How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Washington in 2024 – The Ultimate Beginners Guide

What are the best places to buy cryptocurrency in Washington? Well, The Evergreen State has been edging closer to crypto-friendliness. In fact, it has already welcomed all the popular crypto trading platforms.

Most of these are either federally regulated or have applied for and received a money transmitter license in the state. To help you identify the exchange that works best for you, our analysts have reviewed tens of top altcoin exchanges operating in the state.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to get started. You’ll learn how to buy cryptocurrency in Washington, where to buy crypto assets, and how to choose a cryptocurrency to buy and some of the risks you should consider.

How to Buy Cryptos in Washington – An Easy 4-Step Guide

Here is a quick overview of the crypto buying processes in in Washington via eToro. The SEC-regulated crypto brokerage lists all the best cryptos to buy in the US and is deeply liquid. You can buy all the popular cryptos on this exchange and you only need $10 to start investing.

• Step 1: Open a crypto trading account: Open the eToro.US website and hit the “Join Now” button. Complete the registration form that pops up here and verify your identity.
• Step 2: Deposit funds: You need to deposit a minimum of $10 to start trading cryptos on eToro. The supported payment methods include PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, ACHJ transfers, and bank wire.
• Step 3: Identify the cryptos to buy: eToro exposes you to more than 50 of the best cryptos to buy in the US. Identify the crypto you intend to buy from this list.
• Step 4: Buy cryptocurrency: After identifying the crypto to buy, a trading tab will pop up and you can use it to customize this crypto investment.

Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

Later on in this guide, we will provide you with a more detailed crypto-buying process on crypto exchanges. First, though, you need to find the best crypto exchange in Washington for you. We also need to discuss the state of crypto regulation in the state as well as its approach to taxing virtual assets. We even share valuable tips and tricks for crypto investors.

Most Popular Cryptos to Buy in Washington

The lack of clear regional crypto data makes it possible to tell with utmost accuracy what the most popular cryptos are in Washington State. However, if the national records, trading volumes, sentiments, and crypto ownership trends are anything to go by, Bitcoin is massively popular here. It is closely followed by Ethereum – the second most valuable digital asset in the world.

Other cryptos whose popularity in the Evergreen state include:

• Ripple (XRP)
• Tether USD (USDT)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Shiba Inu (SHIB)
• USD Coin (USDC)
• Solana (SOL)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Binance Coin (BNB)
• Toncoin (TON)

Where to Buy Cryptocurrency in Washington

When looking for a crypto exchange that works for you, you need to consider a number of factors. For starters, confirm that it lists cryptos that align with your risk-tolerance levels and investment goals. Secondly, confirm the cost of trading on the platform and its customer support. You will also want to ensure that the exchange supports your investing strategy.

After vetting all the top exchanges, we settled on the following as the best crypt trading platforms in Washington. These appeal to all classes of investors and integrate numerous other important features.

1. eToro – Overall Best Crypto Exchange in Washington

A number of factors helped eToro top our list of the best crypto exchanges to buy cryptocurrency in Washington and the American West. For starters, it is a multi-asset online brokerage. In addition to exposing you to the most promising cryptos, it also lists multiple traditional assets. These include equities, ETFs, and bonds. These come in handy for anyone looking to minimize risk by diversifying their portfolio.

eToro is also a great pick for the best places to buy cryptos because of its solid reputation for safety and reliability. Founded in 2007, the platform has maintained one of the highest site uptime in the online brokerage space. It also provides you with a free and ultra-secure web wallet that holds 90%+ of your private keys offline. And if you want greater control over your assets, you can get the free eToro Money wallet app.

eToro is also a great place to buy cryptos because it appeals to both beginner and expert traders. To beginners, it provides extensive educational materials. These include guides on how to buy cryptos as well as a demo account. To the expert traders, it avails an intuitive trading platform as well as 75+ advanced trading and charting tools.

You will also want to buy cryptos on eToro because it supports all the popular payment methods. Further, you can start buying Ethereum and other crypto on eToro for as little as $10. It is also transparent with all its trading fees and non-trading charges, like the 0.5% crypto transfer fee. Note, however, that you cannot deposit cryptos directly into eToro.

Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

2. Crypto.com – Popular Crypto Exchange with a Large Crypto Library

Crypto.com’s trading platform was launched in 2016 and is headquartered in Singapore. We nevertheless feature it here because it is one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges in the US. Additionally, it has a larger crypto library than any of the exchanges listed here. Today, you can buy 250+ cryptos on Crypto.com and interact with thousands of the best DeFi coins in the Crypto.com DeFi wallet.

Note that you only need $1 to start buying any of the cryptos hosted on this trading platform. Further, the exchange supports all the popular crypto payment options, from cards to bank wire. You can even buy cryptos instantly with PayPal on Crypto.com. The exchange has also been hailed for maintaining some of the fastest transaction processing speeds. These and its competitive trading fees help it appeal to active traders.

When buying Bitcoin and all the best future cryptos on Crypto.com, you will only part with a volume-based maker/taker fee. This ranges between 0.075% and zero fees. Importantly, you stand to enjoy a few discounts of between 3% and 30%, depending on how many CRO tokens you have staked. The tokens are the native coins of the Cronos blockchain network, which is affiliated with Crypto.com.

Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

3. Coinbase – The Best Crypto Exchange for Beginners in Washington

Started in 2012, Coinbase is one of the oldest and most reputable crypto trading platforms on this list. But we feature it here primarily because of its highly intuitive crypto trading mobile app. This has a quick and straightforward client onboarding process. It also has a highly intuitive trading interface with a straightforward crypto buying process.

Coinbase is also a great trading platform because it exposes you to all the hottest cryptos in the US. Today, you can buy and sell 80+ cryptos using the Coinbase crypto trading app. Further, you only need $2 to start buying Bitcoin and all the best cryptos on Coinbase.  It also supports all the popular payment methods. You can even buy cryptos instantly on Coinbase with cards and PayPal or account balance.

You will also want to buy Bitcoin and other cryptos on the Coinbase app because it is a safe trading platform. It provides all its platform users with free digital wallets – both a web wallet and a free mobile wallet app for iOS and Android devices. In addition to safe wallets, Coinbase keeps 98% of your private keys offline while ensuring the remaining 2%. It also insured your cash deposits of up to $250,000 with the FDIC.

Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

4. Coinmama – The Best Place to Buy Cryptos in Washington for Beginners

Coinmama describes itself as one of the friendliest crypto exchanges around. It also argues that it has been specially designed to make crypto investing not only simple but secure and accessible. In line with these commitments, Coinmama has oversimplified the client onboarding and crypto buying processes.

At the time of writing, you can buy as many as 15 popular altcoins on Coinmama. Its convert feature, however, lets you exchange between 500+ cryptos. You will also note that you only need $50 to start buying Bitcoin and all the hottest cryptos on Coinmama.

In addition to the trading minimum, we must observe that the crypto trading fees on Coinmama are comparatively high. These range between 1.5% and 4.19%, depending on the preferred payment method.

There nevertheless are several perks to buying cryptos. For starters, the trading platform lets you earn passively via staking. Most recently it introduced an advanced crypto trading platform that integrated multiple advanced tools and resources. It even maintains a highly responsive support team that is available 24/7.

Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

5. Kraken – One of the Safest Crypto Exchanges in Washington

Kraken has been featured on multiple lists of the best crypto exchanges in the US. The regulated platform makes it here because of its solid reputation for safety and reliability. You will, for example, probably recognize that it is the oldest digital trading platform on this post, having been around since 2011. Further, it has one of the highest site uptime.

At the time of writing, you can buy and sell 200+ virtual currencies on Kraken. Such a large library indicates that you have access to both the most undervalued cryptos as well as the most sustainable digital assets to buy. Additionally, you only need $10 to start investing in these cryptos.

You are also free to either buy these assets instantly or trade crypto pairs on the Kraken web and mobile trading platforms. High rollers may also prefer to use the Kraken OTC trading platform. The cost of reading is dependent on the crypto-buying method. When buying cryptos instantly on Kraken, for instance, you pay as much as 3.5% in fees. Spot crypto trades, on the other hand, attract a volume-based maker/taker fee of between 0% and 0.40%.

