By: Ofir Beigel | Last updated: 02/18/21
Cardano is an open source cryptocurrency that started in 2015 and didn’t become available for trading until October 2017. In this post, I’m going to explain a little bit what Cardano is, its currency (ADA), and how to buy it online.
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How do I buy Cardano summary
How to Buy Cardano (ADA):
- Get a Cardano Wallet (Ledger Nano X, Exodus)
- Find your ADA address
- Find an ADA exchange (CEX.io, Coinmama)
- Pull the ADA into your wallet
If Coinmama isn’t working for you, here are some additional purchase options:
Payment Methods:
Credit / Debit Card, SEPA, Wire Transfer
Payment Methods:
Credit / Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer
Payment Methods:
Credit / Debit Card, SEPA, Wire Transfer
Payment Methods:
Credit / debit card, wire transfer, crypto
* eToro users: 75% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Your capital is at risk
How to buy Cardano in a nutshell. If you’d like a more in-depth explanation of Cardano and the buying process, read on: I’ll cover the following:
- What is Cardano?
- How to buy ADA in 3 steps
- Conclusion
1. What is Cardano?
Cardano is a cryptocurrency and smart contract platform that aims to solve the problems faced by the current smart contract leader – Ethereum.
Cardano has a base layer that, similar to Bitcoin, is used to process payments. In addition, there is a control layer on which smart contracts are executed. It’s like you’ve merged Bitcoin and Ethereum into one network.
Cardano aims to create a platform for cryptocurrency and smart contracts that is sustainable, scalable and interoperable (that is, enables assets to be exchanged between different blockchains, similar to atomic swaps).
The platform uses ADA as a currency to make smart contracts, much like Ether is used to execute contracts on Ethereum. The ADA circulation is limited to 45 billion coins.
Cardano was founded by the company IOHK (Inputs, Outputs, Hong Kong) and Charles Hoskinson, its CEO, who was also one of the pioneers of Ethereum.
Cardano is working on a proof-of-stake model. This means that instead of mining, you can use your Cardano to participate in the network’s consensus process. By using your Cardano, you can generate income from it. However, you need to put in a large amount of Cardano to make it worth it.
Cardano and ADA have managed to get to the top of the cryptocurrency charts while winning the battle for the best smart contract platform alongside EOS, IOTA, NEO and others. Cardano’s first official use case was announced in December 2017, with the potential to store and verify Greek student diplomas on the Cardano blockchain.
2. Buy Cardano in 3 steps
Step 1 – Choose a Cardano wallet
Cardano is a young project that is still under development. Because of this, there are very few wallet options available for storing ADA, the Cardano currency.
Cardano hardware wallets
If you are looking for a safe way to store your ADA, you can use a hardware wallet. Hardware wallets keep your private keys offline on the hardware device itself. This makes hardware wallets much more resistant to hacking than software wallets that are connected to the internet.
You can use Ledger Hardware Wallet in conjunction with AdaLite to store ADA. Both Ledger models support this, but the Nano X also offers mobile support. You can read my Ledger Nano X review here.
Alternatively, you can use the TREZOR Model T in conjunction with AdaLite. You can read my full review of the TREZOR T here.
Cardano software wallets
The easiest way to store ADA along with other cryptocurrencies would be to use a free software wallet like Exodus, which is pretty intuitive and supports both desktop and mobile versions.
Another great option is Atomic Wallet, a software wallet for desktop and mobile that allows you to store ADA and over 300 additional cryptocurrencies. The wallet also allows you to swap your assets with a decentralized order book through an atomic swap that is not in custody.
After all, Daedalus is the official Cardano desktop wallet. Daedalus can be downloaded from the official website. It is an open source cryptocurrency wallet for ADA. The idea behind the wallet is that it will grow with the community and become a universal wallet, blockchain application platform and app store.
Daedalus Wallet is available for Windows and Mac.
