I know…I know…

It seems as if everyone is jumping onto the crypto train and you probably feel that it’s time for you too to be a part of a future that is still so young, yet so promising. Or maybe you’ve been in this space longer than some of us – but whatever the reason for you being a part of this, you sure have made one of the smartest investment decisions of your life.

Even with all the craze resulting in the emergence of new coins each, and every day, very few manage to stand out from the crowd.

Ripple is one such coin and has grown to become one of the hottest coin alternatives in the cryptocurrency market today.

But growth aside, how exactly do you buy Ripple, and even more importantly, is it possible to do so on Coinbase?

There have been many controversies about where you can and cannot buy this coin, and in this guide, we will set the record straight on a few things about buying Ripple, including how to buy Ripple on Coinbase.

Let’s get started!

Where to Buy Ripple

Can I buy Ripple on Coinbase? That is a question on the minds of a lot of crypto users today.

There’s no doubt that the first step when looking to invest in any coin is to know where to buy it – and it is important to get it right to avoid any confusion, which could lead to the loss of your hard-earned money. Not very many exchanges trade Ripple; however, there’s still a decent number of exchanges for you to choose from.

Essentially, a crypto exchange is a platform where people can buy, sell, and exchange different types of digital currencies including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, among others. Trading in some exchanges is usually conducted using fiat currencies, such as the USD or the Euro, to acquire cryptocurrencies such as Ripple or Bitcoin, and vice versa.

Ripple is traded on a couple of exchanges which includes Binance, Kraken, and Bitsane.

Now, you must be wondering why Coinbase isn’t listed here. And here’s why:

It is not possible to directly purchase Ripple on Coinbase. However, the Ripple team is currently working on a possible partnership with Coinbase to have their digital asset listed on the platform.

Check out this video for more information on the status of Ripple being listed on Coinbase.

But wait…

There’s another way to go about buying Ripple from Coinbase, the only problem is that the process is not as direct as it ought to be.

You’ll first need to use an exchange that has Ripple listed on it. For the purposes of demonstration, we’ll use Binance.

Buying Ripple via Binance Guide

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to go about it:

• Create an account on Coinbase, where you will choose to buy either Bitcoin or Ethereum, which you will use to acquire Ripple. You’ll need to deposit funds into your Coinbase account to be able to buy the coins you need, and once that’s done, you need to head over to Binance.
• Binance is a great place to buy a couple of cryptos, and it’s very easy to set up. You’ll need to sign-up by providing an email address and a password. Once you’re done signing up, you’ll go to “Funds” and then “Deposits and Withdrawals”.
• If you bought Bitcoin on Coinbase, you’ll need to transfer that to Binance. This can be done by typing in the search bar of the Binance platform the initials “BTC” and Bitcoin will be filtered out. Click on the “Deposit” icon under Bitcoin then copy the address. On the Coinbase platform, select “Send” under Bitcoin. An address area will appear where you will paste in the address copied from Binance.
• You’ll need to select an amount of Bitcoin and then click “Send”.
• Once that’s done, you will receive the Bitcoins in your Binance account, where you can go ahead and exchange with Ripple coins. You can then transfer your Ripple coins for safekeeping to an offline wallet.

Be careful! Transferring BTC from Coinbase to other exchanges such as Binance is quite expensive. Coinbase will deduct a network fee from your funds, so don’t panic when the amount goes to another exchange a few dollars less. Initially, the easiest and cheapest way to transfer funds from Coinbase to other exchanges was through GDAX, a separate company that was wholly owned by Coinbase, but recently got absorbed by its parent. 

How to Buy Ripple with USD

Ripple accepts purchases of its coins using fiat money – whether that is the Euro, JPY, or the USD, using your debit/credit card or a bank transfer. To proceed:

You’ll need to create an account on Bitstamp from the Ripple website. Hit the XRP icon and click on “XRP Buying Guide”. You’ll be taken to a page that looks like this:

• Select Bitstamp and complete the signup process.
• Once you’re done signing up, click on “Deposit” from your account. You will be prompted to select your preferred payment method on the left-hand side of the page.
• Select the option “International Wire Transfer” and provide the required information. After this is done, you can use the bank details provided by Bitstamp to transfer funds from your bank account to the platform.
• Next, you’ll need to select the currencies you wish to exchange – click on XRP/USD to trade cash for Ripple. Head over to the “Buy/Sell” section and select “Buy XRP” under the “Instant Order (simple)” icon.
• Inside the “I want to spend” box, key in the amount of XRP you wish to buy, then click “Buy XRP”, and the coins will be added to your account.

This process may vary between exchanges. However, most have a straightforward way to buy Ripple using fiat currencies. To avoid scams, always verify an exchange with online reviews and other trusted sources before using it.

Why Go for Ripple?

Ripple was established in 2012 and has gained traction among crypto users. It is known for faster transaction speeds and low fees.

Ripple is an alternative to Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin. Unlike most currencies, it works with many banks and companies. Partners include Standard Chartered Bank, American Express, and Westpac.

According to CNBC, Ripple’s market capitalization surpassed Bitcoin’s at the start of 2018. So, yes, Ripple is definitely having a moment.

Ripple offers great features like instant on-demand settlements and connectivity across payment networks. It also has a real-time funds tracing mechanism and low operational costs.

For those needing coins instantly, Ripple’s payment settlement takes about 4 seconds or less. That’s thousands of times faster than Ethereum’s 2 minutes or Bitcoin’s hour.

At the time of writing this guide, Ripple’s coin (XRP) trades at $0.47 with a market cap of $47 billion.

Conclusion

I hope this post has answered your question about buying Ripple on Coinbase, along with other concerns you had at the start. If you still have questions, feel free to send us a message. We’ll be happy to help.

To conclude, the best exchange to buy Ripple coins is Binance. However, keep in mind that Binance doesn’t accept fiat currencies. This means you’ll need to buy coins on platforms like Coinbase that accept fiat money. Then, transfer those coins to Binance to get Ripple.

So, technically, you can buy Ripple using Coinbase. It’s just not a direct process.