Cheapest way to buy Bitcoin (BTC) in Dec 2023 (2024)

Costs Involved in Buying Bitcoin

There are four primary costs linked to buying Bitcoin on an exchange platform:

1. Trading fees
2. Payment method fees
3. Spreads
4. Fees for instant purchase

Trading fees and spreads are charged by most exchanges, and it is very difficult to get away from them. Although, you can opt to use a payment method that does not incur additional funding fees, such as a bank transfer in place of using a credit card. You should also resist your temptation to buy bitcoin instantly as they incur additional fees.

Some Cheapest Crypto Currency Exchanges to buy Bitcoin

1) Zengo

Zengo is the most secure non-custodial wallet in Web3 by removing the private key vulnerability, making it the simplest yet most secure wallet to invest in cryptocurrency. Create an account in less than 60 seconds and be the true owner of your crypto.

Features:

• Trade, exchange, and switch between cryptos seamlessly.
• Support extends to over 120 crypto assets, encompassing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin (DOGE).
• No KYC requirements specified.
• Link your account to access Defi Dapps and NFTs via the Zengo crypto wallet application.
• Deposit Method: Bank transfer,Credit or Debit card, ApplePay, Cryptocurrencies.
• Fiat Currencies Supported: EUR, USD, GBP, USD, AUD, CAD, AUD, and more.

Trading Fees:

ZenGo, a user-friendly lowest fees cryptocurrency exchange, offers a straightforward fee structure. Storing, receiving, and sending transactions are free. There’s a minimum transaction value of $30. The total purchase fee for bank transfers ranges between 1.99%-2.99%, encompassing the spread, processing fee, and gateway.

Visit Zengo Essentials

Zengo-Pro:

Zengo also offers Zengo Pro, which unlocks a suite of premium industry-first security features and is available for as low as $5.8 a month. While Zengo Essentials remains the most secure self-custody crypto wallet and is completely free.

Among the premium security features are Theft Protection and Legacy Transfer.
Theft Protection: Enabled you to protect all transactions by being the sole authorizer using 3D Facelock. Legacy transfer: Industry game changer, inheritance-style features that allow you to effortlessly and securely transfer your assets to future generations.

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2) Uphold

With a user base exceeding 10 million spanning across 150 countries, Uphold provides a user-friendly platform for buying, trading, and holding a diverse range of assets, from crypto (over 250) to traditional currencies and precious metals. Uphold’s has a 100% reserve model that safeguards user funds and an openness to transparency, where real-time asset and liability data is publicly available and updated every 30 seconds.

Features:

• Broad range of tokens and earliest token support
• Connected to 26 underlying exchanges to find you the best token prices
• Spend assets anywhere in the world with the Uphold Card (in the UK only)
• Set up automatic, recurring transactions for dollar-cost averaging
• Advanced trading features like take profit and trailing stop loss.
• Send funds to any other Uphold account using just an email address
• Transparency: Assets and liabilities listed publicly and updated in real time.
• Security: 100% reserved meaning user money is kept at Uphold.
• Trading: Uphold offers easy one-click trading between any assets.

Trading Fees:

Uphold offers a 0.8% maker fee and a 1.5% taker fee. Deposits via debit/credit card and Google and Apple Pay are subject to a 3.99% fee. Withdrawals are free with a 0% fee with the exception of withdrawals to a debit card where the fee is 1.75%. The minimum transaction value is set at $1 for all trades. There is a $0.99 Fixed fee for trades under $500

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Disclaimer: Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

3) Binance

Binance is one of the best crypto exchange platforms. It offers trading for more than 150 cryptocurrencies. It also provides an API that allows you to integrate your current trading web or mobile app.

Features:

• Binance boasts some of the most competitive cryptocurrency fees industry-wide.
• BNB can be employed for transactions within the exchange.
• The platform offers guidance for novice crypto enthusiasts.
• With a market capitalization of $17 billion, Binance stands as a global leader among cryptocurrency exchanges.
• Deposits can be made via bank transfer (ACH), credit/debit cards, PayID, and other cryptocurrencies.
• It supports a wide range of fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, AUD, GBP, NZD, and 40 additional currencies.

