Bitcoin is tumbling today, so what better time than now to consider jumping on the bandwagon and buying some crypto-currency. Of course, it’s still too rich for me, but if you’ve been wanting to know the HOW of buying bitcoin, I’m about to explain!
You’ll notice that this article is called “Buying Bitcoin: 102.” Where’s 101? I won’t insult your intelligence. If you want to buy bitcoin simply, all you need is an online checking account with some money in it, and a Coinbase account. You can join Coinbase here!
Think of Coinbase as a bank account with a new online bank. 
You’ll need to move money over from your existing bank into your Coinbase account in order to buy Bitcoin without fees. And on that note: ALWAYS ACH YOUR CASH.
Sure, you can “Wire” your money over if you need to buy your Bitcoin immediately, but your existing bank is probably going to charge you money. Plan ahead and don’t rush. Use ACH, and keep your hard earned cash.
OK… Enough of that soapbox. So how do you turn cash into Crypto? I’m going to assume you can create a Coinbase account and link your bank account yourself. After that:.
- Step 1: Open the “Accounts” tab; scroll down to USD Wallet; Click Deposit and move money into your Coinbase Account.
- Step 2: Google “GDAX” – Navigate to this site and sign in with your Coinbase credentials. DON’T WORRY! Think of GDAX as the same company as Coinbase, so you aren’t giving your private info away. GDAX is just the “behind-the-scenes” trading platform that Coinbase uses to change your money into Crypto.
- Step 3: On the left side of the screen, near the top, use the drop down to select the Crypto you want to buy. Your choices are currently Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Step 4: Select Deposit (inside the red box in the picture below) and move your cash from Coinbase into GDAX.
- Step 5: Navigate down the left side and select “Limit.” You are about to place a Limit Order for your crypto-currency. This makes you a Market Maker and thereby waives your purchase fee. You can simply buy cryptocurrency via your Coinbase account, but you will be charged a fee. If you’re curious, you can research and better understand a Limit Order on Investopedia, here.
What you really need to understand is that you are betting where the price is going to go. For instance, if the current price is $1000 per bitcoin and you think it’s going to go down, you could place a Limit Order at $995. Once the price goes down to that level, you purchase your bitcoin. And it works the same in the opposite direction. If you think the price is going up, you could select to pay more than the current price. DON’T GET LOST IN THE DETAILS. SELECT A PRICE CLOSE TO THE CURRENT PRICE (HIGHER OR LOWER) AND KEEP GOING. If you guess wrong and you can’t make the purchase, you can always cancel your trade and try again.
- Step 5: Enter the value you choose into the “Limit Price” field. Move your mouse up the page to “USD” and then over to the amount of dollars in your account. Click, and a number should appear in the “Amount” field.
- Step 6: Select the green “Place Buy Order” button. If you’ve done everything right, your order should appear on the right side of the screen now under “Open Orders”.
Step 7: Once your order is filled, it will disappear from the above screen and be found under the “Fills” tab. Congratulations! You now have converted your cash into crypto-currency. The last step is to move it back into your Coinbase account.
Go back to “Step 4” (above) but select “Withdraw” and move your money back to your Coinbase Wallet. It is now safe and sound. Let me know what you intend to do with your new cryptocurrency in the comments.
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