Buying bitcoins
There are various methods available for buying bitcoins. See here for a Noob-friendly version of this page.
Warning: Please be careful with your money. When sending money to an exchange or seller you are trusting that the operator will not abscond with your funds and that the operator maintains secure systems that protect against theft -- internal or external. It is recommended that you obtain the real-world identity of the operator and ensure that sufficient recourse is available. Exchanging or storing significant amounts of funds with exchanges is not recommended.
Major Exchanges
The least expensive methods for buying bitcoins involve transferring funds using a bank wire, ACH, bank transfer (ACH, EUR / SEPA).
Exchanges are listed in alphabetical order.
| Exchange | Adding Funds | Withdrawing Funds | eWallet | Notes |
| Bitcoin-24 | BTC USD (MtGox redeemable code) EUR (MtGox redeemable code) USD (VouchX redeemable code) EUR (VouchX redeemable code) EUR (BTC24 redeemable code) USD (Credit card through LiqPay) EUR (Sofortuberweisung) |
BTC EUR (SEPA bank transfer) EUR (VouchX redeemable code) USD (VouchX redeemable code) EUR (BTC24 redeemable code) USD (BTC24 redeemable code USD (Skrill/Moneybookers) |
Yes | |
| Bitcoin-Central | BTC EUR (SEPA) Liberty Reserve USD Liberty Reserve EUR PGAU Pecunix Gold |
BTC EUR (SEPA) Liberty Reserve USD Liberty Reserve EUR Pecunix Gold |
Yes | Open-source, community reviewed platform Available in French and English languages |
| Bitfloor | BTC USD (Cash deposit at Chase, Wells Fargo) USD (bank wire transfer) USD (ING Person2Person) |
BTC USD (ACH, direct deposit) |
Yes | |
| BitMe | BTC USD (AurumXchange's VouchX) |
BTC USD (AurumXchange's VouchX) |
Yes |
|
| bitNZ | BTC NZD (Domestic bank transfer) |
BTC NZD (Domestic bank transfer) |
Yes | |
| Bitstamp | BTC BTC (Redeemable code) EUR (SEPA transfer) USD (Intl wire) USD (Redeemable code) CHF |
BTC BTC (Redeemable code) EUR (SEPA transfer) USD (Intl wire) USD (Redeemable code) CHF |
Yes | EUR and CHF deposits converted to/from USD for trading |
| Brasil Bitcoin Market | BTC BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) |
BTC BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) |
Yes | Language: Portugese |
| BTC-E | BTC USD (Liberty Reserve) USD (Interkassa) USD (WebMoney - WMZ) USD (BTC-e Redeemable Code, available via BitInstant and AurumXChange) USD (International bank wire) |
BTC USD (Liberty Reserve) USD (Webmoney - WMZ, WMR) USD (Perfect Money) USD (LiqPay) USD (QIWI) USD (BTC-e Redeemable Code) |
Yes | Language: English, Russian. Interkassa can be funded from Webmoney and many other methods. BitInstant Can be funding option includes QIWI, Cyberplat. |
| Camp BX (CBX) | BTC USD (Dwolla) USD (Personal Check) USD (USPS Postal Money Order) USD (Bill Pay - Using your bank) |
BTC USD (Dwolla) USD (ACH Direct Deposit) USD (USPS Postal Money Order) USD (Domestic bank wire) USD (International bank wire) |
Yes |
|
| CryptoXchange | BTC USD (Redeemable code from Mt. Gox) USD (Redeemable code from CryptoXChange) USD (BitInstant) USD (AurumXChange) AUD (Cash deposit at Westpack) NMC |
BTC USD (Redeemable code from Mt. Gox) USD (Redeemable code from CryptoXChange) USD (International bank wire) NMC |
Yes |
|
| HelloBitcoin | BTC USD (Dwolla) USD (Bank wire) USD (Check) |
BTC USD (Check) USD (Bank wire) USD (ACH) |
Yes | Offers margin trading and shorting. |
| Intersango | BTC GBP (bank deposit) USD (Dwolla) EUR (SEPA bank wire) PLN (Bank Wire) |
BTC GBP (bank transfer) USD (Dwolla) EUR (SEPA bank wire) PLN (Bank Wire) |
