There are a lot of questions to ask when you first learn about bitcoin. Who runs the whole thing? What is it "backed by"? How does it work? Why would I use it? But once people find good answers to these questions they're most important question usually ends up being, how do I get some?
Buying bitcoins can be easy, but it can also be pretty hard. It depends on a few things. Like where you live. Some services are only available to people in the United States. It also depends on if you have a bank account, or a debit card, or a credit card, or just cash. You can buy bitcoins in person with cash, but that has certain risks you have to be aware of. Buying them online from a reputable website is pretty safe, but most services require identity verification information and sometimes a several day wait.
Here are the services I've used:
Celery
($10 free!)
http://gocelery.com/?r=65cc1fe9717f44689b2f832a0cdfc544
Celery sells and buys bitcoin, litecoin, and dogecoin. They conduct sales through ACH wire transfer, and it generally takes 5 days to receive your bitcoin after a purchase gets verified. Sometimes purchases don't seem to get verified for one or two days though, so that adds onto the total. When I signed up my account was verified the same day, however recently my friend signed up and had to wait 4 days to use his account. I guess they must be busy with new customers! Use my referral link above to get $10 off your first purchase of bitcoin, litecoin, or dogecoin! Get $15 worth for just $5!
Circle
www.circle.com
Circle sells and buys bitcoin. They can do ACH wire transfers, as well as debit and credit card purchases. Account verification takes 1-3 days in my experience and observation of my friends. Once you are verified you can make instant purchases with a debit or credit card, which is very convenient, however the fee is quite higher. You can also sell bitcoin on Circle and receive payment using a debit card instead of ACH, which means the money shows up the next business day. This is also very convenient, and can sort of lessen the worry of holding savings in bitcoin. For those like myself living on a tight budget, being able to immediately access all my savings easily can be important. Of course, the fee for selling with a debit card is higher as well, so it has it's caveats as well.
Coinbase
www.coinbase.com
Coinbase was the second site I used to buy bitcoin after bitinstant was taken down (google it). Account verification was very quick for me, but that was a while ago, so it may take longer these days. Coinbase conducts sales and purchases through ACH wire transfer, but also offers instant purchases with credit cards, but not debit cards (although some report it works for certain card types). With ACH it takes typically takes 5 days to receive your bitcoin.
Coinbase has received a lot of heat lately from users upset that Coinbase has been analyzing the sources and destinations of users bitcoin moving through Coinbase. For example, if you send bitcoin to or receive bitcoin from an address that Coinbase knows is associated with a gambling site, you may receive an email warning that your account will be shut down for continuing such activity. Also many people are starting to receive emails notifying them their account has been frozen, and they must provide explanations for the sources of the funds coming into the site in order to comply with anti-money laundering and know your customer laws. A lot of people find this contradictory to the spirit in which bitcoin was founded, and no longer support Coinbase because of this. While I'm not happy with their actions, I realize they are just trying to stay in compliance with regulations and to stay in business. It still sucks though.
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