Where to Buy Bitcoins in Kenya

Join me in this post to find out Where to buy bitcoins in Kenya.

Trading with Bitcoins in Kenya started in late 2015. A Bitcoin is virtual money that is used to purchase products and pay for services online.

Bitcoins can be converted into hard cash at any time to be used offline. The conversion of bitcoins to local currency fetch a good return as compared to a forex exchange.

It is a cryptocurrency meaning that it is encrypted in such a way that prevents it from being copied. Every Bitcoin transaction is recorded using a blockchain which acts like a ledger encoded onto the Bitcoin itself.

This prevents people from spending the same Bitcoin more than once since everyone else on the currency peer to peer network knows that the Bitcoin was spent.

A bitcoin is essentially a number associated with an internet address, and you can store it on your phone or hard drive until you use it again.

Where to Buy Bitcoins in Kenya

You can buy bitcoins in Kenya through the following methods:

Mining Bitcoins
Buying Bitcoins
Working to earn Bitcoins

Bitcoin Mining

This used to be one of the profitable ways to acquire Bitcoin. However, at the current time, it is no longer cost-effective for the average individual. One will need to buy specialized Bitcoin mining equipment, get/rent dedicated spaces for them, and pay their associated costs, i.e. electricity, rental, and cooling costs.

Buy Bitcoins

You can buy bitcoins from many online Bitcoin exchange platforms. There are a lot more options now than ever before – there are global Bitcoin exchanges and also country-specific Bitcoin exchanges. You can also buy them from other people via Localbitcoins.

Work for Bitcoins

Some people get paid in Bitcoins, instead of cash. Websites such as XBTFreelancer and Coinality list jobs with Bitcoin payments.

There are other, less effective ways to acquire bitcoins. You can get tiny amounts of bitcoins from bitcoin faucets, which pay you to look at advertisements. You can get them as donations.

There are also Bitcoin “investments” which are highly volatile but if you wish not to lose money, avoid companies that are listed in Badbitcoin Bad list.

Where can I use Bitcoins in Kenya

Bitcoin can be used for spending in a similar way to money. Some people also keep them for investment purposes because of their high returns, while others prefer to use them as a method to make an international money transfer.

Any person or government does not control Bitcoin, and it exists electronically and is kept in “Bitcoin wallets”. There are many types of Bitcoin wallets i.e

Mobile wallet
Online/web-based wallet
Desktop wallet
Hardware wallet and
Even paper wallet.

Kenyan Netizens use Bitcoins as an investment opportunity. Just like shares, Bitcoins are bought, stored and sold when their price hit the roof. Bitcoin prices are highly volatile meaning that they fluctuate from time to time without notice.

NOTE: Unlike Paypal, Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed. So, only deal with people you trust.

How to send/receive/spend Bitcoins in Kenya

Bitcoin wallets come with bitcoin addresses, which represent a destination, similar to an email address. Bitcoin addresses are alphanumeric, between 27-34 characters in length.

Many Bitcoin service providers have a user-friendly user interface which allows users to generate bitcoin addresses, send and receive bitcoins.

To send bitcoins, users simply have to ensure a positive balance in their Bitcoin wallets, insert the receiver’s bitcoin address, and hit send. There is a small miner’s fee to process the transaction – miner’s expenses are given as a reward and incentive to Bitcoin miners for maintaining equipment.

Bitcoin transactions usually take less than an hour to arrive, but it can take longer or shorter depending on the fee, amount and the Bitcoin service provider. You can spend bitcoins anywhere that accept bitcoins as payment.

How to Buy Bitcoins in Kenya through Mpesa

There are various application and websites that you can use to buy and sell bitcoins in Kenya. In this case, I am going to use LocalBitcoins. With LocalBitcoins you can buy Bitcoins through Mpesa or Bank account.

Steps

Visit Local Bitcoin website to Create an account for free
Check your email to confirm your registration details and validate the registration
Choose any type of Bitcoin trader who meets your requirements by checking on their reputation. (Those with a feedback score of 100% are considered genuine)
Some limit the selling of Bitcoins to Ksh 1,000 others to Ksh 20,000.
Click on the “Buy Bitcoins online” button under his/her name to make a purchase.
You will be redirected to a page which shows the terms and conditions of the trade.
Carefully read his/her terms and conditions.
Accept the terms and enter the amount you wish to Buy in Kenyan Shillings and you will be able to see how many bitcoins you will get for the same.
Make Mpesa Payment
Confirm payment, and you will receive the Bitcoins from the seller.

Bingo! 🙂

NOTE: Always take note of the seller’s trading reputation and be fully conscious of phishing attempts! You can learn more about Bitcoins by visiting this Page

Where to Buy Bitcoins in Kenya