How To Buy Bitcoin in the United States

New to Bitcoin and live in the United States? Below is a list of exchanges where you can purchase your first Bitcoin.

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Where can I buy Bitcoin in the United States?


Exchange Transfer Fees Deposit Fees Withdrawal Fees Summary
CoinBase Free (Standard mining fees) U.S. Bank Account - 1.49%
Credit/Debit - 3.99%
U.S. Bank/Coinbase - 1.49%
PayPal - 3.99%
Reputable, and very easy. Often down during price drops due to high traffic. One of the more popular exchanges.
KuCoin Free Free Varies (see link) A new Chinese exchange that boasts a variety of harder-to-find altcoins. Have found the interface easy-to-use and the selection extensive.
LocalBitcoins Free (just standard mining fee) Free Free Registering, buying, and selling Bitcoin is free. Users who create advertisements are charged 1% for every completed trade. Essentially a marketplace where you can buy Bitcoin from other people, both online and in-person. Great if you're having difficulty getting verified on other exchanges.
CEX.io 1% Bank Transfer - Free
Credit - 3.5%
Varies, see link Easy way to quickly acquire some crypto, allows credit purchasing, or bank transfer for free. Fees reduce with increased volume, see fees page for more details. Available in most countries.
CoinMama Free (just standard mining fee) Credit Card - 6.15% Free Reputable but high fees.
Mercatox Varies (see link) Free Varies (see link) Trade fee is 0.25%. While the UI can seem a bit dodgy, Mercatox often lists altcoins not found on the bigger exchanges. Reasonable exchange.
COSS.io Free Free Varies per coin Very high withdrawal fees, however often has altcoins not found on the other major exchanges. As a result can bag some good deals. However, can be difficult to withdraw coins from. Be wary when using.

Where can I store my Bitcoin?


Name Cost Summary
Trezor (Hardware Wallet) $83 USD One of the first hardware wallet options, TREZOR is also an established brand with a quality wallet. Very easy-to-use, even for the non-technical user.
Ledger Nano S (Hardware Wallet) $76 USD Cheapest hardware option with a screen, Ledger is one of the more reputable wallet-makers, can't go wrong with this option.
KeepKey (Hardware Wallet) $130 USD Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Namecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, and Testnet. Secure, no operating system (less attack surface for malware), passphrase recovery.
Ledger HW.1(Hardware Wallet) $23 USD A budget hardware wallet. Supports multi-signatures, but biggest trade-off: no screen. Must set up on computer before use. 4-digit pin security, and options for 2-factor auth. Less convenient than it's screen-full counterparts, but still more secure than an online wallet.
BitAddress Free Free paper wallet (means you generate the code and put it somewhere safe). Runs via client-side Javascript, so make sure to disconnect computer from internet before using.

Where can I trade cryptocurrencies?


Exchange Fees Summary
Cryptopia 0.20% Good reputation and wide selection of altcoins.
Poloniex 0-0.15% - Maker
0.05-0.25% - Taker
Good interface, easy to deposit money. Personally have never had any trouble, although there have been reports of people getting larger amounts frozen / were unable to withdraw.
Bittrex 0.25% Wide selection of markets, nearly every currency pair you can think of. Also very easy to use, and great interface.
Kraken 0-0.16% - Maker
0.10-0.26% - Taker
One of the bigger exchanges with a great interface. Fees decrease with more volume.
GDAX 0% - Maker
0.1-0.25% - Taker
High-performance exchange with a familiar interface to traders.