The Best Way To Buy Bitcoin Fast

When it comes to buying Bitcoin, most newbies want to get it as fast as possible. After hearing bits of crypto information from their friends, family, the news, and through social media over the last few years, once someone finally decides to get some Bitcoin, the rush is on. Maybe there’s some new price growth they don’t want to miss out on, or perhaps their favourite shop has become Bitcoin-friendly.

Whatever the reason for wanting your Bitcoin, we understand that you want it fast, but there’s one thing standing in your way…

Know Your Customer — KYC

KYC is a verification process that cryptocurrency customers have to go through in order to purchase their crypto using fiat money (real-world currencies). The exchanges and brokers aren’t always the biggest fans of this process as it reduces privacy and anonymity, but it also reduces fraud and money laundering, so it works both ways. It’s also mandatory for both parties.

Some exchanges will use the KYC to link an identity to a wallet, others will try to get a better understanding of the customer to see whether they are acting legally, and all of them should have certain processes in place to stop money laundering in its tracks.

So, before you can even think about buying Bitcoin, you need to choose an exchange (more on that later) and provide your full name, residential address, and a phone number. Then, you’ll need to provide some documents, with your passport being preferred, but a government-issued ID or a driver’s license will also be fine. Many exchanges ask for a selfie of you holding that document for their records, and also to make sure you are who you say you are. Another document that some, but not all, exchanges request, is something to prove your residential address, such as a bank statement or utility bill. Some of the more high-security exchanges will also ask about your job, your source of funds, your intentions on their platforms, though this is more common for US traders, who have stronger regulatory procedures to go through.

Once all of that information has been submitted, you now have to wait. The bigger exchanges have faster verification times as they can employ more account managers, plus with an automated verification process in place, confirmation can take just minutes. On a small exchange, it can take up to 5 days just to verify your account, so opt for one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges when buying Bitcoin fast.

Which Exchange Should You Choose?

After reading about KYC, you’re now surely curious about which exchanges offer the fastest processing times. Well, here they are:

• Coinbase — As the world’s #1 crypto-broker, it has become Coinbase’s principal mission to make sure users find it easy and fast to join, and then even easier and faster to make their purchases. Verification can take just minutes if all of the submitted documents and information match up
• Binance — The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange also sells Bitcoin directly to users via credit card. Another option is to use a bank transfer, but it’s much slower. Opening a Binance account and verifying it takes just minutes
• Kraken — Users with intermediate level KYC-verification will be able to purchase Bitcoin via credit card instantly. Intermediate and Pro verification only differ in that the Pro account requires the user to fill out a KYC questionnaire, which adds on precious minutes. Intermediate verification typically takes just a few minutes

Tip: If at any point in your sign up process you are asked to take a selfie or a selfie with a document, try also holding up a handwritten note with the name of the exchange and today’s date.

Deposit vs Instant Buy: Which is Faster?

Let’s not beat around the bush — Coinbase is the best way to buy Bitcoin fast, in fact, that’s their business model. It’s not a good place to trade because it charges 2% crypto-to-crypto trade fees, so their efforts are spent getting new users to sign up, get verified, and make a purchase as soon as they can.

So, now we have to ask the question, ‘Is it faster to make a deposit and buy with that money, or make a direct purchase via debit or credit card?’

Well, the answer depends on your location:

• US customers can make instant purchases with their debit card, receiving the cryptocurrency in minutes. They can also make instant purchases with their USD fiat wallet, however, depositing to this account via ACH can take 3–10 days, depending on public holidays and weekends
• European customers are offered the same instant purchases via debit card or via EUR, however, they will need to make a SEPA bank transfer if they wish to deposit EUR first, and this can take 2–3 business days
• UK customers can also purchase instantly by debit card, but they have an additional option to make a 1-day GBP transfer through the Faster Payments system to their Coinbase GBP wallet
• Canadian customers can make instant debit card purchases
• Australian customers can also purchase instantly via debit card
• Customers from other regions may suffer delays if not using USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, or AUS

How to buy bitcoin fast…

So, the best way to buy Bitcoin fast is this:

1. Get your documents ready and go sign up on Coinbase
2. Wait a few minutes for verification and then make an instant purchase using your debit card if you’re from the US, EU, UK, Canada, or Australia

Is there another way that’s even faster?

As of 2021, we think Coinbase, if your registration and verification go off without a hitch, provides the fast route to getting some Bitcoin. However, there is another way that could be faster, depending on your physical location.

Bitcoin ATMs are all over the world and allow people to quickly and anonymously purchase and sell Bitcoin. The problem is that with fees as high as 10%, they are often offputting to cryptocurrency investors.

Got a faster way than us?

We’d love to know about it. Please drop us a message on our open Telegram group to tell us more about your experiences buying cryptocurrency.

Image source: Depositphotos