How to buy crypto like Monero securely in the UK

The need to diversify one’s monetary options has never been greater than right now. The pandemic has hit economies around the globe extremely hard, and governments are reeling as they try to play catch-up. It is in situations like this that people are more inclined to turn to alternative sources of income that are not determined by government policy, such as cryptocurrency.

Monero (XMR) is one such crypto. It is among the popular cryptocurrencies out there, and this article will go through the basics: what it is and how you can buy it.

What is Monero?

Monero’s popularity has been growing in the crypto industry, owing to its anonymity. Every cryptocurrency user is given a public address or key that is specific to them. The coins are transferred to the recipient’s address, which they must reveal to the sender when using Bitcoin. Once the sender has access to the fund recipient’s public address, they can see how much they have. 

Even if the sender knows the recipient’s public address, transacting with Monero does not offer the sender a window view of the recipient’s holdings. Transactions in Monero are unlinkable and untraceable. Coins sent to a recipient are redirected to an address that is generated at random and used only for that transaction.

Unlike blockchain, the Monero ledger does not store the sender and recipient’s actual stealth addresses, and the one-time constructed address that is recorded is not related to either party’s actual address. As a result, anyone looking at Monero’s opaque ledger wouldn’t be able to find the addresses or people involved in any previous or current transaction.

How to get Monero in the UK

Now for the crux of the article. There are two main ways for you to get your hands on Monero in the UK. The first is through a crypto exchange like Binance, which provides lesser interest rates while being secure in its dealings. The other way is to directly buy XMR with GBP. Both of these options have pros and cons, which we will look into one by one.

Using an exchange

This is the most secure option. Try to find an exchange that deals directly with an XMR/GBP pair, though this combination is extremely rare. If you can’t find one, the next best thing is to convert GBP to either Bitcoin, Litecoin or Tether, and then use that to exchange to Monero. This is the cheapest way to do it while also being the slowest and most cumbersome.

Binance, Poloniex, Bittrex and Kucoin all have relatively low fees while being reliable. You can also use one of the instant crypto exchanges like Changelly. However, be aware that using the instant exchanges will end up costing you more – at least 2% more than the exchange rates on most crypto exchanges. 

Because Monero is becoming more and more difficult to find on crypto exchanges with a fiat currency, this double conversion method is your best bet. It will take a couple of hours, but it is well worth it.

Buying Monero with GBP

This is definitely the more straightforward way to go about things – if you have an exchange that provides the XMR/GBP pair. These either don’t exist or are very rare, but it is still possible to use special sites to buy Monero directly with GBP. Note that you will be paying a much higher premium for exchanges like this.

What’s more, these processes aren’t anonymous as you will have to present some identification. There are dealers who don’t require ID, but they’re much more difficult to find and cost far more than anything else discussed so far.

Conclusion

Monero is a difficult currency to deal in if you’re in the UK, as the processes necessary for getting your hands on it are much more stringent and tricky to deal with, but the inherent privacy benefits that come with the usage of Monero make it more than worth the effort. It is completely untraceable, which is a dream come true for anyone who is truly interested in the use of cryptocurrencies.

With the way the world is going, with more and more countries adopting crypto as a viable alternative to their own currency, now is the best time when it comes to using cryptocurrencies. Obviously, crypto can be volatile. Monero is as good as they come, but like any investment, there’s a risk involved, no matter what you choose to do. Just make sure you do your research beforehand.

The editorial unit

The material contained in this article is of the nature of general comment only. The financial information is not advice and should not be treated as such.