We may receive advertising compensation when you click certain products. 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 & cryptocurrency wallets.
This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
Coinbase Pro Coinbase's exchange, Coinbase Pro, is one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the United States. Users can fund their accounts via bank transfer, SEPA, or bank wire. Coinbase Pro offers good prices and low fees, but their confusing user interface may initially prove difficult to navigate.
Bitpanda Pro Buy Now Bitpanda Pro is Bitpanda's traditional exchange product, where users trade with each other instead of buying directly from Bitpanda. This means lower fees and more advanced trading options than Bitpanda's main brokerage service.
Bity Buy Now Bity is a Bitcoin exchange and ATM operator, based in Switzerland. Their 5 ATMs allow for a quick first purchase and only require phone verification for an initial buy limit of 1,000 EUR or CHF. Their online service accepts wire transfers, SOFORT and online bank transfers.
Bitstamp Buy Now BitStamp is one of the world's largest and most well-known Bitcoin exchanges. Deposits can be made through bank transfer, SEPA transfer, international bank wire, and now even credit cards.
Bitcoin ATMs Buy Now 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%.
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Buying Bitcoin in Switzerland is pretty easy thanks to the government's crypto friendly attitude (more on that below).
But before you sign up with an exchange, make sure you have a secure hardware wallet like a Ledger Nano S or a Trezor.
Although Bitcoin's blockchain is immutable and free from hackers, the centralized exchanges from which you buy Bitcoin - like Coinbase and Coinmama - are centralized, and vulnerable to attack.
While you can probably get away with storing small amounts of Bitcoin on an exchange, it's not a good idea, especially with larger amounts.
Protecting your Bitcoin should be a top priority, which begins with a secure form of cold storage that hackers can't access.
Take a look at our favorite hardware wallets below:
COMPARISON
After you get a wallet, choose an exchange, verify your identity, connect your payment method, and trade away!
If you want to buy from an exchange based in Switzerland, we recommend Bity. They're a Bitcoin ATM company based in Switzerland, with 5 ATMs that provide quick withdrawals and high limits.
Switzerland's banking industry is known to safeguard wealth, which is why Bitcoin is a natural fit for the country.
Founded recently with a universal banking license, SEBA Bank AG has a plethora of services, from fiat currency storage to crypto custody (they manage your cryptocurrency).
The Swiss startup can hold a bunch of different fiat currencies, such as American dollars, Singaporean dollars, and Hong Kong dollars.
One of the coolest things about the bank is their crypto connected debit card that automatically transfers crypto on the backend to traditional currency. The card can be used in regular commercial settings, withdrawing from a cryptocurrency balance.
SEBA Bank AG is yet another testament to Switzerland's historical safeguarding of wealth, this time in the crypto sphere.
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Switzerland has access to many large Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Have a look at our favorites below:
This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
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There are three main types of Bitcoin wallet and all of them are supported in Switzerland:
The Ledger Nano X is the newest crypto hardware wallet, and is very easy to use. It connects to iOS, Android & desktop computers.
ZenGo is an easy-to-use iOS and Android Bitcoin & crypto wallet. Start within 20 seconds.
Electrum is a Bitcoin-only wallet that has been around since 2011. It's easy to use, but has advanced features.
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In July of 2018, the "decentralized" exchange Bancor, based out of Israel and Switzerland, announced that hackers had stolen ~$23.5M in crypto assets.
These included:
This hack occurred when "a wallet used to upgrade some smart contracts was compromised", according to Bancor's spokesperson.
Bancor raised over $150M during its Initial Coin Offering the previous year.
The lesson to learn from the Bancor hack is that just because someone claims their exchange is decentralized does not mean that the wallets can't be hacked or that the software does not have critical bugs that leave customers vulnerable.
Charlie Lee, Litecoin founder, put it best:
A Bancor wallet got hacked and that wallet has the ability to steal coins out of their own smart contracts. 🤦♂️
— Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) >July 10, 2018
An exchange is not decentralized if it can lose customer funds OR if it can freeze customer funds. Bancor can do BOTH. It's a false sense of decentralization. https://t.co/22UYygIhEF
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has blocked $2M worth of funds sent to Quid Pro Quo Association for issuing E-Coins. Quid Pro Quo claimed that E-Coin was a cryptocurrency, yet it was discovered that there was no Blockchain, and the coins simply existed on a database held on Quid Pro Quo's servers.
