Where to Buy Bitcoin in South Africa? – Beginner’s Guide

If you want to know how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa, we recommend just a few things to do. Once you know where to buy Bitcoin, which would be a broker or crypto exchange of your preference, you just need to deposit some funds and figure out how much to invest.

In this guide, our focus will be finding where to buy Bitcoin in South Africa, helping you understand Bitcoin more, and how to buy a Bitcoin.

Where to Buy Bitcoin in South Africa – Step by Step Guide 2023

Whether you’re looking for the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin online or just generally looking for the best way to buy Bitcoin, we’ve listed and reviewed five different platforms and exchanges to buy Bitcoin in South Africa. 

1. Capital.com – Best Place to Buy Bitcoin South Africa

Topping our list is the all-in-one contract for difference (CFD) trading platform, Capital.com. When you buy Bitcoin through the platform, you’re not actually buying the underlying asset, but instead trading through a CFD. This has certain benefits when you buy a Bitcoin – especially for trading in the short term according to Capital.com.

Another key advantage of the Capital.com platform is its demo account. If you ever ask yourself ‘how do I buy Bitcoin in South Africa without much crypto knowledge’, use the Capital.com demo account to familiarise yourself not only with the platform but with Bitcoin price movements.

Capital.com also offers trading of different assets such as commodities, ETFs, forex, and stocks. As a broker with NASDAQ exchange, the largest US tech stock exchange, there are many opportunities to diversify your portfolio.

The minimum deposit to start trading with Capital.com is just $20 and the broker has many different payment methods available. Fund your Capital.com account and buy Bitcoin with debit card, wire transfer, and more.

Capital.com fees

Your money is at risk.

2. Binance - Best Crypto Exchange for New Coins

If you’re looking to invest in Bitcoin, Binance is one of the best crypto exchanges to help you buy Bitcoin in South Africa. Aside from this, it’s also the best crypto exchange for new coins with access to trading 500 cryptocurrencies and virtual tokens. Aside from investing, you can also trade Bitcoin on the Binance platform with high leverage, a great tool for seasoned crypto traders.

Looking to buy Bitcoin instantly? Binance actually allows you to buy Bitcoin with credit card instantly in their web platform or app. Aside from this, the exchange also has many crypto-related products such as a peer-to-peer market, staking, and even programs to better help in mining.

The minimum limit for buying Bitcoin on Binance (through Simplex) is 500 ZAR for Visa or Mastercard. You can also convert your ZAR to BTC via Binance P2P which is a fast, easy, and secure way to buy Bitcoin in South Africa without many fees.

Binance fees

Cryptoassets are speculative and carry high volatility levels. Always consider the risks involved. 

3. Coinbase - Great Beginner Platform for Crypto South Africa

Looking where to buy Bitcoin in South Africa as a beginner? Coinbase is an online crypto exchange with an easy to use platform that allows you to buy a range of 50 different cryptocurrencies. The exchange also provides a secure platform where you can buy Bitcoin in South Africa and over a hundred different countries.

Launched in 2012, Coinbase is an excellent exchange for newbies as it offers everything from a place to buy and sell Bitcoin, educational resources on how to buy with Bitcoin, and an online crypto wallet. The Coinbase crypto wallet offers support for over 4,000 crypto assets and even decentralised applications.

If you’re thinking, should I buy Bitcoin now with Coinbase, it is worth noting that there is no minimum deposit for an account. However, note that the commissions would start at 0.5% for lower volumes.

Coinbase fees

Your money is at risk.

4. Luno - Fast Growing Crypto Exchange Platform South Africa

One of the safest, most transparent, and compliant crypto exchanges is Luno which has a web platform as well as a mobile application. Similar to Coinbase, the exchange was built with beginners in mind, meaning the whole Bitcoin buy South Africa process is simple and easy to perform.

If you’re wondering how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa with this platform, here’s how to buy Bitcoin on Luno. It’s as simple as creating and verifying your account in minutes, buy a Bitcoin with a tap of a button, and then tracking your position.

Aside from Bitcoin, Luno also offers other popular cryptocurrencies that can be traded on their platform. All the other cryptos available are listed below:

• Ethereum (ETH)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• USD Coin (USDC)

Luno fees

Your money is at risk.

5. Crypto.com - Fast and Secure Cryptocurrency Exchange

Last on our list is Crypto.com, one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges with over 250 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins available. One of the platform’s most alluring features is its integration with decentralised finance (DeFi). You’re offered a DeFi wallet, as well as 14% per annum returns from staking stablecoins.

