To buy crypto, choose a crypto exchange or broker, create an account and verify your identity. Then pick a coin, an amount and a payment method, and enter the address of a wallet you control. Check the price and every fee before you confirm, because blockchain transfers cannot be reversed.
Buying crypto means swapping regular money, such as dollars or euros, for a digital asset such as Bitcoin or Ether. It takes a few steps, but none of them needs technical skills. If you are completely new to the topic, first read what cryptocurrency is and how it works.
This guide covers the whole journey: what you need, where you can buy, how to pay, what it costs, where to keep your coins and how to stay safe. Each section links to a more detailed guide. When you are ready, you can see crypto prices and payment options on Coinmama.
What do you need before you buy crypto?
You need a valid photo ID, a way to pay, an email address and a wallet address where your crypto can be sent. You also need a budget.
- A photo ID. A passport or a national ID card is usually enough. Some services also ask for a selfie or proof of address.
- A payment method. For example, a bank card or a bank account. What you can use depends on your country and the service.
- An email address and a phone. You need them to open an account and to secure it with a strong password and two-factor authentication (2FA).
- A wallet address. This is the crypto address your coins are sent to. The wallet section below explains your options.
- A budget. Decide in advance how much you want to spend, and only use money you do not need for bills or savings.
Exchanges and brokers usually ask you to verify your identity before you can buy. This check is often called KYC, short for “know your customer”, and it is part of anti-money-laundering rules. In the EU, for example, the Transfer of Funds Regulation applies from December 2024: crypto service providers must collect information about who sends and who receives the crypto transfers they handle (European Commission, as of September 2026). Read more in KYC and crypto.
Where can you buy crypto?
You can buy crypto through a crypto exchange or a broker, where you pay with regular money and receive crypto. Other routes are peer-to-peer marketplaces, Bitcoin ATMs and decentralized exchanges, and each one has its own trade-offs.
A service that swaps regular money for crypto is often called a fiat on-ramp. An exchange matches buyers and sellers or quotes you a price, while a broker sells you crypto at a quoted price.
| Where you buy | How you pay | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto exchange or broker | Card, bank transfer or mobile payment, depending on the service and your country | Identity checks, fees and the spread differ from one service to another |
| Peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace | You pay another person directly, often by bank transfer | You rely on a stranger to send the crypto; check how the marketplace handles disputes |
| Bitcoin ATM | Cash or card at a machine | Operators set their own prices, and scammers often tell victims to pay through these machines (FTC) |
| Decentralized exchange (DEX) | You swap crypto you already hold, from your own wallet | You need crypto and a wallet first; swaps cannot be reversed |
Bitcoin ATMs need extra care. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that fraud losses at Bitcoin ATMs grew nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023 and topped $65 million in the first half of 2024 alone (FTC, as of September 2026). In 2025, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 13,460 complaints involving crypto ATMs or kiosks, with $389 million in reported losses (as of September 2026). Scammers often tell people to deposit cash into one of these machines to pay a fake bill or to keep their money safe (FTC). Never follow such instructions. Read the guide to Bitcoin ATMs before you use one.
How do you buy crypto, step by step?
You create an account, verify your identity, choose what to buy and how to pay, add your wallet address and confirm. This is how a purchase works on Coinmama, and most other services follow a similar order.
- Create an account. Sign up with your email address and a strong, unique password. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) if the service offers it.
- Verify your identity. You’ll be asked to verify your identity before you buy. You’ll be told which documents are needed. See Get verified.
- Choose the coin, the amount and a payment method. Enter the amount you want to buy. Payment methods depend on your country: see account limits and payment methods.
- Enter your wallet address. Crypto is delivered to the wallet address you provide. Copy and paste the address, then check the first and last characters. If you are asked to confirm it, see wallet address not confirmed.
- Check the total and confirm. Coinmama does not add its own fee. All fees are shown before you confirm your order. Check how much crypto you will receive before you pay.
For walkthroughs of specific coins, read how to buy Bitcoin and how to buy Ethereum.
How long each step takes depends on the payment method. The guide on how long it takes to buy crypto explains each stage and what can slow it down.
Which payment method should you use?
Use a method that your country and the service support, then compare what it costs and how long it takes. Cards and mobile payments are usually quicker to set up, while a bank transfer has to arrive before the crypto is sent.
Debit and credit cards
When you pay online by card, your bank may ask you to approve the payment in its app or with a code. This check is called 3-D Secure: it lets your card issuer confirm that the payment really comes from you (EMVCo).
Credit cards need extra care. Some card issuers treat crypto purchases as cash advances, which can mean a cash advance fee and cash advance interest. For example, a Chase credit card agreement in the US lists cryptocurrency among the “cash-like transactions” that are treated as cash advances (as of September 2026). Check your card’s terms before you pay. For card payments on Coinmama, see buying with Visa or Mastercard.
Bank transfers
A bank transfer moves money from your bank account to the service, and the crypto is sent once the money arrives. In Europe this is often a SEPA transfer; in the US, an ACH transfer or a wire transfer. Which types are accepted depends on the service and your country.
To pay by bank on Coinmama, see how to buy Bitcoin with a bank account and how to buy Bitcoin with SEPA.
Apple Pay and Google Pay
Apple Pay and Google Pay use a card saved on your phone, so they work like a card payment with an extra approval step on your device. Read how to buy crypto with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Whether you can use them on Coinmama is explained on the Apple Pay and Google Pay help pages.
What does it cost to buy crypto?
You pay the price of the crypto plus any fees, and the fees depend on the service and the payment method. Before you confirm, compare the total you pay with the amount of crypto you receive.
- The price and the spread. The price you are quoted can differ from prices you see elsewhere. The gap between the buying price and the selling price is called the spread.
- Service fees. Many services charge a fee on each purchase, and it can change with the payment method.
- Bank and card charges. Your bank or card issuer may add its own charges, such as a cash advance fee on a credit card or a fee for an international transfer.
- Network fees. Moving crypto on a blockchain costs a network fee. On Ethereum this fee is called gas, and it rises when many people want to use the network at the same time (ethereum.org).
Prices are quoted as trading pairs, such as BTC/USD or ETH/EUR. The guide to understanding cryptocurrency pairs shows how to read them.
On Coinmama, the costs work like this: Coinmama does not add its own fee. All fees are shown before you confirm your order. See Coinmama fees for details.
How much crypto can you buy?
You do not have to buy a whole coin. Most cryptocurrencies can be split into very small units, so you can buy a fraction of one.
One bitcoin can be divided to eight decimal places, down to 0.00000001 BTC (Bitcoin.org). That smallest unit is called a satoshi. Ether goes much further: its smallest unit, the wei, is 0.000000000000000001 ETH (ethereum.org). The guide can you buy a fraction of a Bitcoin? explains how buying part of a coin works.
Services set their own minimum and maximum order sizes, and these can differ by payment method. For the current limits on Coinmama, see account limits and payment methods.
A small first purchase lets you learn how buying, storing and sending crypto works before you decide whether to do more.
How do you choose which crypto to buy?
Choose a coin you understand: learn what it is for, how it works and what could go wrong before you buy it. This guide does not recommend any coin, and no one can tell you what prices will do.
- Bitcoin (BTC) is the original cryptocurrency, designed as digital money that no bank or government controls. Read what Bitcoin is, or see the Bitcoin price and payment options.
- Ether (ETH) is the currency of Ethereum, a blockchain that runs apps and smart contracts. Read what Ethereum is, or see the Ethereum price and payment options.
- Stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC, aim to keep a steady value, usually one US dollar. They still carry their own risks: read what a stablecoin is.
- Altcoins is the name for all the other coins. Many are newer and smaller, and some carry extra risks. Read what altcoins are.
Not every coin is available on every service or in every country. To see which coins you can buy on Coinmama, browse the coin pages.
Be wary of anyone who promises that a coin will make you rich, or who pushes you to buy before you have had time to think. Hype and pressure are classic signs of a scam.
Where should you keep your crypto after you buy it?
You keep crypto in a wallet, which holds the keys that control your coins. Crypto is delivered to the wallet address you provide. That means you need a wallet before you buy on Coinmama.
Wallets come in two broad types. A hot wallet is software connected to the internet, such as a mobile or desktop wallet, and is convenient for smaller amounts. A cold wallet, such as a hardware device, keeps your keys offline. Compare them in hot wallet vs cold wallet.
Wallets are also custodial or non-custodial. With a custodial wallet, a company holds the keys for you. With a non-custodial wallet, you hold them yourself, backed up by a seed phrase: a list of words that can restore your wallet.
