Animal spirits appear to have returned to crypto, with anecdotal reports of newbies asking questions like — so how do you buy bitcoin?

Why it matters: For years it's been said that buying a cryptocurrency was too complicated for an untold millions of mildly interested people, but things have changed, Crystal writes.

Let's start with exchanges, where Coinbase and Kraken are the obvious venues.

• You'll have to be 18 to open an account and will have to go through an identity check before getting on board.
• Be aware, both exchanges report a glut of new accounts and support requests right now, so don't expect to be able to start trading right away.
• We asked Coinbase and Kraken how long people should expect to hold on, but we are waiting for an answer.

Fintech and payments apps like PayPal, Cash App or Strike, as well as stock-trading apps Robinhood and eToro, offer bitcoin but don't support as many other cryptocurrencies as the big exchanges.

• Customers would need all the things they'd need for a crypto exchange account and most of the apps enable folks to walk away with their bitcoin
• Just beware, crypto isn't the main fare on these apps, so some tokens and blockchains aren't supported — plus, each comes with its quirks such as minimum withdrawals, associated fees and deposit limits.
• There's also the risk of closure, nefarious or otherwise.

ETFs and mutual funds have become a newly available and ever-expanding access point.

• Big brokerages and adviser platforms have recently picked up some of the 10 bitcoin spot ETFs on the market, as have some portfolio managers.
• Bitcoin ETFs are also available on some fintech apps.

Reality check: Many crypto natives will still poo poo ETF wrappers and centralized wallets, in favor of the OG way: "Not your keys, not your coins."

The big picture: The best venue for buying, selling or converting bitcoin will depend on an investor's needs, whether they intend to trade or HODL, how much they intend to move, and their comfort level with the platform. (Scroll down to see what real humans say they are doing.)

• Case in point: Whales might prefer to buy and sell their bitcoin using over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks, while an average Jane might find that a trading app that offers spot or ETFs suits just fine.

Fun fact: ATMs found at grocery stores or bodegas (if you're in NYC) either give folks the option of just buying or both buying and selling.

• One would need a bitcoin wallet (hot or cold) to make this happen, and a smartphone, because the transaction happens via QR code.
• Not so fun? The convenience usually comes with a steep fee.
• Many of these terminals disappeared over winter, with at least one operator filing Chapter 11.

The bottom line: The best option is buying from your friends or family in a direct wallet-to-wallet exchange, and the worst, is meet-ups with strangers offering to do this online. Don't do that.

Some folks are cheering new all-time highs, while others are still waiting, Crystal writes.

Why it matters: At what price BTC peaked depends on the platform — numbers vary across exchanges, according to Kaiko Research.

• Zoom in: 👆 The firm found that exchange-specific highs diverged across the board, using a volume-weighted average price analysis on USD-BTC trading pairs.
• Data from CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko were pulled from those respective sites, which offer prices based on some kind of average from many marketplaces.

Of note: 🥬 The kimchi premium is back, and then some.

• This describes a phenomenon on South Korea-based crypto exchanges, which block foreign traders from using them, showing higher prices for crypto relative to others in different places.

What we're watching: Are we there yet?

Axios called around to get an idea of how people buy, sell and convert their bitcoin, Crystal writes. Here's what we found:

Tiffany Fong, of Tiffany Fong, will probably sell via Coinbase.

• "Most of the bitcoin I hold is from over a decade ago, so I don't actively buy, I just hold," she says. "I've sold a few hundred dollars worth in the past couple weeks just because I took zero profits in the last cycle lol."
• She's gonna HODL for now, but for selling, Fong says she uses the U.S.'s biggest crypto exchange.

Matt Tuttle, Tuttle Capital Management, likes the ETFs.

• "The thing about me is I'm old. I'm not and never going to have a cold wallet," he says, saying he owns Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and for options, he uses ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO).
• For those who don't have a brokerage account, he suggests a fintech app called Webull.
• When the SEC approves options on the spot BTC ETFs, Tuttle says he would buy those: "I'm an ETF guy."

Sam Callahan, Swan Bitcoin, prefers Swan or another BTC-only shop.

• Callahan emphasized "better customer service" and less regulatory risk with a bitcoin-only financial services firm over a multicrypto exchange. (He's touting his own book.)
• "There are tradeoffs with everything. Most important thing is to buy and self-custody. Keep it secure from regulatory pressures, hacks," he says.
• 🌶️ On ETFs: "That's not owning real bitcoin. There's a lot of convenience there, but there's risk in the convenience."

🌻 Pantera Capital is raising money to buy discounted SOL from the bankrupt FTX exchange. (Bloomberg)

🧭 CFTC's Global Markets Advisory Committee voted to recommend a digital assets taxonomy. (The Block)

😣 Decentralized social media protocol Farcaster lost 60% of its users in a month. (The Defiant)

📊 The stablecoin tether has broken a $100 billion market cap. (Reuters)

Binance rolled out a perfume-based marketing campaign to get women interested, Crystal writes.

Zoom in: The label reads Eau De Binance, which the crypto exchange explains is a "luxurious fusion of exotic ingredients including HODL, DYOR, YOLO and LFG."

What's happening: Binance appears to have succeeded in that it caught the attention of women in crypto, who think it's...

• funny.
• confusing.
• not THAT cringe.
• trying to pink-and-shrink the blockchain.

😷 Our thought bubble: Trying to capture women's hearts is going to take more than a whiff of a marketing strategy.