How To Buy Dogecoin In The UK In 5 Easy Steps 2021

Launched in 2013 as a joke to the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies at the time, Dogecoin has become a large cryptocurrency. This growth has actually led Dogecoin to become a serious investment for many. Unlike some other coins, Dogecoin doesn’t power any underlying technologies, but has been used in transactions and is accepted as an alternative currency proving its value as a store of value.

Despite its satirical founding, Dogecoin can still be bought and sold through either a broker or an exchange, just like any other currency. As an overview, a cryptocurrency exchange brings two parties together to trade directly, where are a broker/platform operates as a middleman when parties are looking to trade.

How to Buy Dogecoin in the UK Using Our Preferred Trading Platform: eToro

1. Sign up with eToro

You need to create an account with eToro. You do this by going to their site, www.etoro.com and selecting the join now button and the below form will appear, complete it and it will take you to the next page.

2. Account verification

Verify your account. When prompted, complete your profile, and keep your National Insurance number nearby to get everything verified. You’ll need to upload a valid proof of identity (e.g. passport or driver’s license) and proof of address (e.g. bank/credit card statement, internet bill).

3. Deposit fiat currency

Connect your bank or e-wallet, deposit funds to fund your account using the following options pictured below. You must have fiat currency in your eToro account to buy DOGE.

4. Navigate to Dogecoin and make a purchase

Once your funds are available in your account, you’ll be ready to buy Dogecoin! Simply navigate to the Dogecoin page and make your first purchase.

5. Dogecoin is added to your eToro portfolio

Best Ways to Buy Dogecoin in the UK

1. eToro

eToro is the best platform for buying Dogecoin, there are a number of benefits, ranging from high liquidity to great security that makes it worthwhile. Given the volatility of Dogecoin, a platform that offers higher liquidity than the standard market will help make it better than its competitors. The ability for investors to either buy or sell quickly before the price moves too much is a huge benefit.

Fees	Cryptocurrencies Supported	Transaction Type
$5 for withdrawals (even for UK investors), 0% on trades, although spread costs apply, eToro also only operates in USD so you will also face spread costs for any other currencies.	18 supported	Buy, sell, market orders and limit orders

eToro claims to have no trading fees and whilst it doesn’t charge a commission for trades, there are some fees to be aware of including $5 for withdrawals. Further to this, eToro only operates in USD, meaning all USD to GBP transactions may incur further foreign exchange fees. eToro does charge spreads on all trades which change depending on market factors, but this is standard across most brokers or platforms.

eToro also offers the ability to copy other traders, through social trading. This makes it a compelling offering to new investors looking to enter the cryptocurrency market, without knowing all the ins and outs. This social trading tool also allows investors to get a better understanding of how the markets work.

The main drawback to eToro is that it only funds in USD, meaning UK-focused customers are likely to be impacted by either exchange rate fees or spreads depending on how they fund their account unless they use a payment service with better rates, such as (Transfer)Wise.

2. Binance

Binance is the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange and another great option for buying Dogecoin. Like eToro, Binance is able to offer high levels of liquidity, although it does this through different mechanisms. Whereas eToro outsources to improve liquidity, Binance is able to do so through it’s large user base. This large user base offers investors ample opportunity to trade when they want or need to, without risking missing the price point they want.

Fees	Cryptocurrencies Supported	Transaction Type
0.02%- 0.1% purchase and trading, 3% to 4.5% for debit card purchases, free single EuroPayment Area transfer, or $15 per wire transfer in the US, Free UK bank transfers	Over 500 for global investors	Limit order, market order, stop-limit order, trailing stop order, post-only order, peer-to-peer trading, margin trading, one-cancels-the-other order.

Further to its increased liquidity for Dogecoin traders, Binance also offers a large amount of transactions types such as limit order, market order, stop-limit order, trailing stop order, post only orders, peer-to-peer trading, margin trading, one-cancels-the-other order, which can support traders who use more complex Dogecoin trading strategies. 

Binance also offers incredibly fast transaction speed, compared to other platforms. Given its nature as the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance has scaled to support millions of transactions per second, meaning users can benefit from Dogecoins volatility very quickly, making it a great platform for those looking to utilise very short-term strategies. 