Yes | Operated by the BitcoinConsultancy Intersango is a completely custom trading platform built from the ground up with security, scalability and extensibility in mind. More Information Boasts an ever expanding API. Started out as Britcoin. |
| Kapiton.se | BTC SEK (Bankgiro Bank Transfer) |
BTC SEK (Bankgiro Bank Transfer) |
Yes | |
| Mercado Bitcoin | BTC BRL (Bank transfer) BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) Liberty Reserve USD |
BTC BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) |
Yes | Language: Portugese |
| MtGox | BTC BTC (Redeemable code) USD (Dwolla) USD (International bank wire) USD (Wire to AurumXChange) AUD (Bank wire) GBP (Bank wire) GBP (Cash deposit, Barclays) USD (Redeemable code) Liberty Reserve USD (via AurumXChange) |
BTC BTC (Redeemable code) USD (Dwolla) USD (Wire via AurumXChange) AUD (Bank wire) USD (Redeemable code) Liberty Reserve USD (via AurumXChange) |
Yes | Oldest running exchange. Higest daily volume. Respecting AML laws, Restrictions and limits on withdrawals. |
| Rock Currency Exchange | BTC EUR (SEPA transfer) SLL (Second Life) USD (Dwolla) |
BTC EUR (SEPA transfer) SLL (Second Life) USD (Dwolla) |
Yes | |
| VirtEx | BTC CAD (cash deposit at Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal or ScotiaBank) CAD (Online bill payment) CAD (Wire transfer) |
BTC CAD (direct deposit) CAD (Canada Xpress Post Bank Draft send by mail) CAD Payza (formerly AlertPay) |
Yes | |
| VirWoX | BTC SLL (Second Life) ACD (Avination) OMC (OpenSim) USD,EUR,GBP,CHF (PayPal) USD,EUR,GBP (Credit & Debit cards via Skrill/Moneybookers) USD,EUR,GBP (NETELLER) EUR (DIRECTebanking / Sofortuberweisung) USD,EUR,GBP,CHF (paysafecard) EUR (SEPA bank transfer) |
BTC SLL (Second Life) ACD (Avination) OMC (OpenSim) USD,EUR,GBP,CHF (PayPal) USD,EUR,GBP (Skrill/Moneybookers) USD,EUR,GBP (NETELLER) EUR (SEPA bank transfer) |
Yes | Trading through Second Life Linden Dollars. Variable limits on PayPal and Credit Card deposits. |
Fixed Rate Exchanges & Others
For smaller amounts, the options are limited due to bank transfer fees, conversion fees and transaction size restrictions. Options include:
| Service | Type | Payment Method | Notes |
| Bit Innovate | Fixed Rate | AUD (Cash deposit) | AUD cash deposit at Commonwealth Bank. |
| BitInstant | Market Rate | USD (Cash deposit at banks, 7-11, Walmart, CVS, Moneygram locations) USD (Dwolla) BRL (Cash deposit at Banco Rendimento or through Boleto) RUB (Cash deposit through Qiwi or Cyberplat) |
Deposit cash at 700,000 locations around the world and have your Bitcoins within 30 minutes. Absolute fastest and easiest way to buy Bitcoins. |
| Coinapult | Fixed rate | Use BitInstant to use cash to purchase bitcoins sent to e-mail or SMS. Choose "Bitcoin to e-mail" service and enter either e-mail or SMS. | |
| Bitcoin Nordic | Fixed Rate | EUR/DKK (SEPA and wire transfer) USD/EUR/GBP/DKK/SEK/NOK (Cash or check) AED/DZD/EGP/IQD/ILS/JOD/KWD/LGP/LYD/MRO/MYR/NGN/OMR/PKR/QAR/SAR/TRL/TZS/TND/YER (CashU card) MXN/EYU/BOB/BRL/COP/SYP/MAD/GHC/ZAR/CNY/CAD and more (UKash voucher) |
For UKash, redeemed through CashU account. |
| Blockchain.info | Fixed Rate | USD, AUD, CAD, JPY, EUR, CHF, GBP, PLN, CZK, RON, RUB, SEK, NOK, DKK | Purchased using SMS or premium phone call from a mobile. |
| Omnicoins | Fixed Rate | AUD (Cash deposit) | Deposit cash at any Commonwealth, NAB, or Westpac branch. |
| Spend Bitcoins | Fixed Rate | AUD (Cash deposit) | AUD cash deposit at NAB, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ. |
| Quick Bitcoins | Fixed Rate | USD (Cash in the mail) USD (Prepaid debit card in the mail) USD (Money order via mail) USD (Cashier check by mail) USD (Cash deposit at a bank, 7-11, Walmart, CVS) USD (MoneyGram or Western Union) EUR (VISA/MasterCard credit card) EUR (Cash in the mail) EUR (Perpaid debit card in the mail) |
