How to Buy XRP? [Complete Guide]

Being founded back in 2012, Ripple company rolled out its own digital currency – XRP. It has managed to become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, closely following bitcoin and sometimes even replacing ethereum as the second most valuable coin. While XRP gains ever-growing adoption, it is still complicated for many people to understand how to actually get the coin.

As we already wrote in a detailed Ripple guide (which we strongly recommend to check out:), Ripple has a finite supply of coins limited to 100 billion XRPs, which are all initially mined. This, together with the gradual monthly release of the coins (Ripple holds around 60% of the total supply), turns into a kind of benefit as, given that there is no place for inflation in such a case, XRP becomes a really promising asset.

You are interested in buying XRP, but don’t know how to start? We’ve reviewed lots of data to figure out recommendations on where, and even more importantly HOW, to securely acquire your first coins.

How to buy XRP with USD

You can easily invest your USDs on the following exchanges:

Binance’ Trust Wallet

Start with searching for Trust Wallet App in AppStore or PlayStore. Make sure that app’s publisher is SIX DAYS LLC.

Open the app and add XRP wallet pressing the button indicated on the screenshot.

Fill in “XRP” and press “+”.

Go to the XRP wallet.

Scroll down and press “Buy XRP”.

Fill in the sum.

Provide your card details.

Pros

• Simple to use
• A user retains control of private keys
• Features both a decentralized exchange and the ability to interact with dapps

Cons

• It’s not as secure as hardware wallet
• No 2-factor authentication
• Stores tokens on the Ethereum network only

Bitstamp

• Start with creating a Bitstamp account. This includes standard steps like providing your name and email.

• Once the initial step is done, click Verify Account and provide additional info, such as a scan of an ID document.
• Now, start making deposits. Select the size of your investment, and choose how you will send the funds, whether via international transfer or via your credit card. Prior to any transfers, provide your banking information.
• Then proceed to making the purchase by selecting the USD/XRP pair and placing an order. Move to Buy XRP, specify the desired sum, and press Buy. After the operation is finished, check your increased XRP balance. That’s all!

Here’re the pros and cons you should keep in mind when choosing Bitstamp exchange:

Pros

• Low fees
• A wide choice of altcoins to invest in
• Credit/Debit card support
• High liquidity ratio

Cons

• Lengthy verification procedure
• Complicated KYC procedure
• Poor customer support

Kraken

• First, open the registration page and set up a new account. In order to activate it, just click that link in the email from Kraken and fill in other data.

• Next, go through the verification process. For USD transfers, Kraken requires users to get approved for at least Tier 3, what includes providing your identification data.
• Remember that each tier has its limit which you cannot overcome. Press Funding, move to Deposit and specify the type of transfer. To get more info on deposits, visit the page.
• Now choose the XRP/USD pair, provide the number of XRPs and submit the order.

Check out the following before choosing Kraken exchange:

Pros

• Low commission
• High liquidity
• Cheap deposits in EUR
• Supports margin trading
• Short selling available

Cons

• Doesn’t accept credit/debit cards
• Not user-friendly design, especially for beginners
• Slow client service
• Limited choice of crypto pairs to trade

Changelly

Before buying XRP on Changelly, note that to receive the coins you need your own XRP wallet.  There are a lot of wallets available, for instance, Edge, CoinPayments, and others.

• Just like with the previous exchanges, you first need to have a registered account.
• After filling out your profile, select XRP from the list of other altcoins, and enter the sum (in USD) that you’re going to invest.
• To finalize the order, click Next. Put in your XRP wallet address, a destination tag and go next. If everything is ok, click Confirm and then Make Payment. To pay via credit card, provide your card info, including CVC code and valid thru.
• Next, confirm the payment via SMS. As an alternative, you can record a short video of yourself holding a passport in hand.
• After entering the code (you’ll get it in about 15 minutes), Changelly will start processing the payment. The funds will be in your account within a maximum 30 minutes.

Changelly’s Pros

• Supports credit cards
• Wide list of cryptocurrencies
• 2FA authentication
• No deposit storage and instant money exchange
• No ID verification

Cons (yes, there’re some)

• Charges a fee of 0.5%
• No margin trading
• Lacks multisig wallets and email notifications

BitSane

• Open the BitSane homepage and click Sign Up. Provide email address, a password, and a country you live in.
• Before making the purchase, you need to recharge your balance. Go to the Balances tab and find USD in the Wallets category. The deposits can be made with Advcash, Okpay, or through the wire transfer. For deposits via wire transfers, the system will also need to prove your identity.
• After being verified, you can start trading. Simply click on Exchange, select the XRP/USD combination, and choose an order which will be shown in the Orders category after its implementation.

