Want to know how to buy XRP in the UK? After its partial victory over the SEC, XRP has become a central coin in the crypto industry.
However, its price has not reacted as many analysts predicted – still trading under $1. Therefore, this may be the perfect time to scoop up some XRP at a bargain price.
This beginner’s guide breaks down everything you need to know to buy XRP for the first time, considering factors like fees, security, complexity and much more.
Cryptoassets are highly volatile and past performance isn’t an indicator of future success. Invest at your own risk.
If you are pressed for time, here’s how to buy XRP for beginners. Now that you know how to invest in XRP in the UK, let’s look at where to buy XRP in the UK. We will compare the top exchanges where you can buy XRP based on factors like pricing, fees, features, security, etc. Kraken, launched in 2011, is a prominent crypto exchange supporting multiple cryptos, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. The platform allows verified users to quickly buy cryptos using a credit card, though the 3.75% fee for this service is considered high. The minimum credit card deposit is $10 or equivalent in other currencies, with a $5,000 limit for crypto purchases over 7 days. Kraken’s trading fees start at 0.26% per transaction, which can decrease based on 30-day trading volume milestones. The exchange is known for its 24/7 customer support and offers margin trading for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Qualified users can trade with up to 5x leverage, meaning they only need to fund 20% of the total trade value. Margin trading costs range between 0.01% and 0.02% per order, with additional finance fees charged every four hours. Kraken caters well to active traders, offering a ‘Pro’ platform with advanced trading tools, customizable charts, and technical indicators. It also supports Bitcoin futures and NFT trading. Accessible via web browsers and dedicated iOS and Android apps, Kraken is a solid choice for traders seeking a comprehensive trading experience. Pros Cons
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. eToro has long been one of the leading crypto exchanges, with unique features that sets it apart from its competitors. Investors looking to buy XRP using eToro will be able to take advantage of the platform’s social trading tool, where you can copy trades from the best performers, and is an ideal solution for beginners who may be new to the market. There are currently 30 million users using eToro, with its platform having over 4,500 tradable markets, more than 70 of them cryptocurrencies like XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. eToro charges a 1% fee for opening and closing a XRP trade. This fee is added to the market price, so as soon as the order is placed, a loss will appear in your balance. When closing this position, the selling fee will be accounted for to reflect the price of XRP at that time. This is a better solution for traders, compared to Coinbase, who not only charge a 1% fee on all transactions, but also add a 0.5% spread fee. In the UK, eToro is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), which provides UK investors with security and asset protection. One of the main benefits of the FCA is its Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), where it will compensate clients up to $85,000 should the regulated firm fail. Investors have the option to use eToro’s mobile app ( iOS and Android) when on-the-go, or the proprietary desktop platform (Windows and Mac), with 24-7 customer support on both. Users can also Stake XRP with eToro, with rewards paid out every month, with no need for any action. eToro will stake XRP on behalf of clients, whilst the underlying XRP remains the property of the client. eToro is also ideal for beginners, with its renowned educational offering “Academy”, which provides course material to those just getting started. To start with eToro, the first-time deposit can be anything from $10 to $10,000, however features like copy trading require a minimum of $200.