If there is one question we’re getting more and more of within our social circles, it is how to get or buy bitcoin in Kenya. This is because the crypto world is reaching new heights of maturity both in usage and popularity. (And price of course!) If it was in the super early days of bitcoin in the very early 2010s, we’d tell you to mine. Not anymore. Mining is not for everyone nowadays because it gets harder and harder to do and consumes a ton of electricity. Only the big mining farms can get anything substantial from bitcoin mining. You can learn more about mining in this article, but trust us, that is no longer a viable way to go, considering the article was written in 2014.
So what’s the easiest thing to do?
Buy bitcoins
Again, the way you can buy bitcoins in Kenya has evolved over the years. At first, the only way you could do it was on localbitcoins.com. This is a peer-to-peer marketplace where you buy or sell bitcoins from anyone who is trading there – kind of like what you would do on Jiji (OLX). People still trade here, but other peer-to-peer marketplaces have come up to replace Localbitcoins’ dominance. And since they require a bit more verification than this pioneer, they can be safer to work with.
Our number one recommendation to buy bitcoin is Paxful. It has very high liquidity and you will find competitive offers from all over Africa. The Paxful platform also has its own built-in wallet, making it very easy to sell quickly when Bitcoin price goes up. Below is a video from BitcoinKE on how to buy bitcoins step-by-step. You can pay via several options including M-Pesa, Chipper Cash and PayPal, depending on what the vendor accepts. Sign up on Paxful here today.
Another good place is Binance. Works pretty much the same way in that you can buy from other people within the app. Binance also has a lot more functionality if you want to keep up with other markets and coins. Check it out here.
You can also buy bitcoins from an exchange. The first one in Kenya was BitPesa, but it was eventually quashed by an unfriendly regulatory environment, after putting up a really spirited fight for years. One would also argue that Kipochi was truly the first, but it was not really an exchange. The environment is so harsh that new entrants who tried to enter the market never made it. Luno tried back when it was BitX and failed. There have been many others that have tried to-date. There is one that seems to have figured a way out of this quietly. We will delve deeper into this story at another time.
You can also decide to buy with your card from other global exchanges, including Binance. A stress-free way to Buy Bitcoin with your card automatically without having to deal with many processes or people, is via Skrill. You just need to set up an account, deposit funds and easily swap into Bitcoin.
Whether you buy bitcoins from an exchange or from an individual, one important thing to look at is the margin they sell at. If you look at Localbitcoins for instance, you will see everyone selling at their own price which depends on the amount being offered among other factors.
Is bitcoin guaranteed to always rise in price?
Nope. Another important thing to remember is: DO NOT give your money to someone who claims to have some other hidden sure-fire way of investing your bitcoin for huge returns. Bitcoin is very easy to buy yourself online as we have talked about above. If you are still wary of buying, talk to us on WhatsApp or Telegram, we will walk you through.
Important: Even if you buy bitcoin, there is no guarantee that it will not drop in price the next minute or day or month. No one can guarantee that. Anyone who does is lying to you. It is true that we saw bitcoin rise from below 20,000 dollars in a month to 42,000 dollars at the beginning of January 2021, but it still went back down and could go down further before it goes up again. Invest ONLY what you are willing to lose.
That way, you keep it away for years until the price peaks.
The last time bitcoin was almost at 20K was Dec 2017, then it dropped way below that for years only to bounce back in late 2020. See what we mean? Click To Tweet
How much bitcoin can you buy?
You do not have to buy a whole bitcoin. The prices shown are normally for a whole bitcoin, but you can buy as little as you want denominated in Kenya shillings, since bitcoin is divisible to many decimals.
You can also earn bitcoins, which is slower and harder to do. This you can do in some special circumstances. Because bitcoin is easy to send from anywhere to anywhere in the world, you can get paid in bitcoin depending on how progressive your customer is. There are freelancers such as coders and writers who choose to get paid in bitcoin. Or people who work in crypto companies. You can ask fans of your work to tip you in bitcoin on your website.
Sign up to our Monday morning smart brief. Get smarter about crypto, stocks and fintech in 5 minutes flat.
Will you buy some bitcoin now? Or will you still wait and see? No pressure. You could still buy some other crypto like Ethereum. It’s never too late.
Was this post helpful? Why not share it with your network too below? Thanks!
Buying crypto is pretty easy nowadays. Check out this guide on how to buy bitcoin in Kenya. Click To Tweet