All links are external & open in a new tab, except for "Read Review" buttons. Before jumping into this page, an important disclosure.
You'll need a Bitcoin wallet before you buy since some exchanges require one.
Don't have a wallet? Read our guide on the best Bitcoin wallets.
Coinmama Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Coinmama allows customers in almost every country to buy bitcoin with a credit or debit card. They charge an ~6% fee on each purchase.
If buying less than $150 worth of bitcoins, you won't need to verify your identity. This convenience makes small purchases quick and easy.
Want to buy using Coinmama? This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Coinmama.
- Works in almost all countries
- Highest limits for buying bitcoins with a credit card
- Reliable and trusted broker
- Some of the highest fees among credit/debit card bitcoin brokers
CEX.io Buy Bitcoin Read Review
CEX.io lets you buy bitcoin with a credit card, ACH bank transfer, SEPA transfer, cash, or AstroPay. Purchases made with a credit card give you access to your bitcoin immediately. CEX.io works in the United States, Europe, and certain countries in South America.
- Support for many countries and regions
- Low 0.2% trading fee
- Established and trusted exchange
- Verification process is extensive, requiring much personal information (including a photo) and incurring a long delay
- GBP market lacks liquidity
LocalBitcoins Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
LocalBitcoins is an escrow service which also helps to match bitcoin buyers and sellers. The most common method of payment for purchase is cash deposit. However, users may advertise trades for whichever payment method they prefer.
Buying bitcoins via an in-person meeting, secured and facilitated by LocalBitcoins, may be one of the fastest and most private ways to buy bitcoins in any country.
- Can be private, fast and easy
- In-person trades require no personal information
- Purchases of bitcoin can be made quickly via cash deposit
- Beware of scams; always follow the rules!
- Harder to buy large amounts of bitcoins compared to large exchanges
- Slightly to significantly higher prices than regular exchanges; premium for higher privacy
Bitex Popular Buy Bitcoin
Bitex.la is a Bitcoin exchange and broker which services many South American countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. You can fund your exchange account with cash or AstroPay.
- Many payment methods available
- Low fees for South American countries
- Bitex brokers the sale of large amounts of bitcoin
- Not private since identity verification is required
Bitso Buy Bitcoin
Bitso is a Bitcoin exchange based in Mexico. You can fund your account with SPEI Transfer or via cash deposit using Oxxo or any 7-Eleven in Mexico. They offer additional withdrawal methods.
- Trusted exchange; backed by investors in the United States
- Multi-sig security measures SPEI payment method is fast and without fees
- Not private since identity verification is required
- Offers a web wallet but this is not ideal for bitcoin storage
Volabit Popular Buy Bitcoin
Volabit is a Bitcoin exchange based in Mexico. You can fund your account via online bank transfer or by cash deposit at any 7-Eleven, Farmacias Benavides, Farmacias del Ahorro, or Extra.
- Volabit fees are low at 0.8%, although the deposit methods all come with various fees
- Popular option with over 35,000 Mexican users
- Not private since identity verification is required
- Offers a web wallet but this is not ideal for bitcoin storage
Bitcoin ATMs Buy Bitcoin
You can use our Bitcoin ATM map to buy bitcoins with cash. Bitcoin ATMs can be a quick and easy way to buy bitcoins and they're also private. That convenience and privacy, however, comes with a price; most ATMs have fees of 5-10%.
- Our map makes it super easy to find a Bitcoin ATM near you
- Bitcoin ATMs often have 5-10% fees per purchase
VirWoX Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Technically, VirWoX isn't even a Bitcoin exchange. It mainly serves as a way for people to buy Second Life Lindens, a currency used in the virtual world Second Life. You can't buy Bitcoin with PayPal directly at VirWoX, but it's possible to first buy Second Life Lindens (SLL) and then trade your SLL for Bitcoin. This process works perfectly, but in the end will cost you about 10% in fees.
This workaround/hack has made VirWoX the easiest and most popular way to buy bitcoins with PayPal.
- The easiest and basically only way to purchase bitcoins with PayPal or Skrill
- Comes with a price: it will cost around 10% in fees to buy with PayPal
Bitit Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Bitit lets you purchase bitcoin online with a 3DS-enabled credit/debit cards or with cash via Neosurf, Flexepin (coming soon) and Cashlib vouchers, available in over 150,000 local stores across Europe.
- Unique way of purchasing offers extra privacy over other methods
- 8% Neosurf fee is slightly better than Coinhouse's 10%
- Available in 50 countries
- €10,000 initial weekly Neosurf cash payment limit
- Bitcoin gift cards also available; more expensive than other options
- In-person buying methods offer more privacy but can be confusing
- Identity verification required for buying amounts over €25
- €500 initial weekly credit/debit card limit
Mycelium Local Trader Buy Bitcoin
Mycelium Local Trader helps you find local Bitcoin sellers. Once you locate a seller, you meet up in-person and conduct the trade. Mycelium charges absolutely no fees. While Mycelium Local Trader works great in highly-populated areas, users in low population areas will have trouble finding sellers.
