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This is a step-by-step guide on how to buy Ethereum in the UK without any extra charges. Although I bought in the United Kingdom currency, the exact same process can be applied when buying in Europe or US.
There has been an increase in the cost of cryptocurrency transactions. The market trends around cryptocurrencies have led exchanges to charge unstable high fees and rip off customers in the process. Time to turn the tables!
But first, let's do a quick start beginner's guide to buying Ethereum
What is Ethereum? : How to buy Ethereum in the UK
Ethereum is simply a blockchain and cryptocurrency platform with smart contract functionality. You can refer to it as decentralized platforms invented by Vitalik Buterin in 2013 to enable developers build apps on top. Ethereum is a flexible crypto that can be used to codify, is decentralized, secure and can trade just about anything: intellectual property, domain names, company governance, financial exchanges, crowd funding and contracts and agreement of most kind.
Now, that's settled- Let's look at Ether
What is Ether?Simply put, Ether is the currency of the Ethereum platform. Ether will be required of any developer looking to build upon or use the Ethereum platform. Like the popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Ether can be mined or traded around the web. In a few more paragraphs, I will show you exactly where you can buy it and where to mine it.
Most people use the term Ethereum to refer to the currency instead of Ether and that's why it can get so confusing. The total supply of ether and its rate of issuance was decided by the donations gathered on the 2014 presale of the currency.
The results were roughly: 60 million ether created to contributors of the presale 12 Million (20% of the above) were created to the development fund, most of it going to early contributors and developers and the remaining to the Ethereum Foundation 5 ethers are created every block (roughly 15-17 seconds) to the miner of the block 2-3 ethers are sometimes sent to another miner if they were also able to find a solution but his block wasn't included (called uncle/aunt reward) The founders of Ethereum state that
Ether is not a currency as much as it is "crypto-fuel", meaning it's a token that has one main use - to pay for the Ethereum platform. This means that you probably won't be able to buy stuff with Ether online. However you can still trade it and invest in it in hopes its price goes up. Because Ether is less "mature" than Bitcoin at the moment, it's less suitable for non-technical people. For example, you can download Ether's official wallet app from github, but there's no "user friendly" version of it yet.
There's also MyEtherWallet and EthereumWallet available with a simple interface. Ethereum (ETH) vs. Ethereum Classic (ETC) Ethereum Classic is a cryptocurrency that was created due to a disagreement with the way original Ethereum conducted business. The catalyst for the split was due to a hacker finding a way to steal $60m worth of Ethereum coins.
The supporters of ETH said that the code should be altered and the stolen coins should be refunded, while the supporters of ETC said that "code is law" and whatever happened happened. So in real life what happened is that ETC was the same original Ehtereum code and ETH forked their code to create a new Ethereum. Therefor 2 identical competing currencies were created that had 2 different exchange rates. Today ETH's price is much higher and is more common in the general cryptocurrency community.
Technically, you can follow this guide to buy Ethereum, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin without paying any fees whatsoever. What you see is what you get.
Be careful though. I only treat it as a small gamble and I'm prepared to lose everything. This is not investment advice and you should do your own research before buying any cryptocurrencies. They are speculative investments and are very risky! I've written my thoughts on crypto here.
Let's now see how we can buy Ethereum as an example.
The simplest option is to follow what everyone else is doing. Sign up for Coinbase, top up the account using your debit card and hit the Buy button. If you sign up using this link we both get $10 worth of free bitcoins. I won't blame you since this is the most hassle-free choice but it will cost you ~5% in fees. If you're buying a small amount of crypto maybe that's ok, but for large amounts, percentage fees hurt!
For those of us who want the more advanced but free option, read below.
How to buy Ethereum in the UK- Sign up for Coinbase
- (UK only) Transfer funds to Revolut
- Make a bank transfer to Coinbase
- Move the money from Coinbase to GDAX
- Buy Ethereum using a limit order with zero fees
Step 1: Sign up for Coin base- How to buy Ethereum in the UK
You are signing up on Coin base so you can take advantage of their GDAX exchange. This is the interface advanced users use to buy and sell Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin every day. In other words, they trade on GDAX.
Why coinbase?Coinbase is one of the biggest well-known exchanges and they've been around for a while. About 5 years.
Coinbase and GDAX are the same company and you can transfer money between those two instantly and for free. After you sign up for coinbase, they'll ask you for a proof of ID. The verification can take anywhere from 12, 24 or 48 hours to complete.
Step 2: Transfer funds to Revolut [UK only]-How to buy Ethereum in the UK
If you have a US or a Euro bank account, Good news! You can skip this step.
