The entire crypto world was shaken on Wednesday as it lost close to $1trillion in market cap and biggest of trading platforms, including Binance and Coinbase crashed, leaving investors fuming. Most cryptocurrencies have recovered in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin were all in green (at the time of writing), while others also showed a positive sentiment. The recent fall came after China’s decision to ban financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services.

Buying Bitcoin, Dogecoin or any other crypto in the country was a big task few years back. That has changed with the emergence of multiple homegrown crypto exchange platforms that allow investors to buy or sell cryptocurrencies within minutes. Some of them continue to face issues with banks but, the process is simpler than before.

Mean-while, Musk recently shared a faux ‘Doge’ Magazine cover, and the prices of the meme currency witnessed a surge. He had earlier tweeted that, “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto”, that sent the cryptocurrency’s value higher by 75 per cent.

How Can I Buy Bitcoins in India?

In India, you can buy Bitcoin from several online exchanges like BuyUCoin, Coinshare, Unocoin etc. Unocoin is an Indian-based exchange. Online exchanges like these will allow you to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoins. You can also do person to person Bitcoin trading using LocalBitcoins — it uses escrow protection to keep the transaction secure.

It is generally better to use an exchange that allows its users to also withdraw their Bitcoins to their own personal wallet for safe keeping — there are exchanges that do not allow for this.
And it goes without saying, but let’s say it anyway — when creating an account on online exchanges, it is important to use safe Internet practices like using two-factor authentication and unique and strong password.

Most Indian exchanges also have a KYC (Know Your Customer) requirement. This process involves verifying your identity using your government-issued ID cards like an address proof, PAN card, and your bank account details.

Once you place an order, you can purchase Bitcoin using digital payment methods. Money from your bank accounts can be transferred using NEFT, RTGS, debit or credit card. One Bitcoin is valued at $35,563 (roughly Rs. 26 lakhs) as of today, but you don’t need to buy a whole coin to start your Bitcoin investment. You can start your Bitcoin investment by chipping in as low as Rs. 500.

Here’s how you can buy Dogecoin:

* Potential buyers of Dogecoin in India are required to set up their account on crypto exchanges that support Dogecoin.

* Cryptocurrency exchange platforms provide the most convenient ways to buy Dogecoin.

* Users should have a few applications that they can use for buying Dogecoins like WazirX, BuyUcoin, and CoinSwitch.

* In India, you can buy Dogecoin through credit or debit card, or other e-wallets

* To mine Dogecoin, one should have Windows, Mac, or Linux on their PC.

* For those who want to buy Dogecoin in small quantities, faucets — websites that dole out free cryptocurrency to visitors — can be a good option.

* On these websites, one can earn Dogecoins every 3 hours (or so) just by clicking a button and completing a captcha code.

* If you are an advanced user and have a powerful computer setup, you can process other Dogecoin transactions and get these coins as payments.