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more. MEXC has established itself as a leading crypto exchange, especially for UK users looking to buy XRP. Catering to a global audience of over 10 million users (excluding the US). MEXC is recognized for its zero spot trading fees and highly competitive futures trading fees. Trading Options and Fees: With over 1,600 cryptos, including popular ones like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, MEXC offers a wide range of trading opportunities. The platform is equipped with advanced charting tools, multiple indicators, and the option to use TradingView, catering to both new and experienced traders. MEXC prioritizes the safety of its users’ assets with stringent security measures, including two-factor authentication and compulsory KYC procedures. MEXC’s Savings feature allows users to lock in cryptos like XRP and USDT to earn interest, with the flexibility to unlock tokens anytime. Additionally, the staking option offers up to 10% annual yields for popular coins. The platform’s copy trading tool allows users to follow the strategies of successful traders, while the MEXC Launchpad offers early access to new crypto tokens. The MEXC mobile app, available on iOS and Android, ensures users can trade on the go. The platform also provides 24/7 customer support and is accessible via desktop. Pros Cons
Established in 2017, Binance has rapidly evolved into the world’s largest crypto exchange in terms of user base, trading volume, and liquidity. The platform caters primarily to active traders, offering access to over 350 cryptos. Its trading fees are highly competitive, starting at just 0.1% per transaction. An added advantage for traders is the option to reduce fees further by using Binance’s native token, BNB, which offers a 25% discount on commissions. The exchange stands out for its low-cost trading structure, with certain pairs available for commission-free trading. Binance’s volume-based pricing structure ensures that higher trading volumes lead to lower fees. For regular traders, this can significantly reduce overall trading costs. Binance also supports diverse funding options. While credit card deposits are convenient, they attract a fee of 1.8%. A more economical choice is bank transfers, which cost less and are credited quickly, usually within 5-10 minutes. However, users should know that credit card fees vary depending on the currency. Binance offers three proprietary wallet options for security, including custodial and decentralized wallets. The custodial wallets, including web and mobile versions, provide robust security features like cold storage and two-factor authentication backed by the SAFU insurance fund. Pros Cons
Only recently, Coinbase listed XRP following its partial victory over the SEC. The platform offers over 250 cryptocurrencies, comprising many blue chips and countless top emerging cryptos. It also features a robust staking program, Coinbase Earn. With this feature, users can earn a yield on many top coins. However, XRP is not currently supported. A feature ideal for beginners is its Coinbase Learn platform, enabling users to earn small rewards for learning about cryptocurrencies. It is also supported by robust security mechanics, such as storing 98% of crypto in air-gapped cold storage. These air-gapped wallets store the private keys entirely offline, bolstering security. However, the primary consideration regarding Coinbase is its fees. The platform charges a 3.99% fee for credit/debit card deposits, a 1% fee on all crypto transactions and a 0.5% spread fee. This means it would cost $39.99 to deposit $1,000 into Coinbase, leaving you with $960.01. Then, if you bought XRP with this, the 1.5% of additional fees would cost a further $14.4, bringing the total fees to over $54. Pros Cons
Offer: Sign up and get up to $200 in crypto¹ Terms: ¹Valid for new users who make a cryptocurrency purchase on Coinbase. Limited while supplies last or Coinbase revokes this incentive at its sole discretion. Coinbase reserves the right to change the terms, eligibility criteria, and payouts for all incentives at any time, for any reason. Void where prohibited or if Coinbase determines that the customer is not eligible for the offer. Terms apply. In simple terms, XRP is the cryptocurrency used to transact on the XRP Ledger. The XRP Ledger is a public blockchain created by the tech company Ripple Labs to facilitate international, cross-border payments. Ripple created the XRP Ledger because, as it currently stands, international payments can take hours, days or even weeks to process. They also cost high fees and require pre-funded accounts for exchanging foreign currencies on the foreign exchange market. This complicates the process and can add even more delays. On the other hand, through XRP and the XRP ledger, transactions can be completed in seconds for a fraction of the cost, with XRP used for liquidity, so there is no need for pre-funded accounts. According to a Bank for International Settlements study, over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange markets reached $7.5 trillion