Where to Buy Crypto in the UK

eToro is a versatile crypto exchange that also allows traders to buy stocks and CFDs. What’s more, eToro users can select a popular trader and mimic their trades automatically. Service is limited to the eToro cryptoasset exchange, however — users cannot spend their funds on real goods and services, and need to withdraw to a traditional bank before actually using their money.

eToro users must deposit a minimum of $500 USD by bank transfer or card to begin eToro trading whether to purchase coins or stocks (this is a fixed USD rate subject to inflation/deflation against the pound). eToro is a reputable exchange, but its focus on digital currency is more limited than some of the crypto-only exchanges.

Bitpanda is a low-fee exchange that supports fiat. Users can pay 1.49% for Bitcoin transactions on Bitpanda, or less when using the platform’s native crypto token BEST — this is lower than most popular exchanges. Bitpanda supports the EUR, USD, GBP, CHF and TRY fiat currencies and dozens of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Crypto investors are limited to withdrawals of £1,300 per day until they’ve passed verification, at which point they can withdraw significantly higher sums of money. This cryptoasset exchange is suited to amateur investors or casual investors as well as more advanced traders, with a fairly intuitive interface designed for today’s crypto market.

Coinbase is a world-leading crypto exchange that caters to both retail investors and institutional traders. It offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. Users can buy crypto with a credit card or bank transfer. However, there are no added features such as crypto debit cards or bank accounts (IBANs).

A wide user base helps ensure sufficient trading volume, the exchange is widely used by casual traders due to its straightforward trading interface.

Coinmama allows users to buy 8 different cryptos, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, through a number of payment options such as credit or debit card, bank transfer, PayPal, and Apple Pay. Fees are based on a loyalty system, starting at 3.9% to buy and 4%. There are no banking services allowing users to spend their crypto, nor are there many educational materials for investors to read.

Kraken is one of the most popular exchanges and offers traders and investors a wide range of cryptocurrencies and fiat currency pairs. Trading is cheapest when using stablecoins, with fees from 0.9%, whereas other crypto trades cost 1.75% per transaction and card transactions cost 3.75%. Kraken doesn’t give users their own IBAN or debit card, acting as an investment exchange only.

CEX is a straightforward exchange licensed by the FinCEN financial regulator. Users can top up their accounts with a credit card purchase, debit card, or services like Skrill. It offers a wide range of exchange tokens including Bitcoin and displays the GBP exchange rate for select fiat/crypto pairs.

Trades below 5 BTC come with a maker fee of 0.16%, meaning users are entering a limit order and waiting for it to get filled. This comes with more market risk as there may be price movements while the order is being filled. Taker fees are higher because this involves a market order which is filled immediately, with a higher price and a lower market risk. Card deposits cost 2.99%, while withdrawal fees are 0.3% and £25 for bank transfers or 3% and £2.50 for card transfers.