Buy Your First Bitcoin on Coinbase

Step by Step Instructions

In this chapter there are 6 steps to buying your first bitcoin on Coinbase.

Step 1 – Start with USD Wallet

Now that your account is set up and you’ve transferred $100 to your USD wallet, let’s go buy some bitcoin! Start by going to the Portfolio tab and click on US Dollar wallet. You should see at least $100 balance. 

Step 2 – Click on Trade Button

Next, click on the Trade button in the upper right corner of the page. A pop-up window will open.

Step 3 – Select Crypto and Amount

After clicking on the Trade button, a pop-up window will open.

There are three things to enter:

1. Amount you want to spend in USD dollars. Since I transferred $100 to my USD wallet, I entered $100.
2. Which crypto you wish to purchase. Select Bitcoin. (Click on selection arrow for other options).
3. The payment type you wish to use. Select Cash (USD) to pay with the money you just transferred into your USD wallet.

Once you’ve entered your selections, click the Preview Buy button. Another pop-up window will appear.

Note: Click on the selection arrow to see other payment options you may have set up in your profile. Transferring money into Coinbase and then buying bitcoin from the USD Cash wallet is the cheapest and fastest method.

Step 4 – Preview Buy

The next pop-up window shows you a preview of your purchase. It tells you six things:

1. how much BTC you’ll receive
2. your payment method
3. the current price of bitcoin (BTC)
4. how much BTC you are purchasing
5. the Coinbase fee for making the purchase
6. the total amount you are spending.

If you’re happy with the Order Preview, click on the Buy Now button.

Note: The purchase amount is less than $100, because Coinbase deducts their fee from the total amount you are spending. Thus $100 (spend amount) – $2.99 (fee) = $97.01, which is the amount of BTC you’ll get.

Step 5 – Click Done

Once you click on the Buy Now button, the last pop-up window tells you that your order was successfully submitted. Click the Done button, then go back to the Portfolio page to see your purchased bitcoin in your BTC wallet.

Step 6 – Check your Portfolio Wallet

Congratulations! You just bought your first piece of bitcoin! Or maybe your second or third 😉