Be prepared to pay a markup on XRP’s market rate in exchange for the convenience. Just type in how much you want to spend in USD and let the bitcoin price charts and news exchange work out the rest. Don’t worry too much about extra features or coins for now – you can always sign up with another exchange later.
XRP is an open-source cryptocurrency project created by the private firm Ripple. Primarily a digital asset designed to overcome several problems in international banking, cross-border payments, and sourcing liquidity, XRP has remained among the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap since 2017. When you own cryptocurrencies, what you really own is a private key, a critical piece of information used to authorize outgoing transactions on the blockchain network. Holding the private keys gives you how to stake etherium access to your crypto, like holding a pin code to your debit card; in short it gives you access to your funds. XRP wasn’t intended to be used as a cryptocurrency, but it began to stand out to investors for its transaction speed, fees, and network scalability compared to other crypto-assets. Compared to Bitcoin, BTC is considered more of a store of value for investing purposes, as the Bitcoin blockchain has slower transaction times and higher fees but an anti-inflationary monetary policy.
- You may have to tinker a little bit with your favorite platform to figure out the process, but once you have gone through the other steps outlined above, buying should be simple.
- Most centralized platforms offer a tiered identity verification process where the more you transact, the more ID details they will demand of you.
- Initially, the XRP Ledger used digital assets called “ripples,” which evolved into the XRP currency token we know today.
- If you’re buying XRP, consider how you think an adverse legal decision might affect its value — and whether that’s a risk you’re willing to take.
OTC exchanges act as financial intermediaries between buyers and sellers of large quantities of cryptocurrencies. OTC desks typically cater to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) who require more liquidity and personalized service. The box highlighted below the credit card box shows the available crypto networks from which you can transfer digital assets to Uphold. In our case, we have already added a bank account, so we will select that, which will close the dialogue box. The exchange will load a list of available funding options, including using a bank account, credit card, assets held within your Uphold account, or even transferring crypto from an external wallet to Uphold. Uphold is a New York-based multi-asset company with cryptocurrency as one of its supported products.
However, should XRP lose its case with the SEC the panel expects its value to drop to $0.24. Unfortunately for investors, we won’t know the outcome of the case until 2023. These tokens were distributed to individuals and companies – which has called into question how decentralized XRP truly is – as a large majority are held by just a few entities.
Buy Ripple through exchange services
Keep in mind that these are suggestions and that the exchange that is best for you will depend on your individual needs. If you’re ready to get started, read on for step-by-step instructions and a list of platforms you can use to buy Ripple in the US. While this has helped make XRP the #6 crypto by market cap, Ripple is still a highly volatile asset capable of major price swings in a single day. Depending on the chosen deposit or funding method, your XRP will be credited to your account immediately or after a predetermined period.
Step 1 – Where to Buy XRP Crypto exchanges that sell XRP
Being a crypto investor requires taking security seriously and owning your private keys gives you much more power and control. The main principle behind hardware wallets is to provide full isolation between the private keys and your easy-to-hack computer or smartphone. The only people you can trust for storing your crypto assets is yourself. Payment processors that support XRP are largely crypto-focused, but traditional companies are beginning to experiment with XRP payment processing.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Platforms
For instance, MoneyGram, a global money transfer company, has partnered with Ripple to pilot XRP-based cross-border payments. Tradelink, a trade finance platform, has integrated XRP into its platform to facilitate faster and more cost-effective international trade settlements. A payment processor is a third-party company that facilitates electronic payments between merchants and customers. Payment processors play a crucial role in the modern e-commerce landscape, enabling merchants to accept various payment methods at the point-of-sale (POS), such as credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets. Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that XRP was a security and charged XRP’s parent company — Ripple — with violating securities laws. Crypto exchanges founded and based in the US are required to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a division of the US Department of the Treasury. This bureau safeguards the US financial system by working to prevent money laundering, terrorist-financing activity and other financial crimes. Some platforms only offer 1 way to buy Ripple, while others provide several choices.
Ripple does not have a native wallet that allows you to buy XRP directly. However, a number of third-party wallets support XRP purchases directly within the wallet. Each sub-network trusts a specific set of nodes known as the Unique Node List (UNL), which consists of a limited number of servers owned and operated by diverse financial institutions, including banks. Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with information to help you make better decisions.
ETH is heavily used in decentralized Ethereum apps due to the Ethereum blockchain’s smart contract capabilities. Crypto ATMs are kiosks that allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using cash or debit cards. Crypto ATMs server hardening standard windows provide a convenient way for individuals to access cryptocurrencies without the need for a traditional cryptocurrency exchange account. One trading option offered by centralized exchanges is over-the-counter (OTC) trading.
This distributed platform, XRP Ledger, issues a native cryptocurrency, XRP, to enhance payment capabilities and international transfers. Different funding channels attract varying transaction fees, and payments settle after varying durations. Typically, using credit/debit cards is the most expensive method, but it’s also the fastest and most direct, in that you do not have to deposit to your account, but rather you can buy XRP directly. The funds from your account are deducted by the exchange, which then deposits an equivalent amount of the desired asset in your account. KuCoin is a Singapore-based, highly regulated crypto exchange with operations covering close to 200 countries. The exchange offers trading, brokerage, staking, hot storage, lending, and early-stage project investment to its more than ten million users, and one of its supported digital assets is XRP.
An investment plan helps you decide what you will buy, how often, and the quantity of that asset to buy. Most centralized platforms offer a tiered identity verification process where the more you transact, the more ID details they will demand of you. For instance, with Binance, the minimum ID verification level involves just submitting your name, providing your country of residence and date of birth.
Best Crypto Exchanges and Apps
Before making your purchase, research which trading platform suits you best based on security and ease of use. But if you decide to buy XRP with another crypto, you’ll have to create a crypto wallet that supports XRP and then use the currency on the exchange uses that pairs with XRP to buy the crypto. To create an account with your chosen crypto platform, you only need an email address or mobile number. In this guide, you will learn how to buy XRP, Ripple’s native crypto, why it matters, and how it fits into the larger Ripple ecosystem to enable seamless global payments. He’s researched, written about and practiced investing for nearly two decades. As a writer, Michael has covered everything from stocks to cryptocurrency and ETFs for many of the world’s major financial publications, including Kiplinger, U.S. News and World Report, The Motley Fool and more.
We had also outlined a simple step-by-step process to acquire XRP from Uphold, one of the few exchanges that still allow its users to buy XRP. Most other exchanges offer a similar process to buy crypto, but the details may vary. You can tinker with your chosen platform to figure out the process or contact the official customer support for help. When the XRP tokens are sent from one wallet to another, they are transferred on the XRP ledger (XRPL), which is a blockchain network similar to Bitcoin in functionality. However, unlike Bitcoin, the XRPL does not use mining as a consensus mechanism.
You’ll need to create a Ripple wallet (an account) and get it approved before being able to buy. A Ripple wallet helps you protect your private key, not storing your Ripple. If you are fairly new to cryptocurrencies you might still be struggling with the concept of private key and why it’s so important. Perhaps you just get into cryptocurrency by purchasing coins on an exchange platform but didn’t even realize that they hold the private keys to your cryptocurrency. DeFi platforms are decentralized applications (dApps) built on blockchain technology that provide third-party financial services without the need for traditional intermediaries like banks or brokerage firms.
Once you are done with the account setup stage, you are now ready to fund your account, but before doing that, you might want to first review your XRP investment strategy. An SEC complaint filed in December 2020 alleged that XRP was an unregistered security and that the company’s sale of XRP violated federal securities law. In recent months, the price of XRP has typically traded for well under a dollar.