How to Buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) in the UK – Beginner’s Guide

In essence, Stellar is a decentralized blockchain network created with the goal to be a faster and less expensive blockchain system for storing and moving cryptocurrencies internationally. 

Stellar’s native token is called Lumen and it’s also known by its ticker XLM. When it comes to talking about buying Lumen coins, you’ll most probably hear some people saying ‘buying Stellar Lumens’ and ‘buying XLM’, just to clarify both are the same.

If you’re new to crypto or you’re simply not familiar with Stellar, we will tell you all about XLM and the whole Stellar project. And we will show you where and how to buy Stellar Lumens in the UK.

How to Buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) in the UK – Quick Steps

If you want to buy Lumen coins in a safe and easy way, you should head to eToro. This beginner-friendly and highly regulated platform will allow you to begin your investment with only $10 (around £7).

With eToro, you can invest in Stellar Lumens in less than 5 minutes. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: Open an eToro Account 

First thing first – open an account on the eToro website. And that’s a very easy and straightforward process. You’ll have to provide some personal information and upload a couple of documents to get verified.

Step 2: Deposit Funds 

As a world-renowned broker, eToro offers a wide selection of trading markets and instruments. UK residents are required to deposit at least $10, and you can choose from Paypal, bank transfer, and debit or credit card payments. You can have your deposit credited instantly.

Step 3: Search for Lumens crypto 

Now you need to find Lumens crypto. You just need to enter ‘Stellar Lumens’ or ‘XLM’ into the search bar and then click ‘Trade’.

Step 4: Buy XLM crypto 

Finally, you need to put in the amount of money you want to invest in XLM, starting from $10. Click ‘Open Trade’ to confirm your order.

And that’s it! 

If you need a more detailed guide on how to invest in Stellar Lumens, we will provide you with a step-by-step tutorial further down.

Where to Buy Stellar Lumens UK?

If you’re ready to invest in Stellar, you need to make sure that the crypto exchange you use has what you’re looking for.  

There are dozens of options out there for purchasing XLM. But the best crypto exchanges are listed below.

1. eToro – Overall Best Place to Buy Stellar Lumens UK

The best place to invest in Stellar Lumens is eToro. 

One of the best things about eToro is that it’s authorized and regulated by the FCA in the UK. It’s also regulated by SEC, ASIC, CySec and registered with FINRA.

Therefore, it’s one of the safest places to buy XLM. 

Pros	Cons
Straightforward account registration	Fiat deposit is limited to USD only
Large crypto listings of 60+ cryptocurrencies
Social trading and copy trading function
Low deposit and withdrawal threshold
Availability of non-crypto investments like ETF, commodities, stock, and forex trading

As of recently, eToro has introduced a 1% fee for buying and selling all cryptocurrencies. The fee is added to the market price (Bid-Ask spread).

Generally speaking, this 1% fee is a better deal compared to many platforms charging higher spreads.

Furthermore, investors outside America won’t have to pay any exchange fees when funding their accounts via USD transfers or credit card purchases. This includes debit/ATM cards, ACH transactions, and online banking. 

And as we mentioned earlier, the minimum deposit on eToro in the UK (and in the US) is just $10 (approximately £7).

Additionally, eToro offers over 60 digital assets to choose from – Bitcoin, Cardano, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Ripple (XRP) and so on. All of them can be bought at low spreads.

Other assets like foreign stocks, ETFs, forex, and indices are also offered. That being said, it’s no wonder that eToro is a go-to broker for many crypto investors. 

Finally, eToro has Smart Portfolios (such as CryptoPortfolio), and that’s a great feature if you want to diversify your portfolio but you’re not sure how much XLM to buy.

With Smart Portfolios, you can invest in more than a dozen of the best altcoins and tokens through one investment strategy. Moreover, there are no management fees for its copy portfolio or copy trading features.

Overall, eToro is a one-stop shop for investing. It’s great for beginners and is our recommended choice for buying Stellar Lumens in the UK.

