Are You Looking To Buy Monero (XMR)? Look No More!

I know that buying cryptocurrency can be hard – trust me, I once used to be in your position. Staring endlessly at screen after screen thinking is this the right method to buying crypto? 

From setting up your own wallet, choosing the right exchange and keeping your Monero (XMR) safe, there’s a lot to learn. 

And you’re probably here because you’ve heard of all the horror stories when it comes to purchasing crypto, from the ‘trading’ screens you can find yourself on, to not using trustworthy sites. 

But don’t worry, after reading this short but detailed guide you’re going to know the ins and outs of how to buy cryptocurrencies like Monero (XMR), safely and securely. 

How Does Monero (XMR) Work To Be Anonymous and Secure? 

Okay, so why would you want to buy Monero (XMR)? Well, for one Monero specialises in being one of the first truly private and anonymous blockchains. 

Contrary to popular belief transferring bitcoin (BTC) is quite easy to track. So they’ll be able to identify which bitcoin wallet is yours through the bitcoin explorer once you have made a transaction. 

That’s where Monero (XMR) comes into play using several cryptographic features, including its newly upgraded ‘concise linkable spontaneous anonymous group’ (CLSAG) signature. 

Without getting too technical, additional features such as multiple cryptographic keys being assigned to each transaction and stealth addresses help keep every transaction harder to track. 

The one major factor to note is that due to its anonymity and privacy it has drawn attention from governmental organisations which have impacted its growth within certain countries. 

So, how do you buy Monero? 

How To Buy Monero (XMR)

Step 1: Get A Wallet That Supports Monero (XMR) 

If you’re planning on holding Monero for a long time then you’re best off buying a cold wallet, or hardware wallet. 

However, if you’re wanting to send Monero or swing-trade monero then you’re better off holding your XMR coins in a hot wallet (‘web’, ‘mobile’, or software wallet). 

Okay, so what options do you have to securely store your XMR? 

Wallet Name	Type of Wallet	URL
Ledger	Hardware Wallet	https://www.ledger.com/
My Monero	Software Wallet	https://mymonero.com/
Monero Core	Software Wallet	https://www.getmonero.org/downloads/

Tip: Ledger is the only hardware wallet that currently supports XMR. 

Remember: Note down your private key and mnemonic phrases to any of your wallets in multiple secure, offline locations.

If you’re not comfortable paying for the additional security and safety of a hardware wallet like Ledger, then I would recommend going for an official wallet from one of the actual Monero developers. 

That’s why I included the two options of My Monero and Monero Core as these software wallets were created by the seven developers behind Monero. This gives them the added advantage of being ‘safer’. 

Step 2: The Hard Part! Find A Crypto Exchange To Purchase Monero (XMR)  

So you’ve set up your Monero (XMR) wallet and now you’re looking for that balance to go from 0 to XYZ with your first purchase. 

How do you buy Monero (XMR)? Due to Monero’s popularity, there are several ways to purchase Monero, and actually, there’s one way to purchase it without signing up for a crypto exchange. 

If you’re looking to just purchase Monero then you may want to head over to Local Monero which brings together Peer-to-Peer (P2P) buyers and sellers of Monero. The best thing is that it offers multiple payment methods. 

Tip: It’s always worth checking the LocalMonero price against the ‘market’ price found on crypto exchanges. If there is too much of a premium then you’ll want to continue reading.

The only one I have found that allows fiat deposits straight into XMR is Kraken. However, you will have to have a government-issued identity card present to verify your identity before purchasing. This nullifies the point of anonymity though.

Another popular method, although slightly more long-winded, is buying another popular cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum which is available to purchase via fiat currency. 

Once you’ve acquired your Bitcoin or Ethereum then you’ll have to trade this for Monero using a crypto spot exchange. 

Did you think I’d stop there? Nope, here’s the mini-guides to buying Monero (XMR) on Kraken.

Ultimate Mini-Guide To Buying on Monero (XMR) on Kraken Exchange Using Fiat Currency

• Step 1: Go to Kraken and click on ‘Create Account’ on the top right. Fill in all the necessary details to register your account. 
• Step 2: Once you have successfully registered, log in to your Kraken account. When you sign in you will see a banner to ‘verify your identification now’. Click on this banner. 
• Step 3: Upload your official government identification such as a passport or driving license. 
• Step 4: Take a selfie with the relevant information that Kraken has provided 
• Step 5: Wait for up to 72 hours to be verified 
• Step 6: Once your identification has been verified click on ‘Funding’ in the menu bar 
• Step 7: Press Deposit and deposit the amount of your fiat currency you would like to use to purchase Monero 
• Step 8: Once your fiat currency has successfully deposited into your Kraken account you can then purchase Monero! Open the New Order page, fill out the order form and click BUY. Simple.

Step 3: Withdraw your Monero (XMR) to your crypto wallet

Yay – you’ve managed to successfully purchase your first privacy coin – Monero (XMR). 

Remember Step 1 where you set up your very own crypto wallet? Well now’s the time to head back over to that wallet and grab your wallet address. 

The wallet address is usually a very long string of numbers and letters (95 to be exact) and usually starts with a ‘4’ for Monero (XMR) addresses.  

Here’s an example: 888tNkZrPN6JsEgekjMnACU4TCzc2Dt29EPcvkRxbANsAnjyPbb3iQ1YBRk1UXcdRsiKc9dhwMVgN5S9cQUiyoogDavup3H

Now you’ve located the wallet address the next step is to head back over to the crypto exchange that you bought your Monero (XMR) from. 

Enter your Monero (XMR) address and click ‘Withdraw’ on your stack. Your balance will show up in your wallet shortly. 

Tip: Always make sure you copy and paste the addresses. They are case sensitive!

Concluding Your Purchase of Monero (XMR)

Well done on completing your purchase and securing your Monero in your wallet. 

I think Monero (XMR) is a great long-term hold. After all, it has been here since 2012 and has a great use case. 

The developers are continually developing as shown with their upgrade to the speed and size of transactions earlier in 2021.

If you’re interested in other privacy coins you should check out Dash and Zcash. 

Frequently Asked Questions when buying Monero

Can you buy XMR on Coinbase?

At the moment you are not able to buy Monero with fiat currency or via crypto on Coinbase. 

If you have an existing Coinbase account I would purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin. Open up a new account at Binance, and then send your Bitcoin or Ethereum there to trade for Monero (XMR). 

This normally avoids any need to provide identification or KYC, as well. 

Can XMR be traced?

Monero was one of the very first privacy coins to exist in the crypto-sphere. It is heavily used in the dark web and is very difficult to trace. This is because they use various methods of cryptography including ring signatures, stealth addresses and generating multiple keys to confuse any onlookers. 

Does Your Monero Wallet Address Change?

Your wallet address doesn’t change per se. Your wallet address is an instruction to the Monero (XMR) blockchain to create various one-time public keys to hold your funds. This is one of the ways of making your transaction and funds anonymous.