How do I get my first Bitcoin? Coinbase vs BitPay vs GoCoin

Geeting your first Bitcoin as a beginner can be a little tricky. It's not as simple as entering your credit card details and getting your Bitcoin asap. This has actually delayed my entrance into the cryptocurrency world as I saw this task, or rather series of tasks, pretty tedious. Today these companies made entering the world of cryptocurrency a little bit easier. Let's compare them side by side.

1. BITPAY

When it comes to processing Bitcoin payments, BitPay is a solid choice. The company has a good reputation and provides a service at affordable rates. Do keep in mind there is a 1% surcharge for all transactions, though. Merchants can convert incoming payments to fiat currency directly if they want to do so.

Additionally, companies such as BitPay provide all of the necessary tools to process Bitcoin payments securely. Moreover, it is a good solution for anyone who expects a lot of incoming Bitcoin transactions in the future. Unfortunately, their service is limited to Bitcoin only, which could be a bit of a drawback.

"Overall using the Bitpay debit card was pleasant and simple. It definitely uses immediate fiat conversion which is a downside, but basically allows for easy bitcoin sales with a personal debit card in real-time. Purchases were simple and after every one I had visible access to these transactions on my account page. Fees are explained throughout the whole process and are relatively inexpensive and can be avoided. ATM fees are $2, ACH transfers are $5, and there’s a charge of $5 if you don’t use the card for 90 days. I will definitely be using my new Bitpay card from time to time as it does add a nice level of convenience."

• Jamie Redman

1. COINBASE

Similarly to what BitPay provides, Coinbase offers Bitcoin merchant services to users all over the world. They also charge a 1% fee for incoming transactions, and users can convert (a portion of) the incoming payments to fiat currency if they want to. Most people are familiar with Coinbase because of the company being a cryptocurrency exchange primarily.

For now, Coinbase also only supports Bitcoin for merchant transactions, despite the trading platform supporting multiple currencies. It is unclear if Ethereum and Litecoin payments will ever come to the merchant service, though. On the upside, the company also provides a convenient wallet service for all users, which means one can store incoming Bitcoin transfers in BTC on the same platform.

It takes a while to authenticate bank wire transfers, and Debit/Credit card purchases have notorious low weekly limit. You can ask for an increase in the limit but his may take a while.

"Coinbase has its pros and cons. It’s main pros are the fact that it’s simple and easy to use. The main cons are the fact that you are not in complete control over your Bitcoins and your transactions are being tracked.

My personal opinion is this – use Coinbase to buy your Bitcoins, the service is solid. However, once you buy your Bitcoins get them the hell out of there to a wallet that you completely control like GreenAddress, MyCelium or any other wallet."

• 99bitcoins.com

1. GOCOIN

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts often tend to overlook GoCoin, despite the company providing some exciting merchant tools. It is the only payment processor on this list to support currencies other than Bitcoin. GoCoin allows anyone to accept Litecoin and Dogecoin payments as well. That is quite significant since both of these currencies are still very popular these days. GoCoin also charges a 1% transaction fee for all payments, which is in line with the other companies.

It is quite interesting to see so few companies accept payment methods other than Bitcoin. People who want to attract a lot of cryptocurrency customers may want to look into what GoCoin has to offer for sure. Accepting Litecoin, especially since the network activated Segregated Witness, can be one of the smartest business decisions. GoCoin is a company no one should overlook by any means.

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