Bitcoin is the most preferred cryptocurrency for investment because of the underlying reliable blockchain technology, security, and accessibility.
The chain of blocks (blockchain technology) is actually a digital ledger. Where past bitcoin transaction information is recorded in such a manner that it is difficult to change, hack, duplicate or fraud the details.
The records on a blockchain are secured through cryptography and you have private keys that are assigned to the transactions making it secure.
The digital ledger of transactions is made accessible by distributing it across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.
Bitcoins are available on all the crypto currency exchanges for investment and trading.
Bitcoins are used by various global online merchants for accepting payments. For example, Microsoft allows account top-up through bitcoins. In the coming days, there is a most likely hood that merchants in India start accepting bitcoins.
Different Ways to Invest in Bitcoin in India 2022
There are three ways to buy/sell bitcoins for investment purposes in India.
#1. Invest in Bitcoins Through Cryptocurrency Exchange
Unlike stock exchanges where buying/selling of shares happens, a cryptocurrency exchange is where you can buy/ sell various cryptocurrencies like bitcoins, ethereum, or ripple.
Buying bitcoins from the cryptocurrency exchange is the simplest possible way to invest in bitcoin. You just have to open an account with any of the crypto exchanges, transfer money into the account and use the exchange platform to buy bitcoins.
You need to pay the transaction fees for buying bitcoins from the crypto exchange.
#2. Invest in Bitcoins Through P2P Transaction
If you do not want to pay the transaction fees or use the exchange trading platform then you can use the P2P (Person to Person) mode of buying bitcoins.
In P2P transactions, the exchange/ platform only acts as facilitators. They help you find a bitcoin seller and then you need to close the transaction.
Depending on the platform internal policy they may or may not hold bitcoins in the escrow account till the money transfer completes.
In India, marketplace like Paxful provide P2P transactions at a 0% fee for buyers, whereas sellers need to pay a certain percentage of fee, normally up to 1% of the transaction amount.
But the other platforms or exchanges may collect a small amount of fees for P2P transactions, that you need to check before using the P2P mechanism for buying bitcoins.
#3. Get Bitcoins Through Mining
You can also get bitcoins through mining. Mining is a process where you are rewarded with bitcoins on the successful addition of a block to the blockchain.
Bitcoin mining involves two separate tasks. First, you need to verify the past bitcoin transactions that have already taken place. The file size containing details of bitcoin transactions equal to 1MB needs to be verified.
After that, you need to solve a complex mathematical problem so that the block of verified bitcoin transactions can be added successfully to the existing blockchain.
When you complete both the tasks successfully then you are awarded 1 bitcoin for your efforts.
The degree of complexity involved can be understood from the fact that both the tasks cannot be done on your home PC.
You need ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) computers dedicated only for bitcoin mining and lots of electricity to mine bitcoins.
Also read – Best bitcoin wallet in India
The easiest way to invest in bitcoin in India for a beginner is to buy bitcoins on the exchange platform.
How to Invest in Bitcoin in India 2022
You can start a bitcoin investment by selecting an exchange to open an account, transfer money and use your money to buy bitcoins.
You can follow step-by-step procedures to invest in bitcoins in India.
I have used the WazirX exchange to open an account and buy bitcoins because of the simple & easy account opening process, lightning-fast transaction, and easy-to-use platform.
WazirX also has tie-up with the world’s largest crypto exchange – Binance. But you can use any other exchange, the process will be more or less the same as shown below.
#1. Open Crypto Trading Account
Open an account on WazirX by following steps mentioned here
#1. Sign Up on WazirX
Click here to visit the WazirX website and sign up to start the account opening process.
#2. Fill Details to Start Creating Account
In the first step, you need to fill your email address and create a strong password to open an account.
#3. Email Verification and Account Security Setup
WazirX sends you an email for account verification. Verify your email and set up your account security.
You can use any of the two ways to set your account security.
- Google Authenticator App
- Mobile SMS service
However, the Google Authenticator app is safer as compared to mobile SMS because the SMS is prone to the delayed receipt and there are chances of SIM card hacking.
#4. Select Country and Choose Account
WazirX allows you to open an account with or without KYC. Without KYC you can only deposit and trade on your WazirX account.
The KYC compliant account has the facility perform all the transactions including withdrawals and can trade in P2P.
For completing KYC you need to enter a few details like
- Full name as appearing on KYC document
- Date of birth
- Address as per the KYC document
Upload the scanned copy of your KYC documents and selfie to complete the account opening process.