Here’re the pros and cons you should keep in mind when choosing BitSane exchange:

Pros

• Competitive transaction fees
• SEPA transfers support

Cons

• Doesn’t accept credit and debit cards
• Lacks margin trading

Cex.io

• To acquire XRPs, you’ll need a registered account on Cex.io. Log in using your email address and password or via any social media account.
• Add your card info then, including date of expiry, card number, and name.
• Verify data you entered by providing ID proof as required by the exchange.
• Once the card is linked to your account, go to Wallet, then proceed to Deposit, find USD, and enter how much you are going to transfer. Press Deposit.
• Finally, open the Buy/Sell category and start buying XRP.

Pros

• Credit card support
• Margin trading support
• Offers mobile app
• High maximum transfers for verified accounts
• Free bank deposits

Cons

• Expensive bank withdrawals
• Limited fiat currency support
• High commission for BTC transfers

Gatehub

• As usually, first, register on the platform.
• Prior to depositing, prove your identity by providing your phone, username, photo, personal data, and ID documents.
• Click on a Gateway section, insert the password and click Unlock. Select USD and confirm Gateway selection. Go to the My Wallet section and click Deposit/Receive. Choose Bank and follow instructions before depositing.
• After the virtual money is transferred, proceed to Exchange, and unlock the wallet by adding the password. Put in the sum you plan to exchange and confirm.

Study attentively when choosing Gatehub:

Pros

• Large number of altcoins
• Competitive trading fees (0.2% – 0.3%)
• Offers mobile app

Cons

• High transaction fees
• Lacks margin trading
• Was hacked last year
• Many negative reviews

Coinmama

Buying XRP on Coinmama involves three simple steps:

• Set up a new Coinmama account. Activate it by clicking on the link that you will find in your email.
• To ensure KYC compliance, Coinmama will require you to provide additional personal documents (depends on the verification level).
• Once your data is approved by the exchange, you’re ready to place an XRP order. Enter the desired wallet, complete the form and purchase your XRP coins.

Here’re the pros and cons you should keep in mind:

Pros

• No middleman
• Zero withdrawal fees
• Live pricing in USD, EUR
• Fast customer service
• Beginner friendly

Cons

• Doesn’t have mobile app
• High trading fee

Revolut

Revolut is a fast and easy alternative to existing crypto exchanges. Using the app, you can easily convert deposited funds into XRP.

• First, register by adding your mobile phone number.
• To add money to the balance, click Top Up, and provide credit card details. Once the card is linked, choose USD and select the desired amount.
• When sending money via bank transfer, open Profile section, go to Account details, and select the currency you plan to replenish your balance with.
• Then go to the Exchange section, select USD and XRP, put in the sum, and press Exchange.

Pros

• No fees for spending funds abroad
• Instant exchanges between 25 currencies
• 24-hour customer service
• Free ATM withdrawals limited to £200/€200

Cons

• Charges increased fees on weekends
• Fees for immediate transfers
• Takes up to nine working days for the card to arrive

Uphold

• To get verified on Uphold, upload a photo proving your identity (it can be driver’s license, passport, or a selfie).
• In case you don’t have a wallet for XRP, you can create an XRP card. Proceed to Add Card/Currency and set XRP as the currency. To top it up, select Add funds from card and press confirm. To purchase XRP, just transfer XRP to the new XRP card from the USD card. Besides, the card balance can be replenished via bank account. To do this, provide information relating to your bank account, enter the amount to send, and confirm.
• You can send USD directly to your XRP digital wallet if you already have it. Open the Use Funds tab, click Send to Cryptocurrency or Utility Token, choose XRP, insert wallet address, and press confirm.
• Residents of Japan can acquire XRP via Bitbank platform, whilst traders located in China can use ZB.com. Korean customers can buy XRP tokens with KRW on Bithumb or Upbit.

Pros

• Zero fees for transactions between Uphold members
• A single wallet for digital and fiat currency
• Instant conversions between over 30 currencies
• Beginner friendly website

Cons

• Charges fees for conversions between currencies
• Access to funding methods is different in each country
• Lengthy verification

Cointal

In addition to the above-described platforms, you can acquire XRP via a P2P exchange. Cointal is a crypto marketplace automatically connecting traders. If compared to other trading platforms, the registration on Cointal is quite simple.

Move to the Sign Up page and register an account. After this, you’ll be redirected to the page on which you can find open offers.

Pros

• No withdrawal or deposit limits
• Strong customer support
• Charges only 1% transaction fee on selling the digital currency

Cons

• No C2C exchanges
• No margin trading

Etoro

• First, sign up for the platform. After filling your personal data, press an email confirmation to verify identity. The platform has strict KYC requirements, so it will be impossible to open an anonymous account and withdraw funds without ID verification.
• The next step is sending funds to your Etoro account. The exchange offers many deposit methods (such as credit cards and PayPal), although it still doesn’t support deposits in crypocurrency. Go to Deposit funds tab, select the desired currency and a payment option.
• Next you’ll have to place an order. Press the market section, find XRP, and press buy. After selecting the currency, you’ll see a popup asking to insert additional details, like the investment amount. All orders are displayed in the Portfolio section.

