How to Buy Ripple

A Simple Guide to Buying Ripple

To buy Ripple you’ll either need to use an exchange that trades Ripple for dollars, or you’ll need to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum first and trade it for Ripple on an exchange that allows that.

In other words, you can either:

1. Sign up for Kraken, Bitstamp, or GateHub, get verified, deposit fiat currency (like the US Dollar), and then buy Ripple directly for fiat dollars.
2. Sign up for a broker/exchange that takes fiat but doesn’t trade Ripple, like Coinbase/GDAX. Then trade fiat for Bitcoin or Ethereum on that platform. Then sign up for an exchange that trades Bitcoin or Ethereum to Ripple, like Bittrex. Then send your Bitcoin or Ethereum to the platform that allows you to trade it for Ripple (for example, send from Coinbase to Bitrrex). Click the Coinbase, GDAX, and Bittrex links for step-by-step directions.

The second option is a little more complicated, but both options are completely valid and workable. Further, the price of coins can differ by exchanges, so no single option is the clear winner in terms of the amount of Ripple you can get for your dollar!

Thus, which option is right for you depends on your priorities, which exchanges you are already signed up for, and the current conditions of the market.

I would suggest that new users use the pairings listed above, as these are all popular and widely used exchanges, however you can see a full list of every exchange that trades Ripple on Ripple’s official website.

TIP: With cryptocurrency it is highly advised that you always use two factor authentication. If you don’t know what that is, take the time to learn. You should consider it a necessary part of using cryptocurrency.

TIP: Once you have Ripple, you will likely want to choose a storage option (unless your goal is to trade it). You can store it in a hardware wallet like TREZOR, or you can use a desktop wallet like Rippex. There is no perfect solution, so do some research and find the wallet that works for you. You’ll need to send your Ripple from the exchange to your wallet. Given this you should do a small test send first to make sure you are doing everything right. Remember, you should never share your private keys and passwords (and should back them up offline).