Check out- detailed WazirX review
#2. Transfer Money (INR) to Your Trading Account
Before you trade, you need to deposit Rupee (INR) into your account. The money can then be used to directly buy bitcoins, USDT or other cryptocurrencies listed on the exchange.
On WazirX the minimum deposit amount is Rs. 100 whereas, there is no upper cap on deposit.
You can deposit using IMPS, UPI, RTGS and NEFT methods.
Click “Funds” for depositing INR after you have logged into your account. Select the option “Rupee INR” and click on deposit. Then you will need to link your bank details with your WazirX account.
Further, you will be prompted for “Instant deposit using IMPS/ NEFT/ RTGS” and get WazirX bank details.
Transfer the funds via any of the IMPS/ NEFT or RTGS channels. Your money (in INR) will be credited in your WazirX account instantly which you can use to buy bitcoins on the exchange platform.
#3. Buy Bitcoins on the Exchange
To invest in bitcoins login to your account and click on INR under the section “Exchange”. This is a spot market place for all the cryptocurrencies that are paired against INR.
On the screen, you will be able to see various cryptocurrency pairs against INR. Select the bitcoin (BTC) – INR pair.
When you select the BTC/INR pair you will get the price chart, the order book details and the order entry form on the right-hand side as shown.
On the right-hand side bottom, you will also find an order (buy/sell) entry form like the one shown below.
Fill in the buy order form for buying bitcoins and click on “Place buy order”. The order gets placed instantly and you will receive bitcoins as soon as the order gets traded.
#4. Store Bitcoins in Your Wallet
After you have bought bitcoins you need to store them in your wallet because leaving them in the exchange account is not safe. The bitcoins can get stolen from the exchange account or there are possibilities that the exchange may close operations in the future.
To prevent such scenarios you need to transfer your bitcoins from the exchange account to your personal wallet.
For transferring bitcoin you need to create an address to receive bitcoin.
Note: You cannot receive bitcoin on ethereum address. Every cryptocurrency has its own specific address to receive that particular cryptocurrency only.
A typical bitcoin address looks like the one shown below
Next, you need to sign in to your exchange account and select bitcoin to send it into your wallet. Click on send/ withdraw bitcoin, then select the amount of bitcoin that you want to send and paste the address generated from your wallet in the recipient place.
Confirm the transaction using the two-factor authentication and you will receive bitcoin in your own wallet.
Also read – WazirX vs Zebpay
Best Bitcoin Wallet in India 2022
#1. WazirX Multi-Cryptocurrency Wallet
You need to open a WazirX account to use the wallet facility. WazirX exchange provides a web/ app based wallet facility.
You can use the wallet to trade 70+ cryptocurrency on the WazirX exchange and do P2P transactions.
Fees
WazirX does not charge any deposit fee but withdrawals are subject to fees (depending on the cryptocurrency) and minimum withdrawal amounts.
What I Like
- Option to have both web and mobile wallets
- Directly trade on the WazirX exchange
- 70+ crypto coins can be stored
What I Didn’t Like
- Withdrawals are subject to fees
- Limit on the minimum and maximum withdrawal amount
#2. Ledger Nano X Bitcoin Wallet
Ledger Nano X is a hardware wallet that you need to purchase online. The Ledger Nano X is costly but the safest way to store bitcoin.
Ledger Nano X is in the form of a USB that contains secure chips to store your bitcoins and is a cold (not connected to the internet) hardware wallet.
The wallet is powered by a 100mAh battery and is compatible with iOS (9+) and Android (7+) smartphones that help you manage 24 coins and 1250+ ERC-20 tokens.
Fees
Priced in the range of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,500
What I Like
- 34 grams of weight
- Secure chip and custom OS
- Manage 24 coins and 1250+ ERC-20 tokens
What I Didn’t Like
- You need to keep track of the USB
- Needs to be powered
- High price upwards of Rs. 10,000
#3. Exodus Bitcoin Wallet
Exodus uses encrypted private keys and lets you store 110+ cryptocurrencies including bitcoin.
Exodus is a desktop-based bitcoin wallet. You need to download a .exe software on your desktop in order to set up and use the wallet.
Fees
The .exe Exodus application is free to download. For a transaction, you need to pay the miners fee.
