Here’s how you can buy Stellar Lumen’s XLM easily

May 8, 2018

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Stellar Lumen’s cryptocurrency gives you a decentralized, international network which enables you to do international transactions very quickly and at a remarkably low cost. That is their goal, to make things swift and painless for you. They do thousands of transactions per second, and it typically takes only three seconds to complete one.

If you’re keeping an eye open on the cryptocurrency market, you know that Ripple has been the star (in performance if not overall price) because it’s just been doing great. This is not that much of a surprise since Stellar Lumen is, in fact, a Ripple fork (they went their own way in 2014).

It’s been a while since that happened, but you can still compare them directly and gain some knowledge. Both currencies are all about international payments (as opposed to a retail currency you can use to buy, say, cigarettes and everyday items) and transfers and they’ve been performing amazingly well.

Stellar’s token (or coin) is called a lumen. They are all pre-mined (which means they don’t need a calculation to become usable). Lumens have been airdropped to qualifying users, and there are around 20 billion lumens in circulation already. This is a huge number when you remember that Bitcoin ‘s maximum number of coins is twenty-one million only. Stellar has a hundred billion lumens available, but they are holding the remaining 80 billion for the time being.

It matters to learn how Stellar works because it affects the currency even before it hits the market. Most alt-coins serve international transactions by converting them into digital currency, sending them around, and then converting them back to fiat money. But that’s not exactly what Ripple or Stellar do.

It works like this. When you go for payment through Stellar or Ripple, the system finds a trusted intermediary that holds the funds turns them from fiat money into digital currency and then does the trick again in the target country. It sounds complicated because it is, but the system is so efficient that it all happens in seconds. It works which is why the financial world is going for it.

Here’s how you can get Stellar’s currency (3 simple steps)

Get a Stellar wallet

This is how you get started. There are several options. Each one has its pros and cons. Consider them.

Ledger is a market leader. It supports Lumen’s currency (but also Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple) and it’s very safe to use. It’s un-hackable, and it will make your life so much easier.
Stellar Desktop Client. That’s an option as well. It sends, receives or trades the lumen currency. The software can never be as safe as a hardware wallet is, but this comes pretty close. It gives you access to the Stellar network so you can do what you need or want.
Lobstr. It’s a mobile wallet, and it does a good job. You can get it on Android and IOS. It’s user-friendly and functional, but if you go for this mobile wallet (or any other mobile wallet), you need to keep in mind that security is not the best. It’s the price you pay for convenience.

Get some Stellar Lumens

This was the whole point, right? Just be careful. Stellar’s coin is currently trading under XLM, but it used to be STR, so you need to pay attention because not all exchanges have fixed that situation.

The easiest trade you will find is eToro’s Stellar Trading platform. It’s easy and convenient for sure, but you need to keep in mind that this platform will allow you to speculate on Lumen but not to withdraw your coins. Just be aware and choose right.

You also should always know that cryptocurrencies are a risk, not a guarantee.

Use your fiat currency to buy Stellar

The best way to do this, as far as my personal experience is concerned, is CEX, which has been around since 2013 and is a trusted exchange. It’s based in London and is absolutely reliable.

Buy XLM (Stellar) with Bitcoin or Ethereum

You can also buy Stellar’s XLM coin using other digital coins, and you have several options. You can use Binance, Bittrex, Poloniex or Kraken among many other exchanges. They all allow for exchange among Stellar and other currencies. They are efficient and cheap.

You can’t buy Stellar easily with your credit or debit card right now. You have to go through the exchanges. That could be different soon, but for now, it is just like that.

Withdraw your Lumens

This was the whole point. Make sure once you invest your hard earned money on lumens you withdraw them to your very own wallet from the exchange.

Keep in mind that as long as your coins are in exchange, you remain vulnerable. You could be hacked, or you could be theft victim. So plan correctly in a way in which your Lumens are always available to you in your digital wallet.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

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