So you have decided to buy your first Bitcoin. Whether your purchase is for investment, to buy goods online, or simply to send money to friends and family, you are in the right place.
In this guide we will guide you through the 4 easy steps to Buy Bitcoin in India:
- Step 1 – Account Creation
- Step 2 – Completing your KYC
- Step 3 – Depositing your INR
- Step 4 – Buying your Bitcoin
For the purposes of this guide we will be using a platform called BitBNS. BitBNS is an Indian based platform founded in 2017 by graduates from IIT. The platform was created with the aim of giving people a smooth and easy entry to the world of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin.
Step 1 – Account Creation
The first step to buy your first Bitcoin is to create an account on BitBNS. This is very straightforward. Click the sign up button below to get started.
Using the sign up button below will also get you 50 free BitBNS tokens when you finish signing up.
Once you click the sign up button you will be brought to a page that looks something like this. This is the exact same as signing up for any other online platform. Simply enter your email, a password, and your phone number. Then tick the box to agree to the BitBNS Terms of Service and click register.
Once you have done that you will be sent a 6 digit code (OTP) to either your email or phone number. Enter that number in the following page and click verify.
Once that is done congratulate yourself for completing step 1.
Step 2 – Completing your KYC
KYC is a general term in the financial world and stands for know your customer. Nearly every financial institution in the world must comply with KYC and BitBNS is no different. KYC is in place to cut down on financial crime and fraud.
To get started with completing KYC you will want to navigate to your profile page. Do this by clicking the circular icon in the top right hand of your screen and click profile. Alternatively click the button below to navigate there.
From your profile page you will see the page shown in the image below. Click verify now to begin the KYC process.
NOTE: If you already hold Bitcoin you can trade other cryptocurrencies using Bitcoin without KYC. You can also deposit up to ₹10,000 on the platform without going through the KYC process. However we recommend you do complete KYC as if you ever wish to sell your Bitcoin back to rupees it will be necessary.
Once you click verify now you will be brought to the following page. Again click verify KYC.
For the first step of KYC you will be asked to submit a selfie of yourself holding a form of national identification. This form of ID can be an Aadhar Card, a Passport, Voter ID, Driving License, or PAN Card.
When taking the selfie of yourself you will need to hold up a piece of paper with ‘BitBNS’ and the date wrote on it. Make sure your face is clearly visible in the picture as well. Use the photo below as an example.
Once you have taken the photo click ‘choose a file’ and then select the photo you have just taken. The photo will then upload. Once that is done click submit.
For the next part you will be required to enter your name, your date of birth, your PAN card number, and a picture of your PAN card. Simply enter your details and upload your photo the same as the last step.
For the last step you have to confirm your address. For this step you will be asked to enter your address that is contained on any government issued document. Aadhar Card, Passport, Driving License, etc.
First you have to enter your name as per your address proof, then enter your Address Proof ID Number. When that is done you have to take a picture of the front and back of your address proof and upload them using the same process as previously mentioned.
Once that is done congratulate yourself. Your KYC submission is complete! you should see a page like the one below. Staff at BitBNS will review your documentation within 24 hours. When they have reviewed your documentation an email will be sent to you verifying or denying your account.
Typically all accounts are verified on the first try but if you are rejected don’t worry. The email you receive from BitBNS staff will tell you what went wrong and they will guide you in correcting it.
You can move on to Step 3 and buy up to ₹10,000 of Bitcoin regardless of whether your account has completed KYC or not.
Step 3 – Depositing Your INR
We are only one step away from buying our first Bitcoin. But to buy Bitcoin we have to first deposit our rupees.
Depositing Rupees on BitBNS is similar to any other bank transaction. To get started we first have to navigate to the deposit page. To find the deposit page first click ‘wallets’ in the top right of your screen and then click ‘deposit INR. Alternatively you can click the button below to be brought straight there.
Once you arrive at the deposit page you will be presented with a page which outlines the three methods for depositing. The first is a bank transfer, the second is Mobikwik, and the third is USDT. USDT will not work for what we are trying to do here so we will exclude it.
That leaves us with Mobikwik, and bank transfer. We will be focusing on bank transfers here as Mobikwik is more expensive but if you feel comfortable using Mobikwik feel free to use it.
