How to Buy Bitcoin in
Australia 2023 [BTC]
If you are looking for a super quick breakdown on how to buy Cryptocurrency in Australia you can find our step-by-step below.
We highly recommend Swyftx since it’s very easy to use, they have the lowest fees in Australia, their support team is truly excellent and you’ll be assigned an account manager. Alternatively, have a look at our list of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia.
How To Buy Bitcoin in Australia
- Register an account on Swyftx
- Enable 2-factor authentication
- Verify your account
- Deposit AUD
- Click on “Trade” in your dashboard
- Search for “Bitcoin” and click “Buy Coin”
- Enter the amount of AUD you want to spend or how much BTC you want to buy
- Click “Buy BTC”
- If you have any trouble with the above steps, you can reach out to their support team 🙂
If you’re looking for a more step-by-step guide, keep reading.
1. Choose a Crypto Exchange
Crypto exchanges are user-centred virtual platforms where you can buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin against fiat money or another cryptocurrency. Ever since Bitcoin was invented, they’ve been the mainstream marketplace for cryptocurrency trading and have evolved into a booming and highly developed sphere of virtual commerce.
Have you heard the first crypto rule? Once you find a reliable crypto exchange, half the work is done.
Well, the crypto market of today counts over 400 active exchanges, making it impossible for a beginner to make a reasonable choice on their own. Crypto exchanges can differ in their speed, performance, pricing, UI design and many other subtleties, so you’ll need to choose one that will agree with your trading needs and investment plans.
At the very beginning, you won’t need a state-of-the-art platform that supports a broad range of altcoins and advanced trading features to make a single Bitcoin investment. Instead, you should rely on a secure and user-friendly platform that accepts multiple deposit methods for fiat funding. Such an exchange will be either locally-based in order to avoid expensive cross-border transactions or an international one with services and fees adjusted to the Australian market. Ideally, it will feature highly-rated customer support and a transparent fee structure.
Based on these criteria, we’d recommend the Australian overall favourite Swyftx.
It’s a trustworthy trading spot that makes a perfect balance of the most desirable features, ease of use and compatible fees.
2. Create and Verify Your Account
We’ll use Swyftx as an example to illustrate how straightforward the onboarding process could and should be.
Similar to all interactive platforms, once you approach Swyftx through its official website, you’ll need to go to Sign Up and provide your full name, phone number, and email, create a password and agree to Swyftx’s terms and conditions of use.
Next comes the process of identity verification, which is an obligatory step with all regulated exchanges due to local AML policies. Users in general, find this stage intimidating partly because of the time it takes to complete it and partly because it includes submitting copies, scans or selfies of sensitive personal and bank information.
Luckily, on Swyftx, you can avoid such time-consuming uploads. The exchange uses a simplified method that allows you to verify your account in a few minutes, only by providing a number of government-issued ID documents.
3. Connect Your Exchange to a Payment Option
Now that you are a verified Swyftx user, it’s time to choose a suitable payment method based on your personal deposit preferences. The exchange offers several options for funding your exchange wallet with AUD: bank transfer, POLi, PayID and credit cards.
They all come with individual processing times, so OSKO bank transfers usually take between 2 and 6 hours; POLi and PayID deposits are nearly instantaneous but not as fast as debit/credit card payments, which are processed in real-time. It’s very important to know that Swyftx doesn’t charge for deposits except for credit card payments under $200.
In comparison, Binance users from Australia can deposit AUD to their exchange accounts either through BPay or POLi.
4. Place an Order
You’ll come across multiple order types once you start exploring the opportunities for trading Bitcoin. There is no room for confusion, even though there are order types tailored for more advanced audiences.
For starters, you should know how to differentiate between market and limit order. Market orders are what we call an instant purchase—you buy the Bitcoin at the current rate determined by the exchange. On the other hand, limit orders allow you to set the desired purchasing price and once Bitcoin reaches that price, the order will be automatically executed.
Swyftx provides them both—neatly organized in an order entry form consisting of an automated converter for the estimated price of BTC against AUD. In addition, Swyftx gives seasoned traders an opportunity for stop and recurring orders. You can take a deeper look at order types on the Swyftx blog.
5. Select a Storage Method and Store Your Bitcoin
The safety of your Bitcoin comes before anything else. As we mentioned at the beginning, Bitcoin and other crypto coins (i.e the transaction records of your purchases and sales) are stored in digital wallets. In most cases, when you register an account on a crypto exchange, you also get a built-in storage space for your Bitcoin.