Trading Fees:

Binance, the maker fee is set at 0.02%, and the taker fee is 0.04%. The platform requires an account minimum of $100, and your limits may differ based on your bitcoin purchase method.

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4) Coinmama

Coinmama is one of the best cryptocurrency platforms that allows you to buy cryptocurrencies with your credit card or debit card. This bitcoin exchange provides instant delivery of your coins.

Features:

• Coinmama stands out as a premier crypto exchange platform.
• It primarily centers on Bitcoin along with nine additional cryptocurrencies.
• With a market capitalization of $106.6 million, Coinmama solidifies its reputable stance in the crypto domain.
• Its transaction fees align with prevailing market standards.

Trading Fees:

Coinmama, deposits can be made using Fedwire and SWIFT. The platform charges a maker fee of 2.86% and a taker fee of 3.81%. There is no account minimum requirement.

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5) Gemini

Gemini is a fully regulated cryptocurrency exchange. It is a simple, elegant, and secure and easiest way to invest in a bitcoin and crypto portfolio.

Features:

• Gemini offers standard cryptocurrency trading features, enhanced with unique benefits.
• Through the Gemini Earn Program, users can accrue interest on select cryptocurrencies held in their interest accounts.
• Interest rates range from a minimum of 1.5% to a maximum of 8%.
• Gemini boasts an extensive selection of cryptocurrencies in its portfolio.

Trading Fees:

Gemini allows deposits via ACH transfer, wire transfer, and debit card. For orders under $200, fees range from $0.99 to $2.99, while orders exceeding $200 incur a 1.49% fee. The platform has no account minimum.

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6) Cex.io

Cex.io is a crypto trading exchange that allows you to buy and sell Bitcoins. It helps you to deposit funds using Master, Visa card, or PayPal Debit MasterCard. It offers protection against DDOS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks by giving full data encryption.

Features:

• Trade using over 10x leverage without the need for a separate account.
• Cex.io is accessible via mobile devices and web platforms.
• It extends its services to over 35 states within the USA.
• The application provides downloadable reports detailing real-time balances and transaction histories.

Trading Fees:

On Cex.io, deposits can be made using credit and debit cards, ACH, Faster Payments, Skrill, and Qiwi. The platform charges 0-0.16% for maker fees and 0.10-0.25% for taker fees. Notably, it permits bitcoin purchases with a debit card without requiring an ID verification. There’s no account minimum.

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7) CoinSmart

CoinSmart is a cryptocurrency exchange that provides a secure and intuitive platform for digital trading assets. Enables you to place customized orders seamlessly.

Features:

• CoinSmart boasts a superior mobile app enriched with features like SmartTrade for effortless crypto trading.
• The app integrates fingerprint login and 2-factor authentication for enhanced security.
• With 95% of assets in cold storage, CoinSmart ensures top-tier, bank-level security.
• Geographical Availability: Accessible in over 100 countries worldwide.

Trading Fees:

Using CoinSmart, users can deposit through methods like e-Transfer, bank wire, bank draft, and credit/debit card. It supports multiple fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, GBP, and JPY. The platform charges a fee of 0.0005 BTC and has no account minimum requirement.

Link: https://www.coinsmart.com/

Why is Bitcoin Cheaper on Some Platforms?

Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency, which means it does not depend on any central authority for its value. The price of Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrencies is a result of the market’s demand and supply ratio.

This ratio is also not calculated equally across the world. Instead, it is calculated on every crypto trading exchange. Moreover, it also includes the owner’s cost to cover its overheads, which can include security, functionality, and profit.

Therefore, it is possible to find new cryptocurrency exchanges offering Bitcoin at a significantly lower price than established platforms. However, this does not mean that newer cryptocurrency exchanges provide the cheapest way to buy Bitcoin

A brief overview of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer technology that is not governed by any central authority or banks. It is electronic money that can be sent from one person to another without going through any financial institution.

