Buying bitcoins
There are various methods available for buying bitcoins.
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 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).
| Exchange | Type | Adding Funds | Withdrawing Funds | eWallet | Notes |
| MtGox | Market | BTC BTC (Redeemable code) USD (Dwolla) USD (International bank wire) USD (Wire to AurumXChange) AUD (Bank wire) GBP (Bank wire) USD (Redeemable code) Liberty Reserve USD |
BTC BTC (Redeemable code) USD (Dwolla) USD (Wire via AurumXChange) AUD (Bank wire) USD (Redeemable code) Liberty Reserve USD Liberty Reserve USD (via AurumXChange) |
Yes | Oldest running exchange. Higest daily volume. Respecting AML laws, Restrictions and limits on withdrawals. |
| Britcoin & Intersango |
Market | BTC GBP (bank deposit) USD (Dwolla) USD (Domestic bank wire) USD (ACH) 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 |
| VirWoX | Market | BTC SLL (Second Life) ACD (Avination) OMC (OpenSim) USD,EUR,GBP,CHF (PayPal) USD,EUR,GBP (Credit & Debit cards via Moneybookers) USD,EUR,GBP (NETELLER) EUR (DIRECTebanking / Sofortüberweisung) 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 (Moneybookers) USD,EUR,GBP (NETELLER) EUR (SEPA bank transfer) |
Yes | Trading through Second Life Linden Dollars. Variable limits on PayPal and Credit Card deposits. |
| BTC-E | Market | BTC USD (Liberty Reserve) USD (Interkassa) |
BTC USD (Webmoney) |
Yes | Language: Russian. Interkassa can be funded from Webmoney and many other methods. |
| VirtEx | Market | BTC CAD (online bill pay) CAD (cash at TDBank) |
BTC CAD (direct deposit) |
Yes | |
| Camp BX (CBX) | Market | BTC USD (Check / ACH Direct Deposit) USPS Postal Money Order USD (Dwolla) USD Bill Pay Walmart MoneyGram |
BTC USD (Check / ACH Direct Deposit) USPS Postal Money Order USD (Dwolla) USD (Domestic bank wire) USD (International bank wire) |
Yes |
|
| Mercado Bitcoin | Market | BTC BRL (Bank transfer) BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) Liberty Reserve USD |
BTC BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) |
Yes | Language: Portugese |
| Bitcoin-Central | Market | BTC CAD (Interac) CAD (Bank wire) CAD (Cash deposit) EUR (SEPA) INR (Bank wire) Liberty Reserve USD Liberty Reserve EUR PGAU Pecunix Gold |
BTC CAD (Interac) CAD (Bank wire) EUR (SEPA) INR (Bank wire) Liberty Reserve USD Liberty Reserve EUR Pecunix Gold |
Yes | Open-source, community reviewed platform Available in French and English languages |
| HelloBitcoin | Market | BTC USD (Dwolla) USD (Bank wire) USD (Check) |
BTC USD (Check) USD (Bank wire) USD (ACH) |
Yes | Offers margin trading and shorting. |
| Brasil Bitcoin Market | Market | BTC BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) |
BTC BRL (Bank transfer - MoIP) |
Yes | Language: Portugese |
| Australian Bitcoin Exchange | Market | BTC AUD (Electronic funds deposit) AUD (Mtgox Redeemable code) |
BTC AUD (Electronic funds transfer) |
Yes | |
| BitStamp | Market | 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 |
| Rock Currency Exchange | Market | BTC EUR (SEPA transfer) SLL (Second Life) USD (Dwolla) |
BTC EUR (SEPA transfer) SLL (Second Life) USD (Dwolla) |
Yes | |
| CryptoXchange | Market | BTC NMC LTC USD AUD (Bank Transfer) GBP |
BTC NMC LTC USD AUD (Bank Transfer) GBP |
Yes |
|
| WM-Center | Exchanger | 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 |
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 PayPal USD/EUR, Moneybookers, Neteller |
No | 24/7/365 support in english, spanish and russian! |
| bitNZ | Market | BTC NZD (Domestic bank transfer) |
BTC NZD (Domestic bank transfer) |
Yes | |
| Bitfloor | Market | BTC USD (Dwolla) |
BTC USD (Dwolla) |
Yes |
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 | |
| au.spendbitcoins.com | Fixed Rate | AUD | cash deposit at NAB | |
| BuyBitcoin | Market | USD (Cash) USD (Western Union) USD (PayPal) 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 (MoneyBookers) |
Varies (person to person) 0.01 free Bitcoins for every new user eWallet Affiliate program Language: German, Englisch News | |
| Bitcoinmarket24.com | Fixed Rate | EUR (SEPA bank transfer) | Instant Bitcoin purchases via SEPA. No registration needed! | |
| Blizzcoin | Fixed Rate | EUR (SEPA bank transfer) | Buy Bitcoins within minutes. Instant exchange. No registration. | |
| Bitcoin Market | Market | USD (Liberty Reserve) USD (MoneyBookers) GAU (Pecunix) |
Varies (person to person) | |
| 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) | |
| BTCX.se | Fixed Rate | SEK | Transfer to and banks in Sweden. | |
| Bit / BTC China | Market | n/a | n/a | |
| Bitfunnel | Credit Card payment exchange/brokering services | 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. | |
| Lilion Transfer | Fixed Rate | Bank Transfer: USD, AUD, CAD, JPY, EUR, CHF, GBP, PLN, CZK, RON, RUB, SEK, NOK, DKK 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) USD (Bank wire) USD (Cash in the mail) USD (Money Order) USD (Cashier's Check/Certified Check) USD (Western Union) USD (Traveler's Check) USD (Prepaid Debit Card) |
For cash in mail, send USD. U.S. mailing address. | |
| Bitcoin2Cash | Fixed Rate | Cash in the 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, MoneyBookers and other e-currency platforms | ||
| SimpleCoin | Fixed Rate | USD | Payment via credit or debit card. | |
| YouTipIt | Fixed Rate | USD EUR GBP |
Purchase bitcoins to add to your balance with YouTipIt using credit card through ClickAndBuy. | |
| Ubitex | In person exchange | Varies (person to person) | ||
| Bitcoil | Fixed Rate | ILS (bank transfer) | ||
| Accesscoin | Fixed Rate | USD (Google Checkout) | Requires Facebook account for second factor authentication (offline Jan062012) | |
| btcnow | Market | USD (OKPay, Dwolla) | bitcoins transferred instantly | |
| Btc-Direct | Market | Paid by phone or SMS USD EUR GBP |
Incredible: Purchase your Bitcoins with your phone !!. We are the first to offer you the easiest way to buy Bitcoins. |
Other Financial Services
| Service | Type | Payment | Settled | Notes |
| Bitcoinica | BTC/USD Contract for Difference (CFD) trading | BTC, USD, EUR, GBP | BTC, USD | Leveraged trading from 2.5X and higher. |
| Derivatives | 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 | |
| Bitbills | Bitbills cards | BTC | Not taking orders as of Nov 2011. |