Launched in 2016, Polkadot is an interesting project. It is a protocol that connects different networks to each other. This is a sort of hub for different blockchains to communicate with each other. Polkadot has its own native token DOT which is the 11th largest crypto on the market. Currently, DOT trades at $5.30 but last November when the whole crypto market skyrocketed it was worth around $50. This is a great project that investors should not sleep on.
Polkadot was created in 2016 by the co-founder of Ethereum Gavin Wood. This is a protocol that connects different blockchains together and allows communication between them. It provides bridges for any network to communicate with any other network. For example, Polkadot can be used to create a smart contract that allows communication between BNB and XRP.
“I suspect that currency will continue to play a role in services. But I think ... overall, we’re going to start seeing services be delivered without the need to use tokens” - Gavin Wood
The Crypto world has one big problem which is the existence of many different networks. Most of the big tokens are built and operate on different networks, which means that transactions made between each other are impossible. But this impossibility is removed by Polkadot and allows both public and private networks as well as decentralized applications to communicate with each other in a fast and easy manner.
Polkadot has its own native token DOT. Those who hold DOT receive governance rights of the project and also are able to stake their tokens and earn interest rates on them. Governance rights give them opportunities to vote on different aspects of the project and the weight of their vote will depend on the number of tokens they hold.
Polkadot is the 11th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $7.9 billion. This is a great project which brings big benefits and new opportunities to blockchain development.
Polkadot can be found on many different crypto exchanges since it is the 11th largest crypto on the market. Because of this huge selection of exchanges that offer Polkadot each exchange won’t be offering the same services. These exchanges can differentiate in many different aspects. Some might have lower transaction fees, some might be better suited for new or advanced traders, and some might offer better trading opportunities by having a bigger selection of trading pairs and better leverage. Each exchange can also be available in different countries and have a different verification process. Because of this, we need to make our own research as to which exchange offers the best services which fit our preferences. Below, we will list the general steps you will need to take in order to buy Polkadot.
Finding which exchange we will be using to purchase Polkadot is the most important step we have to take. Each exchange operates in different countries, they offer different payment options based on which part of the world you live in. Also, each exchange will have different fees and commissions based on which payment method we are using and what trading strategy we use. We have to determine which aspect of exchange we value the most and only after that make the final decision as to where we are going to purchase Polkadot.
Once we have selected the exchange of our choosing we need to open our personal account on that exchange and pass KYC verification before we are able to purchase Polkadot. These verification processes are mostly the same and some exchanges might add some additional steps for it, but these steps usually are easy to pass. This verification is not necessary on some exchanges. Most of the exchanges will let you open an account without verification but will place different limitations which will greatly limit the stuff you can do on exchange. Because of this even if you can access exchange without verification, for your own advantage it is recommended to still pass these verification processes.
Once our account is open and limitations are removed we are able to deposit funds and purchase Polkadot. We can usually take two different routes when purchasing Polkadot. We can purchase Polkadot directly by using bank transfers or credit/debit cards to make purchases. We can also use different cryptocurrencies to acquire Polkadot. If you own different crypto on your personal wallet or different exchange, you can transfer that crypto to the exchange where you plan on acquiring Polkadot and swap that crypto for Polkadot. Here we need to make sure that the exchange provides us with a trading pair of Polkadot and crypto we want to use for the swap.
This is not mandatory and you can freely keep Polkadot on the exchange you purchased at or transfer to a different exchange, but owning a personal crypto wallet won’t hurt anyone. These wallets are 100% under our control while our wallets on exchanges are custodial wallets which means that private keys for wallets are in possession of exchanges. When creating your own personal crypto-wallet for Polkadot, make sure that the wallet you selected Polkadot or it can be easily bridged to support it.
So we have explained in detail what kind of process we have to follow in order to choose which exchange is best for us. Here we will present you with some exchanges that are the best options for specific reasons. Some of them might be better for lower fees, some might have better trading options, and some can have great security.
Coinbase might fall short of Binance as being the largest crypto exchange in the world. But it still remains the biggest crypto exchange in the US. For those who reside in the United States purchasing Polkadot will be easily done using Coinbase services. When making a Polkadot purchase on Coinbase deposit fees are not high and retain competitive numbers. Also, there is the possibility of purchasing Polkadot using PayPal as a payment method. Here we will take you through the process of acquiring Polkadot on Coinbase.