in daily volume in April 2022. The goal of XRP is to process much of this activity through its network. There are 100,000,000,000 XRP coins, and 52.84% of them are circulating. Most of the remaining tokens are currently held by Ripple Labs, and one billion are unlocked monthly. Generally, if Ripple sells the unlocked tokens, it does it OTC to prevent price impact. However, Ripple Labs often does not sell the unlocked tokens, instead putting them back in escrow. One of XRP’s main draws is that Ripple Labs has partnered with some of the world’s most prominent financial institutions, including Bank of America, Standard Chartered, Santander and many more. This means that a long queue of prevalent buyers awaits to acquire any XRP Ripple Labs wants to sell. The next important consideration is whether XRP is one of the best cryptos to buy. To answer this question, we have broken it down into four key areas: partnerships, regulation, price and tokenomics. Let’s look at each below. As mentioned, XRP has already secured partnerships with leading global banks, including Bank of America, Standard Chartered, and Santander. These banks utilise XRP for global international settlements. If XRP adoption for international settlements continues to grow, particularly with the emergence of CBDCs, the volume of daily transactions that the XRP ledger will process could reach trillions of dollars. The exciting thing about this would be that all these transactions would be settled in the XRP token, providing it with vast utility and unprecedented demand. On top of that, XRP is one of only seven ISO 20022-compliant cryptos. ISO 20022 is an international standard for communicating data between financial institutions like banks and payment networks. It is expected that 63% of banks will be ready to adopt ISO 20022 by 2025. Considering XRP is one of only a few compliant cryptocurrencies, it is well-positioned to tap into colossal amounts of new liquidity. XRP’s recent partial victory over the SEC puts it in the unprecedented position of the first cryptocurrency ever to be ruled not a security in a court of law. While this may sound trivial, it carries enormous importance for banks, institutions and enterprises who want to adopt cryptocurrency but require regulatory certainty. If XRP continues to succeed in its case against the SEC, it could become a pioneering crypto regarding regulatory clarity, leading to mass adoption from leading global entities. While Ripple Labs’ lawsuit may have initially seemed bad, it could be the pressure test needed to solidify its position ahead of the emergence of CBDCs. If XRP is proven not a security, there is nothing in the way of becoming the global bridge currency for cross-border payments. Despite significant progress in its case against the SEC, the XRP price is yet to break above $1. XRP’s all-time high (ATH) was $3.84 in January 2018. Today, XRP is priced at $0.5187, 86.1% lower than its ATH, but in an arguably better position considering it has been ruled not a security. Furthermore, around XRP’s ATH, there was far less talk of CBDCs, significantly strengthening its use case. Therefore, the current price of XRP may represent a unique opportunity to buy a massively undervalued crypto on a dip. XRP has a max supply of 100,000,000,000 with 52% circulating and one billion tokens unlocked monthly until the max supply is circulating. This provides a predictable supply of XRP, mitigating some of the price volatility risks of cryptocurrency. This is crucial for large financial institutions that are used to settling international trade in the stable USD. Another exciting factor of XRP is that it features a burn mechanism, where a small amount of each XRP transaction is removed from circulation. While it is only a small amount, a reduced supply could help bolster its price, particularly if demand increases simultaneously. Moreover, we should consider XRP’s utility. The token is essential to use the XRP ledger, so providing there is demand to use the ledger (which is evident in Ripple’s partnerships), there will be demand for the XRP token. Overall, while every crypto carries risk, XRP presents one of the most robust use cases in the crypto space. Furthermore, its current price is significantly less than its 2018 ATH despite being in a much stronger position, both from a regulatory and utility standpoint. Cryptoassets are highly volatile and past performance isn’t an indicator of future success. Invest at your own risk. XRP has one of the longest price histories in crypto, dating back to 2013. In its early years, the token traded at a fraction