Bitcoin Forum

I am a new user and would like to purchase bitcoin then use this to make a purchase from an online store.  I have an electrum wallet set up.

Will I be able to purchase the bitcoin straight away and then use this to make the purchase without a delay?

You won't be able to buy Bitcoins directly on Electrum it is just a wallet to store Bitcoin.

If you want to buy Bitcoins go to some exchanges like Binance and about the delay maybe there is a little bit of delay if you buy Bitcoins on some Exchanges because some of them require KYC verification.
And withdrawing on exchanges won't take too long to be confirmed because they pay a large transaction fee.

About using Electrum when you purchase on the online store it depends on you how much fee you pay, if you pay the lower fee it may take too long to get confirmed so use the recommended fee from https://mempool.space/ if you don't want a delayed transaction.

If you're fine with providing personal identification documents: create an exchange account on an exchange that allows registration from people on your jurisdiction

If you prefer not providing personal identification documents(slightly more complicated): go buy bitcoin on HodlHodl[1] or LocalCryptos[2].

And yes, you should be able to spend it immediately once the bitcoin reaches(and gets confirmed) on your Electrum wallet. The delays will only depend on how long til your exchange account gets approved(if you picked the former option), and the transaction duration(it takes longer if the exchange/seller sends the bitcoin with a low transaction fee).

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[1] https://hodlhodl.com/
[2] https://localcryptos.com/

Bisq.network (https://bisq.network/) is good decentralized marketplace but volume is not good for big trades.

If people are seriously care of privacy and against KYC, Bisq is good option to consider.
Why KYC is extremely dangerous – and useless (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5221497.0)

I think to agree above for the non-KYC user to purchase Bitcoin, Bisq and Hodlhodl is the best place, they are decentralized exchanges but I don't know how much the withdrawal speed is.  This might vary on which exchange that you have used, it's better if you will read the TOS before you will proceed because AFAIK, in centralized exchange it take up to 12 hours of waiting, I don't know in P2P platform if how long it will send to your Bitcoin wallet.

A bitcoin transaction so fast depends on the fees you put on it but on an exchange, there are major delays that they only know why, I suggest you ask first or read TOS, it might be stated there.

You can check and trace your transaction through these tools.
https://blockchair.com/
https://www.blockchain.com/

If really you wants to purchase bitcoin go directly to exchange where bitcoin buying and selling is done smoothly without delay since the necessary things have been done via the platform like it's verifications you will purchase..so in summary the place you can purchase bitcoin legit is through binance exchange and you can also buy through blockchain exchange or remitano, shall it depends on the country you are into, but i know vividly that binance is worldwide exchange platform, so it's better to use known platform because that electrum you are emphasising on, is where your coin can be stored for long thing time and for security purposes.

If KYC is an issue to care about, Tor is must when you check your transactions with explorers. Don's use normal connection or free VPN because they are not good for sake of privacy.

Some bitcoin explorers List of useful Bitcoin block explorers (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5197909.0)

Why binance when bitcoin transaction is very high on custodial exchanges like binance, I will never use binance or custodial exchange for this reason, I will prefer to use a decentralized exchange or P2P directly into my electrum wallet.

If I will like to use custodial exchange, I will prefer to use altcoins that has low fee for payment, coins like USDT TRC20 if supported on the store he wants to buy, or coins like ripple or litecoin if accepted for payment.

I think for OP maybe the best option is to use Coinbase. There he can buy Bitcoin and if I remember correctly they do not have a fixed high fee ^{0.0005 BTC like on most of all exchanges} is it based on an estimate of the network transaction fees.
I haven't used them for a long time so I can't say for sure, except for some information from their site https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/trading-and-funding/pricing-and-fees/fees

Op might get an information overload with all the suggestions and recommendations in this thread.

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There are different ways to buy or sell Bitcoin;
• Exchanges: this is a platform that connects buyers to sellers and could be centralized or decentralized.
Centralized exchanges and the name implies, control the funds you deposit on their wallet and can freeze or lock them if you violate their ToS.
Decentralized exchanges on the other hand do not have access to your funds, but only connect buyers to sellers.

• Peer-to-Peer; this could indicate a face to face trade between two individuals or it could be done on a P2P platform, this platform could be centralized or decentralized.

• Bitcoin ATMs; this is another way to purchase bitcoins, but I would not recommend it due to the security risks involved with publicly buying Bitcoin.
My recommendation would be a decentralized P2P platform like Hodlhodl or Bisq, if you're privacy conscious.

tl;Dr
Yes, you can, you just need to select a means to do that.

For your safety starting point. How legit is the service of the store you want to use Bitcoin to make purchases online? Once you send the payment and is confirmed you can't reverse it back.
For buying Bitcoin, due to your level of experience, I will also advise you to buy it as described by BitMaxz or from a reputable member of the forum using escrow which I'm not sure if they will like fiat currency as a payment

Know what's the easiest way to purchase bitcoin on your country and upon buying, your electrum wallet address is the one that you'll be placing as your receiving address. That's all you've got to do and if the easiest way such as an exchange requires you a KYC, if you don't like it then find another one for your another easy purchase. But if you just want to purchase something, there are gift cards that you can pay through bitcoin or just buy it directly with fiat so no hassle at all.

When you talk of the security risk involved in purchasing Bitcoin publicly, is it same risk involved in withdrawing fiat publicly or there is something more?
Trust you understand, because after using fiat ATM, No one will determine if I withdrew $10 or $2,000. And there will not be trace of my Bitcoin balance. I think same should be applicable to Bitcoin.

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For more privacy concerns, who provides the Bitcoin ATM?
The Centralized exchanges, such as banks does for fiat ATM. If yes, does it require kyc to use?

I would say it is something more. The concept of Bitcoin is not yet generalized as fiat is and many still associate it with the elites or 'silently rich'. When one withdraws fiat on an ATM, they do not announce anything as everyone uses fiat, only if criminals know that you have a large amount on you, you would become a target, but with Bitcoin ATMs, using them announces that you own some bitcoins and even without knowing how much you got, people could assume you have a lot, especially when the price increases rapidly.

• The Bitcoin ATM is provided by the manufacturer. They usually have different terms and conditions to use.
• Bitcoin is ATMs do not require KYC, but some require you to have an account on the website of the provider, which may require KYC,
Some others use phone number verification.

I would like to ask a question about how much you are going to purchase, if its about 100 dollars then Bitcoin ATMs are the best because when you purchase BTC on exchanges or p2p you have to pay huge amount as the withdrawal fee which may be about $20 even in the lowest fee structure at the current price of BTC.

Or you are going to buy for decent amount then go for the exchanges over p2p due to security or for p2p if you don't want the exchanges to have all your information.