BitShares Forum
Main => General Discussion => Topic started by: szert on August 29, 2014, 04:34:53 am
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I tried quite a few ways to buy BTSX for fiat and calculated the costs. Here are the cheapest and simplest I've found. Corrections and tips are welcome if you know better ways.
How to buy BTSX or BitUSD from the EU (EUR, GBP and other currencies)
The challenge is to find the cheapest and quickest option:
- International wire transfer takes long time and fees are high (conversion rates are bad and there is are hefty fix and/or % fees). Luckily you can use SEPA for Euro transfer within the EU. It's cheap and fast but your bank is likely to overcharge you for it (what a surprise).
- The exchanges where you can trade BTSX don't trade with EUR/GBP/etc or they don't have enough volumes in those currencies.
- you can only buy BTSX for BTC currently. It requires several steps of currency conversion: [GBP->]->EUR->BTC->BTSX . Each of these conversions cost money because of fees and spread (margin) on exchange rates.
Step 1. Get some bitcoins
(skip this step if you have BTC or you already know how to do it)
Option 1. - use your local exchange. Quickest but not always the be best.
- UK: buying BTC with coinfloor.co.uk (http://coinfloor.co.uk)
You can transfer GBP into coinfloor.co.uk (http://coinfloor.co.uk) directly, convert it to BTC and send it to the exchange which trades BTSX/BitUSD
They have a £500 minimum deposit.
They require identity verification but it was pretty straightforward and took 1 or 2 working days.
The drawback is that their trading volumes are not great as of now. You might not get the best rate but you also can be lucky and catch a good deal. (check it here: bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/GBP.html (http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/GBP.html) and here: bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/EUR.html (http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/EUR.html))
If you have your bitcoins this way proceed to Step 2. below.
For alternatives see other options below.
- Germany: use kraken.com (http://kraken.com)
They have reasonably good trading volumes and you can transfer money there cheaply because they use a German bank (domestic transfer). It might be the best option for you but check the rates on other exchanges. I found anxbtc.com. (http://anxbtc.com.) usually has better rates for EUR: bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/EUR.html (http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/EUR.html)
If you have your bitcoins this way proceed to Step 2. below.
If you find the difference in rates on kraken.com (http://kraken.com) and an other exchange worth it then look for other options below.
- For other EU SEPA countries
Your local exchange might not have enough volume for EUR/BTC. If you decide to use them and have your bitcoins this way then proceed to Step 2. below.
I think alternative options might be better, see below. I didn't look properly which is the best, do your own research.
Option 2. - use an exchange which accepts deposits in EUR with SEPA
- Register on an exchange where you can deposit EUR with SEPA
The cheapest and fastest way to transfer EUR within the EU is using the SEPA payments. So look for exchanges which accept SEPA and have enough BTC on sale for EUR.
I deposited only to kraken.com (http://kraken.com) and anxbtc.com (http://anxbtc.com) because they seem to be established and have reasonable trading volumes.
The basic registration is easy and seamless on both.
Note: You can use SEPA even if you have your money in a GBP or any other currency used in the EU. See later.
- Identity verification on the exchange
To deposit in EUR all exchanges require identity checks. Depending on the exchange it takes usually 1-5 days
The process is not too complicated, you need to upload photo of your ID (ID card, passport etc.) and a proof of address (utility bill, bank statement etc. addressed to your name).
You will receive an email notification when the verification is complete .
On anxbtc.com it took only 1 or 2 working days as I remember. On kraken.com (http://kraken.com) it took me 5 working days (not sure, I did it long ago).
- Deposit money to the exchange
Wait until your identity check is successful on the exchange! If you deposit to an unverified account then your fund might be locked or sent back to you and you lose transaction fees and time.
You will find clear instructions on the exchange about the data needed for your SEPA transfer. Don't forget to put your unique code from the exchange into the reference field for the transfer!
- (a.) If you have EUR on your bank account (directly deposit EUR to the exchange via SEPA.)
You need to initiate a SEPA wire transfer using your online banking.
- (b.) If you have GBP (convert to EUR first then deposit to the exchange via SEPA)
Tried several ways, the best I've found is transferwise.com (http://transferwise.com).
The only issue that they are blocking a lot of bitcoin exchanges (including kraken.com (http://kraken.com)!).
anxbtc.com (http://anxbtc.com) deposit account worked for me seamlessly. I think they regularly change their deposit account to play the system.
Anyway, you can test the bank account with transferwise because they reject your transaction before taking your money when the recipient account is blocked (unlike currecyfair.com (http://currecyfair.com) ... They took my money, converted to EUR then informed that they can't send to kraken.com (http://kraken.com)).
The nice thing with transferwise.com (http://transferwise.com) that they use a better exchange rate and lower SEPA fees (ca. 1EUR only) than your bank (Barclays charges you £15 for a SEPA transfer!).
- (c.) Other than EUR/GBP
You have multiple options here, you can convert money with your bank and initiate a SEPA transfer to an exchange which trades EUR/BTC. It might result in high costs (conversion and SEPA transfer).
You can also convert your money to USD and send it directly to the exchange which trades with BTSX/BitUSD. That makes the registration/verification on the EUR/BTC exchange unnecessary. It takes longer and check the costs because it's usually pretty expensive .
