How to buy bitcoin

The basic steps for buying bitcoin

If you're planning to buy bitcoin for the first time, you'll need to set up an account on an exchange or crypto broker, get your identity checked, fund your account with euros, place your order, and then decide how you'll store the coins. Some steps move quickly; others wait on ID approval or a bank transfer and can take hours or even days. Give yourself extra time, especially if you're doing this for the first time.

Remember, bitcoin's price swings can be very sharp. You could lose money due to those movements. Only buy what you can risk, and treat this guide as information to help you get started, not as investment advice.

Choose a platform and verify your account

• Make sure the provider is officially licensed in your country. You can confirm this in your financial regulator's online registry.
• Look at the platform's total cost: not just trading fees, but spreads and account funding or withdrawal charges, too.
• Identity checks are required. Expect to send a photo of your passport or ID card, sometimes along with a quick selfie or, in cases, a utility bill or payslip as proof of address. These are anti-money-laundering safeguards.

Protect your account immediately with two-factor authentication, as this gives you a second login code in addition to your password. Do this before you move money to the platform.

Deposit, place your order and store the coins

You can deposit euros using a bank transfer, a card, or a payment method available locally, the process is detailed in the deposit guide. Cards tend to arrive faster but often cost more, while standard bank transfers may save you on fees but take longer to show up. Once your funds are in, go to the buy screen, type the amount you want, and review the cost breakdown before tapping confirm.

When placing an order, you can choose a market order, which buys at the current available price, or a limit order, which waits for the price you set, a difference covered in our market vs limit orders article.

After the purchase, you can leave your bitcoin on the exchange or transfer the coins to a wallet that you control privately. Each option comes with its own risks, outlined in the withdrawal guide.

An example purchase with hypothetical amounts

Imagine you deposit 200 euros using a bank transfer, then decide to use 150 euros to buy bitcoin. The order screen calculates a trading fee, maybe a few euros, so the bitcoin you actually receive works out just below 150 euros, at the market rate when the order executes. Within minutes, the value of your bitcoin may change as prices move.

Frequently asked questions