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com is also one of the fastest and most secure cryptocurrency exchanges which is great for those who want to buy Bitcoin in South Africa. They offer derivatives trading when you buy Bitcoin, so those looking to leverage their positions can do so on the platform as well. The minimum investment per transaction for Crypto.com is 1 USD.

Crypto.com fees

Your capital is at risk.

Where to Buy Bitcoin - Fee Comparison

In this section of how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa, we provide a table to help you compare the fees of the different trading platforms and crypto exchanges.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first major decentralised currency and also the largest in terms of market cap at $670 billion at the time of writing this. It was created by an entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto who theorised a store of value that allowed people to own and send currency without the need of a centralised authority like a bank or government. Essentially, Bitcoin is a distributed ledger where each transaction is validated by the entire network.

As a currency, the next natural thing to ask is what can you buy with Bitcoin or what can I buy with Bitcoin? As of 2023, there are multiple platforms and products that accept Bitcoin as a currency. For example, some things I can buy with Bitcoin in South Africa are subscription services offered in Bitcoin.

Another interesting thing to add about Bitcoin is that the crypto can be mined. Bitcoin uses what’s known as a proof of work consensus model which means new Bitcoin can be created using computing power by solving a certain algorithmic function in the network. However, only a finite amount of Bitcoin can exist - 21 million to be exact. Therefore, Bitcoin is deflationary in nature.

After some time and the acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a financial asset, there were also certain exchanges that allowed for crypto pair conversions. For example, you can buy Ethereum with Bitcoin in many crypto exchanges.

75.26% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Why Buy Bitcoin?

Before you go thinking to yourself ‘I want to buy Bitcoin in South Africa’, you’ll need to know why many investors have even considered buying Bitcoin. One reason as we mentioned earlier was due to its deflationary nature. As a store of value, a deflationary currency virtually increases its worth unlike cash which decreases in value as inflation occurs.

From the growing adoption of blockchain technologies and the widespread acceptance of Bitcoin as a decentralised and secure method of storing value, investing in Bitcoin has definitely become much safer and more accessible nowadays.

How Much Does It Cost to Buy Bitcoin?

Those wondering how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa need to first know that the cryptocurrency can be split into smaller denominations much like the rand can be split into cents. One Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million satoshis. This means that even if the cost of Bitcoin is in the tens of thousands of dollars, you can still buy parts of Bitcoin (satoshis) for a respective fractional price.

The limits of buying Bitcoin at minimum will then lie with the cryptocurrency exchange that you plan on using. This is something important to consider when learning how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa as you’ll need to identify how much exactly you want to invest. 

How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal

The popular e-payments platform PayPal now allows customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies in their accounts. You’ll need to be a US customer to be able to have these features, but the company does plan to expand this service to select global markets in the future.

For now, South African residents with PayPal accounts who still want to buy Bitcoin in South Africa can with their PayPal can still do so. Simply find a trading platform or crypto exchange that accepts PayPal for account funding. For example, the Capital.com platform lets you fund your account via PayPal.

Buying Bitcoin Safely

Another very important step when learning how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa is buying Bitcoin Safely. As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have come to the attention of many and have even made millions for investors, there has definitely been a large hype around the crypto market. With this, many hackers and scammers will try to maliciously gain crypto themselves.

However, there are ways to buy Bitcoin safely and it doesn’t have to be that complicated. For one, it can be as simple as just avoiding scams. A lot of sites offer to increase your cryptocurrency or try scamming you by promising free cryptocurrency. If it’s too good to be true, then avoid them and stick to regulated and known platforms.

Speaking of which, using a secure, licensed, and tried-and-tested crypto exchange or trading platform is one of the best ways to buy Bitcoin safely. Many exchanges have multiple security measures like cold storage and two-factor authentication that heavily restrict potentially malicious actions.

If you're really looking to store your Bitcoin safely, then using a crypto wallet is a great option. For large positions that you want to hold long-term, an actual hardware wallet known as a cold wallet would be best to use. If you want to store your Bitcoin and other cryptos that you plan on using for transactions later on or in the shorter term, then using a hot wallet such as an online software wallet is advisable.

Risks of Buying Bitcoin

Aside from the risks that come from potential cyberattacks or scams which can be more or less simple to avoid, another risk of buying Bitcoin is extreme price movements. Even until now, cryptocurrencies are known to be volatile financial instruments, especially newer and trendier coins.

