How Do You Purchase Bitcoin? - Edge (2024)

• March 30, 2022

Introduction

There are many places to buy Bitcoin, including within your Edge account. And no matter where you buy, it’s easy to send your coins to your Bitcoin wallet here at Edge.

There are four main options for purchasing Bitcoin. They are:

1. Directly in your Edge account. This is thanks to our many exchange integrations, which we shared in “How Do You Sell Bitcoin.”
2. Centralized Exchanges
3. Decentralized Exchanges
4. Peer to Peer Exchanges

Wallet Integrations

Some apps, including Edge, have integrations that allow you to buy directly from within your wallet. The ease and flexibility of doing so are the biggest advantages. Let’s see how that works.

Step 1: Open the app and click on buy crypto

Step 2: Confirm your country and select your preferred payment method

When buying or selling Bitcoin in Edge, there are different provider integrations from which to choose. The providers available are based on your physical location or citizenship. For example, if you are in the US, you may have the following options:

1. Credit or Debit Card
2. Apple Pay or Google Pay
3. In-person Cash and Debit Card

These integrations provide a range of payment method flexibility based on users’ preferences.

Step 3: Follow the directions and pay

Select your preferred option and follow that payment method’s instructions to make a purchase. After the payment is approved and settled, the coins are deposited into your Edge account.

Centralized Exchanges

Centralized exchanges (CEX) are what we are used to in legacy finance systems where stock trading is completed through companies like Schwab, ETrade, and Fidelity.

So how do you purchase Bitcoin on an exchange? You sign up for an account, send your fiat money to the exchange, and then buy your Bitcoin.

Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange, but like many crypto companies and projects, they don’t work with Americans due to regulatory hurdles. Similar to many companies, they created an alternative called Binance.US that offers limited services to Americans.

Gate.io is another popular global exchange that also limits the trades Americans are able to make.

More global exchanges where Americans and others can set up accounts include:

• Coinbase
• Kraken
• Gemini
• Paxos
• Crypto.com

All of these exchanges require identity verification to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) laws to open an account. Once the account is open, it’s often easy to transfer money and make purchases. Comparison sites such as CryptoRunner help you compare exchanges before you purchase Bitcoin.

Decentralized Exchanges

A great alternative to centralized exchanges are decentralized exchanges (DEXs). The biggest benefits of decentralized exchanges over centralized ones are no KYC hoops to jump through and immediate wallet connectivity. In the case of Edge, we directly integrate decentralized exchanges into our app, enabling our users to trade via DEXs without having to leave Edge. DEXs are simple, fast, and often location-independent. But there’s one big drawback — DEXs only facilitate crypto to crypto trades. While DEXs aren’t designed for fiat-to-crypto exchanges, if you already have an asset like Tether, USDC, Ethereum, etc, and you want Bitcoin instead, you can’t beat the speed, privacy, and user experience of a DEX.

Some of the biggest DEXs include:

• Thorchain
• Li.fi
• Uniswap
• PancakeSwap
• Curve Finance

If you already have another cryptocurrency there is no faster, easier way to convert one crypto into another than using a DEX. DEXs like Uniswap are built for trading Ethereum and Etheruem based tokens, while DEXs like Thorchain make it possible for users to trade cross-chain – enabling users to trade Ethereum (and much more) to Bitcoin in a decentralized manner.

P2P Exchanges

A final option that many retail investors prefer is using peer to peer (P2P) exchanges to purchase Bitcoin. The payment methods typically involved with P2P trading include PayPal, Venmo, ACH transfer, or meeting in person to exchange cash for Bitcoin. Exchange rates for the trade are based on what the two parties agree on.

Paxful and LocalBitcoins are often the biggest P2P exchange options depending on where in the world you live. Both are widely available with many users buying and selling on the platforms. This is what a buy offer on Paxful looks like using your PayPal account:

Once you click on the offer, the terms for how this seller wants to receive their money through PayPal will show with a prompt for you to follow to complete the transaction. Flexibility in payment choices gives P2P exchanges an advantage over CEXs and DEXs, however, you often pay more in fees for that convenience. Fees won’t be as standardized and will often be higher on P2P exchanges when compared to centralized and decentralized exchanges..

Other well known P2P options include LocalCoinSwap and Bisq if you want to explore P2P further.

Now that there are so many options for securely purchasing Bitcoin, it’s more convenient than ever before. The Edge app gives you several fast, easy options for buying Bitcoin so users don’t have to create accounts on different platforms to buy, sell, and trade crypto. As well, due to our unique Edge Security model, your coins are protected and your transactions in Edge are private.