Have in mind that when you keep digital assets in a so-called exchange wallet, your private keys stay with the exchange, which means that you put all your trust in that virtual company to safeguard your bitcoins.
Despite the robust security standards, modern exchanges implement, leaving your crypto assets online isn’t a good idea, especially not for handsome amounts in the long run. However, there is no need to worry. The crypto market has come up with quite a great number of sophisticated storage solutions, classified into three main categories.
Online Wallets
Online wallets are similar to what you get with integrated exchange wallets—a convenient webspace that allows you to access, manage and transfer your BTC with ease. There are a number of independent online wallets such as Electrum and Exodus that operate outside an exchange, but the security risk of leaving traces online is the same.
Software Wallets
Software wallets come in the form of a desktop or mobile app and when it comes to security, they are a step ahead of online wallets, as your private keys rest in the device on which you’ve downloaded the app.
However, software wallets still need an internet connection to make a transaction, which makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. For this reason, both online and software Bitcoin wallets are called hot storage. It’s good to know that some cryptocurrencies exchanges do offer a wallet app as well (e.g. eToro and Coinbase).
Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets or cold storage, on the other hand, are real devices that come with their own software. Unlike the previous two, you’ll need to invest in such a device. Prices of hardware wallets range from $40 to $120, depending on the in-built facilities (e.g. Bluetooth, QR code reader, larger screen).
Some of the most elegant versions include Ledger Nano X and Trezor Model T. Regardless of the model, when you “shelter” your Bitcoin in a hardware wallet, you can be 100% sure that nobody will be able to track your coins. Hence, hardware wallets are definitely the best-recommended wallet alternative for storing Bitcoin.
Sure, we can still take advantage of the convenience of web and app wallets but try to limit their use to ongoing trades only.
Where To Buy Bitcoin
in Australia
We’ve reviewed over 100 exchanges across the globe and have been doing this for many years. We are confident that Swyftx is the best exchange in the world for Australians to use.
Swyftx Exchange
We highly recommend Swyftx as the best exchange in Australia. It has the best support, excellent fees, the largest selection of Cryptocurrencies and they are constantly pushing updates.
Before You Buy Bitcoin
There are several aspects of which you should be aware before purchasing Bitcoin. First and foremost, you should know that the life cycle of the leading virtual currency has nothing to do with the sparkling double-striped “B” coin that pops up every time you type Bitcoin.
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin has no tangible representative in the real world—technically, all cryptocurrencies are digitally signed computer codes that “live” on the blockchain and change owners. Their ownership records are stored in what is called a crypto wallet. We have a separate section below where we discuss the types of Bitcoin wallets and the importance of safe storage.
For now, you should know that once you activate a crypto wallet, you’ll get private and public keys, the latter of which is represented by a wallet address. Similar to emails, you’ll give your public wallet address to senders so they can “find you”. Using the same analogy, private keys serve as a password and they’re the only proof of ownership of the BTC in your possession. Just for the record, it’s estimated that 4 million Bitcoin (you do the math) are gone forever due to lost or forgotten private keys.
How Do Bitcoin Transactions Work?
This leads us to the next point—blockchain transactions, although public, expose no personal information of the participants. The blockchain network is a public, immutable, and trustless ledger that stores records of all wallet addresses that executed the transactions. Accordingly, nothing stops you from seeing all blockchain history but there you won’t find the names of the buyer and seller.
Finally, based on these attributes, we can refer to the blockchain as a pseudo-anonymous network. Well, blockchain transactions are anonymous indeed but the marketplaces (crypto exchanges)— where first-time users usually acquire their Bitcoin—are not. Entry-level crypto exchanges operate like any other regular money transmitter service that is subject to various government-imposed AML/CFT regulations.
The History of Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s story began in 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis that would change the world forever.
The first indicators appeared in August 2008, when an anonymous individual registered the Bitcoin.org domain. Two months later, on October 31, Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains a mystery to this day, published Bitcoin’s white paper under the title Bitcoin: A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System.
It’s a nine-page document that explains how this system works in great detail. It begins with an introduction to the reasons why we need a decentralized payment system and digital coins like Bitcoin (more on that later!), the challenges developers have been facing, and how a timestamp server based on cryptographic proof or work can solve the double-spending problem.
