You know almost everything about Bitcoin, believe in its potential and want to buy yourself some. How to do it?

Please note: do not invest more than you can afford to lose. Cryptocurrencies are unstable: the price can fall as well as rise.

Now to the point. "The digital gold" can be bought both on the stock exchange and from the owners directly. You can pay for Bitcoin in cash, with a card or even bank transfer - it all depends on where you buy them.

Bitcoin needs to be stored somewhere, so the first thing to do is to create a wallet. You will have to read more about them to choose something: wallets for storing cryptocurrencies are both online and offline, mobile or even paper.

It is important: any wallet should have the function of storing your keys (several lines with characters) and passwords. If you lose them, you will lose access to the cryptocurrency stored there.

The exchanges buy and sell cryptocurrency on your behalf. Now there are hundreds of companies with different degrees of liquidity and security. As in the case of wallets, read about the exchanges in more detail: for example, your choice may be limited by your place of residence.

The biggest world cryptoexchange is Bitfinex. Other popular ones are Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Poloniex. They also are one of the most reputable. However, a surge of interest in cryptocurrency gives a greater load on the platform, so be patient - carrying out the operations may take some time.

By the way, many exchanges now require identification. This is related to KYC (Know Your Client) law and anti-money laundering (AML). Most likely, you will need to take a picture of your documents and confirm the mailing address.

Most exchanges accept payments via bank transfers or credit cards; some are ready to work with Paypal transfers. Be prepared for commissions.

Another important thing: each cryptoexchange has a number of settings for conducting transactions. Therefore, it will be logical if the site helps you complete the purchase: either with the help of a manager or through some automatic hints. If there is no such function, think about changing the service provider.

As soon as the purchase occurs, the corresponding amount of Bitcoins will be transferred to your wallet on the exchange (it is created automatically). If you want, you can set up sending them directly to your wallet. Sometimes, due to the heavy load on the network, the transfer can take several minutes and sometimes hours.

Several platforms will help you buy cryptocurrency directly from the owners. For example, LocalBitcoins or LibertyX. The WallofCoins, Paxful, and BitQuick platforms work through banks: you deposit money and get Bitcoins in a few hours.

You can also buy Bitcoins through ATMs: choose an account, keep the QR-code of your crypto wallet at the screen - and in a few minutes you will get Bitcoins. You can find such ATMs via Coinatmradar.

Please keep in mind: the sites mentioned in the article are not the only available option. We write about them as the examples; this is by no means a recommendation. Just now you know how buying Bitcoins actually works.