The bitcoin network runs on its own blockchain technology, which records all transactions in a distributed ledger called the ‘Blockchain.’ The purpose of this blockchain is to make sure every transaction and balance associated with each bitcoin account can be verified and secured by everyone using the same protocol.

It is presently the dominant crypto currency in the world. It is open source and designed for the public, so nobody owns control of Bitcoin. In fact, there are only 25 million Bitcoins issued. Currently, Bitcoin has a crypto market cap of $12 billion.

Created in 2009 by an individual or a group known as Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin (BTC for short) is a decentralized digital currency that runs on a global peer-to-peer network called the Blockchain. Bitcoin, as with other cryptocurrencies, offers a cheaper way of transferring money since there is no central authority and can be transferred directly between users without a middleman.

According to Bitcoin’s official website- bitcoin.org, Bitcoin was described as an innovative payment network and a new kind of money. Digital currencies like bitcoin are called cryptocurrencies since they are kept secure using cryptography. As a digital currency, bitcoin is kept in digital wallets. A cryptocurrency wallet consists of a public address and a private key (or the password).

The public address is what the owner can use to receive bitcoins; it is recorded on the blockchain network and can be seen by everyone. When someone wants to send you some bitcoin, they send it to your public address, and the transaction will be verified and recorded on the blockchain network, and everyone can see it. To access the bitcoin in your wallet, you will use your private key to log into the wallet.

» Learn more: How to Mine Bitcoin

What is Bitcoin’s protocol?

A unit of Bitcoin is considered a sequence of digitally signed transactions recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain — a peer-to-peer network that operates on a cryptographic protocol. So, Bitcoin users send and receive bitcoins by broadcasting digitally signed messages to the network via their bitcoin wallets.

With reference to Bitcoin’s official whitepaper, the set instructions that guide its operation as a cryptocurrency are as follows:

Peer-to-peer electronic payment: Bitcoin is to make it possible for an entity to send payment to another without going through a centralized authority like financial institutions. This peer-to-peer ability of Bitcoin is what made people intrigued by this technology, and hence its widespread adoption.

Elimination of the double-spending problem using a peer-to-to-peer network: Bitcoin is to provide a secure means of digital transfer of money without the problem of double-spending. Double spending is the possibility of spending the same coin more than once. Bitcoin was able to solve the problem of double-spending using a peer-to-peer network. “We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.” – Bitcoin whitepaper

Proof of work: The Bitcoin blockchain protocol uses proof of work to maintain the integrity of its network. The proof-of-work model is a consensus mechanism used to confirm and record Bitcoin transactions on the blockchain network, which is a public ledger made up of blocks of transactions. With this method, each block of transactions has a specific hash, and for the block to be confirmed, a Bitcoin miner must generate a target hash that’s less than or equal to that of the block.

What does its token do?

Technically, Bitcoin is a coin and not just a token since it has its own blockchain network. The Bitcoin blockchain is not a smart contract platform, so there are no crypto tokens using the Bitcoin blockchain. However, there is a crypto asset with the name Bitcoin Token (BTCTC) that trades on a few unpopular exchanges, but there is no evidence that it runs on the bitcoin blockchain.

Having said that, let’s consider the key use cases of Bitcoin. As you already know, BTC is used as money, and as such, it can be used in the following ways:

• To transfer money both locally and internationally
• To buy goods and services online
• As a store of value — it can be saved later used to exchange value.
• As a unit for measuring value — you can price goods or services in them.

Apart from these monetary uses, there is no other use for Bitcoin. The only other function is as tradable security for speculation.

Why do people trade Bitcoin?

