Bitcoin (BTC) is often equated with Gold in the investment community, having witnessed a tremendous value appreciation over the past decade. Portugal is considered one of the most crypto-friendly nations in Europe and offers a very healthy environment for investment and trading in all kinds of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
You don’t need to pay any taxes on profits earned from investing in Bitcoin or cryptocurrency trading activity in Portugal. If you’d like to learn more about how to buy Bitcoin in Portugal, this piece will serve as a comprehensive guide for you.
When you want to buy Bitcoin in Portugal, you have two major classes of platforms to choose from. You have the option of using cryptocurrency exchanges or crypto brokerage platforms. There are numerous exchanges and brokerage platforms available to Portuguese traders.
The exchanges and brokerage platforms differ in how they provide access to Bitcoin. Exchanges are popular among holders. These are people who wish to hold bitcoins as a long term investment. It gives them the option to move the coins to external wallets for holding.
Brokers operate differently than exchanges. They allow Portuguese investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin through derivatives. This implies that the investors are allowed to speculate on Bitcoin’s price performance via trading vehicles like contract for differences (CFDs), futures and options. Hence, the investors get to make money from Bitcoin without actually holding the real coins.
Since there are numerous platforms available to traders in Portugal, it might be tough deciding on the best ones to use for buying bitcoins. Not to worry, our research team has made it easier for you. We conducted in-depth research into numerous platforms in Portugal and have selected the best brokers and exchanges that support the purchase of Bitcoin. These are displayed below.
There are many top-rated Bitcoin brokers operating in Portugal for quite some time now. These platforms are run by capable teams having extensive experience in offering quality brokerage services to interested traders and investors. Most of them are licensed and regulated by reputed global authorities. Let’s learn how to sign up with them and use their services.
Once you have selected the broker you would like to use, you can register with it by providing some basic details like your name, email address, residential address, and phone number. To start right away, you can pick from any of the shortlisted crypto brokers above. They meet all the popular criteria and are already used by a large number of Bitcoin investors and traders in Europe.
This step involves verifying your identity on the brokerage platform, to comply with their KYC norms. As the majority of well-known brokers are regulated and licensed by leading authorities, they are mandated to follow this process. You can verify your identity by uploading a government-issued photo ID and in some cases a separate utility bill that will serve as proof of address. Please note, it is important to register and use only regulated brokers as they offer a higher degree of security than unregulated platforms.
Most crypto brokers operating in Portugal will accept deposits in credit/debit cards, bank transfers and some even through third-party facilitators like PayPal. Each one of these payment methods comes with its own unique traits with respect to speed, cost and convenience. It’s entirely up to you which one you choose based on your specific preferences.
A long position on Bitcoin is taken to profit from its upward price movement, and a short position helps exploit a drop in its value. Let’s understand it better with an example of opening these positions on a well-known broker platform like eToro, which is regulated and authorised by CySEC (Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission).
If you open a long position on BTC using the eToro broker website, you will be buying Bitcoin’s actual ownership, and register a profit by selling it at a possibly higher value later.
On the other hand, opening a short position on Bitcoin will entail using a financial derivative such as a CFD (Contract for Difference), to sell a certain amount of underlying BTC, with no actual BTC exchanging hands. In this case, you’ll be speculating a drop in Bitcoin’s price, which if it happens, the difference between the opening and closing price of the CFD trade will constitute your profit.
It’s possible to use various order types such as limit order, market order, stop-loss and trailing stop-loss, to make timely entries and exits from your trades, and maximise your profit potential while cutting down the losses. To give you an example, while a market order will buy you the required amount of Bitcoin instantly at the existing market rate, a limit order will execute the buy trade only when the Bitcoin’s value touches a price point specified by you.
Closing your position essentially means concluding the trade. An open position on Bitcoin is closed by selling the corresponding amount of actual BTC or closing the CFD trade.
As highlighted in the previous section, it’s also possible to automate this process by specifying take profit and stop-loss price points beforehand. When you do so, a long position on BTC will get automatically closed once the coin’s value appreciates to the take profit level; alternatively, it may also close if the price drops to the stop-loss point, to guard against further losses. If desired, you can even intervene manually at any time and close your positions.