Write your seed phrase down, keep it offline and never share it. Anyone who has it can take your crypto, and no one, not even developers, miners or exchanges, can recover funds that you permanently lose (Bitcoin.org).
Start with what a crypto wallet is, then learn how public and private keys work, how to add money to a Bitcoin wallet and how to send Bitcoin to a wallet.
Is it safe to buy crypto?
Buying crypto from a well-known service is a routine process, but crypto itself carries real risks. Prices are volatile, transfers cannot be undone and scams are widespread.
- Price swings. The price of a bitcoin can rise or fall unpredictably over a short period (Bitcoin.org), and the same is true of other coins. Read what volatility is.
- No undo button. Crypto payments typically cannot be reversed: you usually get your money back only if the person you paid sends it back. They also typically lack the legal protections that card payments have (FTC).
- Scams. In 2025, the FBI’s IC3 received 181,565 complaints involving cryptocurrency, with $11.366 billion in reported losses. Fake crypto investments alone accounted for $7.228 billion (as of September 2026).
- Lost keys. If you lose your seed phrase or private keys, your crypto can be gone for good. See what happens if you lose your private keys.
Only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency (FTC). Never share your seed phrase or password, and be suspicious of anyone who contacts you out of the blue about your account. Learn how to spot phishing, read how to protect yourself from fraud and check the warning about people pretending to be Coinmama employees.
For a closer look at the risks of your first purchase, read is Bitcoin safe to buy?
What mistakes should beginners avoid?
Many beginner mistakes come from rushing. Slow down, check every detail and keep your first purchases small.
- Buying because of hype or pressure, without understanding the coin.
- Spending money you need for bills or cannot afford to lose.
- Paying by credit card without checking whether your issuer charges a cash advance fee.
- Sending crypto to the wrong address or on the wrong network. Always copy and paste, then check.
- Skipping 2FA, or reusing a password from another site.
- Keeping your seed phrase in a screenshot, an email or a cloud note.
- Looking only at the coin price and not at the total cost.
- Not keeping records of your purchases for tax purposes.
Do you pay tax when you buy crypto?
It depends on the country where you pay tax. In the US, for example, buying crypto with dollars and holding it does not have to be reported as a digital asset transaction, but selling, swapping or spending it later does.
The IRS treats digital assets as property, not currency. On a US tax return, you answer “No” to the digital asset question if you only bought crypto with dollars and did not sell it (IRS, as of September 2026). Other countries have their own rules.
Keep a record of each purchase: the date, the amount, the price and the fees. Read crypto taxes before you buy for what to know in advance, and ask a tax professional about your own situation.
How do you sell crypto later?
You sell crypto through a service that buys it from you and pays you in regular money. The steps mirror buying: you choose the coin and the amount, confirm the sale and receive the money, for example in your bank account.
Before you buy, check how you would sell later, because not every service offers selling in every country. Fees and taxes can apply when you sell, too. Read how to sell Bitcoin for the full process. For Coinmama, the help article how to sell your coins has the current details.
Which guides cover each step in more detail?
Every part of buying crypto has its own guide in the Buying and selling section of the Academy. Use them as chapters of this guide.
- Buying a specific coin: how to buy Bitcoin and how to buy Ethereum.
- Timing: how long it takes to buy crypto.
- Amounts: can you buy a fraction of a Bitcoin?
- Ways to pay: buying crypto with Apple Pay and Google Pay and using a Bitcoin ATM.
- Prices: understanding cryptocurrency pairs.
- Wallets: adding money to a Bitcoin wallet.
- Safety: is Bitcoin safe to buy?
- Selling: how to sell Bitcoin.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- European Commission: Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism at EU level (checked September 2026)
- US Federal Trade Commission: Bitcoin ATMs: A payment portal for scammers (3 September 2024) (checked September 2026)
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: 2025 IC3 Annual Report (checked September 2026)
- EMVCo: EMV 3-D Secure (checked September 2026)
- Chase: Cardmember Agreement, “Cash-like transactions” (checked September 2026)
- ethereum.org: Gas and fees (checked September 2026)
- Bitcoin.org: Frequently asked questions (checked September 2026)
- ethereum.org: Intro to Ether (checked September 2026)
- Bitcoin.org: Some things you need to know (checked September 2026)
- US Federal Trade Commission: What to know about cryptocurrency and scams (checked September 2026)
- IRS: Digital assets (checked September 2026)
