How to Buy Bitcoin: The Complete Guide for DACH

Buying bitcoin in Germany, Austria and Switzerland takes six steps: decide on an amount, choose a regulated provider, open an account with your ID, deposit money by bank transfer, buy once or through a savings plan, and withdraw the bitcoin to your own wallet. Two things matter most: the total cost per purchase and whether you can withdraw.

Key takeaways

• Only buy through providers licensed under MiCA in the EU or affiliated with a supervisory body in Switzerland.
• Compare the total cost (fee plus spread), not just the advertised fee. Depending on the provider it ranges from about 0.2% to more than 2%.
• For long-term holders, a savings plan is usually the simplest route: fixed amount, fixed day, no decisions about the price.
• Choose a provider that can pay out to your own wallet, and use that option.
• Germany plans a new tax on bitcoin bought from 2027 onward. It has not been passed yet (as of Nov 12, 2026).

You want bitcoin, but the choice is overwhelming: apps, exchanges, neobrokers, ETPs, plus ads promising "0% fees". This guide shows you what really matters when you buy, what it costs and how your bitcoin then becomes truly yours. It is written for people who want to hold bitcoin for years, not for traders.

How to buy bitcoin in 6 steps

1. Decide on the amount. Only money you won't need for at least four years. Bitcoin has already fallen by 70 to 80% several times.
2. Choose a provider. Regulated, with low total costs and withdrawal to your own wallet (see below).
3. Open an account. With your ID and video or photo verification. This usually takes 10 to 30 minutes.
4. Deposit money. By SEPA transfer in euros or by bank transfer in francs. Cards and PayPal often cost considerably more.
5. Buy. Once, or as a savings plan with a fixed amount every week or month.
6. Withdraw. As soon as the amount is worth it, to your own wallet. Only then do you hold the keys yourself.

The rest of this article goes through them step by step.

How much should you buy?

The most honest answer: as much as lets you sit through a 70% crash without selling. If you have to sell in a bear market because you need the money, you turn a paper loss into a real one.

A simple test: imagine your bitcoin holdings halve tomorrow and stay down for two years. If that would not force you to sell, the amount fits. An emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in your bank account comes first. What percentage of your wealth that works out to is calculated, with a crash test, in Bitcoin share in your portfolio.

You don't have to buy a whole bitcoin. One bitcoin has 100 million satoshis ("sats"), and almost every provider sells from a few euros or francs.

Worked example: what you get for 100

• €100 at a price of €64’831 buys about 154’200 sats (0.00154 BTC).
• CHF 100 at a price of CHF 59’852 buys about 167’100 sats (0.00167 BTC).

As of Nov 12, 2026, bitcoin price from OKX, before fees.

How many sats your amount buys today is shown by the sats calculator.

Where can you buy bitcoin? The four routes compared

In the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) there are four kinds of providers. They differ mainly in what they cost and whether you can hold your bitcoin yourself.

The ranges are typical values from providers' price lists (as of November 2026). Fees change often. Check the current price list before you buy.

Bitcoin-only apps

These apps sell only bitcoin. Examples from the region are Relai and Pocket (Switzerland) and 21bitcoin and Coinfinity (Austria). Their strengths: a savings plan in a few minutes, no distraction from other coins, and withdrawal to your own wallet is often the default.

Their drawback is a somewhat higher cost per purchase than on an exchange. With a savings plan of small amounts, that hardly matters. The amount from which an exchange pays off is calculated in Bitcoin-only app or crypto exchange.

Crypto exchanges

On an exchange with an order book (Kraken or Bitvavo, for example) you buy directly from other users. For larger amounts this is the cheapest option. In return the interface is more complex, and the exchange advertises many other coins you don't need.

Watch two things: buy with a limit order rather than at the market price, and factor in the fixed withdrawal fee.

Neobrokers and banks

Neobrokers such as Trade Republic, platforms such as Bison and Swiss banks such as Swissquote and PostFinance offer bitcoin alongside stocks. Convenient if you already have an account there.

Here the costs are often hidden in the spread, the difference between the buying and selling price. And some providers don't allow withdrawals to your own wallet. Then you own a claim against the provider, not bitcoin you control yourself.

Bitcoin ETPs

An ETP is a security that tracks the bitcoin price and sits in an ordinary securities account. Physically backed ETPs hold real bitcoin with a custodian for this. You benefit from the price, but you can never use or secure the bitcoin yourself, and you pay a management fee every year. What that costs over 20 years and how ETPs are taxed is shown in Bitcoin ETP or real bitcoin.

From private sellers, without ID

On P2P platforms such as Bisq, or in person for cash, you buy bitcoin directly from other people, with no account and no ID. That is legal, but it usually costs a few percent more and only suits small amounts. How it works and what to watch out for is explained in Buying bitcoin without KYC.

These examples are not recommendations. They are meant to show you what the types look like in practice.

Do you live in Switzerland? Which providers exist there, what a purchase in francs costs and who pays out to your wallet is shown in Buying bitcoin in Switzerland.

What does buying bitcoin really cost?

Ads usually name only one number. But if you end up paying several items, add them up:

• Trading fee: the percentage the provider takes per purchase.
• Spread: the difference between the price you buy at and the market price. "0% fee" almost always means the costs are in the spread.
• Deposit fee: usually zero for a SEPA transfer, often 1.5–3% by card.
• Withdrawal fee: a fixed amount in sats when you withdraw to your wallet.
• Currency exchange: if you pay in francs but trade in euros, you often pay a hidden exchange rate markup.

Here is how to find the real price: compare the price the app shows you when you buy with the market price at the same moment. The difference plus the fee is your total price. Every cost component, with examples in euros and francs, is explained in Bitcoin fees when buying.

