The fastest way to buy Ethereum (ETH) is, oddly enough, to first buy Bitcoins and then to convert it to Ethereum. Don’t lose out waiting several days for an international bank transfer, use LocalBitcoins and Shapeshift to make the transaction in less than a day.
TL;DR, how do I do it?
The shorthand version, follow these four steps.
- If you’re not signed up, register for an account on LBC.
- Search for advertisements using bank transfers or cash deposit. They’re the fastest payment methods.
- Choose an advertisement & buy Bitcoins.
- Convert Bitcoins to Ethereum using Shapeshift.io.
How can LocalBitcoins be faster?
The most difficult and time consuming part of buying any cryptocurrency, including Ethereum, is converting from fiat to crypto. Traditional cryptocurrency exchanges require you to deposit money using a slow bank transfer, often an international SWIFT or a European SEPA transfer. This will take a couple of days or longer.
LocalBitcoins is faster than other exchanges because we’re a peer-to-peer exchange. Instead of buying from a centralized company, you buy Bitcoin directly from people who live in your own country. There are thousands of traders selling Bitcoin for 60+ payment methods all over the world, this means that it’s very easy for you to find a trader that is online and able to make a quick transaction.
From Bitcoin to Ethereum
The fastest payment method on LocalBitcoins is Bank transfers within a country or within a bank. This connects you to a trader who uses the same bank as you or another bank in your country, these transactions take minutes to hours instead of days.
For help with completing your trade on LocalBitcoins, you can find our how to buy guide right here. It will show you step-by-step how to buy. We recommend you use Specific Bank Transfer, National Bank transfer or Cash Deposit as the payment method to get the fastest trade.
Once you’ve bought Bitcoin, it’s a breeze to convert it to Ethereum using Shapeshift.io. You don’t need to register an account, you don’t need to remember a password and you can instantly make the exchange. To convert your Bitcoins to Ethereum, check out the video below: