With all the problems MT. Gox is having recently with withdrawals, many people are seeking alternative solutions for their Bitcoin purchases. There are many services out there that offer up Bitcoin at a much cheaper price than the MT. Gox giant along with less fees and less hassles. It’s a surprise more people aren’t flocking to the alternatives.

We have tried many different services recently and have narrowed our list down to our 3 favorites. Since we are based in Canada, it wasn’t possible for us to try out any of the EU or AUD exchanges, but we chose the best of what we were able to access.

Coinbase is one of the best up and coming services we have seen. They offer an online wallet and tie in with your bank account directly, making buying and selling Bitcoin seamless. Anyone can sign up and begin purchasing and selling Bitcoin right away. The catch is that currently you need a US bank account. If you are Canadian, you can open up a US account directly with RBC or TD. Coinbase also offers a feature that is unique: Instant transfers! Meaning, as soon as you place your buy order, your Bitcoins will be available for you to use. The catch for this is that you need a verified account and currently identity verification is only available to US Citizens. However, they do have plans to allow for international verification and accounts shortly. You can sign up for a free Coinbase account here.

CAVirtex is strictly available to Canadian citizens. It is the major Bitcoin provider for Canada. CAVirtex currently offers some of the cheapest rates for Bitcoin anywhere. Most of the time about $20 less than MT.Gox and $5-$10 less than Coinbase. You can open up an account for free but will need to provide identity verification to use all of the features offered by the service. Transferring money to and from CAVirtex is easy and fast. You can do so with online bill payments or directly from the bank. Fees are minimal and transactions are fairly fast. Sign up for your CAVirtex account here.

Even though LocalBitcoins is one of the more expensive services around, most of the time higher than MT.Gox it is available anywhere and offers a wide variety of payment options. From Paypal, Credit Cards, Western Union, OK Pay, Wire transfers and more for online purchases. The bread and butter of LocalBitcoins is being able to purchase Bitcoin locally for straight cash. This is a must for users requiring anonymity when purchasing their coins. You can open up your LocalBitcoins account for free here.

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