Altcoins are cryptocurrencies that were introduced after bitcoin. While bitcoin is revolutionary, it still has some issues. Because of this, many other cryptocurrecies, now called altcoins have been created. No doubt you have noticed that most of these altcoins have skyrocketed in value.
So, how to buy cryptocurrency altcoins?
The way you buy an altcoin depends on a few factors, such as, which exchanges you can buy them on and what payment methods you can use to buy them.
While there are many altcoin exchanges, some are preferable to others in terms of how many cryptocurrencies they offer, how secure they are, how much liquidity they provide and how many countries in which they operate.
The following options should cover nearly any altcoin and purchase method. The following methods are covered below:
- How to buy cryptocurrency altcoins the simple, fast and secure way
- How to buy altcoins with a credit card or debit card
- How to buy cryptocurrency with cash
- How to buy altcoins with PayPal
- How to buy altcoins anonymously
Tip: We recommend you do all cryptocurrency buying and selling using the Brave browser. Brave is a secure and private browser that will help keep your bitcoins and altcoins safe.
How to Buy Altcoins the Easy, Fast & Secure Way
Let’s start with the basics. The most common way to buy altcoins is to get them from a cryptocurrency exchange which allows you to buy and sell altcoins. Usually you will need to add money to the exchange by sending money via wire transfer.
However, if you want bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash, there is an easier way.
The easiest, quickest and most secure way to buy any of the 4 above coins is on Coinbase.
Coinbase is one of the largest and best bitcoin exchanges in the world. It is also one of the most secure.
And it also happens to be one of the easiest. Depending on where you live, all you need to do is sign up and add a form of payment (credit card, debit card or bank account). Once your payment method is linked, you’re ready to go.
The big advantage here is that you don’t need to go through the hassle of sending a wire transfer like you do on other exchanges. And some exchanges don’t even accept fiat currency (USD, EUR, etc).
A quick Google search will show you how many issues wire transfers can have. Also, you’ll notice how many wire transfer issues cryptocurrency exchanges have had.
To buy on Coinbase, simply follow one of these guides (these will work for any of the 4 cryptocurrencies on Coinbase – bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash):
How to Buy the Other Altcoins Securely and Quickly
If you want to buy any of the other altcoins, then you will have to set up an account at another exchange. There are many possible exchanges, but one of the most popular is Binance.
Binance allows you to buy hundreds of the major altcoins. But you will need to first transfer bitcoin as they do not accept fiat currency.
Here are the steps needed to buy altcoins at Binance:
- Buy bitcoin – you can follow this guide on how to buy bitcoin
- Set up an account at Binance
- Transfer money to Binance: to do this you will need to sign in and select funds >> deposits >> choose bitcoin (BTC). Then you will see the deposit address. Now, go back to the exchange you bought bitcoin on. Depending on the exchange it might be different, but if you followed the tutorial from step 1 above and bought on Coinbase, then simply follow these steps to send your bitcoin from Coinbase to Binance.
- Buy altcoins: now that you have deposited bitcoin in your Binance account you are ready to buy some altcoins. First, at the top of the screen on Binance select exchange >> basic. In the search box on the right side of the page search for the altcoin you want to buy (note: you must search by symbol, not name of the coin – you can find any altcoin’s symbol at coinmarketcap.com). Then click on the currency and its pair. Now at the bottom of the screen you’ll see an option to buy that altcoin. Simply fill out the details and you’ll now be the proud owner of some new altcoins!
How to Buy Altcoins With a Credit Card or Debit Card
There are a couple different options here depending on whether or not you already have some bitcoin.
How to buy Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash or Cardano with a Credit Card
- Simply open up an account with Coinmama and it’s super easy, fast and secure. If you’d like you can read our Coinmama review.
- Coinmama makes it very easy. All you need to do is follow their prompts and it’ll be a piece of cake
How to buy the other altcoins with a credit card
- Another terrific option for buying alcoins is Changelly. Changelly offers about 100 altcoins for purchase with a credit or debit card. Like Coinmama, Changelly makes it very easy to buy altcoins with a credit card. Visit Changelly to get your altcoins.
How to Buy Cryptocurrency Altcoins with Cash
To date there are no easy ways to buy altcoins with cash unless you know someone who has the altcoin you want and you give them cash and they send the altcoin to your wallet.
However, you can first buy bitcoin and then send them to your account over at an exchange like Binance or Gate.io where you can then purchase altcoins.
The best place by far to buy bitcoin with cash is on LocalBitcoins. This site has been around for a while and is the go-to place for most anyone who wants to buy bitcoin with cash.
Another option is to search to see if there is a bitcoin ATM in your area, however the fees are usually very high at these.
How to Buy Cryptocurrency Altcoins With Paypal
Buying altcoins with PayPal is a bit more of a challenge. Like buying with cash, you will have to first buy bitcoin and then send it to an exchange and trade for altcoins.
The two best options for this are:
- Use LocalBitcoins to find a seller willing to accept PayPal
- Sign up with an account at Wirex, which allows you to purchase with PayPal
How to Buy Altcoins Anonymously
Before we get into this it is important to note that most cryptocurrencies are not anonymous. So even if you take all sorts of protective measures, you are not guaranteed anonymity.
Some cryptocurrencies are much more anonymous than others, such as Zcash, Monero and Dash.
That said, here are a few ways you can buy altcoins anonymously:
- The most anonymous way is to first purchase bitcoin with cash on LocalBitcoins. Find a seller willing to accept cash. Then go to Shapeshift and exchange it into one of their fifty or so altcoins. Make sure you have already set up a wallet to send the altcoin to first.
- Some bitcoin ATMs allow you to purchase bitcoin without any ID at all. Find a bitcoin ATM near you, then visit Shapeshift like in the first option above.
- If you want to buy Litecoin, then you can simply visit LitecoinLocal and find someone who is willing to sell Litecoin for cash.
- Another option is to first purchase a pre-paid credit card. Then use that credit card somewhere like Changelly to buy one of their 100+ altcoins. Overall, this is probably the simplest option for buying altcoins anonymously.
What other methods for buying altcoins do you prefer? Can you contribute any other good ways? Share your comments below to help the community!
Richard has developed and ran multiple online websites and communities with tens of millions of monthly visitors. He first discovered bitcoin and blockchain in 2012 and has been helping to educate others on its potential since then. Richard is very passionate about the crypto community. Read his inspiring story into cryptocurrency here.
Binance is awesome, great place for day traders and it’s nice because it’s out of the hands of governments and tax authorities, cuz it is 100% crypto.