How to Buy XRP UK – Beginner’s Guide

Looking to buy XRP UK? An ongoing court case in the US has Ripple’s crypto XRP delisted with some US exchanges right now, but you can still buy Ripple in the UK. Phew!

The question is: how can you buy Ripple in the UK? The answer is to find a trustworthy broker or exchange online. We review the best XRP providers, evaluating them based on fair prices, regulations, user-friendliness, and reputation. What we focus on is how to buy XRP in the UK with low fees — and we’ve found the solution.

Where to Buy XRP

The best place to buy cryptocurrency in the UK depends on how advanced you want to get in your trading methods. Advanced investors might want to check out exchanges first, for example.

1. Huobi – Top-Rated Crypto Exchange with 10M Users

Huobi is originally a Chinese exchange that is now headquartered in the Seychelles. It has 10m users. Like Binance and CEX (below), you can trade crypto with Huobi using a variety of methods. You can buy crypto direct using credit card. You can use P2P trading. Or you can trade crypto pairs. You can also swap one crypto for another. Commission on spot trades is 0.2%.

Overall, Huobi claims to offer 348 crypto as well as payment options in 57 local currencies and 60 payment options including Visa, Mastercard, AliPay and Faster Payments. You can use Faster Payments to deposit GBP. Currently, you cannot withdraw GBP but that is ‘shortly’ to change, says Huobi.

For security, Huobi follows the example set by Coinbase and stores 98% of client funds in cold storage. It also runs an in-house security fund which rewards users for reporting potential security issues. When it comes to crypto finance, Huobi is no slouch. Margin trading and crypto staking is offered, as well as crypto loans and a variety of auctions and draws. A free wallet and a smartphone app is available too.

Overall, Huobi offers a number of powerful trading tools and a good range of crypto. The $300 welcome bonus is worth looking into, as well as in the ongoing financial incentives to trade. A significant downside, though, for safety-conscious investors is that Huobi lacks UK regulation.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

2. Crypto.com – Reputable Crypto Exchange with Beginner-Friendly Mobile App

Another great option if you’re looking to buy XRP UK is Crypto.com. According to CoinMarketCap, Crypto.com is one of the ten largest crypto exchanges globally, regularly handling over $2.6bn in daily trading volume. The platform offers a wide array of cryptos to trade, including small altcoins, DeFi tokens, and ERC-20 tokens. Users can buy XRP (and any other crypto) with low fees, as Crypto.com only charges a 0.4% maker/taker fee.

Aside from the exchange aspect of the platform, Crypto.com also offers a handy mobile app, which is targeted more towards retail investors. This app enables users to instantly buy XRP with a credit card or debit card – with no fees for the first 30 days. After this period, each card purchase will accrue a 2.99% fee. Notably, Crypto.com also allows FIAT deposits via the app, although it doesn’t support FIAT currency on the exchange at present.

The Crypto.com app is also packed with a host of valuable features, including a crypto debit card that allows users to spend their crypto holdings as if they were FIAT currency. The app also has a ‘Missions’ section, where users can complete tasks and earn rewards in CRO – the platform’s native token.

Finally, XRP holders can store their holdings in the dedicated Crypto.com wallet app, which offers complete control over your private keys and biometric authentication.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

3. Binance – Leading Exchange to Buy XRP with Credit Card

Like Coinbase, Binance is a giant crypto exchange. Binance boasts the largest volume of crypto trading globally. It also boasts low trading fees: just 0.1% commission available on buying XRP, depending on how you do it. Another advantage of Binance is the large amount of crypto pairs on offer: 500 in all. Best of all, you can buy XRP UK direct with credit card at 1% commission, as illustrated below:

There are many ways to buy XRP UK with Binance. You can fund your account with fiat currency or credit card and use those funds to buy XRP directly. Or, if you are feeling a little more ambitious, you can check out Binance’s Peer-2-Peer trading system and trade crypto for crypto with other users. We only recommend this for more experienced investors.

What characterises Binance is that it is aimed at the more experienced crypto investor. The exchange offers many powerful trading options at the expense of an interface that can be a little daunting to newbies. You can get round this by signing up for the free Binance smartphone app. This allows you to simplify the normal interface by selecting ‘Binance Lite’. Good idea! 

Reviewers of the Binance App on the App Store give it a high score of 4.7/5 (from 96k reviews). And 570k Google Play reviewers score it on average at 4.3/5. There seems to be a consensus amongst reviewers that Binance’s verification process can be frustrating (but not for everybody). Note that Binance offers a free crypto wallet called the Binance Trust Wallet. 