When joining Coinbase we will need to open our Coinbase account in order to be able to purchase Polkadot. To create a Coinbase account we will need to fill registration form which consists of the first and last name, email address, and password we want to use. After this, we need to confirm our registration from the link sent to our email address.
The verification process on Coinbase is an easy process and takes less than 24 hours. Here we will need to upload photos of documents. These documents can be government-issued IDs, Passports, and Driving licenses. We will also be asked general questions about ourselves, such as date of birth and residential address.
When the verification process finishes Coinbase will give us green light to purchase Polkadot. Coinbase has Explore section at the top menu, here we will see a list of tokens available on the exchange. When we find Polkadot, Coinbase will give us a Buy option and will present us with payment options available to us. Once our payment goes through coins should appear in our Coinbase balance instantly.
If you are looking for an exchange that has a huge selection of trading pairs with Polkadot and gives us possibilities to trade Polkadot with many different tokens, Binance should be our number one choice. Binance is the world's largest exchange so it should not be surprising for it to appear on this list. Binance has a great selection of Polkadot trading pairs and if we use Binance Convert we can trade Polkadot for any token available on Binance without paying any fees for it. Binance also allows futures trades for Polkadot which will help us to maximize our profits. We can also purchase Polkadot using regular fiat currencies and considering that Binance has competitive deposit fees, it is also worth considering purchasing Polkadot on Binance using fiat.
If we want to use services provided by Binance we need to own our personal Binance account. When opening an account on Binance we will be simply asked to provide our email address and come up with a strong password. Then we will be asked to verify our email address by the link sent to it. We can also open a Binance account using a phone number but later we will still need to provide our email address.
Once our account is activated we will need to verify our identity in order to receive access to full Binance services. When verifying you will need to enter some of your personal information such as a residential address, your first and last name, age, and date of birth. Then you will be directed to a page where you will need to upload a photo of your ID or Passport, for some countries Binance can also accept Driving licenses as a method of verification. This verification process does not take more than a few hours but Binance still tells its users that verification can take up to 2 days. This is done because if there is a big number of accounts that await verification the wait time will increase.
Once the verification process finishes and our account is eligible for all of the Binance features we will need to simply purchase Polkadot. There are different options for this but the most commonly used methods are direct purchase of Polkadot or purchasing Polkadot using different cryptocurrencies.
If we want to purchase Polkadot using standard payment methods we need to find the Buy Crypto option which is located in the top menu. There we will be given options for purchase and once we select the method we want to use we just need to select Polkadot and finalize the transaction.
But what makes Binance most attractive is the ability to purchase Polkadot using practically any crypto which Binance supports. We can go to the Wallet Overview where we can find the deposit option. There we can select which token we want to deposit and which network we will be using. Then we will be given a deposit address and told to send tokens to this address. When assets become available on our wallet we can go to Binance Convert which is located in the Trade section of the exchange and trade them for Polkadot. We can also go to the Spot trading section and trade using Polkadot trading pairs.
If you value security, Gemini is the best option for purchasing Polkadot, as it is one of the most secure exchanges on the market. They have high insurance policies and implement military-grade security protocols. They are also one of the most regulated exchanges in the world, as they hold licenses from FinCen, the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK, and many more. It is not the most user-friendly exchange but still, newcomers should not spend a lot of time getting to know the exchange.
The first thing we need to do is to open a Gemini account. For this, we will need to fill in a registration form consisting of an email address, phone number, and password. After this, we will be asked to enter our phone number and verify it with SMS verification. This will create our Gemini account but we will still need to pass the verification process.
Once our account is created, Gemini will ask us to verify our identity. To complete this verification process we will need to upload a photo of our ID or Passport. We will also be asked to take a selfy in order to verify that we are in fact the person on the document. Gemini verification process is on the slow end of things and might take 2-5 business days.
At this stage, the hard stuff is already behind us and everything left to do is to simply purchase Polkadot. To do so, we need to go to the Transfer tab at the top right of our screens. There we will be presented with deposit options available for us. Once we select which deposit system we want to use and also select that we want to acquire Polkadot we simply need to complete the transaction and our newly acquired Polkadot tokens should appear in our Gemini wallet.