Being an integral part of Europe, Portugal enjoys a vibrant business environment and is home to a wide variety of international cryptocurrency exchanges serving the European Union. Though the majority of these platforms are based outside of the country, they hold valid licences to operate in Portugal and are usually regulated by the leading financial authorities of Europe.
A cryptocurrency exchange in Portugal will normally offer you a BTC/EUR pair, enabling you to easily buy Bitcoin with the local currency. Alternatively, you can also make use of other trading pairs, based on your convenience, and make the required Bitcoin purchase. Let’s learn more about how to buy Bitcoin with an exchange platform in Portugal.
To begin, you’ll need to set up a cryptocurrency wallet to safely store your purchased Bitcoin. However, using a Bitcoin wallet is optional for those who do not wish to trade actively. It may also be a good option for long term investors with huge assets. These wallets are essentially software applications and most of the crypto wallets available in the market can be classified into two broad categories as follows.
Software wallets – These wallets are meant for cryptocurrency storage on desktops/laptops or mobile devices. As they stay online constantly, they’re also classified as a type of hot wallet and are vulnerable to hacking attempts.
Hardware wallets – Sold in the form of flash-drive size small physical devices, hardware wallets mostly stay offline and are the most secure amongst all crypto wallets in the market today.
You should select an exchange platform that holds a good reputation in the market and is already used by a significant number of crypto traders and investors. It should be transparent in its fee structure, with various charges like withdrawal fee, deposit fee and transaction fee clearly specified on the platform. In addition, the exchange must implement leading security measures to safeguard investors’ and traders’ interests. Regulated digital currency exchanges that make ID verification and KYC mandatory are comparatively safer than unregulated portals.
Many crypto exchanges in Portugal accept deposits made with credit/debit cards and bank transfers. Some exchanges accept Paypal deposits too. It’s entirely up to you which mode of payment you use depending upon the level of convenience, cost and speed you require in your Bitcoin transactions. Credit/debit cards though offer greater convenience, can be costly for frequent crypto traders. Bank transfers, on the other hand, are inexpensive but take more time for processing.
You’ll need to use a trading pair like BTC/EUR, BTC/USD, BTC/XRP and BTC/ETH, to place a Buy order for Bitcoin on a cryptocurrency exchange. Just select the trading pair that suits you the best, specify the quantity and check the existing exchange rate, then click the ‘Buy’ button if you feel the rate is as per your expectations.
You may want to transfer the purchased Bitcoin from the exchange provided web wallet to an external crypto wallet of your choice. This is usually preferred by people buying Bitcoin with a longer investment horizon, who primarily use a cold hardware wallet for such storage. To transfer Bitcoin from the exchange to your crypto wallet, simply access the withdrawal option on the site and then specify your wallet’s address to initiate the transfer.
Unless you are using a reliable peer-to-peer exchange or depositing cash into a Bitcoin ATM, there may be many risks associated with purchasing Bitcoin with cash, not just in Portugal, but anywhere in the world. P2P exchanges are usually preferred in this regard because they involve lesser fees and some platforms also facilitate cash deposit in an escrow account till you receive the promised Bitcoin in your wallet. There are no Bitcoin ATMs in Portugal at the time of writing.
It is always better to buy BTC with cash from your friends within your local Bitcoin community, than buying it from a stranger on a P2P platform. The best option is to purchase it through a regulated and licensed trading platform.
Portugal is one of the most progressive countries when it comes to the adoption of emerging technologies. While it abides by the EU guidelines on the regulation of digital currencies, Portuguese authorities have clarified time and again that cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, will receive the same treatment as any other currency, and not merely as an asset. Furthermore, a 2016 notification from Portugal’s Ministry of Finance stated that capital gains from retail trading of cryptocurrencies will be non-taxable.
Crypto traders in Portugal can use a wide range of payment options to buy Bitcoin. Some of the available payment options include PayPal, bank transfer and credit card. Each payment option has its pros and cons, and your choice of a broker depends on the method best suited to you. Some of the available payment options are discussed below.
