Where and How To Buy XRP – Top Platforms Reviewed

If you’re wondering where to buy XRP, you’re not alone. Thanks to its impressive potential, XRP has caught the attention of many investors looking to add it to their portfolio.

In this guide, we’ll explain not only where but also how to buy XRP safely and quickly. We know that getting started with crypto can be challenging, especially with a popular coin like XRP. So, it’s crucial to discover trustworthy and effective ways to make your purchase.

What is XRP?

Launched in 2012, XRP is the native digital currency of the Ripple blockchain. In its most basic form, Ripple offers a highly efficient payment network to banks and financial institutions, allowing stakeholders to perform cross-border transactions in a cheap, fast, and cost-effectively.

As a result, banks and financial institutions are forced to move away from the SWIFT network, which is slow and expensive. The Ripple network is ideal for banks and institutions that wish to transact in emerging currencies that lack liquidity in the broader market.

This is because XRP acts as a bride of liquidity, so interbank transactions can be executed efficiently and on time without needing to utilize the services of corresponding banks. With that being said, although XRP is aimed at banks and financial institutions, the digital token trades freely in the cryptocurrency markets.

And as such, anyone can buy and sell XRP at the click of a button.

Note: Although Ripple operates as a legal entity in the US, you cannot buy XRP stock. Instead, the only way to invest in Ripple is to buy XRP tokens from an online exchange.

Where to Buy XRP – 3 Vetted Platforms

1. Bitstamp – Overall Best Place to Buy XRP for 2024

Our recommended platform when it comes to buying XRP is Bitstamp. Bitstamp is a low-fee crypto exchange ideal for beginners and experienced investors. The platform has been around since 2011 and provides trading services for over 4 million people worldwide.

Bitstamp offers over 50 cryptocurrencies to trade (including XRP) and stores 98% of customers’ assets offline, significantly boosting security. Bitstamp charges only 0.5% on each trade, one of the lowest rates in the market. Users can buy cryptocurrency instantly using a credit or debit card, but with a 5% transaction fee.

Sign up via the links on Business 2 Community to unlock a Bitstamp sign-up bonus.

Bitstamp also allows free ACH/SEPA deposits with no minimum deposit threshold. In terms of trading experience, Bitstamp ensures it is one of the best altcoin exchanges on the market by offering an array of advanced trading tools and the ability to set up your own trading interface. Users can also download Bitstamp’s dedicated mobile app, which features numerous order types and analytical tools.

Bitstamp offers a savings account called ‘Bitstamp earn’, providing up to 8% APY on specific coins. The broker also has a dedicated market insights section, which rounds up the latest news and updates in the crypto market.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

2. Crypto.com – Good Place to Buy XRP With a Debit Card

Crypto.com offers a user-friendly way to buy XRP from the comfort of home. You can complete your purchase after opening an account and uploading your ID. When you buy XRP at Crypto.com – the fastest payment method is to opt for a debit card. You can buy tokens on Crypto.com with your debit card and enjoy the first 30 days without paying fees. The standard fee is 2.99%. The commission rate is 0.4% per slide, but you can reduce it by trading higher volumes or holding CRO.

Once you have invested in XRP, consider checking out the 250+ other supported tokens on the Crypto.com platform. The platform offers earning interest on investments with no lock-up periods and APY rates varying by token. However earning interest on XRP is not currently supported.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.

3. Binance – Buy XRP With Crypto at Super-Low Fees 

Binance is by far the most popular exchange in the cryptocurrency trading arena, with volumes that often surpass $10 billion per day. Moreover, the exchange is home to over 100 million trading accounts. To buy XRP at Binance, you can deposit funds with dollars or crypto. The latter offers the cheapest way to access XRP because you will only pay a commission of 0.10% per slide.

The specific fee will depend on your location if you opt for a debit or credit card payment. For instance, US people will pay 4.5% of the transaction amount. However, banking options such as ACH and wires, are fee-free.

The web XRP wallet offers a range of security tools, such as two-factor authentication, device whitelisting, and cold storage. Furthermore, Binance also has a Safe Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), an insurance policy to help compensate traders in a hack. Alternatively, Binance also offers a non-custodial storage facility in the form of the Trust Wallet, which can be downloaded on both iOS and Android devices.

Benefits of Buying XRP?

XRP is one of the most established cryptocurrency tokens in this industry. This gives the project a solid foundation and track record that few tokens can mirror.

However, whether or not XRP is a viable investment for your portfolio remains to be seen. To make an informed investment decision today, we suggest researching the project from top to bottom.

To help you along the way, below, we explore some of the core reasons why you might decide to buy XRP.

1. Interbank Transaction Speed

We briefly mentioned above that Ripple and XRP allow banks and financial institutions to move away from the SWIFT network, which has dominated most interbank transactions since the 1970s.

• Trillions of dollars worth of capital go through the SWIFT network every day – even though the framework is slow, expensive, and filled with regulatory red tape.
• Regarding transaction speeds, interbank transfers currently going through SWIFT can take 3-5 working days to settle, especially if less liquid currencies are being used.
• However, in the case of Ripple and XRP, the average transaction time is just 3.86 seconds.
• Not only is this the case irrespective of where the sender and receiver are based, but the specific currencies are being used in the transaction.

Moreover, it is important to note that XRP is not just faster than legacy networks like SWIFT. On the contrary, when you compare XRP to the likes of Bitcoin – which requires 10 minutes to settle a transaction, XRP is one of the fastest blockchains in this industry.

And as such, Ripple and XRP have the required efficiency levels to become the go-to network for global payments.

2. Cross-Border Fees 

In addition to slow transactions, SWIFT and other legacy payment networks can be expensive. This is especially the case when banks and financial institutions must send and/or receive an emerging currency.