On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the first and founding Bitcoin block, called the Genesis block. On January 12, he sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney, a cryptographer and an early Bitcoin investor, completing the first Bitcoin transaction.
Incoming transactions are verified by Bitcoin “miners”, volunteers who spend computational power to solve a complex algorithmic problem by running a hash function and timestamping the new data. The verified transactions are permanently stored on the blockchain in blocks of data, protected from any outside interventions.
On October 5, 2009, New Liberty Standard was the first one to set an exchange rate for Bitcoin against the US dollar. The rate was based on the price of electricity required to mine BTC. Back then, $1 equaled around 2,300 BTC! Imagine how lucky early Bitcoin buyers would be today.
By 2011, the first crypto exchanges were launched, Bitcoin trading was in full swing, and this interest drove its price up. However, 2017 was the most lucrative year for Bitcoin. Throughout the year, the coin had the biggest bull run ever, culminating in its all-time high of $20,000 in December 2017.
Even though Bitcoin’s price quickly slumped down, its momentous success helped Bitcoin enter into mainstream consciousness and show traders around the world it was here to stay. Bitcoin has remained a popular investment and continues to gain widespread adoption in Australia and the world.
Why Was Bitcoin Created?
Now that we know how Bitcoin works, let’s talk about why anyone would want to use a currency with these particular features.
The traditional and still most common way of making transactions and purchasing goods is to rely on government-issued “fiat” currencies and centralized financial institutions (banks) to help us spend these coins, send them to someone else, or receive them ourselves.
These transactions include a service fee added to the remittance and take longer wait times. The situation is grimmer for cross-border payments. In a tech-savvy era where information gets from one corner of the world to another within seconds, it’s ridiculous to have to wait for 4-5 days to send your money across the globe.
And don’t forget that you’re paying hefty fees to third-parties for these money transfers. International transfers require a change of currency and dealing with exchange rates, and for your bank to reach out to the bank of the receiver abroad.
So, how are Bitcoin transactions different?
First of all, the fact that Bitcoin transactions take place on a decentralized peer to peer network makes the intervention of middlemen redundant.
Next, to make a transaction you don’t have to reveal your real identity. Each user gets a pseudonym in the form of an encrypted address or in Bitcoin terms “public key”. If you want to receive BTC, you need to give this address to the person sending them.
Moreover, users save money on service fees as Bitcoin transactions incur just a tiny transaction fee as a motivation for the miners to keep doing their job. Typically, verifying transactions on Bitcoin’s blockchain takes ten minutes.
Bitcoin’s Pros and Cons
The one thing that Bitcoin has been most criticized for is its unstable nature as a store of value. The evidence for this lies in the frequent price fluctuations that make it hard for merchants to put BTC prices on their products, and for customers to know the real value of the coins they own.
On the other hand, a lot of traders like the volatile nature of digital currencies because they open room for speculations and potential profit in the future. This is why Bitcoin is among the number one investments, both short-term and long-term.
There have been a lot of situations in the past where centralized financial institutions experienced serious security breaches or hacks that caused them to shut down. As a result, their clients’ transactions have been either postponed or canceled, including some instances where their funds were completely lost.
For many people, Bitcoin offers a higher level of security. If an outsider wants to attack Bitcoin’s blockchain and direct transactions to his/her account in order to steal them, that person has to overpower the peer to peer network and change all previously time stamped data. This is virtually impossible.
Ways to Pay for Bitcoin
When we say that buying Bitcoin is an easy job, we mean two things: the user-friendly design of cryptocurrency exchanges and more importantly, the diversity of payment options. If you take a closer look at our list below, you can see that Australia has turned out to be a rather crypto-friendly environment.
Buying Bitcoin With Your Bank Account
When you join the crypto game for the first time, linking your bank to your exchange account seems like the most natural course of action. It’s a simple, convenient, relatively fast, and cost-effective method of depositing fiat. Plus, bank transfers are supported by all reliable exchanges available in Australia.
For example, on Swyftx, you can deposit fiat money through a regular wire transfer and have it delivered to your account within the same day. Electronic payment processors like POLi and PayID are also compatible with the majority of exchanges and they’re nearly instantaneous.
When it comes to commissions for bank account transfers, a great number of cryptocurrency exchanges have established a zero-fee deposit policy in order to encourage funding. However, pay full attention to deposit price lists as deposit fees (if any) can vary to a great extent. On Coinspot for example, there is a fee of 0.9% if you use BPAY. Independent Reserve charges a processing fee of $2.50 for PayID deposits lower than AUD 1,000.
