The Ultimate Beginners’ Guide On How To Buy Bitcoin/Ethereum In India | Cryptocurrency101

Do you want to invest in Cryptocurrencies but don’t know where to begin and how to buy?

Well, this story has the answers to all your possible questions on how to buy Cryptocurrencies.

To begin with, you should know that initially, the cryptocurrencies you should be investing in are Bitcoin and Ethereum because the value of these has been going up ever since they were introduced (The value of Bitcoin increased by 300 per cent in just one year); also these are the most trusted cryptocurrencies, have the highest payoffs, can be easily exchanged for other altcoins you could be interested in later and can also be used for shopping, online trading, remittances and other such things. These two occupy the top two spots in the cryptocurrency market as of now.

Now, in the first part of this story we would be dealing with how to buy Bitcoins.

So, the easiest way to get some is to use an online exchange, and buy some just like you would get anything else at an e-commerce site. There are some security concerns, and it's best to stick to reputed sites, to get your Bitcoin or to store them.
Some of the reputed exchanges that you can rely on are mentioned below. Every exchange will have its own price difference; you would have to decide which one you want to use to buy Bitcoins. For every exchange you need to get your KYC verified. Also every exchange is very user friendly and you can easily learn how to use a certain exchange.

After your purchase of Bitcoins, you are required to maintain an offline wallet to protect your coins from theft. A desktop-based wallet is the best option, though you can also store them using a mobile application. The most popular desktop application I came across was Electrum, and for Android users, Myceliumseems would be the most recommended app. You can also use online wallets as a 'hot' wallet - where you keep just a little bit of your money, which you can use to make purchase online easily, while keeping the rest of your money safely offline.

So here are some reliable exchanges you can choose from:

1. Unocoin

Unocoin - an Indian-owned operation, is India's leading Bitcoin platform. Their customers can buy bitcoin with any Indian bank account via online banking or NEFT and RTGS.
The company makes it easy to buy or sell Bitcoin online, and also functions as a wallet so you can use Bitcoin at other places via the site, but shouldn’t preferably be used to store Bitcoins. Unocoin also has apps available for iOS and Android.
It is backed by investors in the United States and offers low 1% fee, reduced to 0.7% with sufficient trading volume. Although it requires ID verification, so not private.

Visit the website here: https://www.unocoin.com/

2. Zebpay

Another exchange that is highly reliable is Zebpay. Based in India, Zebpay has Android and iPhone apps. It is highly secure and PCI-DSS Compliant also.
ZebPay provides the following Payment options -
• Pay Using Net Banking
• Pay using UPI
• Pay using RTGS/NEFT/IMPS
Again, you need to carry out a KYC procedure, hence is not private. However, it's a regulated company in India, and Offers additional services, such as purchase of mobile airtime and gift vouchers for bitcoin. Also it has multi-sig security features.

Visit the website here: https://www.zebpay.com/

3. BuyUCoin

BuyUCoin allows you to buy Bitcoin online using your credit card, debit card, and netbanking.
In order to purchase Bitcoin, you must first get a purchase ID. This requires your name, email ID, phone number, and your PAN card number and a photo of your PAN card. You also need to upload a photo of another ID - either your driving license or Aadhaar card.
Steps to use Buyucoin:
• User registration
• Deposition of funds
• Trading (buying or selling) or shopping.

Visit the website here: https://www.buyucoin.com/

4. Coinsecure

Coinsecure is also an India based regulated Bitcoin exchange and trading platform, which again includes KYC, hence not private but otherwise it is a pretty good option that is easy to use with low fees. It also has video service guides available.
Its interface is geared for traders and may be confusing for first time buyers.

Visit the website here: https://coinsecure.in/home

5. LocalBitcoins

Another popular exchange which is private, fast and easy. The transactions can be quick and easy, and you can carry out in-person trades that can happen completely anonymously but the prices are slightly to significantly higher than regular exchanges; premium for higher privacy. These purchases can be carried out with cash, to avoid a paper trail.

Visit the website here: https://localbitcoins.com/

6. Coinmama
Coinmama allows customers in almost every country to buy bitcoin with a credit or debit card. They charge a 6% fee on each purchase.
If buying less than $150 worth of bitcoins, you won't need to verify your identity. This convenience makes small purchases quick and easy.
Although coinmama is a Reliable and trusted broker, they charge the highest fees among credit/debit card bitcoin brokers.

Visit the website here: https://www.coinmama.com/

So, now that you’ve come across several exchanges, here is a quick comparison between all of them all together:

BTCXIndia
Apart from the five picks above, one site that saw a lot of popular recommendations online was BTCXIndia. The site allows you to trade in Bitcoin and INR in real time, letting you make deposits and withdrawals instantly. The withdrawal process takes just ten minutes, according to BTCXIndia, and we found a lot of people online saying that this site offers a good user experience.

Now, coming down to Ethereum.

Technically you can buy it from ethexIndia, but due to high demand in ether, they are taking 3–4 weeks for KYC process.

Alternatively, You can use a process called Crypto Exchange which is converting your Bitcoins to Ethereum, you would need to follow this route:

• Buy Bitcoins in any Indian exchange. An elaborate comparison of prominent Indian Bitcoin exchanges is available in the first
  part of the post.
• Create an account on a reputed foreign exchange that supports Ethereum, for example Coinbase to store currencies like
  Ethereum and Litecoin as these are not typically supported by Indian exchanges.
• Create a Ethereum wallet in your Coinbase account to receive Ethereum.
• Use a swapping service to convert Bitcoins to Ethereum at a best possible exchange rate. Changelly and ShapeShift are two
  of the most popular services in this regard.

I Hope You Found This Story Useful. :)