When we acquire Polkadot on one exchange, it does not automatically means that it is the best exchange to store the tokens at. We might want to ensure that our tokens are 100% secure or we might want to use a different Polkadot feature of another exchange. Because of this we also need to take a look which are the best places to keep our Polkadot tokens.
Parity Signer is the crypto wallet that is designed to be used on older smartphones by giving them cold wallet status. When we want to make sure that nobody will be able to hack our accounts, storing Polkadot on cold wallets is the best option. To do so, we will need to order cold wallets from different developers and wait for them to arrive and if you live outside the US best cold wallets might take weeks to arrive. Parity Signer removes this problem and all you need is an old smartphone where you install this crypto wallet and by doing so you will be turning it into a cold wallet. But this is not a complete cold wallet and it can not see account balance and status of transactions, so it should always be used with the help of a hot wallet.
Purchasing Polkadot on Currency.com might not be the best option, but if we want to use leverage and trade with Polkadot then it might be one of the best exchanges to do so. Here traders can benefit from Polkadot leverage trading of up to 1:500. But be careful if taking this route as leverage trading means borrowing money from the exchange. So if you blow all of your funds you might appear in debt.
| Parity Signer | Currency.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Mimics the characteristic of cold wallet | Two-Factor authentication |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Benefits | Free version of cold wallet. But requires you to have an extra old phone | High leverage |
| Number of available cryptos for storage | Any substrate-based token | 71 |
| Coinbase | Binance | Gemini | Currency.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase options for Polkadot | Fiat & Crypto | Fiat & Crypto | Fiat & Crypto | Fiat & Crypto |
| Fees | ACH deposits - Free; Wire - $10; SEPA - €0.15 | SWIFT transfer - Free; Signet transfer - Free Credit Card - up to 2% | ACH deposits - Free; Wire - Free; Debit Card - 3.49% | Bank Transfer - Free; Credit/Debit card deposit - 3.5%; Crypto Deposit - Free |
| Allows Polkadot Stakeing | yes | yes | no | no |
| Number of trading pairs available for Polkadot | 6 | 6 + Binance Convert with any crypto | 5 | 5 |
| Trading options for token | Spot | Spot & Margin | Spot | Spot & Margin |
| Withdraw fees | ACH - Free; Wire - $25; SEPA - €0.15 Direct Polkadot withdrawal - 0% | SWIFT transfer - $15; Signet transfer - Free Credit Card - up to 2% Direct Polkadot withdrawal - 0% | Withdrawal fees depend on a coin we want to withdraw and amount of withdrawals per 10 calendar days. Direct Polkadot withdrawal - 0.05 DOT | Bank Transfer - 0.15% (min $20, max $200); Debit/Credit card - 3% + $3 Direct Polkadot withdrawal - 0% |
| Security | Two-factor authentication, crime insurance, and uses cold wallet | Multi-factor authentication, crime insurance, and uses cold wallet | Two-factor authentication, crime insurance, and uses cold wallet | Two-factor authentication, crime insurance, and uses cold wallet |
When we are looking at cryptocurrencies that rank in the top 20, investing in them will almost always be justifiable. Polkadot follows the same idea, even though it is far down from its all-time high of $55 it is still an investment-worthy token and project. Polkadot is doing revolutionary work on the blockchain and is trying to remove the biggest blockchain-associated problem there is. Since the blockchain world is growing every day, with more and more networks and tokens being created constantly, the need of connecting different blockchains together will increase even more. Polkadot is the first and biggest provider of these connectivity services and has an advantage over the competition. Because of this, investing in Polkadot might be really profitable if done right.
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If you want to purchase Polkadot with different crypto then Binance should be your first destination. But if you plan on making a purchase using fiat currency and paying in a traditional way, eToro should be your exchange of choice. eToro has 0% deposit fees for bank transfers and credit/debit card deposits.
The main reason people buy Polkadot is how interactive it is. It has a huge utility which is being used every time someone wants to connect two networks to each other and allow them to communicate. This is a revolutionary project which still has a big room for growth.
This is a question that people debate on. Some suggest that Polkadot can fall as low as $1 in the near future. But most investors are speculating that Polkadot is destined to go up in value. There should not be a huge jump where it will return to its highs, but most predictions predict that the value of Polkadot will reach around $20.
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