U.S. mailing address. |
| BuyBitcoin | Market | USD (Cash) USD (Western Union) USD (Credit Card) USD (Dwolla) USD (Cash deposit) USD (Bank wire) USD (Cash in the mail) USD (Money Order) USD (Cashier's Check/Certified Check) USD (Traveler's Check) USD (Prepaid Debit Card) |
Instant Bitcoin delivery over the phone. Public office address: 290 5th Ave, 5th floor, New York, NY 10001 Telephone or SMS text message 24 hours: +1 646-580-0044 |
| bitcoin.de | Market | EUR (bank wire) EUR (SEPA bank transfer) EUR (Liberty Reserve) EUR (Skrill/Moneybookers) |
Varies (person to person) 0.01 free Bitcoins for every new user eWallet Affiliate program Language: German, Englisch News |
| Blizzcoin | Fixed Rate | EUR (SEPA bank transfer) | Buy Bitcoins within minutes. Instant exchange. No registration. |
| BitMarket.eu | Market | EUR (Euro) GBP (British Sterling Pound) USD (U.S. Dollar) PLN (Polish złoty) AUD (Australian Dollar) CAD (Canadian Dollar) ZAR (South African Rand) ILS (Israeli Shekel) CHF (Swiss Franc) RUB (Russian Ruble) |
Varies (person to person) |
| Bitcoiny.cz | Market | CZK | Varies (person to person) |
| Mr. Bitcoins | Fixed Rate | AUD (Cash deposit - Westpack and Commonwealth Bank) USD (Major banks, 7-11, Walmart, CVS) RUB (Qiwi and Cyberplat through BitInstant) BRL (Boleto through BitInstant) INR (Cash deposit - HDFC Bank) |
100% Anonymous Cash Deposits |
| BTCX.se | Fixed Rate | SEK | Transfer to and banks in Sweden. |
| BTC China | Fixed Rate | USD (Liberty Reserve) | Converted to CNY for trading. |
| BitMarket.co | Market | COP (Colombian Peso) | Varies (person to person) |
| #bitcoin-otc | Order Book | Varies (person to person) | IRC trading marketplace will usually have people willing to deal for small and larger amounts using various payment methods, including PayPal, Dwolla, Linden Dollars, etc. |
| Canadian Bitcoins | Fixed Rate | CAD (Cash - XpressPost or Dropoff) USD (Cash - Courier: UPS, FedEx, etc.) |
For dropoff, office in Ottawa. |
| Dgtmkt [1] | Fixed Rate | Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) Online bank transfers (Maybank2U, CIMB, MEPS, etc) E-vouchers (Web Cash, Mobile Money) |
Bitcoin merchant for Malaysians, dealing in Malaysian Ringgit. Fully automated immediate transfers. https://dgtmkt.com |
| Lilion Transfer | Fixed Rate | Bank Transfer: USD, AUD, CAD, JPY, EUR, CHF, GBP, PLN, CZK, RON, BGN, HRK, RUB, SEK, NOK, DKK, LTL, LVL Liberty Reserve Perfect Money Monetto OK Pay Cosmic Pay Pecunix C-Gold E-Pay Payments PayPal |
122 accounts worldwide. Support in 30 languages |
| Nanaimo Gold | Fixed Rate | USD (Liberty Reserve) Western Union money transfer Moneygram money transfer Cash in the mail |
LR <--> Bitcoin exchange is automated For cash in the mail send USD, EUR, CAD, or GBP. Canada mailing address. |
| Bitcoin Argentina | Fixed Rate | Cash: ARS, BRL, USD Bank transfer: ARS |
No exchange fees! |
| Bitcoin.com.es | Fixed Rate | EUR (bank deposit) | Bank transfer or cash deposits at OpenBank in Spain. |
| Bahtcoin | Fixed Rate | Cash, Webmoney Liberty Reserve USD |
Will cash out to Thai mobile and gaming prepaid cards as well. |
| Bitcoin Brasil | Fixed Rate | BRL (Brazilian Real) USD |
Cash exchange |
| BitPiggy | Fixed Rate | AUD (Australian Dollar) | Payment via bank transfer. |
| GetBitcoin | Fixed Rate | USD (Dwolla) USD (Cash deposit, through BitInstant) USD (Cash in the mail) USD (Money Order) USD (Cashier's Check/Certified Check) USD (Moneygram through BitInstant) USD (Traveler's Check) USD (Prepaid Debit Card) |
For cash in mail, send USD. U.S. mailing address. |
| bitcoin.local | Directory | Varies (person to person) | |
