Ripple, or XRP as it is also known, is a cryptocurrency that aims to allow quick and cheap transactions on a global scale. This is true for transactions of any size, in any currency, and Ripple itself actually works as a ledger where transactions get verified by administrators. This isn’t entirely different from mainstream blockchain projects such as Ethereum, but Ripple has a very clear goal. This goal is to solve the current problem of large fees charged for international transfers, as well as unfavourable exchange rates set by the middleman – set by a range of different authorities.
Ripple has actually been around since 2012, and a man by the name of Jed McCaleb was the visionary behind the initial launch. Fast forward to 2018, over 100 banks had reportedly signed up with Ripple to take advantage of the project’s capabilities. Despite a bumpy couple of years relating to legal issues with the SEC, Ripple is still going strong, sitting at number seven in terms of market capitalisation at the time of writing.
Where To Buy Ripple?
As stated above, there has been a bit of controversy surrounding Ripple in recent times due to the SEC lawsuit over in the US. This caused certain platforms to run in fear and de-list Ripple from their offerings. However, one platform is still going strong and it supports a range of benefits for those that take the plunge. Here it is:
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Instead of being a brokerage site for stocks and shares, eToro has captured the attention of the masses by evolving into a multi-product trading site. Currently, you can invest in the stock market, commodities, and most recently, cryptocurrency. This means that yes, you can directly purchase Ripple through eToro, and doing so involves zero fees.
Pros
- Several products giving exposure to Ripple
- Ability to copy trades of professionals
- Zero fees for all Ripple trades
- Simple set-up and trading interface
Cons
- Customer support not always instant
- Fees for withdrawals and inactivity
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Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in most EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk. CFD crypto trading is unavailable for clients residing in the UK and US. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
What Is The Difference Between Buying And Trading Ripple?
Buying describes the simple act of actually buying a set amount of XRP tokens. There’s nothing more to it than that, whereas trading can involve multiple order variations, and it certainly requires expert knowledge. We’ve detailed how these terms, while similar, are actually quite different right here:
Trading
- Trades can be opened and closed within minutes, hours, or days
- Market indicators are pivotal for effective strategies
- Varying products and methods of buying/selling
Trading Ripple is pretty much what a professional stock trader does, only this time it’s for cryptocurrency. Many things need to be assessed prior to actually making a trade, and this is true for both buying and selling. In addition, trading can be a fast-paced environment requiring a series of transactions within a short period of time – quite different from simply buying a coin.
Buying
- Trades primarily done in fiat currency – especially for beginners
- Simplified platforms are more suitable – wallets, classic exchanges, etc.
- Usually a one-time order – fees can apply depending on chosen platform
It’s important not to get confused between buying and selling, more so because people use the terms interchangeably. When buying Ripple, you pay your money and then Ripple is added to your holdings. This is done at the market price, keeping things nice and simple, and it’s likely that you’ll hang onto your Ripple holdings for a decent length of time.
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How To Buy Ripple Online?
In order to buy Ripple you need to be 18+ and have access to the internet. If you’ve got these three ingredients, you are ready to roll when it comes to Ripple purchases. Of course, you must also have some spare cash to invest, but that goes without saying! So, if you like the look of the project and you want to invest, simply follow these steps:
- Head directly to eToro via the provided links
- Proceed to create a brand new account – verify details ASAP
- Deposit funds (various payment methods available)
- Head over to cryptocurrency, select Ripple, make your purchase
As you’ll see once you sign up with eToro, the site is nicely laid out, and it’s easy to locate cryptocurrency, and subsequently Ripple. You can instantly execute your trade once you are happy with the figures too, meaning that you’re only a few minutes away from being a Ripple investor as we speak.
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How To Trade Ripple?
Thanks to the introduction of platforms like eToro, you no longer need to be a Wall Street guy to gain exposure to certain financial instruments. In fact, you only need to set-up the one online account and you’re already in prime position. Follow these steps and you will be ready to trade Ripple in no time:
- Open a trading account with eToro
- Sign in, verify details, and enable all security measures
- Head to banking and get some funds deposited
- Find Ripple through your preferred trading method
- Follow through and place your order
It’s incredibly easy to get started with eToro. And once you’re set up, as well as verified, you’ll be treated to one of the most professional brokerage sites in the industry. Now you can go it alone and make individual trades, copy veterans through social trading, and even practice certain strategies in a virtual account.
