Bitcoin is and always has been a big deal. First, it offers a form of money that can be sent anywhere in the world nearly instantaneously. Second, it doesn’t require a government to issue it, which means that not government can debase its value over time by issuing more of it.
Most importantly, it’s the first time ever in human history we’ve had a easily usable and divisible form of global money with a fixed supply.
But, how do you buy bitcoin on Coinbase or other crypto exchanges if you’ve never done it before?
At the time of writing this article, the value of single bitcoin is equal to nearly $70,000.
Buying Bitcoin on Coinbase
If you’ve looking to bag some Bitcoin, then you’ve probably heard of Coinbase by now. I mean, who hasn’t?
If you aren’t familiar with Coinbase, it is a secure platform that makes it easy to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Based in the USA, Coinbase is available to people in over 30 countries worldwide. It allows you to instantly purchase Bitcoin, Litecoin, Etherium, USDC, BAT, DAI, Tezos, and other popular cryptocurrencies.
If you’re interested in how to buy bitcoin on Coinbase, I will show you how quick and simple it really can be.
How to Buy Bitcoin on Coinbase
Coinbase is wonderful for purchasing Bitcoin on the fly. However, there is one barrier to entry—you have to verify your identity.
Since it is a reputable service, it wants to make sure that you are reputable and not someone who wants to game the system.
Coinbase Account Setup
With over 32 million users, Coinbase is one of the world’s largest Bitcoin exchanges.
Let’s dive into the actions steps required to purchase your first Bitcoin:
- Go to Coinbase + Create your free account
- Verify your email address. Open your email inbox, click the link in the verification email. Now that you’re verified – you can log-in, and you will see the dashboard of the current UI.
- Before you start with transactions, you should complete your profile. If not prompted to do so, hit the profile button in the top right and click settings.
- The most important feature to setup is 2-factor authentication. This will greatly improve your account security to prevent coin loss.
- Return to the bitcoin dashboard.
At this point, you can click “Buy/Sell”, but you will be prompted to verify your identity. You can do this by uploading a scanned copy of your picture ID.
The ones you can use are your passport, driver’s license, and any other government-approved ID.
After a short while, if not instantly, your ID will be verified automatically. Netverify, created by Jumio, provides this verification service.
Next, select the type of ID and follow the instructions to upload the file.
When your verification goes through, then congrats! You can start to buy and sell a wide range of digital currencies.
If Declined: In some cases, an account verification process can be declined. Reasons for this can be a duplicate account, a stolen identity, lying about your country, fake ID, or being banned in the past.
If you have been declined for any other reason, then it is best to contact Coinbase support because it might have been a system error. By doing so, you can determine the cause, identify the solution, and if required, provide additional documents to prove you are who you really say you are.
If you have been declined but still want to pursue low-entry investment options, check out my guide on how to invest when broke.
Bitcoin Purchases
Alright, onto the exciting part.
To purchase Bitcoin (BTC), scroll to the top of the main Coinbase dashboard and click “Buy/Sell”.
A screen will pop-up with the type of currency, payment method, and quantity. You can specify a $ amount for Bitcoin, and it will convert and present the BTC amount that you will receive on your account.
For every purchase, Coinbase takes a variable transaction fee. So keep that in mind, if you’re looking to purchase a specific amount of Bitcoin for any other online transaction.
Now that you’ve selected a quantity, BTC currency, and verified the price, you can click “Confirm Buy.” If everything is fine, a green check-mark will show up indicating a successful transaction.
You can now return the dashboard, and you will have a summary example of the account and its activity. It should include your BTC quantity and the listed price of the transaction.
If you are in the US, Europe, UK, or Singapore, then you can buy Bitcoin instantly with a credit card.
If you’re not, then it can take a little while to verify your purchase, but it shouldn’t take longer than half an hour.
Recurring Bitcoin Purchases
If you’re interested in playing around with digital currency, setting up a recurring purchase can be quite appealing. Bitcoin has a fluctuating price, so you can try to dollar cost average into it. Dollar-cost averaging is when you buy a certain amount every single month to average your entire cost range.
It works well for entry-investors who want to buy stocks or crypto on a fixed monthly budget.
If this sounds like you, Coinbase can be used to set up a recurring transaction from your dashboard.
You can simply choose the previous transaction, click “Repeat” this buy, and select an appropriate purchasing frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, daily).
Buy Bitcoin, Get in the Game
Now that you know how to buy Bitcoin on Coinbase, you are well on your way to playing around and experimenting with your first cryptocurrency investments.
The sky is the limit with crypto, because you can spend hours and hours of learning, researching, and tinkering with various methods, techniques, and software.
Just remember, anytime you use, trade or sell cryptocurrency, you’re going to owe taxes to the IRS.