Ripple’s XRP is among the cryptocurrencies in the world right now. It gained nearly 4300 percent during the crypto boom in 2017. In this detailed guideline, we’ll show you how you can invest in the-third largest cryptocurrency XRP.
Before investing in the cryptocurrency, it is advised to check the legality of crypto trading in your area as several countries have banned the use of cryptocurrencies entirely. If it is legal to own cryptocurrency in your country, then follow the below guidelines to learn how to buy Ripple cryptocurrency.
Different ways to buy XRP:
- How to buy Ripple with USD
- How to buy Ripple with other cryptocurrencies
- How to buy Ripple peer-to-peer
1. How to buy Ripple with USD
There are several crypto exchanges where XRP can be bought using US dollars. Bitstamp, Kraken, Binance, and Bitfinex are some of the exchanges where you can pay for XRP via debit card, credit card, or bank transfer. Most of the exchanges require you to prove your identifications before you can make a deposit.
How to buy XRP with USD on Kraken
The first step in order to buy XRP on any exchange is to sign up. Go to the main website of Kraken and click on “create your account.” You can sign up just by using an email id. After signing in into your account, you’ll need your account to get verified for Tier 3 or higher in order to make bank deposits in USD to buy Ripple. You will be required to provide some ID verifying documents before you can make a deposit.
Once your account is verified, proceed to account, then funding and then to deposit. You now have the option to select from the different types of deposit options. If you are a US residence making a USD deposit, you will need to choose the domestic wire transfers. If you are a non-US resident, then you’ll need an ID verification and select USD SMBC (SWIFT) to make the deposit.
Note: Kraken charges a $5 fee to the domestic users and a 10$ fee for non-US users.
Now you browse through crypto pairs and select the XRP/USD option. Click on the “New Order” and choose the simple interface, and now you are ready to place a buy order on Kraken. Put in the amount of XRP you want to buy and click on submit.
Note: Kraken only excepts wire transfers and does not accept credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and other similar forms of payments.
2. How to buy Ripple with other cryptocurrencies
Ripple’s XRP can also be bought using other cryptocurrencies. All top exchanges offer trading pairs of XRP with other major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The first thing you need to buy XRP is bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in your crypto wallet. Bittrex, Poloneix, Binance, Bitstamp, and Kraken are among the top exchanges that allow you to trade other coins for XRP. If you do not own any bitcoin or ethereum, you can purchase it on Coinbase or any other major exchanges. Coinbase also added support for XRP earlier this year.
Like explained previously, create an account on any of the mentioned exchanges. Once you verify your account, you can transfer the cryptocurrency from your wallet to the new account that you created with the exchange. Now you can browse through different XRP pairs and select the appropriate one. Once you select the trading pair, you can place the order to trade the cryptocurrency you have for XRP.
Crypto exchanges that trade XRP/BTC:
- Poloniex
- Binance
- OKEx
- Huobi
- Bittrex
- Upbit
- HitBTC
- Bitstamp
- Coinbase
Note: Poloniex exchange does not offer services to US customers. According to its new policy, it does not require KYC for deposits under $10,000.
3. How to buy Ripple peer-to-peer
Buying any cryptocurrency from a centralized exchange can compromise your anonymity, which defeats the purpose of remaining anonymous. If you care for your privacy and don’t trust the centralized exchange, then you can buy XRP using peer-to-peer service.
There are not many P2P websites that allow trading of XRP. Cointal is one of the P2P marketplaces that allow XRP trading. Go to the Cointal website and create your account. You will see the option to sell or buy cryptocurrency. Click on buy and browse through and select XRP.
Once you have selected XRP, you can browse through different trade offers proposed by individual traders. If you decide to accept a trade offer of your liking, you can contact the person. In peer-to-peer trade, there is no third party involved.
The downside for purchasing XRP on a peer-to-peer platform is that if you get scammed by a peer, you can not contact someone to claim your funds. But there are measures that you can to take stop that from happening. Before you pick a trader to buy XRP, always check his reputation from the rating based on previous transactions.
Note: Once you complete a transaction on a peer-to-peer platform, you have the option to give the trader a rating that helps the other users.
In a peer-to-peer transaction, the amount of crypto you want to buy is first stored in an escrow wallet, and when you make the payment, the trader confirms the crypto is released from escrow wallet to your account.
Is XRP decentralized?
Ripple’s main objective is to provide services to global financial companies to make cross-border transactions frictionless. XRP is the third-largest crypto with a market capitalization of over $8 billion. It has been a topic of debate in the crypto community whether XRP is decentralized or not as it not mined like bitcoin, and half of it is owned by Ripple. But Ripple has claimed that XRP is decentralized and will continue to trade even if Ripple is shit down.
This was our detailed guideline on how to buy Ripple coin. It is highly advised to make sure the legality of cryptocurrencies in your are before making a purchase as several countries have banned the use of cryptocurrencies.