How to Buy Bitcoin in the UK
UK banks have done their best to stymie the bitcoin market - it really has not worked. A thriving p2p market has emerged locally, and UK bitcoin traders can also easily go to international exchanges.
If you are a bitcoin-seeking UK resident, the appropriate exchange very much depends on the amount of bitcoin you intend to buy.
UK banks have been opposed to accommodating bitcoin exchanges with local accounts. This means that even exchanges with btcgbp markets must hold funds abroad, incurring international transfer fees.
A UK resident can expect to pay between £25-35 wire fees, both to the exchange and back again. If you are buying a relatively large amount of bitcoin this amount will usually be offset due to better pricing of international exchanges.
If you are looking to buy small amounts it makes more sense to go through a local peer to peer exchange. These exchanges connect local sellers and buyers and accommodate direct transactions. The cost of bitcoin is general higher than at international exchanges – though that is changing for small amounts – but there are no international wire fees involved.
Peer to Peer Exchanges
There are four p2p exchanges worth taking a look at. Our top two choices, Bisq and Local Bitcoins, are the cheapest options but usually have only a bitcoin or less available. Bisq particularly offers no KYC, so it is a very convenient option.
Bitbargain and bittylicious have more bitcoin available for purchase – you can buy up to 5 if you go through the entire KYC process – but it is definitely pricier, and at that level it makes sense to go to an international exchange. We offer details on all four below.
Bisq
The UI is great, the platform does what it says, the offers listed are close to market price. Bisq is secure, private, and censorship resistant, can it build the liquidity?
- decentralized platform connects sellers and buyers directly
- requires download to use
- best pricing in the UK market
Bitcoin
Ethereum
Litecoin
Bitcoin Cash
Dash
- 0.2%
- Global
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, CHF, INR, SEK
- Bank Wire, SEPA, interac, OKPay, Perfect Money, Skrill, Sofort
Bisq is an entirely decentralized exchange in which buyers send money directly to individual sellers – almost entirely via UK bank transfers – after which the bitcoin is released directly to the buyers external wallet. Usually these transactions go off without a hitch – in the rare event of a dispute, Bisq arbiters gather proof of payment/lack thereof from either side and resolve the issue.
The bank transfers look like simple payments to the banks involved, so absent some sort of red flag everything runs smoothly. Additionally, the GBP market is pretty liquid, and the prices offered are usually market rate, determined by Bisq using a blended index. Provided you mean to buy a smaller amount of bitcoin, this is an excellent service.
LocalBitcoins
No matter where you live, LocalBitcoins will connect you with bitcoin sellers that will accommodate local conditions to ensure the most comfortable bitcoin buy possible.
- The most active p2p platform in the world
- Pricing is generally cheap
- You can buy in cash directly from the seller
- Bitcoin
- Set by seller
- Global
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF, CNY, DKK, HKD, HUF, IDR, INR, JPY, KES, KRW, MXN, MYR, NGN, NIS, PLN, RON, RUB, SEK, SGD, ZAR
- Credit Card, Bank Wire, ACH, SEPA, Paypal, Debit Card, interac, Cash, OKPay, Perfect Money, Crypto Only, e-transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Money Transfer
Local bitcoin is a bit pricier than Bisq at the moment, but as a more established exchange there is a greater amount of bitcoin for sale on the market. Buyers are easily able to source a bitcoin or two, and generally speaking it will only cost about 1, 1.5% more than Bisq. Sellers list their offers in the lobby, and both buyers and sellers are able to check their counterpart’s reputation based on reviews and the number of successful transactions.
This leaves us with two additional p2p exchanges, bittylicious and bitbargain. These exchanges were very early movers in the UK market; however, they did not really keep up with the competition in our opinion.
BitBargain
BitBargain is the UK's premiere platform to connect bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and Litecoin buyers and sellers.
- Good p2p exchange with local deposit options
- Good option for sellers too
- Fees can get higher than competition
- Bitcoin
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- 1% seller, buyer fee by seller
- United Kingdom
- GBP
- Bank Wire, Neteller, Paym, Pingit
Bitbargain operates similarly to local bitcoins and Bisq, connecting buyers and sellers directly, while offering a reputation management system which helps determine the trustworthiness of counterparts. However, the pricing is a bit high – you can expect to pay 5-10% more than bisq, though there is generally a lot more bitcoin available for purchase.
Bittylicious
Bittylicious offers UK residents a method to buy bitcoin with local payment options. A good solution for small buys; otherwise, better off paying international bank fees and going to a large, global exchange.