The one downside to Binance is it has a very complex user interface which could make it challenging for new investors. Given Dogecoin is used by a large number of investors as a way to break into the cryptocurrency market, this user interface as well as the large number of transaction types supported may not make it the right choice for beginners.

3. Coinbase

The third option for buying Dogecoin in the UK is Coinbase. Coinbase is a good alternative for UK investors as it allows for deposits in GBP and has a fee structure tailored to GBP, meaning British investors could benefit from not having to pay exchange rate fees, compared to other platforms.

The platform may charge slightly higher fees upfront, but this can be compensated by other platforms charging a spread for non-USD transactions, which makes Coinbase competitive when comparing it to other platforms.

Fees	Currencies Supported	Transaction Type
1.49% for standard trades, 3.99% for instant buys, 2% plus £0.55 for instant withdrawals. Free Faster Payments in the UK. Spreads of around 0.5% are also charged plus a variable fee between £0.99-£2.99	25 different currencies	Buy, Sell, Convert

Although it applies to the wider cryptocurrency market and not just Dogecoin, Coinbase is a great option due to its understood approval by national regulators. As a platform, Coinbase looks to always keep the regulator on its side by engaging not just in its regulatory obligations, but by also gaining approvals and licenses that it doesn’t necessarily need to have which helps court more favour from the regulators. On top of this, Coinbase is also seen as very safe compared to other platforms.

Coinbase also offers a great platform for beginners. Given Dogecoin’s recent media attention a lot of people looking to get into cryptocurrency are looking to do so with Dogecoin, but a lot of other platforms can be complicated to use. Coinbase offers lots of help, support and training to new cryptocurrency investors, making it a great choice for those looking to get into cryptocurrency with Dogecoin. 

What is Dogecoin?

Dogecoin was created in 2013 by two software engineers as a joke to highlight to speculative nature of the cryptocurrency markets at the time. Despite this, Dogecoin has grown a large community of followers including some quite high-profile names.

As a cryptocurrency, it offers no utility beyond being a store of value and has been used in trades for material goods and services in the past, including funding a SpaceX flight. Finally, Dogecoin runs off of the Ethereum network making it more environmentally friendly than alternatives such as Bitcoin.

Why Buy Dogecoin?

Despite its nature, Dogecoin benefits from a huge following, which is much larger than more established coins and some utility coins which helps drive strong growth. Further to this, Dogecoin benefits from big names voicing support for it, such as Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, which could help drive it to become just as widely accepted as a form of payment in a similar way to Bitcoin.

Finally, whilst Dogecoin may be down at the moment, it has still grown 4500% this year, and is up 11,000% in the last 12 months (from July 1st), compared to Bitcoins 300% in the same period demonstrating its huge growth potential and opportunity for investment.

Dogecoin Price Analysis and Prediction

With a market cap of around £1.45bn, Dogecoin is one of the larger cryptocurrencies, however, right now it is currently in a dip. At its peak, Dogecoin reached £0.53p per coin with a rally of around 15,000%, however, as of today, it has dropped down to around £0.12p per coin. Despite this hit, its current price is still around 5000% higher than 12 months ago.

With its huge community support, celebrity endorsement, massive publicity (far more than its fair share) and it’s environmentally friendliness (as it runs off of the Ethereal Network), Dogecoin could rally, recover and even exceed previous highs as a “store of value” alternative to Bitcoin.

That being said, whilst it’s taken such a hit, it may not do so for some time and given the volatility of Dogecoin, such highs may be short-lived. This would make it painful for those in it for the longer term as they miss out on selling it quickly when needed.

Things to Remember Before Buying Dogecoin

Don’t put in more than you can afford to lose – remember, Dogecoin like all cryptocurrencies are speculative and you may lose more than you gain, make sure you only trade amounts you’d be willing to lose.

Resist ‘fear of missing out’ – avoid trading on emotions, FOMO is the Achilles heel of many traders who jump in when it’s too high and don’t stay the course, meaning they end up losing money as they invested on an emotional level without thinking things through

Understand tax consequences – make sure you stay on the right side of your taxes, and cryptocurrencies, like everything else in life, are subject to taxes. Make sure you know your tax liabilities and comply with them

Long vs short-term investment – consider the benefits and drawbacks when looking at trading any cryptocurrency as a long versus short-term investment. It’s also worth looking at whether your chosen platform or exchange is better suited to long versus short-term positions.

FAQs