Pros

• Possibility to learn from successful investors
• Investments available for traders without an XRP wallet
• A lot of deposit options
• App for both Android and iOS
• Low minimum deposit

Cons

• No support for digital currency deposits
• High spread fees

How to buy XRP with Bitcoin, USDT, KRW, JPY

HitBTC and Binance are currently the main platforms offering XRP purchases in exchange for Bitcoin.

Binance

• Sign up by going to the Register link. After finalizing all steps, verify account.
• After logging in, top up your balance. Move to the Funds tab, press Deposit, and find BTC in the search bar. Then you will get a Bitcoin deposit address, copy it, continue by going to your wallet where you keep bitcoin, and send funds to the copied wallet. After a transfer is processed, the coins will be shown in the balance.
• Before placing a new XRP order, open Exchange and select Basic. After choosing XRP/BTC, you’ll see a price chart where you have to put in how many Bitcoin and XRP tokens you plan to exchange. Press Buy.

Pros

• Broad offering of altcoins
• Mobile app
• Lowest fees (0.1% per trade)

Cons

• No fiat currency
• Low liquidity
• Complicated for beginners

HitBTC

• The signup is quite simple: just put in your email along with a password. Go through the link in your email to activate account. To verify it, HitBTC may also ask you to give some personal data.
• Once the first step is completed, transfer BTC to your HitBTC account via a preferred bitcoin wallet. Choose Account, tap on the Bitcoin wallet, and find BTC. Copy the generated wallet address, paste it into the wallet you store funds in, and send coins to the exchange.
• Next, go to Exchange, and find the XRP/BTC pair. Open the Buy section and just place your buying order.

Pros

• Relatively low transaction fees
• Over 50 currencies available
• Anonymous accounts
• Intuitive design

Cons

• Difficult verification process
• No mobile app
• Slow withdrawals

For those wishing to invest in XRP with Tether (USDT), there are plenty of options to choose from. In addition to the above mentioned Binance, XRP/ USDT pair is available on Huobi, CoinBene, OKEX, Digifinex, Fcoin, and other. Let’s see how to purchase XRP on the leading exchanges:

Huobi

• Register a new account with the exchange. To ensure protection of your money, the system will require you to enable 2F authentication.
• Go to a wallet where your USDT are stored, and send the desired amount of coins to Huobi. Then open Balances, and go to Deposit & Withdraw. Find USDT in the list of currencies, click the Deposit button in order to access the wallet address.
• Once the account is funded, open the Exchange tab, select the XRP/USDT currency pair, choose an order, put in the sum you want to acquire. After checking transaction details, confirm it by pressing the Buy button.

Pros

• Supports wide range of coins (more than 100)
• Beginner friendly
• Available on Windows and Mac, as well as on iOS and Android
• Competitive fees
• Margin trading

Cons

• Low limits on withdrawals
• Mixed customer reviews

OKEX

• Sign up by filling out the registration form. OKEX will send you the 6-digit code that you’ll have to enter into the Enter Code field.
• Following the registration, deposit USDT into your OKEX wallet. Click Account in the upper navigation bar. The exchange will take you to your wallet where you need to select USDT and click Token Deposit. You’ll see a wallet address to transfer your coins to.
• Once the balance is topped up, go to Token Trading and select XRP/USDT trading pair. Finally, choose the XRP order type, put in the amount, and click Buy.

Pros

• High liquidity
• Margin trading

Cons

• Fiat money limited to CNY
• Difficult for beginners

CoinBene

• First, create a new account, fill in username and a password. Then open the email from CoinBene to activate and confirm your account.
• After your profile is verified, secure the account by enabling Two-Factor Authentication and setting a PIN to your account.
• To top up the balance, go to Deposit in the Assets section on the left side of the page. Next, specify the currency you want to transfer, and click Deposit Address. Copy the address generated by the platform and send USDT to this address.
• Finally, select the XRP/ USDT pair, enter the sum you plan to buy, and click on the Buy button.

Pros

• Wide range of coins supported
• Competitive fees
• No deposit/withdrawal fees

Cons

• No fiat currency support
• Little info about the platform

Conclusion (So, Is It Worth to Invest in XRP at All?)

Ripple system was initially created as a global settlement solution to enable cross-border transfers conducted by financial organizations. As for the XRP token, it was invented only as an instrument of exchange inside the RippleNet, so it’s difficult to forecast its future performance.

Ripple has already entered into deals with such banks like UBS and Santander, and is likely to keep expanding in the years to come. Several payment companies, including MoneyNetInt and Viamericas, partnered with Ripple, what is set to facilitate the technology’s further adoption.

Meanwhile, XRP is steadily showing price gains and, according to analysts, will keep moving up. Furthermore, the Trump’s administration has shown interest in the new digital coin and has reportedly started the technology’s research.

Like with any other virtual coin, putting money into XRP is a risky initiative. The coin, however, has all the potential to bring good investment returns, given Ripple will boost its network adoption in the banking sector.

To learn more about Ripple and its native cryptocurrency XRP, please check out our complete guide.