When it comes to Binance payment methods, PayPal fans will be pleased to learn that you can buy Ripple with Paypal – but only if you use P2P trading. Do you want to expose your portfolio to the XRP price but don’t want exposure to the uncertainty of Ripple’s current SEC court case? In a typically innovative move, Binance has introduced in January 2022 a wrapped version of XRP. This is a token that is pegged to the XRP price, but is not hosted by the XRP ledger blockchain.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

4. CEX – Trusted Crypto Exchange That Lets You Buy XRP With a Credit Card

An old-timer UK crypto exchange, CEX has gathered 4m investors since its launch way back in 2013. Like Binance, CEX offers an in-depth array of trading tools and different ways of buying crypto. You can deposit crypto or fiat currency in your account and trade XRP spot price using your funds. Or you can buy XRP instantly with credit card, as illustrated below: 

A purchase minimum of $20 applies, and your total credit card instant buy transactions are limited to $3k. A commission applies here, and the exact sum is shown to you at the point of purchase.

CEX is good for UK investors because of the wide range of deposit methods available: Epay, Skrill, bank transfer, credit card and SWIFT. There are no PayPal options but, on the plus side, UK investors currently enjoy a discounted commission rate of 1.49% on credit card deposits (rather than the standard 2.99%).

For trading fees, CEX uses a sliding maker-taker scale. For XRP purchases of less than $10k, for example, you will pay a taker fee of 0.25%. An impressive array of products and services is also offered by CEX: free ‘hot’ crypto wallet, a mobile app, debit card, loan options, margin trading and crypto staking. Try not to get overwhelmed by possibilities!

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

5. Coinbase – Popular Cryptocurrency Exchange with Huge Asset Portfolio

Coinbase is a crypto exchange that despite numerous state licences in the US, Coinbase lacks the regulatory safety net in the UK. But the exchange remains a popular choice for UK crypto investors for three main reasons:

• Scope: Coinbase has 73m verified users. That’s reassuring! Coinbase came to market in April 2021, making it the first crypto exchange IPO on the NASDAQ. 
• Safety: Coinbase stores 98% of customer funds offline: ‘geographically in safe deposit boxes and vaults around the world.’ Against cyber-theft, this is the same successful strategy used by ‘cold’ wallets, which are only connected to the internet at times of transactions.
• Range: A sturdy selection of 50+ crypto is offered by Coinbase.

What about fees? Coinbase has a great reputation for security. But, when it comes to fees, Coinbase users have often voiced gripes. The system combines flat fees and commissions, and can be confusing as well as expensive. We recommend that you steer clear of buying crypto with Coinbase direct with a credit card, as it will cost you a 3.99% commission. In 2021, Coinbase signalled good news about fees as CEO E. Choi said that a ‘compression’ of the fee system is on its way.

A smartphone app is offered by Coinbase for crypto trading on the move. With crypto markets moving so fast, checking into the market is always a good idea. 1.6m reviewers on the App Store have given the Coinbase app a great average score of 4.7/5. 630k+ Google Play reviewers have lodged a slightly-lower average rating of 4.3/5. Coinbase also offers a free crypto wallet.

How to buy XRP with Coinbase? Right now, Coinbase has joined other US exchanges in delisting XRP until Ripple’s court case vs. the SEC is concluded.

All in all, Coinbase offers a reputable service with many strengths. Coinbase is suitable for beginners to crypto.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

What is XRP?

Like market leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP is a crypto with its own blockchain. Founded by a company called Ripple back in 2012, XRP is part of a settlement network that rivals the SWIFT system used globally by banks to move money around. Ripple is so much faster. SWIFT can take days to process a transaction; XRP takes seconds.  

XRP’s way of settling payments is unusual in the crypto world. It has been compared to the real-world Hawala system, whereby a series of middlemen work on a trust basis to process transactions. A stand-out feature of the Ripple blockchain is its tiny environmental impact compared to the Proof-of-Work protocol employed by Bitcoin.

XRP is the 8th biggest crypto with a market capitalization of over $30bn.

Should I Buy XRP?

Spike in price when Ripple court case ends?

XRP founder company Ripple is currently involved in a court case with the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is likely to end this year, perhaps as early as April. In the meantime, many US exchanges have delisted XRP, although you can still buy XRP in the UK. If the court case goes well for Ripple, it is likely that the price of XRP will spike. 

Bounce With the Rest of the Crypto Sector

The entire crypto sector has slumped by roughly 20%+ over January, 2021 after China banned cryptocurrency activity. Although there could be more loss to come, it looks like crypto stock in general is starting to find a floor. XRP is likely to follow market leader Bitcoin in the event of a general crypto price recovery.