A lot of risks are involved especially when derivatives trading Bitcoin. This means that leverage is used and can result in your account being margin called and having your money sapped out of your account. Practising responsible trading and risk management is definitely essential even when investing long term in Bitcoin.

Selling Bitcoin

It can be argued that it is much easier to learn how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa than learning when to sell. In any case, selling Bitcoin should already be easy as you must have already found a platform to buy it in the first place. Simply close the position that you have on the platform or alternatively, if it is stored in a crypto wallet you can convert it to another crypto through another exchange.

But if you’re looking to bet against Bitcoin (shorting), several crypto exchanges also offer users to open short positions too. These positions are often derivatives, meaning you’ll need to be extra careful as there is a virtually infinite risk when shorting financial instruments.

Bitcoin Price Prediction

75.26% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

After all of this learning how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa, you might be asking yourself should I buy Bitcoin, or is it a good time to buy Bitcoin? In the end, this entire article is not financial advice and should not be taken as such. When you buy Bitcoin, it should be completely under your terms.

Our current Bitcoin price prediction will use our technical analysis which is not the entire perspective or aspect when it comes to trading. Bitcoin's price in 2021 peaked at around $69,000 in November and reached as low as around $27,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is now hovering between the $33,000 and $36,000 range.

If Bitcoin breaks below the $33,000 range then its next support would be around the $32,000 level. If the crypto breaks the $36,000 resistance, the cryptocurrency might try to test the $40,000 level.

Where to Buy Bitcoin

Searching where to buy Bitcoin in South Africa? Here’s a list of the cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms we mentioned earlier:

1. Capital.com - Best Place to Buy Bitcoin in South Africa
2. Binance - Best Crypto Exchange for New Coins
3. Coinbase – Great Beginner Platform for Crypto South Africa
4. Luno – Fast Growing Crypto Exchange Platform South Africa
5. Crypto.com – Fast and Secure Cryptocurrency Exchange

Best Way to Buy Bitcoin - Capital.com Tutorial

In this section of our Where to Buy Bitcoin in South Africa guide, we now provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to buy Bitcoin via Capital.com.

Step 1: Open an Account

75.26% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Here is how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa. First, head to the Capital.com website and press the Trade Now button at the top right. In the pop-up, simply fill in your desired email and password or use an existing Facebook, Google, or Apple account to register.

Step 2: Upload ID

Next, you won’t be able to buy Bitcoin on Capital.com without verification. You’ll need to upload a valid ID to get verified. Something like a passport or driver's licence would suffice. Once you've uploaded a clear picture of the valid ID, you can wait for the platform to verify your account and then proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Deposit Funds

After your account has been verified, you can now deposit funds into your account. Below are the different deposit methods you can use to add equity to your Capital.com account.

• Wire Transfer
• Visa
• MasterCard
• Skrill
• Neteller
• Worldpay
• WebMoney
• AstroPay
• iDeal
• Przelewy24
• QIWI
• Giropay
• Trustly

Step 4: Buy Bitcoin 

With your account now funded, you can now buy Bitcoin in South Africa! On the Capital.com dashboard, search for the ticker ‘BTC’. Once the trade modal pops up, you may put in your desired amount to invest in and click on the Buy button.

Capital.com – Best Crypto Platform to Buy Bitcoin in South Africa with Tight Spreads

75.26% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FAQs

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first widely-used decentralized digital currency using blockchain, a distributed ledger. Bitcoin, using the Proof of Work consensus model, can be mined via computing power.

Who created Bitcoin?

In 2009, Bitcoin was launched based on the creation of the entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto.

What is the market cap of BTC?

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s market cap is at $670 billion.

Do I need a crypto wallet to buy Bitcoin?

Yes, you’ll need a crypto wallet to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Luckily, some platforms feature built in crypto wallets.

Can I buy Bitcoin in the South Africa?

Yes, you can. For example, you can purchase Bitcoin through Capital.com after creating and verifying your account.

Is Bitcoin regulated in South Africa?

At the time of writing, South Africa does not have any regulations regarding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, the FSCA does plan to unveil a regulatory framework covering crypto early this year.

How much money do I need to buy Bitcoin?

Although one Bitcoin is priced in the thousands of dollars, you can still invest in Bitcoin by purchasing parts of the coin. The minimum you need to buy Bitcoin depends on your crypto exchange - for example, Capital.com requires a 10 USD minimum to Bitcoin.