of what it does today, only breaking above $0.1 in May 2017. Following this, the price began a parabolic run to its 4 January 2018 ATH of $3.84. However, as quickly as the price peaked, it sold off, dropping to $0.27 by September 2018. Yet things then got worse for XRP, trending downwards throughout the crypto winter to lows of around $0.15 in March 2020. Then, in anticipation of the Bitcoin halving, the price slowly recovered, reaching $0.63 in December 2020. However, this was when the SEC sued Ripple Labs for raising funds by selling an unregistered security in the form of XRP. Once again, the price cascaded to lows of $0.22 but began recovering as the market picked up and Ripple Labs built a legal defence. Throughout the 2021 crypto bull run, XRP could not reclaim its 2018 ATH due to the looming threat of the SEC. Instead, it peaked at $1.55 in May 2021. XRP followed a bearish trajectory, finding a bear market support of around $0.32 in June 2022. Then, in July 2023, Judge Torres of the SEC vs. Ripple Labs case ruled that while some institutional sales of XRP may have warranted sales of unregistered securities, the XRP token itself is not a security. Immediately, the XRP token soared 90%, reaching $0.82 the same day. However, the price did not sustain its bullish momentum, as it sold off and is currently trading at $0.52. The lack of bullish momentum is ultimately due to the SEC continuing to battle Ripple Labs in court. Cryptoassets are highly volatile and past performance isn’t an indicator of future success. Invest at your own risk. With the Bitcoin halving and potential crypto bull market looming, coupled with XRP’s growing notoriety and regulatory certainty, the fundamentals of XRP all point to a successful future for the project. However, what do the charts say? Let’s take a look. The recent XRP pump has created a compressing channel on the long-term XRP price chart. Generally, a period of compression is followed by expansion. Considering this compression zone spans five years, we can expect a significant expansion when XRP does break this zone. With the crypto bull run expected this year, XRP will likely break this zone to the upside. With this in mind, we have applied the Fibonacci Retracement tool to the XRP chart to gain some potential price targets. The chart above shows that the first significant resistance level may come around the $5 level, with the next around $8. However, it is important to consider these targets may not be hit in the next cycle; it may be between 4-8 years. Interestingly, many analysts predict even greater returns for XRP. Esteemed Wells Fargo Analyst Shannon Thorpe predicted XRP could reach anywhere between $100-$500. Meanwhile, a popular forecast by market analyst @johnaldinioh89 predicts XRP will soon pump to $18. The analysis racked up almost 400K views on Twitter, with thousands of likes, but also split opinions on whether it could reach that high. Another prominent XRP analysis by hedge fund manager Thomas Kralow estimated that XRP will reach $10-30 in the long term. Cryptoassets are highly volatile and past performance isn’t an indicator of future success. Invest at your own risk. Different exchanges have different prices and fee structures for cryptos, so you can get more for your money if you choose the right one. Meanwhile, centralized exchanges often charge trading fees, too. Some platforms like Coinbase charge 1.5% trading fees. On the other hand, Crypto.com offers more competitive fees at 0.075% per trade. You can also use a decentralized exchange to buy XRP. Still, because it is on an independent blockchain, many users prefer to buy it via a centralized exchange since they do not need to manage it in an XRP Ledger-compatible wallet. While we have identified that XRP is one of the most promising cryptos, it is also essential to be aware of the risks before investing. Despite its landmark partial victory, the SEC is proving relentless in its pursuit of Ripple Labs, recently appealing the verdict that XRP is not a security. This is likely the main factor suppressing the XRP price since the announcement, and there is a risk that the legal battle could continue throughout the next bull market, limiting XRP’s upside potential. Another concern regarding XRP is the risk of centralization. Almost 50% of tokens are locked in smart contract escrows controlled by Ripple Labs. While it is unlikely, Ripple Labs could significantly damage the XRP price by mishandling these funds. One of the core values of cryptocurrency is decentralization so that one entity does not hold the power of an entire financial