Worked example: a 10-year savings plan with €100 a month

• Paid in: 120 months × €100 = €12’000
• At 1.5% total cost: €180 in costs
• At 0.3% total cost: €36 in costs

In francs, with CHF 100 a month, it is CHF 180 versus CHF 36. The difference is smaller than the ads suggest. What matters more is that you stick with the plan for ten years.

The right provider: the checklist

Before you open an account, check these points. If one is missing, keep looking.

1. License. In the EU, every provider has needed a MiCA license since July 2026. You can find it in the ESMA register. What MiCA means for you as a customer is explained in MiCA and bitcoin. In Switzerland, the provider is affiliated with a self-regulatory organization or holds a FINMA license.
2. Total cost. Fee plus spread, calculated as above.
3. Withdrawal. Can you withdraw to your own wallet, and what does it cost?
4. Savings plan. Is there a savings plan, from what amount, and how often?
5. Bitcoin-only or not. A provider that keeps offering you other coins earns from your trading. If you want to hold bitcoin for the long term, you are better served with fewer distractions.
6. No interest promises. Anyone paying you interest on your bitcoin is lending it out. That was the cause of many bankruptcies in 2022.

Lump sum or savings plan?

If you have a larger amount, the question is: all at once, or spread over months?

Purely mathematically, a lump sum in bitcoin has often come out ahead in the past, because the price rose over the long term. A savings plan, on the other hand, smooths your entry price and takes the decision about the "right moment" off your hands. Many long-term holders combine the two: part right away, the rest over six to twelve months.

How both turned out for every starting month since 2011, and what role the valuation zone played, is shown in Savings plan or lump sum: what worked better for bitcoin historically. For today, the Lump sum or savings plan calculator works it out for you. You can try your own savings plan right here:

Buying bitcoin and the Power Law: where is the price right now?

No model tells you the perfect time to buy. But this site's Power Law model shows how expensive bitcoin is today compared with its long-term trend.

On Nov 12, 2026, bitcoin stood at €64’831 (CHF 59’852). That is about 34% below the trend and just under 7% above the floor, the line the price has hardly ever fallen below in its history. That puts it in the "Accumulation" zone (from the floor up to 0.79 × trend).

For your purchase this means: the zones tell you whether you are buying relatively cheaply or relatively expensively right now. They are no guarantee that the price won't fall further. How to buy more with fixed rules when the price is low is shown in Buying bitcoin in a bear market. How we calculate the trend, floor and zones is in the methodology, and the full chart is on the Power Law page.

After you buy: bitcoin into your own wallet

As long as your bitcoin sits with the provider, all you have is a promise to receive it. If the provider goes bankrupt or freezes your account, you can't get to it. What that means in practice is shown by the exchange collapses from Mt. Gox to FTX. That is why withdrawing is part of buying.

Here is how to go about it:

1. Set up a wallet. To start, a bitcoin wallet app on your phone is enough; from a few thousand euros or francs, a hardware wallet makes sense. How to do it is shown in your first wallet, step by step.
2. Back up the seed. Write the 12 or 24 words on paper or metal. Never photograph them, never put them in a cloud.
3. Check the address. Copy the receiving address from your wallet and compare the beginning and end in the provider's app.
4. Test withdrawal. First a small amount. Once it arrives, send the rest.
5. Provide proof. In the EU, from €1’000 per withdrawal the provider must check that the wallet belongs to you, for example through a signature or a small transfer from your address. Swiss providers require similar proof.

Because every withdrawal costs a fixed fee, it pays to collect your savings plan purchases and withdraw, say, once a quarter. Some bitcoin-only apps automatically pay out every purchase to your address.

How to keep your bitcoin safe for the long term afterwards, from a wallet app to a hardware wallet, is explained in the custody guide. How to set up your wallet and seed step by step is taught in the Academy, stage 2: understand and secure. More in-depth articles are in the Security and custody category.

Buying bitcoin and taxes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The purchase itself is tax-free in all three countries. What counts is what happens when you sell. Here is the state as of Nov 12, 2026, in brief:

The details are in Bitcoin taxes in Germany and Bitcoin taxes in Austria.

Record every purchase with its date, amount and price. Most providers supply an annual statement for this. Since 2026, providers in the EU have also been recording your transactions for the tax authorities (DAC8); the first report follows in 2027.

In Switzerland, very frequent trading with borrowed money can count as professional trading. Gains are then taxable. For someone who buys and holds, this is rarely an issue. All the Swiss rules, with worked examples in francs, are explained in Bitcoin taxes in Switzerland.

How the holding period, the exemption limit and the tax return work in detail in Germany is explained in the guide Bitcoin taxes in Germany. This overview does not replace tax advice. More on taxes and law is in the Law, taxes and practice category.

The most common mistakes when buying bitcoin

• Buying through ads or social media. Reputable providers don't call you. Offers with a "guaranteed return" are fraud. The typical scams are shown in How to spot bitcoin scams.
• Buying with a credit card. High fees, and with borrowed money every price drop becomes dangerous.
• Adding altcoins "for safety". More coins does not mean less risk. Most have lost against bitcoin over the long term, as Bitcoin vs. altcoins shows with the top 10 of 2017.
• Leaving everything on the exchange. See above: not your keys, not your bitcoin.
• Waiting for the perfect moment. If you only want to buy at a lower price, you often don't buy at all.
• Selling in the first crash. Plan in advance what you will do at −50%, and write it down.

That is what My Goal is for: you set how many sats you want by when and what you will never do. That way you have your plan at hand when the price falls.

All articles on buying and saving are in the Buying and saving category.