What I Like
- Wallet downloadable on Windows, Mac and Linux PC
- QR codes for address verification
- Encryption of private keys for security
What I Didn’t Like
- Need Mac 10.12, Windows 10 and 64-bit Linux (kernel version 4.10 and higher)
Important Things You Should Know Before You Start Investing in Bitcoins
#1. Requires Patience and Understanding
Investing in bitcoin is risky because of the heavy price fluctuations. You need to have patience and understanding of the price movements. You need to have a medium to the long term holding period.
Bitcoin prices change every moment and without the understanding of the market you can end up losing a substantial amount of money.
#2. Invest in Smaller Amounts
Bitcoin is a high priced cryptocurrency and the best thing is that you can invest in bitcoins in small fractions. You can invest in 0.001 bitcoins.
One bitcoin costs you around Rs. 9,00,000. For beginners, this can be a large sum of money. But you can definitely buy 0.01 bitcoins for Rs. 9,000.
#3. Have a Wallet to Store Bitcoin
Never make a mistake of leaving your bitcoin in the exchange account. Bitcoins can get stolen or are vulnerable to hacking and virus attacks. In such a scenario you can lose your bitcoin.
Transfer them to your very own bitcoin wallet and store them in a secured place where only you have access.
#4. Know Your Risk-Taking Abilities
Bitcoin is a high-risk investment because of the high price volatility. If you do not have the capacity to bear risk then you can invest only such an amount that you do not mind losing it.
Aggressive investors with large risk-taking capacity do not mind even if their capital is eroded by 50%. Whereas, conservative investors protect their base capital. For them, a loss of 20% is the limit.
Conclusion
Investing in bitcoin in India is totally legal (after the Supreme Court relaxation) and not that difficult. You can start bitcoin investment by opening an account online with WazirX
Initially, you can allocate Rs. 10,000 to buy bitcoin and understand the cryptocurrency marketplace. Once you are comfortable then you should increase your bitcoin investment amount.
HAVE A COINBASE ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY THE PAST 1 YEAR AND THE ACCOUNT IS ACTIVE. WHERE CAN BUY & SELL, SEND& RECEIVE CRYPTOS.
DO I NEED TO OPEN A WAZIRX ACCOUNT?
WazirX account is not required to buy/sell cryptos if you already have a Coinbase account.
If you are from India then you need to deposit some cryptocurrency into your Coinbase account. After which you can start crypto buying/selling.
Coinbase doesn’t offer direct INR deposits.
Payment methods for people outside India can be found here.
For example, you can send a few BTC, ETH or USDT lying in your crypto wallet or ask your friend to do so.
Next, you can use the cryptos in your Coinbase account to buy some other cryptos. For example, you can use BTC to buy UNI or AAVE on Coinbase exchange.
If you want to directly deposit INR and use it to buy cryptos then you need to open a WazirX account.
Who regulates WaxirXbroker / exchange ? What happens if they vanish ? What protection does investors have against any malpractices ?
Cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain technology are decentralized things, they are created to be regulation-free. That is the genesis of these technologies.
Now coming to WazirX (broker/exchange) platform, as of now in India, WazirX does not fall under the RBI, SEBI or any of the regulations. Our country is still evolving in this field.
WazirX is one of the largest crypto exchanges in India with its own digital currency WRX.
WazirX provides trading/ investing of cryptocurrencies in exchange of fees. But do not specifically list out any fair practice code. Neither do any of the crypto exchanges across the globe do.
You need to understand that cryptocurrencies are high-risk, high-return assets. And you should go only if you have an appetite for it.
WHICH IS BETTER-COINBASE or WAZIRX?
It depends on your crypto investment/ trading requirements.
Coinbase is 2012 founded, US-based listed crypto exchange available in over 100+ countries. It allows Buy/Sell/ Convert option for most cryptocurrencies. Has a separate wallet for storing cryptos. Coinbase offers Debit card to spend your cryptocurrencies at certain international merchant places. But does not support direct INR deposit/withdrawal.
On WazirX you can directly deposit/withdraw INR. Trade-in 100+ crypto pairs and use P2P marketplace. WazirX was founded in 2018 and is a leading crypto exchange in India. WazirX also offers an NFT marketplace. But they don’t offer a separate wallet or debit card facility.
how to start bitcoin sell & purchase
All the steps are explained in the article.
Hello Sir
If I have bitcoin cash (BCH) in my wallet, how can I use it to make money in India ? Please reply. Thank you 🙂
The wazirx btc price and google btc price varies by about 30k. The price quoted is more in wazirx. Why does this happen, thanks