Questions people ask first
Do I have to buy a whole bitcoin?
No. Every exchange on this site sells fractions, and the order box accepts a dollar amount as readily as a bitcoin amount. A hundred dollars buys a hundred dollars of it.
How long does the whole thing take?
The account and the identity check are usually done in under an hour. The bank transfer is the slow part, a day or two. The trade itself is instant, and a withdrawal to your own wallet lands in minutes to an hour depending on how busy the network is.
Card or bank transfer?
Bank transfer, unless the timing genuinely matters. A card costs 4.2 percent at Coinbase and 3.49 percent at Gemini, against roughly nothing for a transfer.
What happens if an exchange fails?
A balance on an exchange is a claim against that company, and claims get settled in court on the company's timetable. Kraken states plainly that it carries no cover on crypto balances. Coins withdrawn to a wallet you control are not part of anyone's insolvency.
Do I need a hardware wallet?
For an amount you would shrug off, a phone wallet is enough. For an amount that would ruin your month, the device pays for itself the first time it stops a bad paste. The wallet page covers the setup.
Can I still buy bitcoin in the UK?
Yes, with a shorter list of exchanges than a US buyer has. The UK page covers who has stepped back and what the FCA rules changed.
Do I owe tax on it?
That depends on where you live and what you did, and this site does not answer it. In most places a sale or a swap is the event that counts, not the purchase. Keep the confirmations from day one, because reconstructing them years later is miserable.
Are the links on this site paid?
Some of them will be. Any paid link is marked as sponsored and carries a line saying so right next to it. None of the tables are ordered by what pays, and Bitstamp, which pays nothing, is in every one of them.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each row is read by hand from the exchange's own fee page, and the date it was read is printed beside it. The live price in the header comes from Kraken through bitcointousd.com.