According to the statement from Finma,
These three legal entities accepted funds amounting to at least four million Swiss francs from several hundred users.
Finma SpokespersonThe scheme also promised to back the coins with physical assets, which it had failed to do. There were also apparently two other scam currencies, but these currencies were not named in the warning from Finma.
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The cost of purchasing expensive hardware aside, mining takes time and energy (literally) which gets expensive.
Especially considering the price of electricity in Switzerland, buying Bitcoin from one of the exchanges listed above is your best bet.
Swiss citizens pay roughly 0.20 Franks per kWh, nearly double the cost of electricity in the United States, where mining is also not profitable.
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Citizens of Switzerland can convert, buy, and sell cryptocurrencies with fiat. Supported payment methods are:
Switzerland is among the countries with the most Bitcoin ATMs per capita. At 103 ATMs across the country, you are never too far from a Bitcoin ATM, so if you want to stack some sats for cash, Switzerland is a great place to do it.
The current price of Bitcoin in Switzerland is CHF 9,756, however this amount changes every minute, so always check the value on your local exchange.
Switzerland currently consumes about 63 TWh of electricity every year while emitting around 35 Mt of CO2 each year.
According to the International Energy Agency, a non-profit that works with governments and corporations to secure sustainable energy policies internationally claims that Switzerland consumes about 63 TWh of electricity each year. It also emits about 35. Mt of CO2 each year.
By contrast, according to Digiconomist, Bitcoin consumes about 70 TWh of electricity and emits ~33 Mt of CO2 each year.
That means that Bitcoin actually consumes more electricity that Switzerland consumes while emitting less CO2.
There are currently no Bitcoin ETFs in Switzerland.
Crypto Valley is a city in Switzerland that was founded on the idea that companies, large and small, could move their headquarters to a place that is friendly to crypto startups. The city raised hundreds of millions of dollars to get the ball rolling, and indeed many startups did move there. However, in April of 2020, Swiss Blockchain Federation found that 80% of the 203 firms surveyed said bankruptcy was imminent and that only half of the 50 biggest companies in Crypto Valley would last another year.
In response to this, Crypto Valley management is turning to the Federal Government and asking for a 100 million Swiss Franc bailout to keep the project going. So much for decentralization!
Yes, you can currently buy homes and other property types with Bitcoin via Bithome.ch.
Bitcoin is accepted at lots of stores and service providers all over Switzerland. So many, in fact, that we couldn't possibly list them all here. However, you can find specific kinds of services and goods filterable on a map over at coinmap.org.
Zurich-based SEBA Bank AG offers a suite of services for crypto enthusiasts, such as crypto custody and crypto-connected debit cards.
Falcon Group also offers these services as well as Bitcoin savings and brokerage services.
Any exchange with a Swiss Franc trading pair will allow you to sell your Bitcoin for fiat currency. Bitit has CHF trading pairs for many popular coins.
Another way to sell Bitcoins in Switzerland is through automated teller machines (ATMs). These ATMs allow users to instantly purchase and sell cryptocurrency using cash, however most of them require at least a phone number, so they aren't totally private.
LocalBitcoins is another option. Here, you can buy and sell Bitcoin for a wide range of payment methods, from gift cards to bank transfers. LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange, where you buy and sell with another individual. This does introduce a degree of risk, though by ensuring that you conduct all business on the platform, make use of its escrow services, and only trade with users who have a good reputation, you'll minimize any potential problems.
You could also use a service like eGifter to sell your Bitcoin for gift cards.
Jordan Tuwiner is the founder of BuyBitcoinWorldwide.com. His work has been featured in The Guardian, International Business Times, Forbes, VentureBeat, CoinDesk and many other top Bitcoin media outlets. His articles are read by millions of people each year looking for the best way to buy Bitcoin and crypto in their country.
He has also written extensively about the history, technology, and business of the crypto world. Jordan is also the creator of some of the internet's most famous Bitcoin pages, including The Quotable Satoshi and Bitcoin Obituaries.
To learn more about Jordan, see his full bio.
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