2. Crypto.com – Easy Way to Buy XLM With a Debit Card 

Crypto.com is a popular online cryptocurrency exchange that allows you to invest in crypto assets like XLM. It’s one of the best platforms to buy Lumens because it has a simple yet very cost-effective approach.

Essentially, Crypto.com provides a simple way of buying Lumens by registering your personal information after signing up, verifying your identity and completing some basic tasks like making a deposit.

When you complete these steps, you can purchase XLM tokens with ease. You can use Visa or MasterCard – they’re both accepted payments to buy Lumens. There’s also a 30-day trial period in which no transaction charges are levied. 

You can also invest on the go with the platform’s user-friendly desktop browser and mobile app.

And you’ll have plenty to choose from since Crypto.com offers its users a wide range of other digital asset products.

Plus, Crypto.com offers a unique feature: a pre-paid visa debit card. You can use this card for online shopping on select e-com stores and as an ATM card to withdraw money.

They also offer interest on idle cryptocurrency investments through their handy tool “Crypto Earn.”

Last but not least, there are Crypto Wallets for over 100+ cryptocurrencies. You can access your wallet on your phone and use it wherever you go. Crypto.com also has an NFT marketplace allowing you to invest in NFTs that you can buy with cryptos like ETH.

3. Coinbase – User-Friendly Way to Buy Lumens UK

Coinbase is another good option, especially if you’re looking for a crypto platform that’s easy to use. 

Pros	Cons
Free and swift payment that supports GBP	Complicated fee structure
Good number of coin listings	Fairly impressive features that are mainly useful for beginners and not experienced traders
Availability of built-in cryptocurrency wallet

The platform was founded back in 2012, by three ex-colleagues who had trouble finding a bank account due to their nonconforming status as startups/small business owners.

Coinbase is now one of America’s top cryptocurrency exchanges with over 90 million clients, and it welcomes buyers and sellers from all over the world, including the UK.

Their customer support can be a bit slow though, but the exchange has many benefits. For example, you can buy Stellar Lumens directly with fiat currency. 

If you want to invest in Lumens coin at Coinbase, you have to register and open an account.

Buying XLM with a Visa or MasterCard has high fees of 3.99%, whilst ACH transfers are supported to buy XLM with a bank account for lower fees. They are even lower if using Coinbase Pro – 0.5% for a limit order, to be precise.

Coinbase is a suitable platform to invest in other digital tokens too. Besides XLM, you can purchase a wide range of assets and get a crypto wallet that also doubles as an NFT wallet.

If you’re actively day trading crypto, you might prefer the 0.1% fees on Binance or fee-free copytrading on eToro. After all, many investors open accounts on several crypto exchanges.

4. Binance – Cheapest Way to Buy XLM UK

Another reliable and popular platform to consider when buying Lumens is Binance.

With over 1,400,000 transactions per second, it’s the largest crypto exchange platform based on the volume of transactions.

Pros	Cons
Swift and free account funding	Although the trading commission is cheap, other exchange platforms do not include these fees
Extremely wide range of coin listings, the largest in the crypto market	Complicated UI mainly designed for experienced users
A wide range of supported transaction types

Compared to Coinbase, their trading charges are quite nominal. For instance, when trading against supported digital assets (BTC, ETH, USDT) using the platform’s native token (BNB), the charges are around 0.1% or 0.075%.

For deposits, Binance charges 3.5% when using debit or credit cards and £2 for bank wire transfers.

It supports ACH deposits free of charge, but you should be aware of the withdrawing fees that Binance comes with. It depends on the withdrawal method and crypto.

Binance provides access to a wide selection of digital currencies, including large-cap blockchain assets and liquid ERC20 tokens.

Lastly, Binance offers a wide range of storage options to safeguard your holding including their very own Trust Wallet app. You’ll also get PancakeSwap privilege on the decentralized exchange market leader Coinbase Pro.

