Bitcoin is the top cryptocurrency when it comes to popularity. No matter how high the price for it goes, the demand is still high and it will probably not change very soon. Since many brokers offer Bitcoin, if you are an Etrade customer or you’re thinking of becoming one, you may be asking: is Bitcoin on Etrade?
No, investors cannot buy Bitcoin on Etrade. As a matter of fact, Etrade doesn’t offer any type of cryptocurrency. If you’d like to buy Bitcoin from a broker, you can check eToro. Or you can go the traditional route of opening an account at a crypto exchange like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, etc.
In this article, I am going to guide you through the process of buying Bitcoin through an Exchange in case that’s your first time.
Sounds good? Let’s dive right in then…
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How To Buy Bitcoin then?
Let’s first see how you can get access to Bitcoin, step by step…
Select an Exchange
The first most important step is to choose the exchange you will buy Bitcoin through. A crypto exchange will basically allow you to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Just keep in mind that not all exchanges may allow you to withdraw your crypto to your own online wallet for storage. If you think you’re going to need that in the future, make sure that you confirm this is possible before you create an account with any exchange.
Another thing you are going to want to know is that there are some exchanges that allow you to remain anonymous by not asking you to enter any personal information. So keep that in mind as well if it’s something that you’d be interested in as you try to select an exchange.
These are called decentralized exchanges and are not among the most popular ones like Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, and Gemini. But the latter are more established and offer more complex trading functionality. They also have a great variety of altcoins for you to choose from.
Connect the Exchange to a Deposit Option
Once you have chosen an exchange, it’s time for you to provide some personal documents. Depending on the exchange, these may be pictures of your driver’s license, your social security number, and maybe even employer information and the source of your funds.
After the exchange has confirmed your identity, you will need to add a payment option. You can either directly use your bank account to fund your transactions or add a debit/credit card. In many exchanges, paying with a credit card is an option indeed, but since Bitcoin is inherently very volatile, this should be avoided.
Here’s a tip. Before you connect your account to a payment method, it’s best that you contact your bank and let them know. Bitcoin may be legal in many countries now, but banks generally don’t like the idea and they could question or stop a deposit to a crypto exchange.
Also, keep in mind that the deposit fees will vary across exchanges and deposit methods. For example, Coinbase has a 1.49% fee for a bank account but charges a 3.99% fee for a debit or credit card deposit. Binance charges $15 for every deposit if you execute a wire transfer. So, do some research and also note the withdrawal and transaction fees as well before you make up your mind.
Place an Order
Now that you have connected your account to a payment option, it’s time to buy some Bitcoin!
A long time ago, crypto was a very questionable payment method. People were skeptical about it as another scam was always around the corner.
Now, more and more people are becoming less and less skeptical. In turn, crypto exchanges are starting to become more mainstream and have now reached a point where they offer the same level of features as brokerage firms.
But still, it’s fairly easy to place a trade. If you have traded stocks before, you will not have a problem no matter what exchange you go with.
Nearly all exchanges offer limit and market orders (just like with stocks). Some even offer stop-loss orders. If you want to go with an exchange that has many features in terms of order types, then I recommend Kraken. They include limit, stop-loss, stop-limit, market, take-profit, and take-profit limit orders.
There are also some exchanges that will allow you to set recurring payments. That’s ideal for people who want to dollar cost average or don’t have a lump sum to buy Bitcoin with. For instance, with Coinbase you can set recurring purchases for every day, week, or month if you like.
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Conclusion
As I already told you, Etrade does not offer Bitcoin. This makes sense as most brokerage firms don’t offer crypto in general.
If you want to buy Bitcoin through a brokerage firm, however, you can go with eToro. But it will most definitely cost you much less if you take the traditional route and buy Bitcoin through a crypto exchange like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.
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Thanks for reading and until next time!
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