| bcchanger.com | Directory | Enables person to person purchases and sales via PayPal, Skrill/Moneybookers and other e-currency platforms | |
| anonXchange | Fixed Rate | EUR GBP |
Liberty Reserve, Paysafecard and Ukash to Bitcoin |
| Bitcoil | Fixed Rate | ILS (bank transfer) | |
| btcnow | Market | USD (OKPay, Dwolla) | bitcoins transferred instantly |
| LocalBitcoins.com | Directory | Varies (person to person) Physical cash locally |
Find your local bitcoin dealer! With dynamic pricing with equations. |
| WM-Center | Fixed rate | BTC USD (International bank wire, Western Unon, Moneygram, Xoom etc, cash) EUR (IBAN bank wire) RUB (bank wire, WU, Anelik and etc, cash) AUD (Bank wire) Liberty Reserve USD/EUR, Perfect Money USD/EUR, Pecunix, Paxum, c-gold, Hoopay, GDP |
24/7/365 support in English, Spanish and Russian. |
| ECurrencyZone | Fixed Rate | BTC INR (Cash deposit of Indian rupee) BDT (Cash deposit of Bangladeshi taka) NPR (Cash deposit of Nepalese rupee) MYR (Cash deposit of Malaysian ringitt) SGD (Cash deposit of Singaporean dollar) SGD (Net/Bank transfer) USD (Western Union, Moneygram, Citibank global funds transfer, OKPay) USD (Liberty Reserve, Mt. Gox redeemable code) |
Bank transfer considered at all locations with prior approval. |
| BitCoinVend | Market | BTC USD (PayPal) |
bitcoinvend@gmail.com, market variable with commission, quote based, verified paypal account with anti scammer verification |
| Bitcoins In Berlin | Fixed Rate | EUR (Cash in-the mail) EUR (Cash in-person trade) EUR (SEPA bank transfer) EUR (Mt. Gox redeemable code) EUR (Western Union) |
Cash in-the-mail is to a Berlin P.O. box. In-person trade is in Berlin. |
| Mang Sweeney | Fixed Rate | PHP (Cash) PHP (Cash deposit at bank) |
Languages: English, Pinoy. PHP cash trade method in metro Manilla, Philappines. |
| Bitcoin Vender | Fixed Rate | USD (Credit Card) USD (Debit Card) |
Buy bitcoins with your credit or debit card |
| mercaBit.eu | Fixed Rate | EUR (ukash) EUR (paysafecard) EUR (neosurf) EUR (halcash) EUR (teleingreso) |
Buy bitcoins with ukash and more |
Direct / Bulk Buying
| Service | Type | Payment Method | Notes | |
| Bitcoins Direct | Direct purchases, $500 to $5,000 USD. | USD (Cash deposit at B of A or Wells Fargo USD (Bank wire, domestic or international) USD (Western Union or Moneygram transfer) USD (Cashier check, by mail) USD (Liberty Reserve) USD (OKPay) |
BTC | Inventory varies based on market conditions. |
| BitPay (info) | Direct purchases, $10,000 USD and higher | USD (Bank wire, domestic or international) | BTC | Contact for other payment methods. |
Other Financial Services
| Service | Type | Payment | Settled | Notes |
| MPEx | Buy / Sell / Exercise CALLs / PUTs, American style. 52 strikes offered (by .5), current month + 2. No shorting available yet. |
BTC | BTC | Transactions encoded via amt. Must use non-rounding client (0.3.24 or later) |
| Vircurex | Buy / Sell Options Loan / Borrow |
BTC, NMC, LTC, DVC, GG, I0C, IXC, SC | BTC, NMC, LTC, DVC, GG, I0C, IXC, SC |
Physical Bitcoins
Physical Bitcoins are bearer tokens that have an embedded redeemable digital bitcoin value if torn open. While they are somewhat expensive if bought purely for the digital bitcoins, they are relatively easy to get, because they can be purchased with PayPal or credit card - payment methods not typically not accepted for pure digital bitcoin purchases.
| Service | Type | Payment | Notes |
| Memory Dealers | Casascius Physical Bitcoins | USD (PayPal/Credit Card) | |
| Casascius.com | Casascius Physical Bitcoins | BTC | |
| Bitcoin Gift Card | Bitcioin Gift Card Physical Bitcoin Issued By GiftCoin | BTC | |
| Bitbills | Bitbills cards | BTC | Not taking orders as of Nov 2011. |