Several other factors helped inform our decision to feature Kraken here. First, we list it here because it has a highly intuitive and easily navigable crypto trading mobile app. Secondly, it makes it possible for you to invest in top NFTs. Thirdly, it provides 24/7 customer service, is deeply liquid, and has client funds reserved on a 1-to-1 basis to the US Dollar.

6. BitStamp – The Best Crypto Exchange for Active Traders in Washington

Like Kraken, BitStamp has been around since 2011. This makes it one of the most reputable crypto trading platforms in the US. Unlike Kraken, though, BitStamp suffered a security breach in July 2015 that resulted in the loss of 19,000 Bitcoin. Since then, the exchange has taken several measures that have made their trading platform highly secure.

In addition to being secure, BitStamp exposes you to 100+ of the best cryptos to buy in the US. And you only need a minimum of $10 to start buying these cryptos. It also presents you with a highly intuitive and easy-to-use trading platform. This features tens of highly advanced trading tools and technical indicators. You also have the option of using either of the three trading platforms supported by BitStamp.

The crypto exchange has also proved its reliability and maintained one of the highest uptime of any exchange. May we also add that the exchange has some of the fastest transaction processing speeds. Not forgetting its highly competitive fees. These are volume-based and range between zero fees and 0.40%. All these make BitStamp one of the best crypto trading platforms for active traders.

You will also want to buy digital assets on BitStamp because it supports passive investing. Today, you can stake Ethereum or Cardano on BitStamp and earn up to 3.10% APY. It also has one of the most responsive customer support teams available over the phone and online.

Is Crypto Investing Legal in Washington

Yes, cryptocurrencies, crypto investing, and blockchain technologies are all legal in Washington. Though it isn’t as crypto-friendly as the likes of Nevada or Florida, Washington has a lighter stance towards crypto than states like New York. We may even observe that the state has adopted an evolving but cautious approach to crypto regulation.

The state started by coming up with advisory papers and policies that provided proper definition of crypto terms. They, for example, included virtual currencies in the state’s broader definition of money transmission. In March 2022, Washington State governor signed into law Senate Bill 5531, which includes virtual currency in the definition of property under the ​​Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

Crypto Taxes in Washington

Like most states, Washington doesn’t have a clear policy or laws regarding the treatment of crypto taxes at the state level. Instead, it follows federal guidelines to crypto tax – especially the IRS policies that considers crypto to be a property. This means buying, selling, trading, or using crypto to pay for goods or services will trigger capital gains taxes similar to stocks or bonds.

You will, therefore, be taxed when you sell taxes, use crypto to pay for goods, and when you mine digital assets. The state sales tax of 6.5%, for example, applies to purchases and payments made using cryptos. In addition to the different state taxes, you also need to pay federal crypto taxes as dictated by the IRS.

Practical Tips for Buying Crypto and Bitcoin in Washington

In this section, we discuss valuable tricks that you need to add to familiarize yourself with when buying cryptos. They include:

• Build an investment strategy: You need to build an investment strategy and stick with it. Start by deciding whether you are a long-term investor or a day trader. Then, settle on a profitable investment strategy that aligns with this goal.
• Understand risk management: Understand that cryptos have been one of the riskiest financial class of the last decade. Understand all the risks that come with buying cryptos, especially untamed volatility. Counter this by leveraging stop loss, take profit, and other risk-management tools.
• Master portfolio diversification: It is important that you include both high-risk/high-reward and low-risk/low-reward cryptos in your portfolio.
• Research a crypto before buying: Only add promising cryptos with the backing of a sustainable blockchain in your portfolio. You can tell it’s potent by looking at such factors as its past price action, liquidity, tokenomics, and real-world use cases.
• Beware of scams: You should also be wary of crypto scams. These may manifest in the form of fake investment schemes, rug pulls, Ponzi schemes, fake exchanges, giveaway scams, NFT scams, and more. Follow the news to learn of new scams and how to detect and avoid them.
• Do not chase trends: Avoid falling victim to hype and always chasing trends. You can never truly tell when the market or a coin has bottomed or peaked. Similarly, it is hard to accurately identify the next crypto to 100x. Instead, consider dollar-cost-averaging.

How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Washington Walkthrough

In this section, we detail the crypto buying process on eToro, which we briefly outlined at the start of this post.