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What Are The Different Ways To Pay For Ripple?
With Ripple being listed on many major platforms such as eToro, it goes without saying that there is flexibility concerning how you make your investment. After all, if there was just one option out there, many people would have a hard time purchasing Ripple in the first place. Luckily, this isn’t a problem that needs addressing, as the following options are all readily available:
Ethereum
If you currently hold any Ethereum in your portfolio, you can already purchase Ripple without funding your account with anything extra. That’s because Ethereum is an approved trading pair with Ripple, allowing investors to simply convert Ethereum into Ripple through a straightforward purchase order. Look out for the ETH/XRP symbols to find this market.
Bitcoin
Following on from Ethereum, it’s also possible to convert any Bitcoin holdings into Ripple. Just note that with Bitcoin being significantly higher in value than Ripple, the numbers can get pretty small when making your trade. Therefore, you have to make absolutely certain that you’ve worked things out correctly. This market is symbolised by the BTC/XRP label.
Fiat currency
If you don’t have any crypto holdings, or maybe you just feel more comfortable doing things the old-fashioned way, you can always buy Ripple with regular fiat currency. It’s actually much easier to do things this way if you are new to the crypto investing world. Basically, you must fund your new account with a set amount and then buy Ripple with these holdings. You can deposit into your account in a number of ways too:
Since most of us already have access to these methods, this is often the quickest way to get involved. You can instantly deposit funds with a credit or debit card on most major sites, although we’d be cautious with credit cards, as extra fees can sometimes apply for these.
If you can access your bank account via a web browser or your smartphone, this is another great option. Direct transfers can often have higher transaction maximums, allowing you to deposit large sums of money if desired (only if affordable). And since most major institutions now support rapid transfers, the previous frustrations of days for transactions to come through are long gone.
E-wallets are another highly desired method when purchasing Ripple. These are extremely safe and separate from your main bank account. The most popular e-wallets right now include Neteller, Skrill, and PayPal, and yes, you do need to create an account with these merchants if you want to use their services. This only takes a few minutes, however, and it doesn’t cost anything.
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What To Consider When Buying Ripple?
Ripple might be more established than some of the newcomers to the crypto industry, but that doesn’t mean you should make a blind investment. There are still several major considerations to address before you hit that buy button on your chosen platform:
The SEC court case is still ongoing, and no verdict has been reached. Such important regulatory measures need to be monitored.
When you buy and sell Ripple, depending on how you do it, you might incur some fees. These fees can be charged when depositing, per transaction, and fees can even be charged for inactivity. Of course, the fewer fees listed the better.
Everyone has their own objective when it comes to crypto investing. If it’s a store of value that you’re looking for, coins like Ethereum or Bitcoin are a better bet. But if it’s big returns (potentially) and an exciting project you’re looking for, Ripple is a good option.
If we ignored the price and performance of Ripple entirely and stripped it back to the underlying project, would you still invest in it? That’s a process that should be followed before investing in any cryptocurrency, rather than focusing solely on financials.
Is It Safe To Buy Ripple Online?
It’s just as safe to buy Ripple online as it is any other cryptocurrency. In fact, since Ripple has been around for almost 10 years now, and has remained inside the top 10 by market cap, this makes it even safer than most. But if you want to err on the side of caution and take extra measures to protect your holdings, here’s what you can do:
- Complete the KYC process as soon as you open your account
- Only access your account through private WiFi or using data
- Establish security measures including PIN numbers & two-factor authentication
- Sign out of your account each time you are finished
- Only purchase Ripple through regulated sites
Stick with the advice listed above and you can rest assured that you are investing in Ripple in the safest possible manner.
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How To Store Ripple?
