There’s a bunch of ways to buy bitcoin. Depending on where you live, or the amount you’re looking to buy, different services might be the best fit for you.

Let’s take a look…

Bitcoin trading platform

Bitcoin trading platforms let you trade your fiat money (dollars, euros, yen, pesos, etc…) for bitcoin. Platforms can either source bitcoin in the market to sell to you directly or they can connect buyers and sellers to trade their cash and bitcoin between each other. In both cases, the experience usually involves linking fiat money payment methods (cards or banks), executing buys or sales of bitcoin, and then holding or withdrawing your cash or bitcoin. Platforms each offer different purchasing options, minimum and maximum purchase amounts, and different ways to hold, withdraw, or spend your bitcoin.

The Strike app offers bitcoin trading, where you can buy and sell bitcoin, for as little as $0.01 or as much as you want, then hold or withdraw your bitcoin, including via on-chain or Lightning transaction.

OTC Desk

Over-The-Counter (OTC) desks are used for trading large amounts of bitcoin. Businesses, institutions, or private individuals engage with an OTC desk to transfer large amounts of cash or bitcoin to execute their buy or sell order in one large transaction. Trading in one (or a few) large transactions helps avoid having to make lots of small trades, which can be time-consuming and can cause price slippage (getting an ever-worsening price for each incremental trade).

Strike offers an OTC service for buying and selling bitcoin called Strike Private, which you can contact at private@strike.me. It’s unlimited.

Peer-to-peer trading

Perhaps the oldest way of buying bitcoin is to simply find someone who is willing to sell it to you directly. You can do this either in-person or online, and simply arrange the quantity and price of the purchase directly.

For in-person bitcoin buys, a good place to start looking might be your local Bitcoiner meetup. Meetups are hosted in cities worldwide, and are often full of some of the kindest and most helpful people you’ll meet. For online peer-to-peer trading, there are platforms like Bisq, HodlHodl, or RoboSats.

Bitcoin ATMs

Many cities worldwide have Bitcoin ATMs, where you can pay cash for bitcoin. Before using a Bitcoin ATM, you’ll need to have your own bitcoin wallet (such as the Strike app) set up to receive your bitcoin after you’ve bought it. Usually bitcoin ATMs accept paper cash or debit cards, but not credit cards due to fraud and chargeback risks.

What’s best for you

When researching ways to buy bitcoin, it’s a good idea to check that it's a bitcoin-only option, to avoid the unnecessary risks, uncertainties, and distractions that can come with multi-crypto platforms. You might also want to consider a few things in your search:

• How much bitcoin do you want to buy?
• Do you have your own bitcoin wallet set up?
• Do you want to transact on-chain or via Lightning?

The Strike app offers a simple and secure way to get into Bitcoin. You can sign up in seconds, link cash payment methods, and start buying bitcoin. Strike is a full Bitcoin wallet, supporting on-chain, Lightning, and cash transactions, so you can get started using Bitcoin right away.

Please note: this content is for educational purposes only. Strike does not provide financial advice.