Buying Bitcoin

In short · 4 points

1. 01There are six ways to get Bitcoin: a Bitcoin app, a crypto exchange, a bank or broker (sometimes only as an ETP), peer-to-peer, an ATM and earning it.
2. 02The key question: do you get real bitcoin that you can withdraw to your own wallet? An ETP only tracks the price.
3. 03To get started, a MiCA-authorised app or exchange with deposits via SEPA is usually the simplest route.
4. 04ATMs are expensive and a favourite tool of scammers; peer-to-peer is better suited to experienced users.

In short · 5 points

1. 01Since 1 July 2026, only MiCA-authorised providers may offer crypto services in the EU. You can check an authorisation in a few minutes in the ESMA register.
2. 02Buy real bitcoin that you can withdraw to your own wallet – not a product that only tracks the price.
3. 03Compare the total costs (fee, spread, payment method, withdrawal), not just the advertised fee.
4. 04Protect your account with two-factor authentication – ideally a security key or passkey, otherwise an app rather than SMS.
5. 05Bitcoin held with a provider are not covered by deposit protection. MiCA does, however, require authorised custodians to keep client assets separate.

In short · 5 points

1. 01The process is the same at almost all regulated providers: create an account, verify your identity, secure the account, deposit, buy. How fast it goes depends mainly on when your identity check is approved.
2. 02The identity check and your tax ID are required by law – a feature of regulated providers, not mistrust of you.
3. 03Secure your account with an authenticator app and write the backup codes down on paper.
4. 04Deposit by SEPA transfer from an account in your own name. Only ever take the bank details from the app, never from emails or chats.
5. 05Before you buy, check the price, fee and amount of bitcoin, and save the statement afterwards.

In short · 5 points

1. 01A savings plan automatically buys bitcoin for a fixed amount on fixed dates – whatever the price happens to be.
2. 02It is not a trick for higher returns, but it takes the question of the ‘right moment’ off your hands.
3. 03Interval and purchase day are secondary. Costs, on the other hand, apply to every purchase.
4. 04Choose an amount you would keep saving even after a 50% drop in price.
5. 05In Germany, every purchase has its own tax holding period – save the statements.

In short · 5 points

1. 01A Bitcoin ETP is a security, usually a debt instrument (a note). You don’t own any bitcoin or keys, but a claim against the issuer.
2. 02There are no Bitcoin ETFs in the EU, because funds must be broadly diversified. US spot ETFs are usually blocked for retail investors because they lack the key information document.
3. 03Ongoing costs (TER) range from 0.05% to 2.00% a year – sometimes with the same provider. Always check the ISIN and TER.
4. 04On top of price risk comes issuer risk. Backing with real bitcoin reduces it, but doesn’t eliminate it.
5. 05Whether gains are tax-free after more than one year (in Germany) depends on the product. We deliberately don’t recommend individual ETPs.

In short · 5 points

1. 01With a peer-to-peer purchase, you buy directly from another person – through software that secures the trade, or by meeting in person.
2. 02‘Without KYC’ means you don’t show your ID to any company. It does not mean anonymous, tax-free or outside the law.
3. 03The biggest risk lies in the payment, especially reversed bank transfers. Small amounts and proven counterparties reduce it.
4. 04Buying or selling bitcoin privately now and then is allowed. Anyone who does it as a business needs authorisation.
5. 05For your first purchase, an authorised provider is usually simpler. P2P suits you if privacy matters to you and you work carefully.

In short · 5 points

1. 01Anyone operating a Bitcoin ATM in Germany needs authorisation. Without it, they face up to five years in prison; in 2024, BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator, seized unlicensed machines across the country.
2. 02ATMs are usually more expensive than online providers. Work out your actual purchase price before you pay in.
3. 03ATMs are a favourite tool of scammers: in the USA, the FBI reported $389 million in losses for 2025, around two thirds of it among people aged 60 and over.
4. 04Remember: no police force, bank or authority will ask you to pay cash into a Bitcoin ATM. Hang up.
5. 05Better: pay the cash into your own account and buy from an authorised provider.

In short · 5 points

1. 01Under German tax rules, bitcoin you get for work, goods or content are acquired in exchange: they’re usually income, and for private assets the holding period starts on receipt.
2. 02Part of your salary can be paid in bitcoin. According to Germany’s Federal Labour Court, the employer must pay the portion protected from garnishment in money.
3. 03Self-employed people can accept payments with the open-source software BTCPay Server, for example. Client payments in bitcoin are business income.
4. 04Mining at home at German household electricity prices usually costs more in electricity than it earns in bitcoin.
5. 05Offers that promise easy ways to ‘earn bitcoin’ often cost you data, time or, in the end, money.

In short · 5 points

1. 01A Bitcoin purchase can involve up to six types of cost: spread, trading fee, service fee, payment method, withdrawal and network fee.
2. 02The spread is built into the price and never appears on a statement. ‘Fee-free’ doesn’t mean free.
3. 03In the worked example with $1,000, the purchase costs between $4 and $40. Paying by card is the most expensive.
4. 04The network fee depends on the size of the transaction and how busy the network is, not on the amount.
5. 05In the end, compare how many sats you receive for the same amount.

In short · 5 points

1. 01Wallet first, withdrawal second: set up your wallet and secure the backup before you send bitcoin to it.
2. 02Take the receiving address directly from your wallet and, after pasting it, compare the beginning, middle and end – with a hardware wallet, on the device’s display.
3. 03Send a test amount first. A second fee costs less than a mistake, because Bitcoin transactions can’t be reversed.
4. 04For withdrawals worth more than €1,000 to your own wallet, the exchange must check that the address is yours – for example with a signed message or a satoshi test.
5. 05The first confirmation comes after around ten minutes on average; for larger amounts, six confirmations (around an hour) are the usual benchmark.