On an international level, Kraken doesn’t charge for bank/Osko and SWIFT deposits nor does Binance for BPay or POLi payments.
Buying Bitcoin With a Credit Card or Debit Card
Debit and credit cards are an increasingly popular payment method in the crypto ecosystem due to the convenience and speed of purchase they offer. Both native and internationally based crypto exchanges available in Australia seem to adopt card payments as a regular payment instrument in retail point of sales and thus, bring cryptocurrencies closer to the general public.
However, this convenience comes at a certain price and deposit limits, as credit and debit card deposits are some of the most expensive in the industry. Even if the crypto exchange has a zero-fee deposit policy, you’ll have to pay a certain service fee to the third-party provider. In the case of Swyftx, there’s a 1.99% card fee.
Compared to other exchanges, Swyftx, together with Binance, has one of the most affordable card “deals” on the market. For example, Coinbase charges 3.99% for debit card purchases with a weekly limit of $7,500. Coinmama’s limits are much higher but a single transaction will cost you an additional 5% fee for credit/debit card purchases.
Buy Bitcoin With Cash
Despite the global tendency towards e-payments, a considerable number of consumers feel most comfortable when paying in cash. The cryptocurrency industry isn’t an exception, even though its products don’t have viable representatives in the actual world. Fortunately, there are a handful of legitimate ways to buy Bitcoin with cash in Australia.
Bitcoin ATMs
Just a reminder, paying with cold cash doesn’t mean an anonymous Bitcoin purchase. This usually becomes a source of confusion when it comes to Bitcoin ATMs or BATMs. These physical kiosks enable you to buy Bitcoin in a very convenient manner—enter the desired amount, insert the cash and have your Bitcoin immediately delivered to your Bitcoin wallet.
However, prior to these easy-to-follow steps, you must undergo full ID verification, which depending on the BATM model, can come in a form of face recognition, fingerprint, SMS confirmation, etc. Finally, BATM transaction commissions are much higher than wire purchases as they can reach up to 10% per single trade.
In Australia, you’ll find around 40 available BATMs, concentrated in large cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
P2P Exchanges
P2P (peer-to-peer) exchanges like LocalBitcoins and Paxful operate rather differently than traditional exchanges we’ve covered so far. In simplest terms, once you get landed on a P2P exchange, you can choose a Bitcoin seller based on the amount of Bitcoin they sell and the payment method they accept.
A P2P exchange doesn’t serve as an intermediary during the transaction and hence, you’ll have a wider choice of payment options—cash included. Thus, you’re very likely to find someone within a reachable distance, who’d accept cash and arrange a face-to-face trade. Be careful though, such personal arrangements can be a source of uncertainty for both participants. P2P exchanges use a rating star system, so make sure your potential seller is a highly ranked one.
Blueshyft Terminals
Blueshyft terminals are rather innovative options for Bitcoin purchases in Australia. For now, only a limited number of exchanges like CoinSpot and CoinJar do accept this method of funding.
When you select Blueshyft under payment method, the exchange emails you a QR code that you need to scan at one of the 1,500 available newsagents across Australia that provide such terminals. Once the code is confirmed, you’ll have to pay the selected amount in cash at the retailer’s counter. As simple as that, your Bitcoin will be sent to your exchange wallet almost instantaneously.
Buy Bitcoin With PayPal
Surprisingly enough, PayPal isn’t amongst the most popular methods for Bitcoin purchases. First, it’s limited to a few international exchanges like eToro and more importantly, PayPal payments incur considerably high fees when associated with crypto payments.
Just like with cash-payment opportunities, you’ll find solid grounds for PayPal on P2P exchanges, but if you want to stick to a traditional exchange and use the money on your PayPal account, then we’d recommend you link it to your VISA or MasterCard.
Buy Bitcoin With Another Crypto
If you own a certain proportion of another crypto coin such as Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), or Dogecoin (DOGE), and want to exchange it for Bitcoin, you have plenty of top-notch trading platforms in Australia to choose from.
The process of crypto-to-crypto trades is rather similar everywhere. You’ll need to register with a crypto exchange, deposit the cryptocurrency (crypto deposits are free of charge on almost all marketplaces) and select the crypto pair and the order type. It’ll be nice if the exchange offers limit as well as market orders, in case you prefer to wait for the desired exchange rate.
