When interest in Bitcoin increases, many newcomers wonder where it is best to buy it.
In reality there cannot be a single unequivocal answer to this question, because various factors must be considered which change from person to person.
The best purchasing method: where is it best to buy Bitcoin?
The first factor to take into consideration is the payment method you want to use for the purchase.
The most used method seems to be the credit/debit card, although there are no clear statistics on this.
To tell the truth, this is certainly the simplest payment method to use to buy BTCbut it’s not necessarily the best.
In fact, higher commissions are often applied by sellers on card purchases compared to other payment methods.
However, if you still want to buy Bitcoin by paying by card, then the best place to buy it are crypto exchanges, i.e. platforms specialized in the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.
The most convenient alternative, however, is a bank transfer. Furthermore, with payment cards the amounts payable are lower, while with bank transfers you can also move considerable sums.
Although even when using a bank transfer, the best platforms where it is best to buy Bitcoin are crypto exchanges, this only applies to relatively small amounts. However, when the amounts become very significant it would be better to use an OTC desk, because in this way you avoid increasing the purchase price by purchasing large amounts in one go.
If, however, you want to use paper banknotes, then it is better to avoid the classic and “historic” method of purchasing in person from other users, and prefer the so-called crypto ATMs.
The ideal purchase price: how to choose?
Another factor to take into consideration is obviously the purchase price.
This depends in particular on the moment in which you decide to purchase, but not only.
First of all, it must be said that not all platforms where it is convenient to buy Bitcoin have the same prices. For this reason it is advisable to register in advance on different platforms, so as to be able to choose the one with the best prices if necessary. In fact, there is no platform where prices are always lower, while instead there are some with high spreads which ensure that purchase prices are always higher than average.
You also need to pay attention to the market price.
When you want to buy low, or very low, amounts of BTC, buying at market price does not make a significant difference.
If, however, you want to buy even minimally significant amounts, it is advisable to pay close attention to the difference between the market price at a specific moment and what could exist even just an instant later.
In fact, prices change very quickly, and often by setting a maximum purchase price lower than the current market price you can still buy at a better price. This is especially true when purchasing large amounts, because large purchases very quickly can increase the purchase price if a maximum purchase price is not imposed.
The commission factor: where to find the lowest ones
However, one of the factors that make the biggest difference in choosing where to buy Bitcoin are the commissions imposed by the platform on which the purchase is made.
In fact, there are some platforms, such as crypto ATMs, where commissions tend to be higher.
This factor must also be added to any spread, which in fact operates as a commission even though it is not one (the spread is technically simply a surcharge).
Commissions not only vary from platform to platform, but also vary within the platform itself depending above all on the quantity of Bitcoin you intend to purchase, the volume already moved by the user on that given platform, and its level of verification.
The resulting picture is so complex that it is not even possible to summarize it in a few lines.
So, essentially, before making a purchase on a platform it would be advisable to check the percentage of commissions that the platform itself applies on customer purchases, but also carefully checking what percentages will be applied in your specific case, which certainly will be different from those of other dissimilar cases of other users.
The expected return
There is yet another factor to consider.
Sometimes those who buy Bitcoin do so with the desire to obtain a return simply by keeping it in their wallet.
This is in addition to the possible profits deriving from resale at a higher price, although as long as the BTC purchased is put at a yield they cannot be sold.
Not all platforms offer the possibility of obtaining a return from the mere possession of BTC and its custody on the platform itself.
With Ethereum, for example, it is different, because staking (which is a native functionality of ETH and which is simply not present on BTC) is possible to generate a return simply by keeping your tokens on a validator node.
So if almost all Ethereum custody platforms offer returns through staking, for Bitcoin there are not many platforms that offer returns.
Therefore, those who also want to obtain a return will have to choose a platform that offers this service, but always keeping in mind that making a return on Bitcoin means taking additional risks.
However, it should be added that no one forbids purchasing them on one platform and then moving them to another to make them profitable, always keeping in mind that every move has a cost.
Where is it best to keep your Bitcoins?
Finally, after having described the criteria to be used to choose where to buy them, it is also worth adding which criteria are used to choose how to store them.
In theory, the best place to store your BTC is in non-custodial wallets, such as so-called hardware wallets.
In this case it is the user who assumes all the risks of custody, thus eliminating all risks arising from the use of a counterparty. However, if the user is not an expert in cryptocurrency custody, this choice can easily prove to be a double-edged sword.
If you instead choose to leave them to an external custodian, you must be very careful when choosing the custodian.
Indeed, in these cases it is not advisable to entrust them all to the same custodian, but it is better to store them on different custodial wallets, all of which are however provided by reliable companies.
For example, many keep them on the same platform on which they purchased them, also to be able to sell them more easily, but if the platform closes (as has already happened several times) you run the risk of losing them all forever.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to accurately judge the degree of reliability of a platform, so self-custody is often preferred to cut the corner.
