If you have any more questions after reading below, just message me.
Why bitcoin (BTC) and not paypal?
It’s fast, fees are cheap, around 15-20cents per transaction, peer to peer (doesn't go through middleman corporations) and secure.
Here are 3 ways to obtain bitcoins (there are many more), from fastest with most fees, to more involved, but at market price with minimum fees. Personally, I use the 3rd Option for my Australian and Japanese bank accounts.
1st Option, give me bitcoin now! I want to make a payment and don’t care about the details.
Open an account with following websites, you will be charged a fee of around 3-4%.
https://www.coinbase.com/
https://www.coinjar.com/ (Australia)
https://www.unocoin.com/ (India, huge premium at the moment with the currency issue now)
https://www.coinmama.com/ (huge premium, I wouldn’t use them)
There are other similar services, if you can’t find one in your country, let me know.
2nd Option, get a bitcoin wallet and become your own bank.
With this option you will be the gatekeeper to your digital cash and no one else will have access to it. This also means that if you lose the keys, you will not be able to access it. The first task you will have to perform is to write down your secret 12 word passphrase and hide it in a secure place, that you will not forget about.
You can install following wallet on most smart phones and computers:
https://bitpay.com/wallet
http://wallet.mycelium.com (For android)
There are few other wallets, but the above allow you to purchase bitcoin from inside the wallet by a third party service.
Also following websites can be used to send bitcoin directly to your wallet:
https://www.glidera.io/ (USA only)
https://www.coinify.com/ (Europe)
https://www.canadianbitcoins.com (Canada)
3rd Option, I want bitcoin at the cheapest market price with no premiums attached (and maybe make some money along the way).
Depending on the exchange used, you will need most likely provide number of documents to identify yourself, since this is where you can day trade bitcoin and other similar currencies. Also you with most of them you will need to link your bank account. Normally for security purposes, I recommend transferring out your freshly purchased bitcoin to a wallet as mentioned in Option 2.
Here’s a short list of exchanges and currencies they accept, more can be found on this website:
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/#markets
Exchange list and currencies they accept:
https://www.bitstamp.net (USD, EUR)
https://poloniex.com/ (USD)
http://cex.io/ (USD, RUB, EUR)
https://www.quadrigacx.com (USD, CAD)
https://www.bitfinex.com (USD, CNY)
https://www.quoine.com (JPY, USD, EUR, SGD, HKD, IDR, PHP, AUD)
Dead Link Removed (AUD)
Dead Link Removed (AUD, USD, NZD)
https://www.btcc.com (USD, CNY)
https://www.okcoin.com (CNY, USD)
https://www.coinfloor.co.uk (GBP)
https://www.kraken.com (EUR, USD, GBP, JPY, CAD)
https://coincheck.com/ (JPY)
https://bitflyer.jp (JPY)
https://zaif.jp (JPY)