The best if you check that transferwise.com (http://transferwise.com) (or an alternative) is available in your country and convert/send the money using it.
- Buy BTC for your EUR/GBP
Finally you can buy some BTC when you have your EUR or GBP available on your exchange account.
The trading interface can be overwhelming for the first time if you used one. Don't be too scared, just observe the live order book for a while. You can get familiar placing a few smaller orders first, there is usually no fix fee.
Don't rush, it always worth to check the market on other exchanges too (eg. using bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/EUR.html (http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/EUR.html) or bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/GBP.html (http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currency/GBP.html)
If you are dealing with a small amount and you are on high volume exchange it usually doesn't make a huge difference anyway (assuming the market is not too volatile)
Option 2. Use bittylicious.com (http://bittylicious.com) or localbitcoins.com (http://localbitcoins.com) - more expensive but almost instant
With this option you basically buy bitcoins online with your fiat.
I've only tried bittylicious.com (http://bittylicious.com) and only from the UK. You can buy using bank transfer, creadit/debit card, cash, barclays pingit, RBS/Natwest PYC, paym.
I've used bank transfer only because that's almost instant (if you can use faster payments) and offers the best rates among these options.
The drawback is that the bitcoin rates offered are quite bad. You pay ca. 5% extra with bank transfer (it's a marketplace so it really depends on what is on offer)
The process is pretty slim and user friendly, it's self explanatory from the site. It's a good option to get some quick bitcoins to start to play with.
Option 3. Use a bitcoin ATM - less practical but fun
If you live in a city which has a bitcoin ATM then you can buy bitcoins there. Check it here: bitcoinatmmap.com (http://bitcoinatmmap.com)
The rate depends on the ATM I guess. I've tried only one and the rate wasn't too bad.
The drawback that you have to go there and there are limits on cash transfers.
The advantage it's anonymous apart from the sneaky camera installed on the ATM which I used.
You can choose to transfer the bitcoins straight to the exchange account but it can be difficult because some exchanges operate with single use addresses. Perhaps it's better to deposit into one of your bitcoin wallet first then transfer to the exchange. Obviously you can skip the EUR/BTC exchange in this case, you can transfer directly to the one which trades with BTSX and/or BitUSD
Step 2. Transfer your BTC to an exchange where they trade BTSX and/or BitUSD
bter.com (http://bter.com) and btc38.com (http://btc38.com) seems to be the most liquid.
I'm not sure about their reliability but you need to hold your funds only for a short time there while you buy BTSX or BitUsd (assuming there is enough supply of BTSX for the right price).
You will be able to trade both BTSX and BitUSD on BitShareX once you transfered you funds there so that you can choose to buy only one here. Check the BitShareX markets in the BitShareX client (see installation below).
Both btc38.com (http://btc38.com) and bter.com (http://bter.com) works (if you don't end up occidentally on the Chinese interface on btc38.com :) ) . They both have a 1% withdrawal fee on BTSX but you get a 1% bonus on BTC so end of the day it's almost free. Trading is cheaper on btc38 (0.1% vs. 0.2%)
(side note: Actually coinport.com (http://coinport.com) trader interface was my favourite and they don't have any fees yet. But they are in beta only: frequent restarts and minimum liquidity, use them only with play money)
Step 3. Install BitshareX client, create an account and register it
Here is a great tutorial how to do it: http://wiki.bitshares.org/index.php/Bitshares-x-how-to
A good starter pack of links for more information: http://www.reddit.com/r/BitShares/comments/2edvtk/rbitshares_faq_newcomers_please_read/
Step 4. Transfer your BTSX/BitUSD from the exchange to your wallet
This is easy, instructions are on the exchange site. The transaction is almost instant, takes less then a minute, sometimes I received it in 5 seconds!
Don't forget that most of the exchanges require a registered wallet (see above)
Step 5. Enjoy
Well done. No more bank and exchange transfer nonsense. No more worries of losing your asset if your exchange get hacked or go bust. You can trade BTSX, BitUSD, BitBTC instantly for minimal fee on the decentralised exchange of BitShareX. More Bitshare assets are on the way for trade.
If you want some cash or BTC some point you will need to transfer BitUSD, BTSX, BitBTC out to an exchange where you can convert to BTC, USD, EUR etc. But if everything goes well then you will be able to convert your bitUSD to cash directly sooner or later.[/list]
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For the sake of the markets I think it would be really important to have a tutorial for newcomers about how to buy BTSX . Is there any around? It should be pinned here, added to the main BTSX wiki site and linked to the step-by-step guide about the getting started tutorial too. If someone could give access to the wiki then I'm more than happy to consolidate at least this description above and add it there.
Btw, who is maintaining the wiki? It seems pretty outdated, eg. it still says BTSX is not traded yet: http://wiki.bitshares.org/index.php/Bitshares_X#How_do_I_buy_into_BitShares_X.3F
These kind of discrepancies were extremely confusing when I started to dig into BitShareX... I know it's all moving very fast now, I'm just trying to find a way to help.
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great write up! I am not from Europe, but I am sure it will be handy for investors in BTSX that are.
Not sure who is maintaining the wiki? but I am sure they would not mind you helping