If you live in the UK, you'd need a EUR bank account to avoid paying exchange fees when paying into the EUR-based coinbase account. Another thing is that you can only buy Ethereum using Euros otherwise you have to first buy Bitcoin and then convert them, which is more trouble.
It would be really tempting to do a GBP transfer to coinbase EUR account but this is a no extra fee guide after all Revolut is a mobile app which acts as an online prepaid card. You can open one almost immediately online and it gives you the option to exchange from GBP-> EUR at market rates. Also, you get provided with a EUR IBAN so you can deposit cash to coinbase as if you're a EUR account holder.
To do this, simply click on the white lines with dots icon near the top -> Add EUR account.
I like Transferwire and was going to use them to deposit EUR at coinbase until I came across several users on Reddit warnings that Transferwise does not allow deposits to crypto exchanges. It's such a shame because I love the work these guys have been doing
Step 3: Make a bank transfer to Coinbase- How to buy Ethereum in the UK
Time to begin getting those coins
You must make sure that the reference code is present in the transfer.
Make a bank transfer from your USD, Revolt in UK or EUR bank account to coinbase account bank. Now, you must endeavour to type the reference number you were given each time you make a transfer. If you skip this step, you will have to chat or email the coinbase customer service to find out why your money is not there yet ...
To use the Revolt mobile app, make a transfer like this: Click on the payments icon from the main screen-> To Bank account and fill in the receivers ban details. Again, do not forget to add the reference number. Still unsure about the whole step? You can send small cash like 10€ first to see if it truly works and once you're convinced, send the actual amount. The money should show p in your coinbase account after the bank transfer.
Step 4: Move the money from Coinbase to GDAX- How to buy Ethereum in the UK
Since you will be using GAX to purchase Ethereum without any extra charges, you will need to move the
We will be using GDAX to buy Ethereum without fees. Therefore, we need to move the money from coinbase to GDAX once the bank transfer is successful. As stated earlier, Coinbase is the same company as GDAX and they share accounts. So, no need to re-register again.
GDAX also offers deposits there, but for some unknown reason, the Euros will not appear on GDAX but only in the coinbase wallet.
Step 5: Buy Ethereum using a limit order with zero fees- How to buy Ethereum in the UK
Congratulations! Now you have your money in GDAX. But wait; there is now a limit order with zero fees. What's a limit order? It happens when you place an order that says: "I want to buy A Ethereum when the price drops to Z". Let's say I want to buy 0.6 Ethereum.
From the buy options, I selected the LIMIT and type in the amount of ETH I want to buy. As you can see, 637.80 is the price people want to buy at and 638.03 the price people want to sell at. Type in the green top price to have your order filled as soon as possible.
That's all! In a couple of seconds, your order will be filled and you will have 0.5 Eth as profit!
What if I want to buy other cryptocurrencies (Monero, Dash etc)?Currently, GDAX supports just 4 cryptocurrencies. However, there is a really cool service called Shapeshift.io where you can exchange your coins to other crypto coins. It's cheap as you only pay the miner's fee which is usually less than a cent.
In just 3 steps, you send your coin from GDAX to shapeshift, they transform it into your desired coin and then send to your wallet address. Very easy, right?
If you love to buy from an actual exchange like GDAX, sign up to Binance(a platform that lists hundreds of coins). It doesn't require verification but you can only deposit coins to Binance not fiat currency (GBP, EUR etc.)
Don't want to buy? You can day trade as wellIf you are diving into the world of Ethereum to profit on the exchange rate, you can also invest in Ethereum contract for difference (CFD). The aim here is to trade according to the exchange rate rather than buy Ethereum.
CFD is almost perfect for traders who are experienced and your cash is at risk each time you trade. Optionally, you can mine. Ethereum Mining uses proof-of-work. An alternative mining method is to use your own computer (CPU mining), but it will probably not get you too far. ETH mining is similar to Bitcoin in the sense that there is a diminishing block reward for every block mined.
On the other hand, if you have a dedicated GPU set up fro the task then you can get some real rewards. Interested in learning how to mine Ether? Check out Ethereum's official web page. Ether and Ethereum are globally changing how the internet works and how money can be made. Whether it will survive the coming storm is unsure, but for now you can easily get involved in this future money following our steps mentioned above.
ThoughtsInterested in buying Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash and Litecoin for free? You can repeat the same process. This is an awesome way to sell or buy your coins without a middleman.
Of course, I know its not the most conveneinet process at first, but once you become a verified user on coinbase and have some funds in, then it's the best how to buy Ethereum in the UK.
Note: It Is best to always buy with money you can afford to lose. Cryptocurrencies are very volatile and very risky. This blog post Is not an investment advice. Ensure to carry out your deep research!
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