It took some time for other cryptocurrencies to emerge after Bitcoin had come to the stage. Now they are having the time of their lives, and millions of people worldwide opt to use altcoins as their primary investment instead of Bitcoin. Let’s take a look at what major altcoins have to offer to the cryptocurrency market and what are the places which allow buying them with fiat money.
What is different between Bitcoin and altcoins?
The primary purpose of all cryptos is the same – to offer a new approach to payments, which is decentralized, faster, and more reliable. However, Bitcoin has some flaws, just like all other popular cryptocurrencies.
Many altcoins were intended as a response to issues Bitcoin is struggling to solve, and some did fix notable imperfections. For example, many of them are much faster and more secure than Bitcoin, while others explored blockchain technology in order to become something more than a means of payment. If you consider investing in altcoins, you should find the best platform for doing so.
Which altcoins can be bought for fiat?
This mainly depends on the exchange platform. Here are some altcoins that are more popular than others:
- Ethereum (Ether/ETH) – it powers a platform for developing decentralized apps
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH) – the most popular Bitcoin fork
- XRP – a go-to payment solution for financial institutions
- Litecoin (LTC) – much faster than Bitcoin
- Dash (DASH) – instant and private payments
All of them excel in one aspect or another. The best way to choose your primary altcoin is to read a couple of guides about each one of them and talk to the people who already have a lot of experience in investing in altcoins.
What are the best exchanges for this type of transaction?
Now that we covered the basics regarding altcoins, it is up to you to buy some with fiat currency. This is not a complicated process, but not all of the online exchanges offer that option. For starters, take a look at the exchanges below.
CEX.IO
Due to its simple design and straightforward user interface, CEX.IO is the primary choice of many newbies. You will immediately know where to buy the altcoins, as all you actually need is to navigate to the dedicated page for the cryptocurrency of your choice. Let’s suppose you land on CEX.IO to get some Ether, what does it take? In fact, the whole process is quite simple and fast:
- Register on the website and verify your identity
- Link your regular payment card to the account for making instant purchases
- Navigate to https://cex.io/buy-ethereum, pick the number of coins you would like to buy
- Click BUY. Yes, it really is that simple.
Although Bitcoin and Ethereum are the main cryptos on this site, you can also buy Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), XRP, Lumens (XLM), and Litecoin (LTC). The most widely used fiat currencies here are the American Dollar and Euro. However, the exchange supports trading against Pound and the Russian Ruble as well.
The strongest side of CEX.IO is its security. It uses state-of-the-art tech to protect its users and transactions. If you are completely new to crypto trading, we suggest you start with this one.
Coinbase
At one point, Coinbase was a synonym for buying Bitcoin for fiat – but not anymore. They also introduced a few additional altcoins – Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, and Bitcoin Cash. If you plan to invest in one of these altcoins, Coinbase may be an excellent option for you.
To facilitate the process of buying and cover a wider audience of users, Coinbase allows for paying with several national currencies – namely, USD, EUR, and GBP. It also offers an instant purchase option for customers who use credit cards.
However, bear in mind that it is not available in many countries. They offer their services mainly to the English-speaking countries and a number of countries from the European Union.
Kraken
If you live in Europe, this may be the best exchange for you despite the fact that the company itself is located in the USA. Why? Because Kraken boasts the largest volume of trades in Euro and the highest liquidity for crypto/euro pairs.
They offer a wide choice of trading options and support many altcoins. Among fiats available are Euro, US and Canadian Dollar, as well as Pound.
This is an outstanding platform, but there is a small issue here – it is not particularly suitable for beginners. On the other hand, if you are an experienced trader, you might find it really enjoyable using it thanks to a wide range of trading tools.
How to buy altcoins with fiat?
First of all, take a look at the countries supported by the exchange. Next, check whether the exchange supports the payment method you use. Don’t worry – most of these platforms try their best to incorporate as many methods as possible, and all of them probably support credit and debit cards.
Finally, you need to follow the prices carefully and buy the chosen altcoin at the right time. Once you do that, you are in the game!
Conclusion
Everything is risky in the crypto industry, and a lot of people are switching to altcoins from Bitcoin. All cryptos have their own purpose and practical value – be sure to learn about it and only then get involved. If you’re eager to buy one of the altcoins with fiat money, choose one of the mentioned exchange services.
