Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency with increasing popularity and has seen some wild fluctuations in its prices in the course of. It's been a wild rollercoaster ride, particularly in the last couple of years. A lot of traders have taken to bitcoins and have earned millions. If you're interested in this alternativeto digital cash, there is a variety of options for buying bitcoins. You can purchase them directly or indirectly through several traditional brokers and also from some of the newest startups. In actual fact, it's simpler than ever to purchase bitcoins and you'll most likely get them for lower costs than previously too.

What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that allows you to trade, buy and sell direct, without intermediaries such as the bank. Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, originally stated the necessity to create "an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust." Every Bitcoin transaction ever recorded is on a public ledger, accessible to all, making transactions extremely difficult to reverse and extremely difficult to counterfeit. This is due to their decentralization nature, Bitcoins aren't backed by the government or any other issuing organization, so there's no way to ensure their value other than the fact that they have proof of authenticity in the core that makes up the entire system.

"The reason why it's worth money is simply that we, as people, decided it has value--same as gold," says Anton Mozgovoy, co-founder & CEO of the digital financial services company Holyhead. Since its initial public release on September 9, 2009 Bitcoin increased dramatically in value. Because the supply of Bitcoin is limited by 21 million, many are expecting the price to continue increasing with time particularly as larger institutional investors start to view Bitcoin as a kind of digital gold that can protect themselves from market fluctuations in addition to the effects of inflation.

Ways to purchase bitcoins

If you're considering trading Bitcoin the positive news is that you currently have a variety of choices. It's not necessary to set up a separate specific account to be able to do this as many of the major brokers allow you to purchase them. Plus, several undiscovered players – Paypal along with Cash app for instance - currently permit U.S. residents to buy or sell Bitcoin as well. Each of the options below provides an alternative combination of security, cost, and the potential upside/downside.

PayPal

PayPal allows you to purchase or sell bitcoins with the same software you've grown to trust for your online transactions. The cost is $0.50 for transactions with less than $25. From there, PayPal employs an adjustable commission rate that starts with 2.30 percent for transactions over $25, then decreases down to 1.50 percent for trades worth greater than $1,000. While there's a markup spread on trades, you don't be charged a fee to keep the cryptocurrency in your account which means you're allowed to exchange for as little as $1 at a single time. Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash are also tradeable on this site.

OXBTC

OXBTC is a special platform for cryptocurrency which allows you to have the digital currency directly. It allows you to trade many of the most well-known cryptos, such as Bitcoin, Filecoin, and Ethereum.

• It offers optional servicesm for customers to start crypto mining via buying hashrates and purchasing the whole set of rigs.
• It takes a low maintenance fee.
• It has a goodreferral program.
• It provides its users with lots ofpromotional offers and bonuses.
• It has anappthat enables users to monitor their mining activities.
• It places less limit on withdrawals.
• It has an academy where users can learn about mining and its platform.

Interactive Brokers

In Interactive Brokers, you'll be able to purchase futures contracts using Bitcoin and also trade Bitcoin directly. The broker costs $10.02 per contract for futures that provide you with exposure to up to five bitcoins. If you'd like to trade Bitcoin directly, you'll be charged an attractive fee in the range of 0.12-0.18 percent of the trading value, based on the amount you trade per month. Additionally, you'll have access to Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. Interactive Brokers has a variety of other tradable securities that give you access to the securities of the globe. Find out more about Interactive Brokers.

Bitcoin ATM

A different option would be to purchase bitcoins through a Bitcoin ATM, though you're likely to pay greater commissions in comparison to what elsewhere. You can purchase bitcoins, and certain ATMs allow you to sell them also, using cash or credit card. You may require a Bitcoin wallet to perform the transactions. The cost of commissions can be expensive and some ATMs charge approximately 7 percent for each transaction, while fees at other ATMs can be as high as the teens.

Buy Bitcoin This is what you should be on the lookout for:

If you're thinking about the best way to purchase Bitcoin it is important to consider the following aspects because they'll affect the decision of where you purchase it, or if you should eventually stay clear of it altogether.

• What do you would like to own? You can purchase Bitcoin directly, or as a derivative like a futures contract which gives you a profit on the currency's movements.
• Upside and Downside. Your potential gain is directly related to the type of currency you hold directly or through a futures contract. When you own Bitcoin directly your profits increase by one dollar for every dollar gained in the currency. Contrary to this, with futures, you can earn faster without needing to put up any capital. But, your risk is less if you own direct, but you may lose more money through futures.
• Commissions can vary greatly based on how you buy Bitcoin. Futures contracts give you an enormous share of the market for relatively little, but certain brokers can charge several percent for buying directly. A couple of percents may seem like a small amount however, when you're trading in or out of markets it's going to eat the earnings.
• One of the major concerns when investing in any venture is ensuring that it's safe. Certain cryptocurrency companies have experienced serious problems with security. For instance, Binance, a high-profile cryptocurrency exchange, was compromised with thousands of bitcoins in the year 2019. Traditional brokers could be more secure because they've dealt with this problem for a longer time.

Verdict:

Particularly when the price of Bitcoin is soaring and the price of Bitcoin is rising, investing in the wildly popular cryptocurrency may be appealing. However, while it does have the potential to become an investment that can yield profits but be aware that it's a highly risky purchase that experts do not recommend that you allocate a huge portion of your investment dollars to. If you're not certain if making a decision to invest in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is the best option for you, think about having a discussion with a financial advisor who can assist you to determine how cryptocurrencies can fit in your investment plan.