So you want to buy into crypto-currencies, great!

How do I buy bitcoin with my cash?

So either you heard about it on the news or your colleague Janet told you how her nephew made crazy insane amounts of money on a thing called "cryptocurrency" and now you want to grab a piece of the pie.

Investing in bitcoin can be daunting, there are many exchanges to choose from and these exchanges themselves can also be confusing to navigate. However, Bitcoin can be a very rewarding investment and once the starting hurdles have been cleared it gets easier and easier.

Before you start investing bitcoin into ICO’s or other altcoins you first need to purchase Bitcoin, there are many different methods to do this. Before we start making accounts however, it is highly recommended that you create a brand new email address purely for crypto, this reduces the risk of a possible intrusion into your crypto accounts and also allows you to keep track of what is going on with your accounts.

Here are a few of the easier ways to purchase Bitcoin.

Some of these links are referral links.

Coinspot

Coinspot is another great fiat to bitcoin exchange available and arguably the easiest to use. This identity verification process is quite in depth and requires you to take a photo of yourself holding a message verifying your account. However once you are verified you are able to directly deposit fiat into your wallet and have a choice of buying into many different alt coins.

It is important to note that while being the most convenient fiat to crypto exchange it also garners the highest fee's across the three exchanges listed. However, it is also greatly optimised for mobile devices which is a massive plus.

BTCMarkets

BTCMarkets is an Australian exchange which offers AUD to BTC, ETH, XRP and more.

First, visit the website (this website does not have mobile optimisation) and proceed to the create accounts icon.

Now fill in the blank fields and press sign up, they will send you a verification email to the address you have provided.

Once logged in, you will be taken to this screen. You will need to complete the identity verification before you are able to purchase anything on this site. Also, it is recommended that if you are storing coins on this website that you set up two-factor authentication. This advice applies to every exchange.

When the identification has been completed press the “Deposit Tab” and scroll down till you reach the “AUD - POLi Payments” section. Here, you are able to select the amount of money you are willing to deposit. POLi payments does require the login details to you bank account. However, this is no cause for alarm as this service is owned and operated by Australia Post and is 100% secure (unless you have a virus riddled computer in which nothing you ever do is safe).
This transaction will then go through and you will have your AUD deposited onto BTCMarkets and you are than able to purchase Bitcoin or any of the Altcoins available.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a great platform for the person who likes to buy and trade on the go. Coinbase has great optimisation on mobile devices.

Initially you have to add a payment method in the form of a credit card, once it is added it will do two test withdrawals and you will have to verify these amounts (don't worry, they don't take the money out just make a pending withdrawal).

Next, you will be required to verify your identity, this is a very similar process to BTCMarkets. For this verification you will need to send a photo of your identification.

Once all of these steps are completed you will then be able to direct deposit your fiat currencies into Coinbase and buy your bitcoin.

Now you have your bitcoin you can tell everyone you own bitcoin