Before buying Bitcoin, it’s extremely important that you first know the risks involved when dealing with virtual currency, or cryptocurrency. A decent understanding of Bitcoin purchasing is knowing what threats you can come across when trading Bitcoin.

These threats include hacking, no government backing and more. But as Bitcoin is a form of investment, the rewards are just as great or even better.

All though more and more people are learning what Bitcoin is and the benefits of it, not a lot of people know how to buy Bitcoin securely, and this is resulting in new buyers losing their money easily.

So in order to start trading Bitcoin and use the advantages that this form of cryptocurrency offers it’s necessary to know how to buy Bitcoin securely. As Bitcoin is a virtual currency, it requires some knowledge when it comes to dealing with it. A guide is always a valuable tool to use for beginners.

Keep in mind that Bitcoin also needs to be kept in a wallet, just like PayPal currency. The wallet will act as your bank account. Obtaining a wallet is extremely simple and can be done within in five minutes.

With owning a Bitcoin wallet you are able to freely purchase and sell Bitcoins as well as other forms of goods and services.

Remember that when it comes to buying Bitcoin always take extra precaution. Since there are no normal bank laws or protection against hacking or theft of information, you have to do research and find out what you can about the merchant or you’ll end up losing your money without receiving anything.

Trading Bitcoin with a Broker

A great way to start trading Bitcoin is to use the services of professional online brokers. However, you should always be familiar with the broker you are about to use. Do some research and find the safest broker possible.

Amongst the top 10 brokers of 2017 are Plus500 and Avatrade, they both are perfect places to visit when looking into buying Bitcoin securely. If you want to find a broker on your own be sure to check the brokers trading platform, customer service, assets and their regulations.

All of these aspects play a part in determining the broker’s security. They also allow you to trade a number of other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.

Registration is necessary for matters of trading Bitcoin via brokers. The broker will require a lot of personal detail, such as proof of residency and identification. This information is just to help with the security measures and new clients should not feel intimidated when providing it.

If brokers do not ask for all this information then the site and brokerage aren’t properly secured to start with. Take note of the information asked as well, secured brokers will never ask you to provide your online banking login details as an example. Some of these are option brokers whereas others are forex.

Buying Bitcoin directly from an exchange eliminates a big deal of threats as well. Since people are so used to using credit cards or similar cards to making online purchases, these exchanges have discovered new ways of allowing people to buy Bitcoin more securely like the option to make deposits via human tellers.

Credit or debit card payments are still allowed for customers who prefer this method. Some Bitcoin exchanges have also taken the additional measure in replacing client funds in case of theft.

The exchange will also require you to submit personal information exactly like a broker would. Depending on the exchange, you might have to submit additional forms of verification before transfers or payments. It’s important to know what the transfer fees are for your transaction, the fees will usually be made known to the customer before accepting the transfer.

Studies have shown that using an exchange for buying, selling and trading Bitcoin is the best option out there and also the safest. Most of the exchanges will work in the same way, the only thing that will cause an exchange to work in a different way will be the location of the Bitcoin exchange.

Buying Coins on a Digital Exchange

For people new to Bitcoin and looking to use the exchange approach, it’s advisable to find the best exchange suited for you. Well respected and safe Bitcoin exchanges to use when buying Bitcoin include the following, CoinMana, CoinBase, Cex.io, and Paxful.

There are a lot more but these four have been voted the best and safest exchanges in the market. These exchanges also accept the majority of countries and all have more than one way of making a deposit or withdrawing. CoinBase and Paxful also provide the customer with a Bitcoin wallet.

Brokers and exchanges might be the ideal way of buying Bitcoin, but a number of people still prefer face to face or over the counter trade as this is still the easiest method to date. This method of Bitcoin buying and selling doesn’t require the customer to provide a full list of information or more than one type of verification.

To Bitcoin traders looking to use face to face or over the counter transactions be warned that this might be the easiest way of buying and selling, this is however not the safest as you will be carrying large sums of money from time to time. LocalBitcoins is an example of a site where you can find traders using these methods.