How to Buy Stellar (XLM) – February 2018

About Stellar

Stellar is a distributed, hybrid blockchain that is fully open-source. It is infrastructure that exists to facilitate cross-asset transfers of value, including payments. With just one integration into the Stellar Network, you will join an open, global financial network where all actors – be they people, payment networks, or banks – have equal access & economic participation.

How to Buy Stellar in the US

Quick reference instructions, followed by more detailed instructions and screenshots below.

1. Open an account on Coinbase.
2. Open an account on Binance.
3. Buy Ethereum ETH on Coinbase. ETH has a lower exchange and conversion fee and is faster than Bitcoin.
4. Fund your Binance account with the Ethereum you just purchased. Note: Coinbase will charge a $14.25 transfer fee, so make sure you purchase and send enough to make it worth it. I recommend at least $500 at a time.
5. Open the Exchange page on Binance and trade as you will.

The reason you must fund Coinbase first is the company accepts FIAT currencies, i.e USD, EUR, etc. From there, you can take your FIAT converted to ETH and purchase Stellar, or any other coin at Binance.

These two companies are the most reputable I have currently encountered and used. Fees are reasonable compared to other options I’ve tried.

Fee roundup:

Coinbase: $14.25 to transfer to Binance

Binance: 0.1% trading fee.

Binance: Free to withdraw from Binance back to Coinbase.

Coinbase to Bank Account ACH: Free.

Total estimated fees on a $500 investment based on January 2018 rates: $19.25

Binance

Open an account in Binance.

Verify as necessary. The further verifications provided, the more you can deposit and withdraw at a time.

Click over to Funds, then Deposits and Withdrawals. You will be presented with a screen showing all of the available cryptocurrencies.

Click on Deposit for Ethereum.

You will be presented with an address to send your Ethereum to as a deposit. Copy the one time use address from Binance and paste it into the Coinbase accounts page under the Send button. The screenshot below shows BTC, but you will want to click on ETH.

Once the fund have finished transferring, head over to the Binance exchange.

Binance allows you to set limit, market, and stop-limit orders on buying and selling.

You are on your own from here. Good luck! To withdraw from Binance, go back to the Funds Deposits and Withdrawals page and click on the Withdrawal button for whatever currency you have.

Step by Step Instructions for using Binance

Now that your Ethereum has been successfully added, you can click Funds, then Deposits Withdrawals. Right in front of the coin you transferred, the total balance should reflect the value of Bitcoin or Ethereum you transferred.

1. Click on Exchange, right beside the Binance Logo, then select the Basic option.
2. On the Exchange page, look to the top right corner where you find the market pairs section above Trade History.
3. Look for the market pair you want to exchange. In this case, locate the XLM/ETH pair and click (search for XLM/BTC if you funded your account with Bitcoin).
4. The page loads the XLM/ETH pair, and you are set to exchange your coins for XLM.
5. Beneath the chart, locate Buy XLM section.
6. The first box shows the value of ETH per XLM to be purchased.
7. The second box is for you to enter the amount (number of coins) of XLM you want to exchange for your BTC or ETH you funded.
8. Below the Amount box, you have options to use 25%, 50%, 75%, or all of your deposited funds to buy the XLM cryptocurrency.
9. The total box shows you how much BTC or ETH you are paying to buy the quantity of XLM you entered.
10. Click the Buy XLM button.

Within some few seconds, you should have the XLM you have exchanged credited to your XLM wallet on the Binance platform.

Your XLM cryptocurrency is now available to be sent out to your wallet outside the exchange.

Is Stellar XLM a Good Cryptocurrency Investment?