Environmentally-friendly

Bitcoin mining has come under fire because it uses as much electricity as the whole of Sweden. The ongoing Ethereum fork aims to reduce Ethereum’s eco-drain by up to 99%. But Ripple has always been way ahead of the environmental game since its launch in 2012. All XRP is pre-mined, which means its environmental impact is negligible. This positions XRP well in the event of possible hostile crypto regulation in the future based on environmental concerns. And, of course, it feels good to be investing in an asset that is not burning electricity at a prodigious rate.

A Crypto Old-Timer

XRP is no novelty token like Dogecoin or Shiba Inu. Ripple’s crypto has its own blockchain and has been around since 2013. XRP boasts a market capitalisation of $30bn anchored on real-world usage by the global banking network. 

The Ripple Community

Ripple boasts an active community online – so active, that it insisted upon being enjoined in the ongoing court case in the US as an official ‘interested party’. People fight for XRP because they believe in it. This is a positive indicator for a crypto, as it means future political/regulatory attacks from any quarter will be robustly defended.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile and past performance isn’t an indicator of future success. Invest at your own risk.

XRP Price

The price of Ripple’s XRP is currently $0.588.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile and past performance isn’t an indicator of future success. Invest at your own risk.

XRP Price Prediction

The price of XRP has been hit by the mid-January crypto crash. This crash has been caused by China declaring crypto transactions to be illegal as well as outlawing Bitcoin mining in one its key provinces.

One view from analysts is that XRP needs to dip a little lower before it will bounce. With the price currently at $0.588, the word is that big investors have stop loss levels set around the $0.518 mark. This means it is possible that market makers will push the price down to reach this point and unlock the liquidity there. A similar situation exists with crypto leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum. But it is also possible that XRP will bounce before it reaches that point.  

Ways of Buying XRP in the UK

UK investors have many options to buy XRP.

Buy XRP with credit card or debit card

Exchanges like CEX, Huboi, Coinbase and Binance allow you to make ‘instant buys’ of crypto with a credit card. But watch out for eye-watering commission-fees.

Choosing an XRP Wallet

Crypto wallets are digital versions of the wallet you might have in your back pocket. You use them to store assets and move them from one place to another. On the blockchain, that means you can send and receive crypto to pay for things and get paid. What are called ‘gas’ fees apply, which is a fee charged by blockchains to make transactions. But most wallets charge commissions for exchanging crypto and staking crypto to earn rewards.

The best thing about crypto wallets is that they are generally free to acquire. The worst thing about crypto wallets is that there is always the risk — as with conventional wallets —​ that your assets will get stolen.

Different types of crypto wallet offer different pros and cons. ‘Cold’ wallets, for example, offer enhanced security because they are only connected to the internet at times of transaction. For convenience, ‘hot’ wallets are connected to the internet the whole time and generally thus can provide real-time updates and trading opportunities.

XRP Video Analysis

How to Buy XRP UK – Tutorial

Below are the general steps on how to buy XRP in the UK:

Choose a Broker or CEX to Buy XRP

Where to buy XRP is a decision you should take based on your level of experience – we have outlined some of the top crypto exchanges in the space in our reviews above.

1. Create an account

First, decide which crypto exchange or broker you wish to create an account with, then download their mobile app or browser extension – most are available for free on iOS or Android.

2. Verify your ID

After creating an account, users will have to verify their email address and phone number, as well as their identity. This usually involves providing a passport or driving license, although some platforms may also request a proof of address.

3. Deposit Funds

Next, you will need to deposit funds into the chosen account. Click the ‘deposit’ button, usually found on the homepage, and input the amount you would like to add to the wallet – some fees may be charged.

Most exchanges allow debit card payments, bank transfers, or e-wallets such as PayPal. XRP can be purchased directly with GBP.

4. Buy XRP UK

Finally, search for XRP in the search bar – again this should be prominent on the homepage – and select a variation of ‘Buy with GBP’, then input the amount to spend and follow the steps shown on screen.

Again, fees and minimum purchase amounts will vary on each platform.

Conclusion

Above we have looked at where to buy Ripple UK, what the crypto XRP is, and where XRP stands in the crypto sector. All eyes are currently on XRP. It is at the very centre of a US legal case that will determine the extent of SEC intervention in the crypto sector in future. Despite being mostly delisted in the US, the good news is that you can still buy XRP in the UK.

There are numerous exchanges and brokers that offer XRP trading, with those listed above all recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions When Buying XRP in the UK