Buying Altcoins Guide | Paypal, Credit Card & SEPA
In this article, we are going to show you how to buy altcoins on secure cryptocurrency exchanges. We also explain what altcoins are and why it might make sense to invest in them.
If you are new to cryptos and trading then maybe stick with the typical coins you would find on Coinbase. These large cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more. However, there are now more than 1000 different crypto currencies and therefore everyone in the crypto sector should at least inform themselves about the Altcoins.
Which cryptocurrencies are altcoins?
In principle, every cryptocurrency, except for Bitcoin, is an Altcoin. Bitcoin is the big rider and every other coin is an alternative. Hence the name Altcoin = Alternative Coin.
With Altcoins you have the opportunity to invest in companies that are still in the early stages. Many of these companies develop solutions to real problems. The chance of exponential market growth is high.
Example: If the Bitcoin is worth € 10.000 and you want to profit from 100% growth, the Bitcoin must climb to € 20.000. While an altcoin is often only worth a few cents, a doubling here is not associated with such a powerful market increase.
Altcoins
One problem with altcoins is that many of the most popular exchanges do not offer the option to trade them. You can often buy Bitcoin or Ethereum with your credit card or wire transfer, but not Altcoins. The easiest way to get around this is to buy certain cryptocurrencies on an exchange and then convert those coins into altcoins.
Ideal platforms for this type of transaction is Coinbase and Binance. While it sounds complex, using this pair is the easiest and fastest way to buy altcoins. In this article, we will walk you through the process of using these two services. By the end of the article, you should be able to add different altcoins to your portfolio.
Why use Coinbase for Altcoins?
One of the most famous and widely used exchanges is Coinbase. The appeal of Coinbase is that it is simple and you can easily link your fiat currency to your cryptocurrencies. All you have to do is connect your bank account or credit card to Coinbase. Once you've done that, you can buy any of the available cryptocurrencies available on the website.
The problem is that Coinbase isn't ideal if you're interested in trading or buying altcoins. Coinbase limits the cryptocurrencies it offers to four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. If you want to buy other cryptocurrencies than those listed on Coinbase, you have to switch to other exchanges. You need to transfer your coins from Coinbase to an exchange that offers your desired altcoins and can process these types of trades.
Binance
Binance generated over $ 1 billion in volume every day during the high season. You will have many trading pairs to choose from, along with a wide range of buy and sell features. In comparison, the fees on Binance are lower than on Coinbase.
If you are new to buying, selling and trading cryptocurrencies, the easiest way to do it is using Coinbase and Binance. In the following we have prepared a step-by-step guide for you:
Create your Coinbase account
Creating accounts on Coinbase and Binance is easy, but it takes a little longer to set up and verify. Otherwise, getting started is straightforward. Let's start with creating your Coinbase account.
Benefits of Coinbase
- Regulated: Coinbase takes crypto regulation seriously and has acquired all the necessary licenses to operate
- Deposit options: Bank transfer, card & PayPal (for selected countries)
- Offered cryptos: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin & 0x
- Beginner friendly: Clear dashboard, easy buying possible
Do you want more information about Coinbase? For example, to create an account? Our comprehensive guide gives you Help with setting up Coinbase.
Are you going to the Coinbase page and click the "Get Started" button in the top right corner.
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From here you get to a page that expects your first and last name, email address and a password. After completing this form, select "Create Account". You will now receive an email with a confirmation link. Click on the link in the email to proceed with the registration.
Once you have completed your email validation, go back to Coinbase and log into your account with the information you provided earlier. When you are logged in, the exchange will ask you to provide a telephone number and a payment method. If possible, use your bank account as the fees for credit card payments are higher than for bank transfers.
After entering your bank account, credit or debit card details, Coinbase will ask you to enter verification details for identification. These precautions apply to a security process called Know Your Customer (KYC). This is a common practice for many digital currency transactions. Once you have summarized the required documents, upload them to your Coinbase account.
The next step is to enter your bank account information. Once you've done that, Coinbase will send a test transaction to your account. That means you will receive a penny from Coinbase with a verification code as a reference. Now return to Coinbase and confirm with your unique code that the bank account is yours.
Now wait a few days for your verification to complete, but once this step is done you are good to go.
Deposit funds into your Coinbase account
While logged into your Coinbase account, select the "Buy / Sell" option at the top of the page. There is a drop-down menu that offers a selection of cryptocurrencies. Select the one you want to buy and then choose your preferred payment method.
