How to get crypto for betting

There are three realistic routes: a centralised exchange (fastest, needs ID), a peer-to-peer marketplace (buy from another person through escrow), or an on-ramp built into a wallet app (fewest steps, usually the worst rate). For a first betting bankroll, an exchange is the practical choice for most people.

The part that trips people up isn’t buying — it’s everything after. Which coin, which network, and where it needs to land. Get that order right and the rest is mechanical.

Decide where it’s going before you buy anything

Two things change what you should buy, and both are decided by the platform you intend to bet on.

Does it need a wallet or an account? Six of the twelve platforms we rate are non-custodial — SX Bet, Polymarket, Overtime Markets, BetDEX, Bookmaker.xyz and Divvy.bet. You connect a wallet you control and bet from it; there is no balance to top up. The other six — Stake, Cloudbet, BC.Game and the rest — work like a conventional bookmaker: you deposit, they hold the balance. If you don’t have a wallet yet, start with how to set one up.

Which coin, on which network? These are two separate decisions and the second one is where money gets lost. Our coin and network guide covers it properly, but the short version: check what the platform lists before you buy, not after.

Route 1 — a centralised exchange

You open an account, verify your identity, fund it by bank transfer or card, buy the coin, then withdraw it to your wallet or to the sportsbook’s deposit address. It is the most common path and usually the cheapest for anything above a token amount.

Two things worth understanding. First, verification is not optional at any regulated exchange — expect to upload an ID document and wait anywhere from minutes to a couple of days. Second, and more important for this site’s purposes: while your coin sits on the exchange, the exchange holds it, not you. That is the same custodial arrangement we weight at 30% of the Degen Score, applied to your own funds. An exchange is somewhere to transact, not somewhere to keep a bankroll.

Route 2 — peer-to-peer

You buy directly from another person, with the marketplace holding the coin in escrow until you both confirm. It exists in places where local bank rails don’t connect neatly to exchanges, and it can be quicker for some payment methods.

The rule that matters: stay inside the escrow. Every P2P scam that works involves persuading the buyer to release funds or move the conversation off-platform first. Also worth being clear-eyed about — most reputable P2P marketplaces still verify their users. Treating P2P as a way around identity checks is usually wrong, and looking for platforms that genuinely have none puts you in exactly the corner of the market where recourse doesn’t exist.

Route 3 — an on-ramp inside a wallet

Most self-custody wallets have a “buy” button that routes through a third-party payment provider. The coin lands directly in a wallet you control, skipping the exchange step entirely. Fewest moving parts, and the best option for a first small amount.

The tradeoff is price. These on-ramps typically carry a wider spread than an exchange, and card payments carry more on top. Fine for getting started; expensive as a habit.

The three costs, only one of which is advertised

Whatever route you take, you are paying in three places, and the one quoted to you is rarely the largest.

• The stated fee — the percentage on the confirmation screen. Usually the smallest of the three.
• The spread — the gap between the real market price and the price you were offered. Often invisible, often larger than the fee. Compare the quoted rate against a price you look up independently.
• The network fee — charged by the blockchain, not the seller, when you move the coin. This depends entirely on which network you chose, and it can differ by orders of magnitude between two networks carrying the same coin.

Mistakes that cost real money

Sending on the wrong network. The single most common way people lose funds in this process. The same stablecoin exists on several networks, and a deposit address is network-specific. Send a coin over a network the receiving address doesn’t support and it may be unrecoverable. Match the network on the sending side to the one the platform asked for, every time.

Skipping the test transaction. Send a small amount first, confirm it arrives, then send the rest. It costs one extra network fee and removes the entire category of expensive surprises.

Leaving the bankroll on the exchange. Convenient, and a decision to trust one more company with your money than you needed to.

Buying before checking what the platform accepts. Deciding on BTC and then discovering your platform prices everything in a stablecoin means paying a conversion spread you could have avoided.

Next

Once you have coin and somewhere to keep it, the full walkthrough from deposit to withdrawal covers the rest, and the ranked list of platforms shows which ones accept what.

Common questions

Do I need to verify my identity to buy crypto?

At any regulated centralised exchange, yes - expect to upload an ID document. Most reputable peer-to-peer marketplaces verify their users too. Platforms advertising no checks at all generally sit in the part of the market where you have no recourse if something goes wrong.

How much crypto do I need to start betting?

Less than most people assume - many platforms have low or no minimum deposit. The more useful question is how much you can afford to lose entirely, because that is the correct size for a betting bankroll regardless of what the minimum allows.

Can I send crypto straight from an exchange to a sportsbook?

Usually yes, for custodial sportsbooks that give you a deposit address. Check that the exchange supports the exact network the sportsbook asked for. For non-custodial platforms you connect a wallet instead, so the coin needs to go to your own wallet first.

What happens if I send crypto on the wrong network?

Often it is lost permanently. Some centralised platforms can recover funds sent over a supported-but-wrong network if you contact support quickly, but this is a favour and not a guarantee. On-chain platforms typically cannot help at all. Always send a small test amount first.