Here’s the step-by-step guide on how to buy cryptocurrency in Washingtom for beginners on eToro.

Step 1: Open an Account

Open the official eToro website or download the eToro crypto trading mobile app. Hit the “Join Now” button on either platform and complete the registration form that appears. It will ask for basic personal information such as your name, email address, phone number, and country of residence.

Step 2: Verify your identity

The process of registering a trader account on eToro is only complete after you have verified your identity. Simply provide the brokerage with a copy of your government-issued identification document. This may be your driver’s license or a passport.

Step 3: Deposit Funds

Log in to the approved trader account and hit the “Deposit Funds” icon on your user dashboard. A funding tab will pop up, indicating all the payment methods available to you. Choose one and follow the prompts to fund your account with at least $10.

Step 4: Select a Cryptocurrency to Buy

Once the payment is reflected in your trading account, hit the “Discover” tab on your user dashboard. This provides you with a list of all the financial instruments supported on eToro. Choose “Cryptos” and select the crypto to buy from this list.

Step 5: Buy Cryptocurrency

Hit the “BUY” option against your altcoin of choice. Use the trading tab that pops up here to customize this trade by indicating how much you intend to invest in this virtual currency. Execute the investment by hitting the “Open Trade” button.

Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk

Note: eToro deposits the private keys for coins purchased on its platform on the custodial web wallet. To move them to a third party wallet or exchange you first need to download and activate the eToro Money wallet app. Move the keys to this wallet and for forward transfer to the third party wallet/exchange.

How to Sell Cryptos in Washington

Selling digital currencies on eToro doesn’t have to be complicated. Here is the step-by-step guide to selling cryptos on eToro.

• Step 1: To sell digital currencies here, you first need to log back into the eToro trading account.
• Step 2: On your user dashboard, click on the “Portfolio” icon to reveal all your open crypto trades.
• Step 3: On this window, identify the asset you intend to sell and choose the “Close” trade option.
• Step 4: A trading tab will pop up. Customize this trade by indicating whether you want to sell a portion of coins or the entire position. Hit the “close” button to execute.

Note: The cash equivalent of the cryptos that you just sold will be immediately deposited into your account. Withdraw the fiat currency or use it to buy some of the best cryptos for beginners to invest in, as supported here.

Conclusion – How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Washington Today

Buying cryptocurrencies in Washington isn’t complicated. We have established that the state is already home to tens of the most popular exchanges in the state. These feature all the best cryptos and have also oversimplified the crypto buying process on their platforms. These sites are also committed to the safety of your digital assets and appeal to all classes of investors.

Do you want to start buying Bitcoin and other cryptos in Washington today? Follow the step by step guide to buying cryptos on eToro that we have outlined above.

More States Buying guides on Crypto2Community

• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in New Jersey
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Nevada
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Maryland
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Illinois
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Hawaii
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Georgia
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in California
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in North Carolina
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Colorado
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in New York
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Connecticut
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Delaware
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Idaho
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Indiana
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Kansas
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Iowa
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Louisiana
• How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Kentucky

References:

1. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/07/coinbase-sued-by-customer-who-says-exchange-refused-to-reimburse-him-for-96k-lost-in-hack/
2. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2015/01/05/bitstamp-claims-5-million-lost-in-hot-wallet-hack/
3. https://cointelegraph.com/news/florida-friendliest-us-state-crypto-taxation
4. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5531-S.SL.pdf?q=20220607142117

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Author: Wajeeh Khan

Wajeeh Khan is a financial researcher and writer with 7 years of experience. He has immense exposure to a range of financial assets, including stock, cryptocurrencies and forex - and is particularly well-versed in asset valuation, analysis, and portfolio management. Since 2016, Khan has worked with notable online platforms within financial journalism, including Invezz, Trading-Education, Dog of Wall Street, and News Break. All in all, he has written, editted, and published over 7,000 articles, guides, and market insight. Online casinos started as a hobby for Khan in 2018. But in only two years, it had already become another niche that he started actively researching. Over the past three years, he has written a diversified set of content around gambling for clients from all over the world. Academically, Khan has a Bachelor's in Economics and a Master's degree in Finance. He's also completed a bunch of courses on digital journalism and financial markets at large.

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