Your bank account should be the one listed by default under the Payment Method drop-down list. Enter the amount you wish to transfer by entering the amount in the "EUR" field on the left side of the screen.
Coinbase automatically converts the entered amount into the crypto currency that you have selected. On the right side of the screen you will see the breakdown of your transaction, which also includes your fees for Coinbase.
If you agree to the transaction data, select the option "Buy" at the bottom of the screen. Coinbase will withdraw the funds from your account in exchange for the cryptocurrency you have chosen. You will usually be able to find the purchased cryptocurrency in your Coinbase account after 2-3 days.
Note: You will receive exactly the amount of the purchased cryptocurrency that you selected at the time of purchase, apart from price fluctuations after the purchase.
Coinbase Pro: makes sense?
On Coinbase Pro can be accessed optionally and is used by those who want to avoid Coinbase's high fees when trading cryptocurrencies. Usually Coinbase charges a fee of 1,49% for every transaction. So if you place a buy order of $ 100, the total will be $ 101,49.
If you create a sell order for the same price, Coinbase will also deduct the 1,49%, so the amount you will receive is only € 98,51. Another fee that you can potentially face is the credit card or debit card fee. Debit or credit card transactions are charged a minimum of 3,99%.
With Coinbase Pro, you can potentially complete a transaction with fees of 0%. All brokerage fees are 0%, however the buyer fees depend on the size of the transaction. If your transactions have a volume of € 0-10 million, the participation fee is 0,30%. $ 10 million to $ 100 million is 0,20%, and anything over $ 100 million is 0,10%. That means you can definitely save money with Coinbase Pro.
Transferring funds to Coinbase Pro
Now that you should have cryptocurrencies on your Coinbase account, it is time to redirect them to Coinbase Pro to avoid the costly fees associated with Coinbase. Go to Coinbase Pro to get started.
From there, click on the "Deposit" button that you see on the left side of the screen. Next, a popup will appear on your screen. From the drop-down list, select the type of currency you want to trade in Coinbase Pro. When you have selected the trade pair you want, select "Coinbase Wallet" on the right side of the popup to transfer your funds from Coinbase to Coinbase Pro.
When you are happy with the currency and amount chosen, select Deposit and your funds will be displayed on Coinbase Pro.
After you've transferred your funds from Coinbase to Coinbase Pro, you can now start transferring to Binance so you can buy your Altcoins.
Binance registration
Before you can do anything on Binance, you must first create an account. Setting up Binance is easier and faster than on Coinbase because your bank details are not verified.
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Binance details:
- Top exchange for altcoins: High trading volume and large selection of altcoins
- Beginner friendly: Simple layout and user interface, ideal for those new to crypto
- Large selection: Provides access to over 100 cryptocurrencies
- Mobile app: Binance offers both Android- as well as iOS applications
Need more help getting started with Binance? Just read our Binance setup guide.
Go to the Binance website and register. You will be asked for your email address and a password. You will then receive an email from Binance to confirm your email address. Click on the link in the email to complete the activation of your account.
After you have created your account, log in to Binance with the email address and password you provided. You are asked to read and accept the safety instructions. Once you have done this click "Next" to continue.
The next screen is where you can set up your 2-factor authentication, also known as 2FA. This is an additional layer of security to prevent strangers from gaining access to your account. With 2FA on Binance, you can either use Google's authentication app or use SMS authentication. You can also skip this step, but the Bitcoin News team always recommends using 2-factor authentication.
After you've completed your 2FA, you're ready for the next step. The daily limit on Binance is 2 BTC for withdrawals. However, you can increase this limit by providing the KYC documentation under your account settings.
Transfer from Coinbase to Binance
Transferring your currencies from Coinbase or Coinbase Pro to Binance is easy and straightforward. We're going to explain both types so that you know exactly how to transfer your money from one place to another. Then you can finally buy altcoins.
Coinbase
To transfer your funds from Coinbase to Binance, you first need to copy the receiving wallet address into Binance. Log into your Binance account and then select the "Deposits" option under the "Funds" menu at the top of the website.
Now you have to choose the cryptocurrency that you want to deposit. If you cannot find the currency, you can also use the search function. Binance will now create your individual wallet address to which you can now send funds. Be sure to use the entire address copy so you don't lose your deposit when moving your funds.
