Since I have heard of bitcoin ( cia 2010) I have wanted to own some. Just never managed to spend the time to buy any ! I lost my opportunity to buy it when it was at $10 and when it was over $100. So I decided I am going to buy some when it is around $3000 !  Hopefully, I don’t look back and cringe at this post.

One of the reasons I want to buy bitcoin is that I find the technology behind it fascinating.  You can read more about bitcoin here .

How to go about buying bitcoin ?

1. Download coinbase app on your phone ( iPhone/android) or use their web interface and signup for an account. The web URL : https://www.coinbase.com/




2. Create an account. Make sure to set the default currency to your credit card company’s currency and fill out the personal detail section under settings. Including your address etc.  When I used this application I found it would not let me add my credit card till I had my address filled out. I kept on getting various error messages from the coin base application such as:  ‘We’re unable to verify your card. The following error was returned: The card issuer declined the charge’.   and various other messages. I am from Canada – my credit card is from a Canadian Bank. Once I filled out my personal details section – my card verification seems to go through.




3. The application set a buy maximum for my credit card to $100 CAD per week . This was till my identify could be verified.  There was a process for identify verification – which I have not done yet !  I bought 3% of a bitcoin for $100. My first purchase 🙂 .

I did not do any further purchases –  the price had gone up  and I believe it will have some pull backs. This was based on my observation of bitcoin price behavior.  In my experience most financial securities trade in a range till there is some new news or affecting events.

Identity verification –  You have to take a photo of your driver’s license or passport. I tried my driver’s license and the automated verification failed. It worked the second time. I guess the cost of AI! Even though my identitificaiton has been verified I did not see an increase in my trading limit right away. Perhaps it may take time. I think one of the biggest challenges to bitcoin growth is the crappy exchanges that is currently available for bitcoin trading.

For a currency  that is supposed to provide anonymity – there is a lot of personal information we share on these exchanges ! I guess it exists for safety reasons.  I personally don’t mind – just ironic !