What Is Stellar Lumens (XLM)?

The Stellar network was initially created in 2014 with the goal of increasing financial inclusion. However, it changed its focus to assist banks in connecting with each other using blockchain technology.

In a way, Lumens is a bridge making cross-border asset trading more affordable. Therefore, it puts pressure on conventional payment providers who demand exorbitant prices for similar services.

Like many other cryptocurrencies, Stellar Lumens is based on decentralization. And Decentralization is the key to understanding blockchain technology.

The Stellar network relies on a worldwide coalition of people who maintain their decentralized servers.

They do it for this distributed ledger which keeps track of everything that occurs within its borders, from transactions between users to any updates made by entities running applications inside the system.

Finally, with the Stellar Lumens system, you can send money across borders more quickly and easily than ever before. It actually works similarly to PayPal. Once you deposit pounds into an anchor (the equivalent of opening up a bank account), they will be completely safe.

Is Stellar Lumens a Good Investment?

So, should you invest in Stellar Lumens?

Well, you already know that cryptocurrencies can bring high returns unmatched by any other type of investment. Cryptocurrencies are still relatively a new thing in the finance world though.

But as Bitcoin and Ethereum started to stabilize and move back up, many people have decided to invest in altcoins. They tend to have more explosive rallies and, therefore, might have a greater potential for profit. 

And with so many options on the crypto market, which cryptocurrency should you buy? 

First of all, you should bear in mind that only a small percentage of coins succeed long-term. You’ll need to do your own research and be able to spot those coins whose use cases make them valuable enough for investment.

Either way, you need to opt for an investment that fits your goals and preferences.

Cheaper and Faster Transaction Method

If you want to complete your transactions in a quick and cheap way, Lumens are the way to go. Lumens can be swapped instantly with anyone in less than 5 seconds. 

This form of currency will work best if you’re located somewhere without access where people haven’t been able to compete effectively against the Western offerings. The reason is that there aren’t any big banks operating there yet. And this is where Stellar comes in.

• You won’t have to pay fees of 10% or 20%. You’ll only pay around 0.00001 Lumens for sending money across borders which is less than $01.
• Another benefit is the launch of their official exchange – investors can now trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum with Lumens.
• With Stellar Lumens, you’ll have access to more currencies because there are no fees when exchanging between different types of coins. 
• You can also send EUR from one person’s account to another via Tempo Me, all without having conversion costs associated with sending money across borders using traditional methods.

As you can see, XLM is a cost-effective currency that offers easy transactions. It also has an accessible platform with decentralized features which makes it suitable for everyone. In fact, its database is simpler than those using Proof-of-Work.

XLM in the South Pacific

We also want to point out that XLM is especially valuable in the South Pacific, where 60% of cross-border payments will be handled by it. 

The truth is, there’s a lot going on with this cryptocurrency. For instance, there is an experiment happening to see if Lumen can become submerged into networks like Ethereum or Bitcoin so they’ll have more use than being used as digital money.

Energy with Lumens

The future of energy is now open to all with Irene Energy’s new crowd sale on the Stellar Lumens’ internal exchange.

The company has harnessed artificial intelligence and blockchain technology in order for customers to get to pick the exact producer of oil while choosing which gas station should provide their fuel needs.

XLM Price Prediction

It’s hard to formulate predictions based on what’s happening with XLM. Also, you shouldn’t base your decision on predictions you find on the Internet. You should do your own research instead.

However, it’s sometimes interesting to look at some predictions. For instance, there is speculation that all decentralized finance-related altcoins will continue to rise in 2022.

The XLM price could move up to retest its ATH, thanks to all the improvements made on their network – there’s the Horizon 2.0 upgrade which was implemented as part of Stellar’s roadmap in 2022, for example.

But that may depend on Bitcoin and Ethereum first setting new highs before money trickles down to smaller market cap altcoins.

