How to Buy Bitcoin: 3 Easy & Accessible Methods

Three simple and easy ways to buy Bitcoin are Square’s Cash App, Coinbase, and GBTC on the stock market. Square and Coinbase get you actual Bitcoin, GBTC is a trust that holds Bitcoin.

TIP: Other simple ways include Robinhood and PayPal.

I like these three methods because they are very accessible. Here is what you need to know:

1. Square’s Cash App. Download this onto your phone, sign up for an account, and hit the buy Bitcoin button. You now have Bitcoin at around market price. The fees are reasonable, you can sell on-platform if you want, and if you enable withdrawals and deposits you can actually send and receive Bitcoin to outside addresses. Couldn’t be an easier way to buy/sell/hold/use/own Bitcoin. TIP: Cash App is limited to Bitcoin only. So if you want for example Ethereum, try Coinbase.
2. Coinbase. This is a perfect solution if you want to get serious with cryptocurrency. Coinbase offers way more than just Bitcoin, and in a way, the trade-off is you have to focus a bit more on securing your account and getting your account verified. The bonus here is the variety of coins, the more robust platform for buying/selling/sending/etc, and the option of using Coinbase Pro to place more complex order types. Anyone who already trades stocks or wants to get fully into crypto should 100% start here. TIP: Coinbase is more robust, but it is more complex. You must use best practices for security and use 2fa if you go this route.
3. GBTC. Some people want exposure to Bitcoin but don’t want to deal directly with crypto. Great, GBTC is the simple solution then. GBTC is a trust you buy on the stock market. Not all brokers will allow you to trade it, but many do. TIP: With GBTC, you have to watch out for the premiums. That said, if you understand premiums, you can also look into ETCG and ETHE for exposure to Ethereum Classic and Ethereum too!

That is it really. Click the links above to learn more and get details on the signup process (the Coinbase page even includes a link to get $5 in Bitcoin free when you sign up for Coinbase). But really really, I don’t think you need to know more than what I told you. This is where you start if you want a simple way to get into Bitcoin. Just fair warning though, I suggest you create an account and get started before you really want to buy, because getting started can take time. Best to be set up to go before we get the next Bitcoin craze!