Storing cryptocurrency, and indeed Ripple has become easier than ever in 2021. While there are many businesses and platforms offering storage for Ripple holders, they usually fall into one of two categories:
Cold storage is a term that describes the process of taking your holdings away from an online source. This can be done by actually purchasing a device that allows you to transfer your crypto onto it, and these devices come with private keys too. Once you’ve done the transfer, you can just keep the device somewhere safe until you want to access your holdings.
Thanks to rather sophisticated software, you can easily hold Ripple in an online wallet. Coinbase is the largest, but there are several others too. Once the coins are in the wallet, they will stay there until you decide to sell them – or buy more! These wallets can easily be accessed through a range of devices, including tablets and smartphones.
How To Sell Ripple?
Don’t want to keep your Ripple holdings any longer? No problem! It’s a piece of cake to offload your Ripple coins these days, no matter how many you might have. Here are your options should you want to sell up:
We’ve recommended eToro for the purposes of being the best place to buy and sell Ripple, and this is a brokerage site. Sure, others do exist, but eToro has some of the best benefits. Regardless, you may sell your Ripple coins via such platforms.
Exchanges are trading platforms in the broadest sense. These platforms let you buy and sell crypto through a wide range of trading pairs, as discussed earlier. Fees are usually more favourable on exchanges when compared with other options such as wallets.
Finally, wallets are a hassle-free way to sell your Ripple when you are ready. Rather than dealing with complex formulas or varying market prices, here you just set the number of Ripple you want to sell, and the rest is history.
Is It Worth Buying Ripple Right Now?
Naturally, we don’t know what the exact price of Ripple will be when you come around to reading this. But at the time of writing, Ripple is floating slightly above the 70p per coin mark. Ripple was actually trading much higher just a few weeks back, trading at over £1 per coin on most major exchanges. With this recent market dip, it could well be a good time to invest in Ripple, yes. As the great investors will tell you, when everyone is afraid of making the investment, that’s often the best time to strike.
But looking at the broader scope of things, Ripple is still up by more than 300% (YTD). This shows a solid and consistent performance over a fair length of time, and to be perfectly honest, it’s better to look at these long term indicators rather than get too wrapped up in short term volatility. For us, this is a positive outlook, but ultimately, we cannot predict with certainty where the price will move from here.
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Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, only you can decide whether to pull the trigger and invest in Ripple or not. We have been as objective as possible throughout this Ripple analysis, although ultimately, people can take different stances based on the same information. Do we think Ripple is a sleeping giant in the crypto space? Yes. But can we guarantee that Ripple will come up trumps in the ongoing SEC case and shoot up in price? Absolutely not. It’s going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but then again, most cryptocurrency investments are.
What we can say to wrap this up, however, is that Ripple is capable of solving a very real and frustrating problem. With the world becoming increasingly connected, why would money and currency exchange not follow suit? Ripple has very credible intentions with the ongoing project, and once the benefits of Ripple and XRP are accepted by the relevant authorities (mainly in the US), we feel this coin’s value could go through the roof.
But to conclude, this isn’t investment advice, and you should ensure that you perform your own due diligence before diving in.
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FAQs
Is there a limit to how many Ripples I can buy?
No. There are close to 50 billion XRP coins in circulation right now, so unless you plan on buying more than that, there is no limit.
Can I buy Ripple without ID?
No. To purchase Ripple, you need to prove that you are over the age of 18. All regulated platforms ask for documents confirming this once you’ve opened a new account.
Can I buy Ripple instantly?
Sure – once you’re set up with a regulated online platform. The cost of Ripple is very low compared to other coins too, less than £1, in fact. This means you can instantly become an owner of a large number of coins depending on your investment size.
What is Ripple?
Ripple is a system that enables individuals and businesses (mostly banks to date) to send and receive money around the world in a near-instant manner. An entire Ripple community helps to validate each and every transaction for its authenticity, much like other blockchains.
How does Ripple work?
Ripple is actually described as a ‘real-time gross settlement system’. This might sound complicated, but it basically means that Ripple allows instantaneous, global transactions without any of the hurdles currently suffered by individuals and institutions. This is made possible by users being able to trade in XRP – the native coin to the Ripple ledger.