Want to jump straight to the answer? You can buy XMR on Robinhood and Kraken.
Monero is a leading cryptocurrency that specializes in making transactions and financial information private. Popular digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have transparent blockchains that are openly verifiable. These transactions can be tracked by anyone in the world at any time. But unlike such cryptocurrencies, Monero uses cryptography to shield the sender’s address, receiver’s address and the amount transacted.
As a digital currency, Monero is paving the way for fast and inexpensive online payments to and from people globally. Monero is among the few cryptocurrencies that are safe from capital controls and other regulations that may restrict the flow of its digital transactions.
Monero is an open-source community project. It is built by more than 500 volunteers and community-funded contributors who have dedicated their time to making Monero transactions seamless at every step. Monero can also be traded on cryptocurrency markets called exchanges.
Brief History of Monero
Launched in 2014, Monero was introduced to the digital world on Bitcoin Forum. After a few months of its launch, the Monero blockchain migrated to a different database structure to provide greater efficiency and flexibility to its owners. In the same year, Monero underwent a cyber attack but quickly recovered.
The Monero blockchain network was upgraded in 2017 to adjust its minimum block size and dynamic fee algorithm. The website getmonero.org was also redesigned within a couple of months to reflect the changes. In the same year, it also introduced multi-signature support to verify online transactions.
In 2018, the website getmonero.org had published its content in several languages such as French, Polish and Arabic to facilitate global investors. Hardware digital wallets such as Ledger had also started to support the emerging cryptocurrency. It also implemented the Monero Messaging System to automate multi-signature wallet information exchange.
Monero had extended its full support for blockchain pruning by 2019. By that time, many hardware e-wallets such as the Trezor Model T and Ledger Nano X were optimized for Monero transactions.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started with trading Monero.
Step 1: Open an Online Account.
To start buying and selling cryptocurrencies, you’ll need to register yourself on an online broker or a crypto exchange. These crypto exchanges will help you buy, sell and store your digital assets from a secured location.
Take a look at these top crypto exchanges on the digital market.
Account Minimum
$0
to open an account
Robinhood
Robinhood is the broker for traders who want a simple, easy-to-understand layout without all the bells and whistles other brokers offer. Though its trading options and account types are limited, even an absolute beginner can quickly master Robinhood’s intuitive and streamlined platform.
Though Robinhood does require a $2,000 minimum balance to access its Robinhood Gold features, there’s a $0 minimum required balance for standard accounts. Combined with the broker’s new fractional share feature and a streamlined app, Robinhood is a great option for new traders who only have a small amount of money to invest.
Account Minimum
Depends on asset
Kraken
Kraken is among the most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges on the market. The trading platform provides world-class financial stability by maintaining full reserves, healthy banking relationships and the highest standards of legal compliance.
There are more than 50 cryptocurrencies available on the platform. These cryptocurrencies include Litecoin, Chainlink, Tron and Monero. Kraken has an excellent customer support team that will respond to your queries 24/7 throughout the year. It also has a live chat feature to resolve urgent queries.
Step 2: Buy a wallet (optional).
You’ll need a digital wallet or an e-wallet to start trading Monero. Digital wallets help you store your digital assets in a safe and private location. You should consider the cryptocurrencies supported by the wallet and their transaction fees before you buy.
There are many types of digital wallets for you to choose from. Software, hardware, mobile, web and paper wallets are frequently used by crypto traders all around the world. Benzinga has handpicked these wallets to help you begin trading Monero.
Best Hardware Wallet: Trezor Model T
Trezor Model T is among the safest digital wallets on the market. It supports more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies including EOS, Zcash, Dash and Monero. The e-wallet features a full-color, touch-screen interface for enhanced usability. You can assign a PIN or a passphrase to access your account.
The digital wallet has a recovery system to help you restore your digital assets at any time. Trezor Model T comes equipped with slots for USB-C and microSD card. It supports Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems.
Commissions
0.50% per sale
Best Software Wallet: Coinbase
Coinbase wallet lets you manage all your cryptocurrency tokens in a single, secure place. It gives you access to decentralized exchanges that allow you to buy and sell crypto. You can also be rewarded with cryptocurrency for performing tasks, answering questions and actively contributing to the communities.
You can open a digital wallet on Coinbase free of cost. However, you’ll be charged a small fee for each transaction that is routed through your wallet. Coinbase wallets can also be accessed on your smartphone. The mobile application is available on Android and iOS.
Step 3: Make your Purchase.
Once you’ve set up your account with an exchange, you can browse through thousands of listed cryptocurrencies available for trade. If you want to buy Monero, you can select it from the list. You can also enter Monero in the search bar to find it faster.
If the price of Monero suits your financial goals, you can then decide the total number of tokens you want to buy. When you’re ready to make the trade, you can set the volume of tokens you want to purchase and click the buy button to execute the order.
Bonus:
Despite regulatory concerns, Monero has been rallying up its price for most of 2020. Recently, Monero broke its 2-year high. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency reached a peak of $157.64 in December 2020. It was Monero’s highest level since June 2018.
Trade or Sell Your Cryptocurrency
As a result of applying the latest and most resilient encryption tools, Monero is among the most private and protected cryptocurrencies you can trade. It is listed on most decentralized exchanges and can be traded without disclosing any information on its sender, receiver or amount transferred.
Unlike Monero, Bitcoin transactions can be traced by anyone on the market. A few cryptocurrencies like Zcash only offer selective transparency on their transactions. This unique feature makes Monero more appealing to traders compared to other cryptocurrencies.
A new Monero block is created every 2 minutes. As there isn’t a maximum block size, Monero miners are richly rewarded for their efforts. The hardware required to mine Monero tokens is also minimal, making it a much sought after cryptocurrency.
Current Crypto Prices
Monero has traded around $161 per token at the 2020 year-end. It has a market cap of $2.7 billion and a trading volume of $1.2 billion per day. Monero has a 52-week low of $26.70 and a 52-week high of $168.79. There are more than 17 million Monero tokens available for trade.
Historical performance of Monero in the past year
Mint Money by Trading Monero
Due to limited regulations, Monero is a widely used cryptocurrency on the digital market. Many cryptocurrency pairs offer a good deal on Monero tokens and it can also be traded for other fiat currencies.
A great number of shop owners and online stores around the world accept Monero as payment for their goods and services. Its privacy-oriented transactions make it quite convenient to store and spend digital assets worldwide.
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