To deposit using bank transfer first click bank and you will be brought to the below page.
From here you will want to link your UPI ID. However there are a few important things to keep in mind. Transfers should be done only from the UPI ids linked to your account, DO NOT share your reference number, and DO NOT transfer to any other bank account or UPI ID other than the one shown.
Once you understand the above click ‘link UPI ID’. From here you will want to enter your UPI ID. You can find your UPI ID inside your Tez, PhonePe, Paytm, or BHIM app.
Once you have entered your UPI ID click next, you will then be asked once again to confirm your ID. Ensure your ID is correct and then click ‘Submit UPI ID’.
From the next page to complete the linking you will have to send ₹1 to the details that are provided to you. You will be given a transaction note to include. It is very important you include that otherwise your account wont be credited. Some apps do not support transaction notes so make sure you are using one that does.
Your transaction screen should look like the one below. However, DO NOT copy our details, make sure you enter your own unique information other wise you may not be credited for future deposits.
Once you have sent the ₹1 transaction click ‘ I have sent’. You will be brought to a screen which verifies your transaction. It may take up to a minute. Once it verifies correctly congratulate yourself. You can now deposit your Rupees on to BitBNS.
Step 4 – Buying Your Bitcoin
Once you have your Rupees deposited on the exchange buying Bitcoin is easy. First you will want to navigate to the BTC/INR market this can be found in the markets bar at the top. Or click the button below to be brought straight there.
Once you reach the page you will see the image below. A price chart which shows the current price of Bitcoin in Rupees will be at the top. On the bottom you will see what is called the order book, this is where you can see all the current orders for buying and selling people are placing. While on the right you have an order entry tab. Under the order entry tab you can see your open orders.
For the purpose of this guide we will be focusing on the order entry tab on the right. From here we can buy our Bitcoin.
When looking at the order tab we have two main options. @Price and Amount. The number we put into the amount tab will be the amount of rupees of Bitcoin we will buy. The @Price is the price of Bitcoin we buy at.
To buy our Bitcoin we put in the amount of Rupees of Bitcoin we want to buy and at what price we want to buy them at. You can set the price you want to buy Bitcoin at lower than the current price. However you might not get your order filled as the price may not go that low.
For now we will set the price of the Bitcoin we are buying slightly above the current price. This means we are guaranteed to get our order filled. You can check the price of Bitcoin by looking at the price chart. When we are writing this guide the price of Bitcoin is ₹713000. We want to buy the Bitcoin now so we will set the price slightly above it so we are setting our buy price at ₹713100.
In the example below we buy ₹5000 rupees of Bitcoin at a price of ₹713000
Once your order entries are in correctly you will want to click buy. You will then be asked to confirm your order so confirm it. Your order might not get filled straight away but it is highly likely it will. When your order has been completed you will see it appear at the bottom of the page under ‘Recently Completed Orders’.
Once your order appears in there. Pat yourself on the back you have bought your first Bitcoin! If you want to withdraw your Bitcoin you can do so from the wallets page. Alternatively you can stick around and learn more about what BitBNS as a platform has to offer.
Other Features of BitBNS
Bitdroplet
Although not exactly related to the Bitcoin you just bought Bitdroplet is something definitely worth considering. Created by the same team as BitBNS, Bitdroplet lets you buy a certain specified amount of cryptocurrency each month.
You deposit your INR with Bitdroplet and at a specified time each month your money will be used to buy cryptocurrency. This type of strategy is known as dollar cost averaging and is used by investors all over the world to reduce the impact of market volatility.
Bitdroplet as an inbuilt calculator and goal setter to help you guide you through the process. You can sign up for Bitdroplet using the same password as your BitBNS account.
Variety of Altcoins
An altcoin is a broad term for any cryptocurrency which is not Bitcoin. As the name implies ‘alternative coins’.
BitBNS has a whole host of altcoins on the platform. All the coins being able to be bought in both INR and USDT. BitBNS has some of the big altcoins you may have heard of including Ethereum, XRP, Tron, and BNB. Among a wide variety of others.
Many people trade these altcoins by hoping to buy them and sell them for a higher price. Others take an investors approach by researching which coins they feel are the most promising and buy them over the long run.
It is important to manage your risk. Trading cryptocurrencies can be very risky, do not invest more than you can afford to lose.
