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The Basics of Buying Bitcoin

How to buy bitcoin with cash

Buying bitcoin with cash — or more specifically, buying bitcoin with cash at a bitcoin ATM or bitcoin kiosk has never been easier.

There are a handful of good reasons why you would want to buy bitcoin with cash. So in this post we’ll dig deeper into how and why people are converting USD to bitcoin. 

But first, let’s discuss the easiest, and most convenient way to buy bitcoin with cash — using a Coinme-powered bitcoin ATM or kiosk.

Where can I find a Coinme bitcoin ATM or bitcoin kiosk?

There are more than 5,000 Coinme bitcoin kiosks across the country. We keep adding new locations all the time making bitcoin more accessible in more places.

Gone are the days of trying to track down random bitcoin ATMs in obscure locations. Today, you can find an easy-to-use Coime bitcoin ATM or kiosk at stores you probably visit regularly anyway. Our partnership with Coinstar, for instance, means that it’s likely you are able to buy bitcoin at most popular grocery stores. 

And you don’t even need to head over to Google to find a bitcoin ATM near you. We’ve got you covered with our bitcoin ATM locator tool. 

How to buy bitcoin with cash at an ATM machine and what to expect when purchasing bitcoin with cash for the first time

For newcomers, buying bitcoin is a little bit like taking public transportation in a foreign city. The first few times might take a little longer and might require figuring things out, but after that first little learning curve, it will feel like you’ve been doing it your entire life.

After you locate a bitcoin ATM using the locator tool above, the next step is to gather up your cash and get ready for your first transaction. You should note that when buying bitcoin with cash at an ATM, you will need to use paper cash. At the moment, coins are not accepted. And current daily limits are $2,500. 

Once you deposit your cash into a Coinme-powered ATM you will be issued a voucher, which is essentially the receipt of cash deposit. This voucher is really important and should be treated like cash. You will need to redeem it for bitcoin in your Coinme wallet. Check out our bitcoin security post for more details and best practices.

With your voucher in hand, set up a Coinme wallet on your computer or mobile device. After walking through a few steps to get setup, you will be able to redeem your voucher and start sending, receiving, or holding bitcoin. 

Once you have your Coinme bitcoin wallet setup, it will be easy and more streamlined to repeat the cash-in process.

Top five reasons to buy bitcoin with cash

Buying bitcoin with cash these days is as simple as stopping by a Coinme-powered kiosk during your weekly grocery run.

And by now, you might be asking yourself, “why buy bitcoin with cash?”.

It’s a great question with a lot of different kinds of answers. Here are five very basic reasons to buy bitcoin with cash:

  • It’s easy: Moving from the legacy analog-economy to the new digital economy has never been easier. Buying bitcoin with cash reduces the number of intermediaries between you and the vast new frontier of programmable money. Once you have your Coinme wallet setup, buying bitcoin with cash becomes even simpler.
  • It’s a smart way to dollar cost average: Buying bitcoin with cash allows you to easily dollar cost average into the bitcoin market. We call it the bread, milk, bitcoin approach to investing (because you can use every trip to the grocery store to take a position in the market). Buying bitcoin with cash is like having direct access to the world’s most dynamic financial asset. Try buying equities or gold or foreign currency at a kiosk on your way out of a grocery store. 
  • Bitcoin is universal: Bitcoin is like a universal payment rail. Once you buy bitcoin with cash, you can then send it (and receive it in your bitcoin wallet) to people and places all over the world —  all from your mobile device or computer. It’s way easier, more secure, and potentially more cost-effective than sending cash.
  • Privacy and security: There are ways to lockdown and secure bitcoin for long term holding that are far superior to keeping stacks of cash on hand. Also, when stored properly, bitcoin can travel with you wherever you are, which means for the first time ever people have access to a discreet way of holding and transferring wealth.
  • A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow: While it can be fun to carry around a fist full of Benjamin’s, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to hold cash long term. The reason? Cash is subject to inflation —  the purchasing power of a dollar erodes over time. This is in part related to the monetary policy set by central banks. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is deflationary. Its monetary policy is set and executed as a mathematical system, which ensures that overtime the supply of bitcoin will remain constant, making it more valuable as the network grows.

 

Having access to a new way of handling your money has its own value. In some ways, bitcoin is like the multi-tool of the financial world. And now, with the growing network of Coinme-powered bitcoin kiosks and ATMs, it’s never been easier to get access.

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