: You would browse local or global listings of independent sellers who were willing to trade Bitcoin for various payment methods. You would open a trade, and the platform placed the seller's Bitcoin into an automated escrow account. You then sent the payment directly to the seller via methods like cash deposit at a bank, wire transfer, PayPal, or even gift cards. Once the seller confirmed receipt of the funds, the platform released the Bitcoin to your wallet.

: Sites like LocalBitcoins and Paxful were the dominant players.

: You signed up, passed a basic automated identity check, linked a Visa or Mastercard, and bought directly at the quoted retail price.

If you did not want to leave your house or use a physical machine, P2P marketplaces were the fastest online alternative to traditional exchanges.

The fastest ways to buy Bitcoin in depended on whether you were willing to pay higher fees to bypass lengthy identity verification (KYC) processing delays. During the massive crypto bull run of 2017, centralized exchanges were notoriously overwhelmed, making alternative methods the absolute fastest routes to acquire the asset. ⚡ 1. Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs)

: Coinbase was the undisputed king for this in the US/Europe, while platforms like CEX.IO and Bitstamp served massive global audiences.

For pure speed in 2017, nothing beat walking up to a physical machine with a stack of cash.

: You paid a massive premium. Average transaction fees hovered between 8% and 15% . 🤝 2. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Platforms

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