You’ve heard friends talk about how much money they’ve made with cryptocurrencies. You’ve seen prices go up and down by hundreds of percent, so you know what it’s like. You’re really interested in the crypto world.
If you want to get into crypto, the first thing you need to do is buy some. Apps make it easy to do that, but how do you pick the right one?
Before we tell you which app is best for buying crypto (and which one is a close second), here are a few things you should know.
First, we’ve only looked at apps that let you get your private keys for your cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are available through Revolut, for example. If you buy bitcoins there and want to send them to a different address, you can’t do it there. There’s a saying in crypto: Not your keys, not your coins. This might be fine with some people (or even better, because it’s so easy), but there’s a reason for that:
In other words, if you don’t know or control the private key for your crypto, then you don’t own it. This is a long string of characters that lets you send your crypto to another address. It’s also important that you have control of the private key, so you can use a lot of different blockchain apps. Besides, don’t give your private key to anyone. Keep it in a safe place.
Second, you should know that there isn’t one app that will work for everyone. It’s possible for an app that’s popular in the U.S. to be unavailable or even banned in another country, and the other way around. Your bank might not let you use a certain service. An app or service may not have as many features in one market as it does in another market. In other words, you’ll have to do some research about what’s best for you in your area.
For buying cryptocurrencies, this is the best app we have on our phone
If you want to buy cryptocurrencies, Coinbase is the best app. It is available in more than 100 countries, but it doesn’t allow you to buy or sell crypto in all of these markets. It has been around for a decade, there haven’t been any major security breaches in the last few years, and it has more than 73 million verified users. On Android, you can get it from the Google Play Store or on iOS, from the Apple App Store.
In addition, the app is well-designed and easy to use, and it covers most major coins, stablecoins, and decentralised finance platforms like Ethereum, Avalanche, and Solana as well as other coins and platforms.
The Coinbase app makes it easy to buy crypto: You transfer money from your credit or debit card to your fiat currency (USD, EUR, etc.) wallet to pay for things like gas and food. Then, you can use that money to buy coins that Coinbase can buy.
In three steps, you can buy crypto on Coinbase. In the beginning, put money in your cash purse. Then, choose the coin you want to buy. This is how it works: It’s time to finish. You can now enter the amount of money you want to spend and click “buy.”
In this case, Coinbase is to blame for this.
A few other things that make Coinbase even better are the “learn and earn” lessons, which allow you to earn small amounts of crypto after you do a few simple tasks, and the Coinbase Card, a debit card that lets you spend cryptocurrencies from your Coinbase wallet.
Coinbase isn’t the best place to actively trade crypto. For that, you have Coinbase Pro, as well as Binance, FTX, and many other places. You may also be able to find other platforms that charge less. But if you want to get into the world of cryptocurrencies, Coinbase will do just fine for that.
Runner-up
If you want to learn more about crypto but also make it more complicated, try Binance’s app for your phone. Binance is a huge crypto exchange that supports hundreds of cryptocurrencies and almost every feature you can think of. It has margin trading, a debit card, a lot of different promotions, coin staking, gift cards, and more.
A small part of what Binance has to offer is what you’re seeing now.
To thank: Binance
One big advantage over Coinbase is that Binance is a lot faster than Coinbase when it comes to adding new cryptos to the mix. If you want to trade something that’s still new, you’ll likely find it on Binance weeks or months before Coinbase does.
Inexperienced people who want to get into the world of cryptocurrencies might not be able to figure out how to use Binance. As a result, Binance isn’t giving everyone the same experience. For example, people in the US will get a different app (Binance.US) than people in other places.
There is good news.
Cryptocurrencies are a very risky investment. The prices of many of them can go up hundreds of percent and then fall back down to near-zero at any given time (and vice versa). Always be careful, do your research before you buy anything, and don’t spend more money than you’re willing to lose.