- Easy and cheap way to buy bitcoins with cash
- Private way to buy bitcoins, no personal information required beyond cellphone number
- Users in sparsely populated areas will have trouble finding sellers
Changelly Buy Bitcoin
Changelly lets you buy bitcoin with Litecoin, Dogecoin, altcoins and many other digital tokens. Changelly works in nearly every country but you will need another cryptocurrency in order to purchase bitcoins. Exchanges happen almost instantly because Changelly never actually controls your tokens but just exchanges them.
- Easiest and fastest way to buy bitcoins with altcoins
- Fees are reasonable for larger traders
- Need altcoins or other digital tokens to use
bitcoin-otc Buy Bitcoin
Bitcoin-OTC is an over-the-counter marketplace for the peer to peer exchanging of bitcoin. It is almost like a Craigslist for Bitcoin. Users must create ads or locate other ads to find sellers of bitcoin. Bitcoin-OTC is somewhat complicated and hard to use, but may be the only option for users in some countries without an exchange.
- Can be a good way to find Bitcoin sellers if no other options exist
- Need to keep eye out for scams
- Need to build trust and feedback for your account before trading larger amounts
History of Bitcoin in Mexico
Mexico burst onto the Bitcoin scene in the summer of 2014 with the opening of ‘Fundación Satoshi Nakamoto,’ an official affiliate of the Bitcoin Foundation. Mexico’s heavy reliance on remittance money sent home from abroad, notably from the US is no secret and makes Mexico a great candidate for mass Bitcoin adoption.
Status of Bitcoin in Mexico
Localbitcoin volume in Mexico has seen an upswing in volume since the middle of the 2016, adoption rates have steadily increased since. The peso has steadily declined in the past three years and in 2017 sits at 20-1 to the dollar. Mexico is a nation of 120 million, where 80 million lack access to basic financial services; that is, no banking and no credit.
Mexico does, however, have 100 million cell lines. 80 percent of the phones sold in 2015 were smartphones - Mexico is a highly connected country. According to coinatmradar.com Mexico currently has 10 active ATM’s through the country.
Companies using Bitcoin
Bitso, Mexico’s biggest exchange, offers Bitcoin payroll services to Mexican workers. Thanks to a partnership with payroll service Bitwage, the cryptocurrency exchange now allows workers to be paid in Bitcoin and receive pesos.
Mexican-based company Paynet integrated a program called Chip Chap now lets you buy Bitcoin from several major store chains. Not only does this new payment method by Paynet allow retailers to increase their overall revenue, but it also lets customers set up a flexible payment structure.
It can be used at major retailers such as 7-Eleven, Cefemex, Tiny Market and El Asturiano. Customers can generate a barcode with the Chip Chap mobile application, which will then guide you to the nearest participating retailer where you can redeem your Bitcoins.
Not only does this process make Bitcoin more attractive – and potentially popular – in Mexico, but it could also bring additional business and revenue to the participating retailers. With 5,000 locations participating from the start, Chip Chap is off to the races to stake their claim in the South American Bitcoin space.
The two biggest exchanges in Mexico areVolabit, and Bitso, additional exchange information can be found here.
Merchants Acceptable Bitcoin
In October of 2014, Mercado Libre Mexico, Mexican eBay subsidiary and Mexico’s largest e-commerce platform with over 100 million users and 7 million unique sellers, began accepting bitcoin payments due to increasing demand from its customers and merchants.
With the integration of bitcoin, merchants can now accept payments from its buyers like any other payment method at ease.
Unlike other e-commerce platforms, merchants of Mercado Libre will receive bitcoin payments through their MercadoPago account in the same manner as other methods including PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, etc.
Legality of Bitcoin
In March 2014, Mexico’s Central Bank (commonly abbreviated as Banxico) issued a statement explaining the risks of using Bitcoin and similar virtual assets. (Press Release, Banxico, Advertencias sobre el uso de activos virtuales como sucedáneos de los medios de pago en moneda de curso legal
However, in September of 2017 Mexico has proposed legislation to regulate its fast-growing financial technology sector, including firms that use crypto-currencies like bitcoin, to protect consumers and spur competition, under a proposed bill seen by Reuters. The proposed legislation, which Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said this month would be unveiled in the Senate before Sept. 20, seeks to ensure financial stability and defend against money laundering and financing of extremists.
The new measures will allow Mexico to join a small list of countries, including the United States and Britain, that have sought to regulate fintech firms.