Bitcoin and other crypto-assets are traded as securities on cryptocurrency exchanges. Being the first cryptocurrency to emerge and the largest by market capitalization, Bitcoin is the most highly traded crypto coin, and here’s why people trade it:

• Huge volatility: As with other crypto assets, Bitcoin is known for its high volatility. It is not uncommon for the coin to make a double-digit move in a day. For experienced traders, the high volatility provides an opportunity for making huge profits.
• More liquidity: Compared to other crypto coins and tokens, Bitcoin has adequate liquidity to absorb huge orders. Its average daily trading volume is one of the highest.
• Flexible trading hours: The Bitcoin market is open 24/7. People enjoy the fact that they can trade at any time they want, including the weekends.
• The ability to go long or short: Bitcoin futures offer traders the ability to trade in either direction: go long or go short.

Why go long?

Bitcoin is the most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency, with lots of institutional interests. Given the fact that its supply is limited, the value of the coin is likely to increase as more institutions gain interest in the cryptocurrency space.

Why go short?

Despite its popularity and liquidity, Bitcoin is still highly volatile security. Its high volatility makes it a risky asset for new investors. Moreover, there are still concerns about the level of electricity consumption associated with Bitcoin mining; this could reduce people’s interest in the coin in the future.

Bitcoin’s competitors

Since the emergence of Bitcoin, other blockchain networks have been created to replicate Bitcoin’s success. The closest competitor to Bitcoin is Ethereum, as it has the second-largest market capitalization.

However, the Ethereum network is a smart contract platform, while the Bitcoin blockchain is not. Since the Ethereum blockchain is a smart contract platform, many tokens have been created on its blockchain network, and its use continues to grow.

In terms of the blockchain, the closest coins to Bitcoin are Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV. Bitcoin Cash is a result of a hard fork (spin-off) of the Bitcoin blockchain that occurred in August 2017. It was created to accommodate a larger block size compared to Bitcoin’s block size of 1MB so as to allow more transactions into a single block. Thus, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin share several technical similarities. For example, their supply is capped at 21 million, and they use the same consensus mechanism.

Things You Should Consider When Buying Bitcoin

Here are important things that you need to consider when searching for the cheapest way to buy bitcoin:

Fees:

The cost of buying and selling bitcoin can vary from one crypto exchange platform to another. Moreover, trading fees for the buyers and seller also varies. If you are looking for alternative ways to acquire Bitcoin, consider exploring options to buy Bitcoin without verification or ID.

Investment Selection:

If you want to invest in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, then you should look for a platform that offers a broad selection. For example, if you want to invest in Bitcoin and Stock in the same bitcoin exchange, then you should select a crypto exchange that provides both investment options.

Educational Resources:

Some famous Bitcoin exchanges have extensive libraries of articles, videos, and tutorials to help users to learn about Bitcoin and other crypto exchanges. If you are a new investor, it is certainly beneficial for you to sign-up with crypto decentralized exchanges that provide adequate education about Bitcoin mechanism, trading, market risk, trading fees, etc.

Bonuses:

To encourage crypto trading in their platform, there are many cryptocurrency exchanges that offer good sign-up bonuses for you and demand very low initial spending requirements. However, you should also remember that platform’s bonus should not be the deciding factor. It can certainly help you to find a cheap option for crypto trading.

User-friendliness:

Depending on the investor, this can be varied. For example, if you are buying your first Bitcoin and only plan to occasionally buy and sell the digital currency, you want as simple a user interface as possible. However, on the other hand, if you are an experienced and trader, then you might want a trading platform that offers advanced options like charting tools, order options, etc.

Other ways to buy or invest in bitcoin cheaply

Here are some other easy ways to invest in Bitcoin securely and cheaply.

• Bitcoin ATMs: Bitcoin ATM works like normal ATMs, only difference is that you use them to buy and sell bitcoin.
• Bitcoin futures: Binance offers several ways for investors to trade on bitcoin futures, but this is pro-level stuff, not for amateurs.
• Grayscale funds: Grayscale Investments is a digital cryptocurrency asset manager. It offers two of its investment advice trusts —Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust (ETCG) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) that are publicly traded over the counter, which means you can buy them through many discount brokers.

FAQ:

Some Cheapest Crypto Currency Exchanges to buy Bitcoin