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Ask HN: How do I go about buying Bitcoin on a Mac in the UK?

3 points by CyanDeparture ↗ HN
This is going to sound very naive, but I don’t actually know how to buy bitcoin and store it on my own personal wallet.

I want to download Bitcoin Core (https://bitcoin.org/en/download) but it’s blocked here.

My actions are to: - Sign up for Coinbase and buy coins ther - Download Bitcoin Core via a VPN - Move my Bitcoins to Bitcoin Core from Coinbase

Does that sounds like a legitimate way to go about this? Or am I missing some very obvious steps? I tried asking similar on Reddit but it ended how you’d expect.

Thanks very much for you help.

12 comments

[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 1562 ms ] thread
alexmingoia
Yes, that would work. Consider purchasing a hardware wallet for better security and cold storage. Besides Coinbase, you can buy Bitcoin in person or with alternative payment methods using localbitcoins.com
jstx1
Not quite, you're mixing up the Bitcoin software for running a node with a wallet - they're different things. Your steps are:

1. Sign up for an exchange.

2. Deposit cash (with card, bank account, whatever else the exchange supports).

3. Buy Bitcoin (or some other cryptocurrency).

4. Transfer the Bitcoin to whatever wallet you want (or don't transfer it, totally up to you).

Your link to https://bitcoin.org/en/download is for the software for running a full Bitcoin node - this isn't what you're looking for. Running a node is different from using Bitcoin and it's different from buying Bitcoin online. What you need to use instead is a wallet. Have a look at the getting-started resources on the official site (or on Coinbase if that's the exchange you're using).

The fact that you're on a Mac doesn't matter - wallets are widely available for any mobile or desktop OS. The fact that you're in the UK only matters as far as choosing an exchange that operates in the UK (but most of them are anyway).

CyanDeparture
Thanks for this, super detailed. Which wallet would you recommend? I want to just securely store my Bitcoin, not on an exchange, but I'm happy to buy it there to start with.
c7DJTLrn
Buying cryptocurrency in the UK is a pain because of the regulations. A lot of exchanges simply won't deal with UK customers.

The only way I've been able to acquire cryptocurrency is by mining it. I mined ETH back in 2017 and converted it to XMR recently which netted me a nice amount.

jstx1
> A lot of exchanges simply won't deal with UK customers.

This isn't true at all. Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Crypto.com, Bitstamp, KuCoin, Gemini are all available in the UK (and a bunch of others too).

augustuspolius
Doesn’t sound like mining Bitcoin is the right advice here. It’s pretty easy to buy crypto in the UK using one of the many exchanges available.
MerelyMortal
Make sure you are using a trustworthy wallet and exchange, there are scammy ones out there.
zmk5
Do you know of any good, trustworthy ones?
MerelyMortal
I know of some trusty Monero wallets, but this thread is about Bitcoin, so maybe the Electrum Bitcoin wallet that comes with TAILS?
zmk5
I was thinking of maybe investing in Monero actually. I would really appreciate some suggestions on a wallet for that if you don't mind!