Find your Cardano address
Once you have your Cardano wallet, make sure you can find your ADA address. It is a very long sequence of letters and symbols that begins with a “D”. Here is an example:
DdzFFzCqrht6uv8fraMCgBXgTYypPmNZvJeJupPraMUgbYJWJ2CVoqNQ4KfGne2ebpZgjaC7PP1vxgyRwLZ3WsywNDxZVPjHgMmLRQ3W
Step 2 – Buy ADA on an exchange
As Cardano matures, you can buy and trade ADA including several established market leaders:
Buy Cardano through CEX
CEX.io is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers both a buy-it-now option for beginners and an advanced trading platform for experienced traders.
With the Excahnge you can buy Cardano with credit card, debit card, SEPA transfer, ACH and transfer. If you want to save on fees, it is better to use the trading platform and not the buy it now option. You can read my full CEX review here.
Buy Cardano through eToro
eToro is probably the easiest way to go if you are into Cardano for speculative reasons (buy cheap and sell high to make a profit). eToro, a leading company in the cryptocurrency space, offers users the ability to buy and sell many different coins for low fees and with a variety of payment options (PayPal, credit card, etc.).
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with eToro is that you cannot withdraw the coins into your own wallet yourself. With eToro, you can only withdraw fiat currencies (i.e. USD, EUR). Therefore, if you are using eToro, you can skip step 1 to get a wallet.
You can read my full eToro review here.
Be warned – cryptocurrencies can fluctuate widely and are not suitable for all investors. Trading in cryptocurrencies is not monitored by any EU legal framework. Remember that your capital is at risk.
Buy Cardano through Coinmama
Coinmama is one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the world. Coinmama act as a broker which means they send you your coins instantly instead of keeping them on a dedicated account like other websites.
With Coinmama you can buy Cardano with credit card, debit card or SEPA transfer. It’s relatively quick to review, and the fees are pretty low compared to the competition. You can read my full Coinmama review here.
Buy Cardano through Binance
Binance is a Shanghai-based cryptocurrency exchange that has become one of the most popular crypto exchanges. You can find dozens of cryptocurrencies on Binance, including ADA, which can be bought at BTC or ETH.
Recently, Binance added the option to buy coins on its exchange using a credit or debit card. However, it is not possible to purchase ADA. You can buy Bitcoin with a credit card and then exchange it for Cardano. You can read my full Binance review here.
How to buy Cardano from Binance:
- Sign in to Binance
- Go to “Funds” -> “Deposits” and find your Bitcoin address
- Deposit Bitcoin to your Binance Bitcoin address
- Wait for the coins to show up on your account
- Go to “Exchange” -> “Basic”
- Look for the ADA / BTC pair
- Go to Market and enter the amount of ADA you want to buy
- Click Buy ADA.
Buy Cardano through Bittrex
Bittrex is an American cryptocurrency exchange with a large number of cryptocurrencies. On Bittrex, you can buy ADA by exchanging it for BTC, USDT, and also USD. Bittrex only accepts bank transfers. You can read my full Bittrex review here.
Buy Cardano with cash
There is currently no way to buy Cardano ADA with cash. You can buy Bitcoin with cash and then exchange it for Cardano on any of the cryptocurrency exchanges listed above.
How to buy Cardano with PayPal
It is not yet possible to buy ADA directly with PayPal. The only possible option is through eToro, but then you will not be able to withdraw the coins. It is expected that there will be more options in the future as cryptocurrencies become more popular.
If you need direct access to the coins, you can go to LocalBitcoins, where you can buy bitcoin through PayPal. Then all you have to do is transfer your Bitcoin to Binance and exchange it for ADA.
Step 3 – Drag the ADA into your own wallet
When you are done purchasing ADA, be sure to move the coins into your own unsteady wallet (i.e. a coin that can be used to access your private key). Leaving your coins on an exchange puts you at risk of fraud or theft (which has happened multiple times in the past).
When the coins get into your wallet, you have successfully completed the Cardano purchase process.
3. Conclusion
Cardano is a cryptocurrency that is becoming increasingly popular. While the project is still in its early stages, it shows promise and should be easier to buy, sell, and store as the cryptocurrency gains wider adoption.
It’s hard to say whether Cardano will continue to be high on the cryptocurrency list in the future, given that Ethereum, IOTA, EOS and others are so highly competitive.
Have you used any of the wallets or purses mentioned above? What do you think of Cardano as a project? Let me know in the comments below!
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