This is because – as we cover in more detail shortly, emerging currencies suffer some low liquidity levels, and thus – transactions require the services of corresponding banks.

However, in the case of Ripple and XRP, the underlying technology permits super-cheap transfer fees – regardless of the currency of the location of the transacting parties.

Since the Ripple network was launched, the average transaction fee is just $0.0002. This means that banks and financial institutions can transfer significant sums of capital while paying just a tiny fraction of a cent in fees.  XRP transaction fees are also cheaper than other blockchain networks.

3. Scalability  

When you come across the term scalability in the blockchain industry, this refers to the number of transactions a network can facilitate per second. XRP is scalable, with the Ripple network consistently handling 1,500 transactions per second. With that said Ripple also notes that should it need to – its network can mirror that of Visa, which can handle up to 65,000 transactions per second.

This is absolutely crucial if Ripple and XRP wish to become the dominant payments network in the global interbank transaction industry.

4. Solves Liquidity Issues  

We briefly mentioned earlier that when banks and financial institutions transact in emerging currencies, there is often a lack of liquidity available in the market.

As such, the utilization of corresponding banks is required to facilitate the transaction – which results in payments attracting high fees and low processing times.

This is perhaps where Ripple stands out, as the network still offers super-fast and cheap transactions regardless of what currencies are being exchanged.

5. XRP Price Performance   

Now that we have explored Ripple’s underlying technology, we can now explore how XRP has performed in the open marketplace from an investment perspective.

• When XRP was launched nearly a decade ago, CoinMarketCap notes that the token was trading at just $0.0056.
• While the token’s value remained flat for several years, it went on a parabolic run in 2017 to hit highs of over $3.40.
• This means that those investing in XRP at launch and holding on until late 2017 would have looked at significant gains of over 60,000%.
• And as such, an initial investment of just $500 would have been worth over $300,000.

Risks of Buying XRP

The only way to make an informed decision as to whether or not XRP is a suitable investment product is to consider both the risks and potential upside.

And as such, the sections below will open your mind to some of the main drawbacks to consider before buying XRP.

XRP Performance vs Broader Crypto Market    

First and foremost, investors should be wary that in compared to the broader cryptocurrency markets, XRP has performed poorly. All cryptocurrencies witnessed parabolic growth, with many breaching all-time highs between December 2017 and January 2018. Bitcoin, for example, breached $20,000 per token – which, at the time, was a new high. However, what was to follow was a prolonged bearish market for most digital assets. And as such, just like XRP, the value of the wider cryptocurrency markets took a major hit.

Moving into 2021, a trend reversal came to fruition, and new all-time highs were being smashed across the industry. Bitcoin and Ethereum, for example, breached highs of $68,000 and $5,000, respectively.

Ultimately, XRP is experiencing serious growth issues while the rest of the industry has since kicked on. On the other hand, when the cryptocurrency market took another bearish run in the middle of 2022, with Bitcoin and other high-profile cryptocurrencies losing more than 65% of their value, XRP dropped by only 50%. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is $0.6222. 

Interbank Transactions Require XRP for Less Than 4 Seconds     

Another risk to consider before you buy XRP is that the digital token is only needed for seconds during the interbank transaction process.

This is because XRP is paired against the respective fiat currencies to provide liquidity – but once the transaction has been settled, the token has no use for the bank or financial institution involved in the transfer.

This can seriously hinder the demand for XRP, which can negatively impact its ability to increase in value in the open marketplace.

Circulating Supply      

You should also consider the risk that comes with the overall supply of XRP, insofar as the team behind Ripple holds and controls 52% of all outstanding tokens as of writing.

This is an issue in cryptocurrency terms, as Ripple claims that its network is decentralized. However, the team holding over 53 billion XRP equates to a significant amount of capital in dollar terms.

As such, every time Ripple decides to release additional tokens into the circulating supply, this will harm its value.

The Price of XRP

Although we have already discussed the XRP price action since the digital currency was launched, we are yet to explain how valuation is determined.

If you’re new to the world of cryptocurrencies, the good news is that the price of XRP works virtually the same as a traditional NYSE or NASDAQ stock. That is to say, just like stocks, the price of XRP is dictated by supply and demand.

So, as more and more become interested in the Ripple project and subsequently buy XRP for their portfolio, this will positively impact its valuation. Equally, if the opposite happens – meaning more and more people are looking to sell, the XRP price will decline.

Regarding XRP price predictions, the most important thing for this digital currency to achieve is an approach back to its prior all-time high. As noted earlier, this stands at just over $3.40 – which was hit in late 2017.

Based on an early 2023 price of $0.53, this would require an upside of major uptrend. Whether Ripple can regain its value depends on the whole cryptocurrency market. 

Best Ways to Buy XRP

This guide has thus far covered where can you buy XRP, so let’s discuss the best way to buy XRP online in terms of paying for your digital tokens.

Buy XRP With a Credit Card or Debit Card

All you need to do is quickly register an account with a low-cost broker like Bitstamp, enter your card details, and that’s it – your XRP tokens will instantly be added to your portfolio.

With that being said, the average fee on credit/debit card payments in the crypto space is between 3-5% – so you must do your homework before opening an account. For instance, at Crypto.com and Binance – you will be charged 2.99% and 4.5% respectively.

Buy XRP With PayPal

If you decide to buy XRP with PayPal, you will benefit from an extra layer of security – insofar as you will not be required to enter your credit/debit card details directly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we’ve gone through where and how to buy XRP, showing you the best and safest platforms out there. Now, the next move is yours.

You have all the info on where to buy XRP easily and securely, therefore, you now have to consider which platform aligns best with your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions When Buying XRP