Buy Bitcoin with Cash: You can buy bitcoins from peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges using cash.
Buy Bitcoin with Credit Card: The credit card option is widely used thanks to the speed of the transaction and the security offered by this method. However, it also comes with a higher fee compared to the other options.
Buy Bitcoin with Bank Transfer: The crypto trading platforms accept account funding using bank transfers. The bank transfer method is also popular thanks to its low fees and high-end security. However, using this method means that you sometimes have to wait for days before the funds reflect in your trading account.
Buy Bitcoin with PayPal: This payment option is also convenient for buying Bitcoin from brokers and exchanges. Unfortunately, not all platforms support PayPal for account funding.
Let’s now acquaint you with a few important tips that can potentially make your Bitcoin purchase in Portugal a smooth ride.
Conducting some study on Bitcoin’s historical price movements can help you enter the market at an opportune time, and therefore maximise your chances of booking profit. It is imperative that you learn about some important technical and fundamental factors which are likely to impact BTC value going forward. It can give you a fair idea of the coin’s movement and help you to decide when to buy.
When you buy and sell Bitcoin, there are certain fees and charges to pay including a withdrawal fee, deposit fee and transaction fee normally levied by various trading platforms. Other than that, there may be a certain charge associated with the payment option used to buy the cryptocurrency. All such costs must be factored in while planning to make the Bitcoin purchase, especially if you trade or invest in it on a regular basis.
Finally, the onus is on you to ascertain that the trading platform you’re using to buy Bitcoin in Portugal uses the leading security technologies to safeguard your account. One of the better ways of ensuring this is by dealing with only reputed and secure providers, regulated by well-known authorities. Apart from these measures, you can also use additional security layers like 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) to protect your account.
All the cryptocurrency brokers and exchanges operating in Portugal will normally allow you to purchase Bitcoin with Euro (EUR), without any hassles. In fact, most of them are receptive to accepting popular fiat currency deposits and withdrawals like the British pound, Euro, and US dollar. It is recommended that you refer to the buying processes detailed earlier in this piece, and use EUR to purchase Bitcoin in Portugal.
There are few other ways in which you may be able to buy Bitcoin in Portugal, besides the ones discussed above.
Use a Bitcoin ATM to Buy BTC: Unfortunately, there are no Bitcoin ATMs available anywhere in Portugal at the time of writing. So, this method to buy Bitcoin in Portugal is ruled out at the moment.
Other Ways to Get Bitcoin: Mining is one of the ways to get access to BTC. However, while mining Bitcoin may seem profitable to many as an effective means to acquire the cryptocurrency, especially considering Portugal’s crypto-friendly tax laws, the ground reality is quite different. You cannot possibly turn a profit from Bitcoin mining in Portugal owing to the higher electricity costs. Nonetheless, you can obtain it as a form of payment, instead of Euro, for providing goods and services in Portugal. It’s also possible to legitimately earn small amounts of BTC through Bitcoin faucets and online games.
Additionally, many people also use the ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) route to indirectly invest in Bitcoin, through regular exchanges.
Portugal is rapidly emerging as the number one destination for anyone interested in crypto trading. There are multiple convenient methods for buying Bitcoin in Portugal today. As BTC enjoys the maximum liquidity among cryptocurrencies worldwide, you’re unlikely to face any problem in locating reliable sellers in the market.
At the moment, there are no specific laws or regulations applicable to cryptocurrencies in Portugal. There are no laws regarding how they are purchased or transferred. This means that cryptocurrencies are not prohibited, and Portuguese investors can buy, sell and hold them.
However, you have to be careful with the types of platforms you use. For maximum security of your investment, we recommend buying bitcoins from a regulated exchange or broker. They provide better security for your funds and a safer trading environment.
Portugal is still a young market as far as Bitcoin is concerned. At the moment, there are only three Bitcoin ATMs, one each in Lisbon, Porto and Braga. People living in these cities can use the Bitcoin ATMs to buy BTC with ease.
Bitcoin has also gained adoption in other sectors of the economy. Luzboa, a small energy trading company in Portugal, is now accepting Bitcoin as a payment option from its customers.