system within its hands. However, Ripple Labs focuses more on the technological benefits of blockchain rather than its decentralization properties. Foreign exchange is the world’s largest financial market. As such, there are bound to be many companies competing to provide infrastructure to increase speed, reduce fees and facilitate trillions in daily trading volume. Therefore, XRP faces stark competition. It also threatens the US Dollar since that is typically used to settle international payments. This is a crucial consideration because if the US government sees it as a threat, it could attempt to prevent XRP from reaching its potential. On top of that, while providing a slightly different use case, other cryptos like Steller still present a competitive risk to XRP. Nevertheless, all assets carry risk, and XRP is no different. However, its cutting-edge use case, partnerships with leading global financial institutions, ISO 20022 compliance and recent partial victory against the SEC all point to a bright future. So now we have established the benefits and risks of buying XRP and where to buy it; let’s expand further on how to buy XRP step by step. Opening a Kraken account is simple, all you need to do is select “Sign up”, provide your email and use a unique password. Verify your account by providing your ID, and a proof of address. Once you have created your Kraken account, you can now deposit or make a direct purchase with a card. For direct purchase, visit the “Explore” tab and type “XRP” in the search bar. Select Ripple and select “Buy”. Select the order type: buy now, buy at a certain price, make recurring purchase. Select your card. Review the order and confirm if if all looks good. Although they are instant, card purchases come with slightly higher fees. If you wish to make a bank transfer and then buy XRP, you can do so by selecting the “Transfer” tab and using the information to make a deposit. With the account now funded through a bank deposit, you can search for XRP in the same “Explore” tab where you made a card purchase. Except this time, select, “Convert” instead of “Buy”. Use your funds to make a XRP purchase. Alternatively, you can use Kraken Pro to make a leveraged purchase. Note, the XRP/GBP pair doesn’t have leverage, you’ll need to use XRP/USD if you want to use this feature. There are numerous ways to buy XRP, but our research has led us to conclude that eToro is the best choice for this in 2024. You can easily buy XRP from the UK within minutes by creating a Kraken account today.
How to Buy XRP for Beginners
Where to Buy XRP in the UK – Best Exchanges Reviewed
1. Kraken – Popular Crypto Exchange for Investors Wanting to Buy Bitcoin on Margin
Fee Structure
Fee to Buy XRP
Top Features
Number of Cryptos
0% to 0.26%
Debit Card (3.75%)
Huge customer base, Advanced trading platform, Competitive fee structure
250+
2. eToro – Beginner-Friendly Best Crypto Exchange to Buy XRP in the UK
3. MEXC – Popular Exchange to Buy XRP in the UK in 2024, Offers Copy Trading & Low Trading Fees
Fee Structure
Fee to Trade XRP
FCA Regulated
Top Features
2% fee for Debit cards. No spot trading fees.
0%
No
High transaction processing, copy trading, and Saving feature for passive income.
4. Binance – Popular Crypto Exchange With Low Fees And High Liquidity
Fee Structure
Fee to Trade XRP
FCA Regulated
Top Features
Fiat deposits are not available from the UK. However, there are no fees on crypto deposits except for network gas fees
0.1% of the purchase amount
Yes (Partly)
High transaction processing, copy trading, and High APYs on staking
5. Coinbase – Over 250 Cryptocurrencies and Education Platform
Next on our list of where to invest in XRP in the UK is Coinbase.
Fee Structure
Fee to Buy XRP
FCA Regulated
Top Features
3.99% fee on card deposits and 1.49% for bank transfers over $200
1% crypto trading fees
Yes
Coinbase Learn and Coinbase Earn
What is XRP?
Key Advantages of XRP
Is XRP a Good Investment? Key Points to Consider
Partnerships With Global Banks
Regulatory Certainty
Buying the Dip
Tokenomics
XRP Price History
XRP Price History Key Points
Future Outlook – XRP Price Prediction
Exchange Prices Explained
Things to Consider Before Investing in XRP
Regulatory Risk
Centralization Risk
Competition
How to Buy XRP in the UK Detailed Step-by-Step
Step One: Open a Kraken Account
Step Two: Deposit Funds or Use a Card For Direct Purchase
Step Three: Search for XRP
Conclusion
References
https://www.csoonline.com/award/642551/us-cso-50-award-8-2022.htmlFAQs
How can I buy XRP in the UK?
What is the best place to buy XRP in the UK?
Is it worth investing in XRP?