On that note, Binance is the best recommended alternative for crypto-to-crypto trading. The exchange offers over 400 trading pairs and multiple markets for doing so, under an exceptionally low price of 0.1% per trade.
Buy Bitcoin Anonymously
As governments worldwide are drastically tightening crypto-trading measures, the hunt for an anonymous Bitcoin marketplace is almost a dead end. Or to put it this way, if you want a secure and highly regulated crypto exchange, you’ll have to accept exposing a bunch of personal information to earn a status of a verified user and start trading.
KYC verification can be avoided on several reputable exchanges (KuCoin, for example) but only if your Bitcoin purchase doesn’t involve any fiat money, which is also nearly impossible if you’re buying Bitcoin for the first time.
However, if you want to start small, there are a few options to register on an exchange platform and start trading without an ID verification, but such a scenario comes with certain withdrawal and payment restrictions. For example, unverified users on Binance can withdraw only up to 2BTC a day.
Buying Bitcoin on CoinSpot
CoinSpot’s main goal is to provide seamless end-user service to Australians from all experience levels who want to buy, sell, or swap cryptocurrency.
As with any other AUSTRAC-compliant crypto service, if you plan to buy Bitcoin, you’ll first need to undergo a verification process to get successfully onboarded on their page.
The purchasing process itself is pretty straightforward. CoinSpot allows you to deposit AUD through PayID, POLi, BPAY, credit or debit card. Afterwards, you’ll just need to insert the amount of AUD, which will be instantly converted into the equivalent sum of BTC. You can buy Bitcoin instantly or place a take profit, stop limit or stop loss order to take advantage of all market opportunities and purchase the coin when it reaches the desired price.
For large investments, CoinSpot will offer you a separate OTC (over-the-counter) desk with personalized assistance, fixed price, and guaranteed liquidity for the execution of your order.
Alternate Ways of Buying Bitcoin
Wait for Crypto Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
For quite a long time, ETFs have been a regulated financial tool in the investment world. They function as a type of investment fund or basket of multiple assets whose price mimics the value of the underlying asset. ETFs are traded on a daily basis, similar to stocks, bonds and mutual funds—their prices fluctuate based on the current demand and supply. Most importantly, traders don’t need to purchase or take direct ownership of the underlying asset.
Judging by its volatile nature, Bitcoin seems to be a perfect fit on the ETF market. However, due to Bitcoin’s unregulated status, the crypto investment community had to wait quite a long for Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds. The first one in the territory of entire North America —Purpose Bitcoin ETF—was launched at the beginning of 2021. As for Down under, it’s been announced that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is concluding the consultation process for the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs on the local stock market.
The question is why would you invest in Bitcoin ETFs rather than buy Bitcoin on a regular exchange?
When buying a Bitcoin ETF, you’re giving your money to a licenced investment company to buy and manage the units of Bitcoin that are physically settled in cold storage. This means that you will take no responsibility for purchasing the virtual asset. You’ll also avoid the regular sign-up processes and all concerns about a reliable Bitcoin wallet for the safe storage and transfer of your virtual assets.
Invest in Companies Connected to Cryptocurrency
If you don’t feel comfortable in the blockchain ecosystem, but still see great potential in the Bitcoin future, you can turn to the traditional stock market and invest in openly traded crypto companies that show continuous upward development on ASX. According to official market cap figures, the most attractive blockchain-related businesses on the Australian market are DigitalX and Power Ledger.
Mine Your Own Bitcoins
You’ve probably heard that Bitcoin is created through Bitcoin mining—a process where the so-called miners use hashing power (computer power) to solve complex math puzzles and earn certain units of Bitcoin (called a subsidy) as a reward. Theoretically, this seems a much more economical alternative than purchasing Bitcoin from a crypto exchange now that it has already hit the psychological barrier of $50,000. In reality, things aren’t that simple nor is there a straightforward explanation as to why mining Bitcoin is not so lucrative, especially at this point.
In a nutshell, the total limit supply of Bitcoin is a 21million BTC. Currently, there are nearly 19 million circulating bitcoins, meaning that the coin is close to hitting the limit supply. In order to sustain a supply-demand balance, the Bitcoin subsidy is divided in half approximately every four years and this is known as Bitcoin halving. For illustration, the miners’ reward started with 25 BTC per one block and reached 6.25 BTC per block in May 2020, for the same amount of “effort”.