Now go back to your Coinbase account and click on the "Accounts" tab above. All of your cryptocurrencies are listed here, along with the amount you have of each one. Find the currency from which you have just copied the address and now want to move it to Binance. Select the "Send" button on the paper airplane icon.
You will now see a pop-up window asking for the address for the wallet you want to send money to. Enter the address along with the amount of fiat currency or cryptocurrency you want to transfer. Coinbase will convert the amount regardless of which type you choose.
Additional information:
At the end of the transfer you can enter a note for this order. This feature will help you see in the future what you did with the funds when you moved them. Temporarily enter "Binance Transfer" and the purpose should be fulfilled. Now click on "Next" to start the transaction process.
Unlike fiat transactions, transfers of cryptocurrencies are usually completed within minutes. Note, however, that this can vary depending on the type of cryptocurrency you choose. Once your transfer has started, Coinbase will send you an email notifying you of this.
Coinbase Pro
Just like with Coinbase, you would first have to copy the wallet address on Binance. Go to the "Deposit" section and select the cryptocurrency you want to move. Again, make sure you copied the address correctly, then visit the Coinbase Pro website so you can start the transfer.
First, you want to select the "Withdrawal" option on the left side of the screen. Once you do, a popup will appear with a drop down menu. Select the cryptocurrency you want to move to Binance.
Here you enter the wallet address and the amount you want to move. Just like with Coinbase, the amount you enter will automatically be converted into fiat or cryptocurrency depending on what you enter.
When you are satisfied with the coin you have chosen and the amount you have entered, click the "Withdraw" button below and your transaction will begin.
Now back to Binance.
Buy Altcoins on Binance
Now that you have funded your account, you can go ahead and exchange the transferred cryptocurrency for altcoins. From the main page, go back to the "Credits" option.
On the Funds page, you will see the list of all the cryptocurrencies that Binance supports, along with the amount you hold in each of them. Find the one you want to own and hit the "Trade" button on the right. There you will see a drop-down menu where you can select the coins that you can swap for the altcoin you have chosen.
Once you've chosen which pair to trade with, Binance will take you to the trading screen. Here you can choose how much to trade and at what price. When you are happy with your choices you can click the "Buy" button.
At the bottom you now have the option to buy or sell. Congratulations you did it!
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Transfer to your own wallet
If you plan to hold your altcoins for a longer period of time, we recommend an offline wallet. The steps for moving your cryptocurrency are just as simple as buying and moving your cryptocurrency.
Return to the "Balances" section, which lists all of your coins. This time you select "Withdraw" instead of "Trade".
You will now be taken to a screen asking for the withdrawal address which should be the address of your private wallet that you want to move your funds to. Enter the amount you want to move. After checking, confirm your entries and click on Send to start the transaction.
Check your wallet to confirm the transaction has completed successfully.
Handy app options
One of the great things about Coinbase and Binance is that they both offer a mobile app. You can find these apps in both the iOS and Android app stores. These apps offer by far most of the same functionality as the web interfaces, so you can perform the same functions we just went through.
You won't see the same detailed information on the app as on the website, but there are very similar ways here too that you can easily transfer your funds from Coinbase to Binance. They even have the chart function when buying altcoins.
Summary
Buying altcoins can seem more complicated than it is. Buying with Coinbase and trading on Binance makes it easy and straightforward. Just make sure you follow the necessary steps outlined above. The rest is just transferring your funds from one place to another.
Now you know how easy it is to buy altcoins. It can sound tempting to buy a ton of altcoins right away, especially when you're starting out. But we recommend that you do your own research first before investing. Remember, you are dealing with real money. Only invest money that you are willing to lose. Be patient, invest wisely, and have fun.
Image sources:
- Altcoins: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Cryptocurrency_logos.jpg
- Coinbase: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Coinbase_Logo_2013.png
- Coinbase Magnifier: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149561324@N03/42549922930
- Coinbase with Bitcoin: https://www.pexels.com/de-de/foto/bank-bitcoin-business-coinbase-730557/
- 2x Coinbase Pro: Screenshot from website
- Binance logo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Binance.png
- 2x Binance: Screenshot from website
- Binance with magnifying glass: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149561324@N03/44309495132
- Binance with Bitcoin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/163013779@N03/41876606774
- Purse drawing: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1452115
