A SIMPLE GUIDE TO GETTING SOME SWEET MONERO
There are a few ways of obtaining Monero, the king of privacy coins. It has been delisted from most exchanges, but there are always alternatives to obtaining XMR. We often see a lot of questions in social media asking how to buy XMR so here is a simple guide, we hope you find it useful.
There are 2 basic ways to get Monero. Each has its advantages, described as following:
a) Using a CEX
b) Exchanging P2P
Then make sure to send to a non-custodial wallet, as described HERE.
a) BUY CRYPTO WITH KYC, EXCHANGE FOR XMR
Buying XMR with fiat is increasingly hard. You may find some XMR ATMS in some countries/cities, but this is unfortunately rare. Thus this method of obtaining XMR is the most practical:
Suggested coins to purchase:
- LITECOIN: LTC is easy to obtain at any exchange, cheap to transfer and fast. Litecoin also has a privacy feature you can take advantage of… MimbleWimble. Without getting too technical, when you MW Litecoin, you put it in a huge pool mixed with other Litecoins, with no addresses, so you can only track when it pegs into MW, and when it pegs out, effectively removing any blockchain history linked with you.
- OTHER COINS: If you don’t have the availability to purchase Litecoin, you can purchase other readily available coins like Bitcoin Cash, or Bitcoin, the latter being available almost everywhere, but costly to transfer and very slow.
ADVANTAGES OF USING CEXs: Easy, fast and the least comission. CEXs usually charge between 2 and 3%, while p2p can cost up to 20% above the market price.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING CEXs: You need to trust the platform. Although we cannot guarantee anything, the CEXs listed here have been tried multiple times and been around for years.
Step 1. Purchase Crypto
As stated previously, get your crypto however you can.
Step 2. Exchange for Monero
You can use any exchange you trust, we are listing the top options in descending order with a short explanation of each. The exchanges listed have a strict no-KYC policy and we do not list more because many MAY ask for your KYC information sporadically (shotgun KYC) and hold your coins hostage.
- MAJESTIC BANK: Has been around for a couple of years, reliable exchange. This is our first option because they automatically Mimblewimble the Litecoin you send, and send you only Mimblewimbled Litecoin. They also have an .onion site for absolute privacy, listed at the bottom of their clearnet site.
https://majesticbank.sc - WIZARDSWAP: Another legit exchange that has been experiencing downtime recently, they perform instant swaps from and to Monero.
https://www.wizardswap.io - TRADEOGRE: No instant swaps but a trading platform supporting major and private cryptocurrencies.
https://tradeogre.com - EXCH.CX: https://exch.cx/
b) GETTING YOUR MONERO PEER TO PEER
Since Localmonero has shut down, other options have appeared. Here are some of the best options, each has its own unique UI.
ADVANTAGES OF GETTING YOUR CRYPTO P2P: You promote a free market, and further decentralize Monero, making it available from peer to peer.
DISADVANTAGES OF P2P OPERATIONS: Slow, expensive (10-20% markups) and you rely on the availability of your peers.
SENDING TO A WALLET
It is important to use a NON CUSTODIAL WALLET. This means that only YOU have control over your coins and your seed. If you leave your funds at any exchange, you risk them being hacked, stolen or frozen. You should also never send funds from an exchange to anywhere other than your wallet, since exchanges can view and match the address you’re sending to, even if Monero is Private. Where your XMR goes AFTER you send to your wallet, is impossible to know.
We recommend the following non custodial wallets due to their ease of use and privacy features.
OTHER MONERO TOOLS, MONERO MARKETPLACES, ETC.
MONERICA: A list of hundreds of vendors, companies and spaces that accept Monero https://basicswapdex.com/
MONERUJO WALLET: Simple, beautiful UI Mobile wallet for Monero. https://www.monerujo.io/
FEATHER WALLET: A great, simple to use wallet for PC https://featherwallet.org/
XMRBAZAAR: A growing XMR marketplace. https://xmrbazaar.com/
MONEROMARKET: A growing XMR marketplace. https://moneromarket.io/
We hope you find this guide useful, remember, the best way to obtain Monero is to get paid in it and contribute to a circular economy, these are just ways to get there for everyone.
DISCLAIMER: This is a general description of ways to obtain Monero. Every country has its unique laws and regulations, please make sure you follow your country’s laws, declare and pay your taxes correctly. This is only a guide and it is your responsibility to not break any local or federal laws in your city and country.