Now, let’s discuss this “effort”. The computing power necessary to mine one block of Bitcoin is substantially higher now than it was 10 years ago, although the mining time has remained nearly the same. To engage yourself in Bitcoin mining today, you’ll need customized hardware rigs such as Antminer D3 or Antminer 13.5TH/s, which are pricey and extremely electricity-inefficient. These machines require high maintenance, special storage conditions and have a lifespan of up to 3 years. Thereby, mining Bitcoin isn’t a linear, stable, or short-term activity.
So, if you’re looking for a single and personally purposed Bitcoin investment, then look no further than a user-friendly exchange with low fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get free bitcoins?
Considering how attractive and valuable Bitcoin has become, it’s not surprising why it’s turning into a powerful marketing instrument for rewards and incentives. If we put trading profit aside, you can find various types of faucets online where you can earn some Bitcoin.
Have in mind that here we’re talking about very small proportions of Bitcoin. Some of the give-away activities include using a crypto browser, playing online games, taking surveys or even retweeting posts. However, don’t forget to double-check the source, as what is offered for free can often turn out to be a scam.
Can I buy an amount of less than 1 Bitcoin?
The answer is yes. Despite the frequent price fluctuations, Bitcoin has reached a jaw-dropping value, which means that the crypto industry won’t be tenable without the possibility of purchasing Bitcoin fractions.
Technically, the smallest denominator of Bitcoin is 1 satoshi (named after its creator Satoshi Nakamoto). It’s one BTC divided into eight decimal points or 0.00000001 BTC. However, the minimum limit you can actually buy is individually determined by the crypto exchange that facilitates the trade.
Can I store my Bitcoin on an exchange?
The majority of traditional exchanges are defined as custodial crypto services, which means that they provide a built-in wallet when you register on their platform. In such a case, you’ll have to fully rely on the exchange’s security measures, as you’ll have no access to your private keys.
Keeping your Bitcoin in an exchange wallet is definitely convenient if you want to avoid extra transactions from your private wallet to the exchange and vice versa. However, it’s not the best-recommended method for safe storage of large Bitcoin amounts since your private keys will be kept online.
Even though the best crypto exchanges of today are putting incredible efforts to employ the highest security standards, virtual space is vulnerable to cybercriminals.
What’s the fastest way to buy Bitcoin?
The cryptocurrency industry follows the universal retail rule—faster service means more expensive service. Nowadays, there are several ways to have your Bitcoin instantaneously delivered to your Bitcoin wallet.
If you want to stick to a traditional cryptocurrency exchange, then opt for those that act as a brokerage service and allow instant debit and credit card purchases. The industry-standard deposit fee for card purchases is 5%. Bitcoin ATMs are also a legitimate way to buy Bitcoin with an exceptional transaction speed but the fees here can reach up to 10%.
The most affordable method is perhaps the locally available e-payment providers like BPay or POLi that deliver nearly instantaneous purchases through your bank account for a minimum or no deposit fee.
What’s the easiest way to buy Bitcoin?
Undoubtedly, the easiest way to buy your first Bitcoin is through an entry-level cryptocurrency platform that allows you to connect your bank account with your exchange account. Such crypto platforms enable you to deposit fiat in your local currency and purchase Bitcoin instantly. Entry-level exchanges usually feature an intuitive design and easy-to-navigate interfaces. In Australia, we recommend Swyftx and CoinSpot for an exceptionally smooth crypto experience.
Can I buy Bitcoin with leverage?
Trading with leverage or margin trading is a well-established trading practice on the traditional investment market that was easily adapted for trading Bitcoin. The rules of margin trading are pretty straightforward—you borrow funds from the exchange or your peer traders in order to enhance your position and earn larger profits. However, this activity comes with a great risk of devastating financial losses if the market doesn’t move in the desired direction. For this reason, we can conclude that trading with leverage is designed for seasoned crypto traders with highly developed trading strategies.
Fortunately, the Bitcoin market has to offer a broad range of trading platforms that provide transparent conditions for margin trading. For example, on Binance, you can trade with a fixed 3x leverage, while Kraken and eToro allow leverage up to 5x and 2x respectively. Moreover, there are super-advanced futures platforms such as BaseFEX and PrimeXBT that focus exclusively on crypto margin trading and here you can get up to 100x leverage.
What determines the price of Bitcoin?
