1LXznawCeELH9Cf6tygBy5BMt6rsXSzXem

/Erik

)

Erik Sigblad

Written by

Yeah. This got awkward again. Daytime as Product Designer based in Stockholm.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade