6 ms·

How to actually get bitcoins? I mean, seriously, I tried, but all my attempts were futile. Why can't I just use a credit card or similar and buy bitcoints? B

• pilker09 13y ago
  > Why can't I just use a credit card or similar and buy bitcoints? Chargebacks are the reason. If you buy a bitcoin with a credit card and I send you a bitcoin, you can get your money back from the credit card company and keep my bitcoin.
  • Aardwolf 13y ago
    Ok, so how to get a bitcoin (well 0.1 btc for me now that they are 10x as expensive as last time I looked) in a practical way without credit card?
    • pilker09 13y ago
      I don't have a good answer for that as I no longer buy bitcoins. My methods from when btc were cheap will no longer work.
    • vetinari 13y ago
      For example, you can trade at bitstamp.net using SEPA transfers.
    • bnr 13y ago
      http://howtobuybitcoins.info/ http://howtobuybitcoins.info/
    • vbuterin 13y ago
      If you are in the US, http://coinbase.com http://coinbase.com In Canada, http://cavirtex.com http://cavirtex.com or https://vaultofsatoshi.com/ https://vaultofsatoshi.com/ If you are in Europe, http://bitcoin.de http://bitcoin.de , http://bitcoin-central.net http://bitcoin-central.net , https://www.bitstamp.net/ https://www.bitstamp.net/ If you are anywhere, check out your local Bitcoin meetup group.
      • bobbles 13y ago
        In Australia, I can vouch for CoinJar http://coinjar.io/ http://coinjar.io/ Took me about 30 mins total from wanting to buy to having my order placed. (If you use NAB it will be even faster, I had to make a cash deposit at an NAB)
    • deleted 13y ago
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  • salient 13y ago
    What about Paypal? It seems to me they could really advantage of this by becoming the defacto way people use to buy Bitcoins (or at least one of the most popular methods). It's too bad they are so shortsighted about it, and only see Bitcoin as a threat. Yes, Bitcoin is a threat, for the whole financial system for that matter, but it's much more of a threat for those who don't adopt it than for those who do. At least if Paypal adopted it, they could remain relevant in the future, and people would still use them.
    • dcc1 13y ago
      Bitcoin is Paypal biggest threat, Paypal have been ruthless in closing any accounts of anyone attempting to buy or sell bitcoins And of course Paypal suffers from same problem as credit cards of chargeback and fraud
• oleganza 13y ago
  Its hard because it's easy to own and secure Bitcoins, but impossible to own money in USD, bank accounts or paypal. It's all a huge network of promises based on debt. When you transfer bitcoin, you really transfer ownership forever. When you transfer digital dollar, you just rely on a bunch of intermediate agreements to hold true unless judge decides another way. Paypal payments are reversible, CC payments too. Even bank wires can be reversed sometimes because it's still based on an agreement between banks. Even laws regulating these agreements are also promises to punish or reward people based on other people's decision. Bitcoin is the only money you can really own. Other currencies are fragile and ephemeral. http://blog.oleganza.com/post/67362431718/you-can-own-bitcoin-you-cant-own-your-dollars http://blog.oleganza.com/post/67362431718/you-can-own-bitcoi...
  • jonknee 13y ago
    Have you not heard of cash? It's probably the easiest way to get BTC as well.
    • oleganza 13y ago
      It's also riskier and a lot more expensive. Bitcoin holders are scattered across the globe. Finding a seller nearby is hard.
      • obi-nine 13y ago
        Try http://localbitcoins.com http://localbitcoins.com
  • gaadd33 13y ago
    How do you reverse a cash transfer? Like I hand someone $100 in cash.
    • oleganza 13y ago
      You can't. But you also can't make a cash transfer in 99.9% of global transactions (in volume) for many reasons. One of them is cash is physical. So cash does not really count.
• codfrantic 13y ago
  Judging by your name, http://www.bitonic.nl/ http://www.bitonic.nl/ iDeal...
• taigeair 13y ago
  I was the same. I tried to use BTC-e, Canadian one, and coinbase. None worked and took too long. So... I got a forex account and bought a position on BTC. It's the fastest way in. Let me know if you want a referral. Also it's more liquid than buying actual BTC and then selling them I think. Just be careful about using leverage. I left finance in 2009. I never thought I'd get back into trading...
  • simonebrunozzi 13y ago
    Interesting. Can you send me more info?
    • taigeair 13y ago
      http://www.avatrade.com/ http://www.avatrade.com/ Put in $300 and they give you $300. I opened it yesterday got a position on BTC same day (would be fun to get real BTC though). You can buy .01 lot with $300.
      • gaadd33 13y ago
        How do they take a position in BTC? Or is it just a casino? i.e. if I put 50K into an account there and used it to buy $250K of BTC, that should have a pretty drastic impact on the market looking at mt gox's order books, does that actually happen?
        • taigeair 13y ago
          My understanding is they net it if someone takes an opposing position and if not, they hedge by buying contracts or BTC outright.
