Bitcoin (BTC) is designed to be divisible by eight (8) decimal places, so the smallest fractional value you can make is 0.00000001 BTC. However, this small fraction value is not yet enough in most countries to make a micropayment purchase on goods & services.
Why?
Let’s assume a single BTC is worth $100,000 right now; therefore, 0.00000001 BTC is worth approximately $0.001. This is less than 1 cent. So in exact terms, this is one-tenth of a cent.
If a single BTC is worth one (1) million dollars, then 0.00000001 BTC can now be approximately $0.01 (1 cent).
Bitcoin is essentially a software code. In the future, whenever required and voted in support, the divisibility of bitcoin can continuously be increased to 100 billion smaller parts or even more, as the BTC protocol and its related software can be modified to handle even smaller units. As of now, it remains divisible by eight (8) decimal places.
Let’s look at the table below on how to split a Bitcoin into smaller portions and the terms used for them.
Bitcoin Fractional Shares / Portion
| Term used | Equivalent | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Bitcoin (BTC) | 1.00000000 | Divisible by eight (8) decimal places |
| 1 Bitcoin (BTC) | 100,000,000 satoshis | It can be broken down into one hundred million (100,000,000) satoshis. In short, 108 |
| 1 Bitcoin (BTC) | 1,000 mBTC | – |
| 1 mBTC | 100,000 satoshis | – |
| 1 Satoshi | 0.00000001 BTC | The smallest possible value of 1 Bitcoin. Eight (8) decimal places |
| A millibitcoin (mBTC) | 0.001 BTC | Three (3) decimal places or 100,000 satoshis |
| 1 Microbit (uBTC) | 0.000 001 BTC | Eight (6) decimal places or 100 satoshis |
So now we understand that we cannot use the smallest Bitcoin fraction value of 0.00000001 BTC to buy any product or service out there. However, can we purchase 0.00000001 BTC instead from cryptocurrency exchanges or platforms?
Since this number is so tiny, you can’t buy 1 Satoshi on any exchange because they each have their minimum purchase amount.
How to buy and own a fraction of a Bitcoin (BTC)?
Here is the list of the top seven (7) cryptocurrency exchanges that can offer fractional purchases of Bitcoin (BTC) at a minimum rate.
Minimum Bitcoin Purchase
| S/no | BUY from | Minimum Purchase Amount | Payment Methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coinbase | 2 dollars in your local currency (e.g. $2 or €2) | * Debit Card * Apple Pay and Google Pay * Bank Transfer |
| 2 | Paxful | USD $10 | * Credit Card (VISA & Mastercard) * PayPal * Apple Pay * Bank Transfer |
| 3 | KuCoin | USD $10 | * Credit and Debit cards (VISA and Mastercard) * Google Pay and Apple Pay * Paypal * Bank Transfer * Payeer, TransferWise, Skrill, ADVCash, etc. |
| 4 | Binance | USD $15 | * Credit and Debit cards (VISA and Mastercard) * SWIFT Bank Transfer * P2P trading |
| 5 | ByBit | USD $20 | * Credit cards (VISA, MasterCard & Maestro) * Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay * SEPA * iDeal, PayNow, etc * Bank Transfer |
| 6 | Bitfinex | USD $25 | * Credit and Debit cards (VISA, Mastercard & UnionPay) * iDeal, Klarna (Sofort), etc * Bank Transfer |
| 7 | Changelly | USD $30 | * Credit Card (VISA & Mastercard) * Apple Pay * SEPA bank transfer |
1. Coinbase
Coinbase is a US-based company that started in 2012 as one of the earliest exchanges and now serves over 100+ countries with more than 3500+ workers. The exchange is currently ranked among the top 3 largest crypto exchanges in daily trading volume.
You can buy over 150+ cryptocurrencies in Coinbase, including all ERC-20 tokens, Bitcoin, Cardano, Solana, Dogecoin, Ripple, etc.
Coinbase supports buying cryptocurrency using Paypal and other payment methods such as credit cards and wire transfers.
2. Paxful
Paxful was founded in 2015, has a headquarters in New York and employs over 400+ employees.
Paxful supports over 350+ different payment methods when it comes to buying cryptocurrency through its platform. You can buy Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and Ethereum (ETH) easily here.
Some of the payment methods include Credit Card (VISA & Mastercard), PayPal, Apple Pay, Bank Transfer; and many more
3. KuCoin
Launched in 2017, KuCoin is now ranking among the world’s top 10 largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform supports over 600+ coins and over 1100+ market trading pairs.
The exchange offers to buy cryptocurrencies, spot trading, margin trading, futures, crypto lending and crypto staking services.
KuCoin supports buying cryptocurrency using Paypal and other payment methods such as credit cards, bank wire transfers, Payeer, TransferWise, Skrill, ADVCash and others.
4. Binance
Founded in 2017 and registered in the Cayman Islands, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in daily trading volume. It supports over 390+ coins and over 1600+ crypto market pairs.
You can purchase cryptocurrency through various payment methods, e.g. credit & debit and card and bank transfers. For more flexibility, you can buy through Binance P2P platforms, which support over 300+ payment methods such as SEPA, SWIFT and many others.
5. ByBit
Established in 2018, registered in the British Virgin Islands and headquartered in Singapore, Bybit is one of the fastest-growing crypto platforms in recent years. The exchange offers users a direct way to buy cryptocurrencies through various payment methods and P2P trading.
Some of the ByBit features include spot trading, derivatives trading like futures, crypto staking, and even an NFT marketplace.
Some of their payment methods for buying cryptocurrency include credit cards (VISA, MasterCard & Maestro), Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, bank transfer and others.
6. Bitfinex
Founded in 2012 and registered in the British Virgin Islands, one of the notable strengths of Bitfinex lies in its low trading fees, with most trades costing 0.20% or less.
Bitfinex supports trading over 170+ coins in over 400+ crypto market pairs and allows users to perform margin trading, derivatives, and advanced order types in over 52 countries.
You can buy Bitcoin (BTC), Tezos, Tether Gold, Tether, Ethereum or other ERC20 tokens using payment methods such as credit and debit cards (VISA, Mastercard and UnionPay), on-ramp services such as iDeal, GiroPay, Klarna Sofort and bank transfer.
7. Changelly
Founded in 2015, Changelly is an instant cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy cryptos easily with various payment methods, sell their cryptos via bank card and exchange different cryptos quickly.
Changelly supports over 390+ cryptocurrencies in its platform for buying and exchanging purposes. It has 24/7 live support for customers who need technical assistance using its platform and has a proven fast track record for having speedy transactions. The average processing time for each transaction is about 8.6 minutes.
Using a credit card, Apple Pay or bank transfer, you can buy over 150+ cryptocurrencies from Changelly, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Tron, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, Dogecoin and others.