Similarly to any fiat currency, the main factor that shapes the current exchange rate of Bitcoin is the ratio between its demand and its supply. However, fiat currencies operate under a government framework, so their supply and stability can be controlled to some extent by adjusting the reserve requirements and discount rates.
This isn’t the case with Bitcoin and other blockchain-based currencies. The proportion of their supply and demand is driven exclusively by the public image and their usability as a medium of exchange. For this reason, cryptocurrencies can’t reach a certain level of price stability.
There are other secondary factors that have an impact on the value of Bitcoin including the electricity costs for producing the coin, the number of miners’ rewards, the demand for other altcoins, and the crypto exchanges where Bitcoin is sold.
Can I buy Bitcoin stock?
The US-based crypto brand Coinbase made a giant step in April 2021, when it went public and listed its shares on Nasdaq with an initial value of $381. At this point, due to the enormous surge in Bitcoin investments, you can find a couple of other valuable stocks related to Bitcoin. One of the most promising is the Canadian payment processor Banxa Holdings.
Their platform enables users to convert their fiat money into Bitcoin and other supported altcoins. The firm has already established a partnership with Binance, ShapeShift, OKex, and several other relevant names in the crypto industry.
Is there a Bitcoin supply limit?
Yes. Bitcoin has a strictly defined limit of 21 million BTC. As of March 2021, there have been around 19 million bitcoins circulating on the overall market. According to some rough predictions, based on the speed of the mining rate, the last Bitcoin will be mined by 2140.
How long does it take to buy Bitcoin?
There is no single answer to this question as the purchasing times can take from 5-10 minutes to an hour depending on the speed of the Bitcoin network. If you choose to pay a higher fee, then your transaction will have priority over those with lower fees.
If you buy Bitcoin using fiat money, the payment method will also affect the speed of the purchasing transaction. Credit and debit cards allow instant purchases, e-payment processors are relatively fast as well, while wire transfers can take one or two business days to process your deposit.
Where can I find information about Bitcoin’s price history?
Today’s easy access to any information is frequently misused for public manipulation, so you should be extra cautious when observing stats. One of the relevant sites where you can get accurate information about Bitcoin’s price history is statista.com.
How to sell Bitcoin?
Most of the reputable crypto exchanges available in Australia such as Swyftx, Coinspot, and Binance allow you to sell Bitcoin in exchange for fiat money or another cryptocurrency.
As Bitcoin is supported on all traditional crypto exchanges, your only concern will be the exchange rate of the coin, transaction fees and withdrawal methods. The sale process is rather simple and differs in no aspect from the process of purchasing Bitcoin.
What is the minimum investment in Bitcoin?
In theory, the smallest unit of Bitcoin you can get is 1 satoshi (0.00000001 BTC). However, the minimum purchasing limits are usually quoted in USD and depend exclusively on the crypto exchange that sells or facilitates the selling.
Thus, on Swyftx and Coinspot, you can start trading with a minimum order of around $1, while on Binance and other international exchanges, the minimum amount depends on the payment method.
Did anyone get rich off Bitcoin?
Millionaire stories are always a great read and you must have heard some of the Bitcoin-based ones. All of them follow the same plotline – a tech-savvy enthusiast who bought a small amount of BTC in 2014 for example, when the Bitcoin’s exchange rate was around $350 and sold it several years later, at a price that was around 10,000% higher than the original purchasing rate.
Peter Saddington, Winklevoss twins, and Erick Fineman are some of the names who made a fortune out of the right predictions for Bitcoin’s future.
Are bitcoins legal?
Bitcoin isn’t controlled and regulated by a central bank and hence, it can’t be considered a legal tender or official currency under any legislation worldwide. However, in Australia (and other developed countries) bitcoins are declared legal by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which means that you’re free to buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin against fiat or other digital currency.
You can also use Bitcoin as a medium of exchange for goods and services everywhere Bitcoin is accepted as a payment method. Finally, companies that provide Bitcoin services must operate under all applicable Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist local regulations. When it comes to the tax regulation, Bitcoin in Australia is classified as an asset, subject to capital gain tax.
Do banks invest in Bitcoin?
They do. Around half of the 100 top-rated banks have already invested in blockchain-related companies. These include Barclays, Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs.
According to NYDIG, a reputable crypto custody company, banks are prepared to take a step forward to Bitcoin mainstream adoption by allowing users to trade Bitcoin through their existing bank accounts.