          • deleted 13y ago
            [deleted]
          • taigeair 13y ago
            I'm not sure if this works but if you want to help out, you can use this referral link: http://www.avatrade.com/?ref=38634 http://www.avatrade.com/?ref=38634
• mpg33 13y ago
  localbitcoins.com is good....just look for a reputable seller
  • lukifer 13y ago
    They also provide escrow. The seller can release funds on their phone, and you'll get an authenticated notification on your phone immediately.
• theboywho 13y ago
  >> How to actually get bitcoins? There are lot of services that allow you to buy Bitcoin and people have already listed a few, but here's another option: Start charging for Bitcoin. It's funny how few people think about this. "How to get USD?" You do some work that another person is willing to give you USD for.
• wellboy 13y ago
  www.virwox.com and you can get up to $390/day through credit card or paypal instantly.
• celticninja 13y ago
  you cannot buy with creditcards, try localbitcoins.com but you would need to buy them using your bank account or cash in person.
• davedx 13y ago
  I live in the Netherlands. I use Bitstamp with a bank transfer to their bank, wait for the funds to clear, buy the BTC. Usually takes 1-2 days for the whole process.
• bernatfp 13y ago
  I'm also from the EU and used to have BTC (now I'm into LTC), so here is how I do it: Register in Bitstamp or Kraken (my favourite exchanges). Validate your account. You have to provide some sort of proof of identity and address. This is asked by governments and if they don't comply with them they can be closed without any previous notice, like it happened with the exchange bitcoin24. It can take up to 1 week. Deposit cash. Companies like Visa/Mastercard/PayPal don't want to deal directly with BTC, that's why a bank transfer is more convenient. Being European you probably have cash in a SEPA bank, which is an advantadge because most exchanges accept SEPA deposits at a very low fee (much cheaper than a Wire Transfer) and they are usually very fast (1-2 working days).
  • deleted 13y ago
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  • mobweb 13y ago
    The main thing that's kept me from making a deposit with one of these services is the fact that I have to hand over a complete proof of my identity. Seeing how many of these services seem to get hacked lately I'd be too worried about somebody stealing my documents and a hacker getting ahold of these personal documents that could easily be used to impersonate me... But on the other hand I also understand that these services have to be very careful so they don't get abused themselves.
    • sireat 13y ago
      My problem with the exchanges is that they are not transparent, the people behind them are either unknown or rather incompetent (how many snafus has MtGox had in the last 3 years?). So as an European I have to send funds with SEPA to some unknown entity in UK/Slovenia/Bulgaria AND provide all my private information? Meanwhile, the owners could take off any day tomorrow with the BTC and the information. BTC exchanges are operating in EVE like territory, the only reason to trust them is because they have not run away with the money YET. Ironically, this benefits MtGox the most, who despite/because of the ridiculous withdrawal limits have managed to stay in the business the longest. The only exception that I would be willing to trust is Coinbase and that is only because of YC connection, and that is no guarantee either but the best for now. BTC will only take off for the masses, when there is a reputable company offering banking/trading services with BTC. Localbitcoins have to do for now, but is not something that scales very well.
• modeless 13y ago
  The fact that it is hard to buy bitcoins is ironically the very problem bitcoin solves. Once you have some bitcoins, then no credit card company, bank, or government can prevent you from spending them on anything you want.
  • XorNot 13y ago
    You know, unless you need to buy sovereign currency - the thing the vast majority of life's necesssities are denominated in.
• pmorici 13y ago
  No intelligent person will sell you Bitcoins with a credit card because the transaction could be charged back and they wouldn't be able to recover the coins. If you want to buy bitcoins and you are in the US go to Coinbase.com you can crate an account link it to your bank account and buy some coins very quickly. If you use an exchange like Mtgox or similar it could take weeks to get all the identity verification stuff approved. If you decide you want to day trade later get an account on CampBX, bitstamp.net or similar and use that but to start out Coinbase is the way to go.
  • kingnight 13y ago
    Why switch to CampBX or bitstamp.net? What not just continue to use coinbase?
    • gaadd33 13y ago
      I would guess because coinbase doesn't allow you to keep a USD balance on their servers, its either pulling out of your bank account or pushing into your bank account. Both have pretty big delays if you are trying to day trade in the USD/BTC market.
      • my_username_is_ 13y ago
        also Coinbase has higher fees than if you use something like bitstamp
• Zidewinder 13y ago
  Edit: Just noticed you live in Europe. They do have a SEPA option for European customers, but I imagine the process is somewhat different, and SEPA listings are relatively sparse. Sorry! www.bitquick.co Prerequisites: A bitcoin wallet to receive the coins, and some cash. 1: Click Buy, browse through the offers and pick one that has a reasonable price and uses a geographically convenient bank. 2: Submit your bitcoin address and your desired amount, write down the bank account info that appears, go to the bank, and deposit the specified amount of cash into the seller's account. 3: Take a picture of the deposit receipt and email it to BitQuick. 4: Bitcoins will be sent from escrow to the address you specified earlier. Done!