- OK pricing and pretty high purchase limits
- Bittylicious manages the connection between peers in the backend
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Dash
DigiByte
Feathercoin
Monetary Unit
Peercoin
Stratis
Syscoin
Vertcoin
- Set by seller and undisclosed
- United Kingdom
- GBP
- Credit Card, Bank Wire, Paym, Pingit
Bittylicious usually has better pricing than bitbargain, and it manages the matching system in the backend. Some might appreciate this simplified process. We find to be a bit counter to the p2p spirit. However, if you are looking to buy more bitcoin than is available at Bisq or Localbitcoins, it probably makes sense to just go with an international exchange.
Mainstream options to buy bitcoin with GBP
The first option we want to highlight is one of our overall favorite brokers, Cubits.
Cubits
Cubits is an excellent bitcoin-only brokerage for the eurozone markets. Very intuitive, reasonable pricing, and tons of local deposit options.
- Fixed fee of .9%
- Deposit in GBP
- You need to wire funds via SEPA or international bank transfer
- Bitcoin
- 0.9%
- Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Venezuela
- USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF, CNY, DKK, HUF, INR, JPY, KRW, MXN, MYR, PLN, RUB, SEK, SGD, ZAR
- Credit Card, Bank Wire, SEPA, Debit Card, OKPay, Neteller, Skrill
Cubits is an easy to use brokerage accepting GBP deposits. Their commission is fixed at 0.9%, and their pricing is based on an index of major exchanges, though the exact composition is not transparently shown. Bank wires are charged a flat €16 fee, and if you feel like going the SEPA route, there is no charge, though you need to account for GBP->EUR conversion.
If you are looking for a straight GBP exchange, Coinfloor is probably your best bet.
Coinfloor
Coinfloor is the UK's preeminent bitcoin exchange, offering decent BTC/GBP liquidity at low trading fees
- Deposit in GBP
- Top three btcgbp market volume
- low fees and good gbp pricing
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Maker: 0.1-0.15%; Taker: 0.3-0.38%
- United Kingdom
- GBP
- Bank Wire
Coinfloor is one of three exchanges to offer btcgbp markets, two if you exclude Coinbase who disallowed GBP depositing. Coinfloor is a UK-first product, with offices in London’s financial district. They have good pricing and liquidity, but take note that the deposit minimum to use the exchange is £5,000 or bitcoin equivalent. Wire costs are fixed at £5.00 for deposits, £60 for withdrawals, and take care to indicate the Coinfloor GBP account details to avoid incurring additional costs.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex leads the pack in terms of liquidity, it offers margin accounts across numerous cryptocurrencies, the fees are low, and they even offer a lending market which can be used as an interesting hedge for bitcoin holders.
- Top exchange by trading volume
- low fees and decent pricing
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Cash
Cardano- Dash
Decred
EOS
Ethereum Classic
IOTA
NEO
Qtum
Tether
Zcash
- Maker: 0.0-0.1%; Taker: 0.1-0.2%
- Global
- USD, EUR, GBP, JPY
- Bank Wire
Bitfinex is a leading bitcoin exchange globally, and their recent launch of a gbpbtc will be welcome news to UK traders. ING bank recently confirmed that Bitfinex has opened a Netherlands-based account with them, which should eliminate many of the depositing issues western customers faced when attempting to work with Bitfinex’s old East Asian banking partners. In terms of fees, platform quality, and liquidity, Bitfinex is tough to beat. They charge .1% with a minimum £20 on both deposits and withdrawals.
Coinbase
Insured accounts, massive liquidity volumes, and integrated debit cards against questionable priorities, overzealous compliance, and shoddy support. Get $10 free at the top bitcoin Exchange in the USA.
- GBP deposits are now accepted!
- still the second most liquid exchange
- excellent all-around product
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Maker: 0%; Taker: 0.25-0.1%
- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States
- USD, EUR, GBP
- Credit Card, Bank Wire, ACH, Faster Payments
Coinbase is really an all around excellent product, and is usually the market leader in all countries in which they operate. The gbpbtc market remained active despite not accepting GBP deposits – rejoice, they have now, as of August 3rd, 2018, reinstated GBP deposits via Faster Payments!
To recap, small bitcoin purchases can be easily made using p2p exchanges such as Bisq or Local Bitcoins. If you are interested in buying larger amounts conveniently from a brokerage, Cubits has done an excellent job of simplifying the process, and the cost is not too much higher than one might expect from an exchange. And lastly, the top exchanges servicing the UK market are pretty decisively Coinfloor and Bitfinex.