Ways of Buying Stellar Lumens

The best way to buy XLM depends on the payment method you prefer. If you decide to use one of the top-rated brokers we reviewed today, there are several payment methods to choose from: 

Buying Lumens With a Credit Card or Debit Card

You can easily invest in Lumens with a credit or debit card via eToro. You can complete the investment process really quickly and immediately after you open your account. You can choose to purchase tokens from within the platform with ease, even if you’re a newcomer. 

On the other hand, platforms like Coinbase can charge a hefty amount for credit card payments that are reflected when you checkout. Crypto.com permits debit cards at 2.99%, whilst eToro offers USD-backed deposits with no fees whatsoever.

Buying Stellar Lumens With Paypal

You can also buy Stellar Lumes with Paypal. And eToro is one of the few cryptocurrency platforms that support Paypal. 

Buying Stellar Lumens Without KYC Verification 

If you’re looking for a way to invest in XLM without going through a KYC process, you can use a smaller web-based exchange such as Changelly. 

For the larger regulated exchanges, KYC would be necessary. However, with that comes greater security when holding onto your crypto coins long-term.

Best XLM Wallet

You can store XLM in different forms. And crypto wallets often come in the form of a mobile app. Your Lumen storage devices should depend on your needs as an investor though. 

Crypto wallets give you full control over your tokens and you can use them as you see fit. The eToro Money crypto wallet is one of the best options out there.

It has a user-friendly interface and a smartphone app, and it’s been built with beginner crypto investors in mind. If you forget your password or misplace private keys, they can help restore access for free.

Risks of Buying XLM

Although it’s been around since 2014, Stellar began to gain widespread attention during the 2017 crypto bull run, reaching its all-time high of around $0.90 in January 2018.

That was around the time of the Bitcoin crash from $20k. But some analysts believe it hasn’t made much progress since it hasn’t retested that ATH in over four years.

Volatility and Uncertainty

At the end of the day, all cryptocurrencies come with a high level of risk and uncertainty. Therefore, experts advise that you only invest what you are able to lose should things go wrong with your investment.

New altcoins could emerge to do what Stellar does, only better. Some would argue there are already other decentralized blockchain projects with a similar use case.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to determine if anything will change in terms of mining abilities and acceptance. Cryptos like Lumens or others are difficult to be traded outside of countries where cryptocurrency trade has been legalized or regulated by law yet.

And XLM is a hybrid between Bitcoin and Ethereum. There isn’t widespread adoption of this currency for payments just yet due to its lack of acceptance as a payment method among vendors.

High Supply

Bitcoin is rather unique because it has a limited supply of 21 million coins. That makes it quite valuable. As there’s a finite amount, Bitcoin is also somewhat scarce.

On the other hand, Stellar Lumens has a total supply of 50 billion and currently under 25 billion are in the circulating supply. As more are unlocked over time, that tends to deflate the price per XLM token.

How to Buy Stellar Lumens in the UK – Step-by-Step Guide

If you’ve decided to buy XLM but you’re still not sure how to do it, let us walk you through the essential steps of investing in XLM coin with eToro.

1. Sign up with eToro

Before buying, investing or trading Stellar with our preferred platform, eToro, you must visit www.etoro.com to create an account.

You can create a new account by clicking the JOIN NOW option on the homepage and completing the pop-up registration form. You need to provide your contact and personal details. eToro keeps this information secure and private.

2. Account Verification

After filling out the registration form, proceed to the next stage by verifying your email address. Also, you will be prompted to complete your profile information before completing the KYC.

Afterward, you’ll need a clear image of a valid proof of identity (passport or driver’s licence) to verify your identity and a valid proof of address (bank/credit card statement, internet bill) to verify your address.

3. Deposit fiat currency

Once your KYC has been completed, link your e-wallet or bank account to deposit fiat currency. You can also choose other options as provided in the image below.

eToro has a minimum deposit of $10 (around £7), and that’s great for crypto beginners or anyone who wants to invest a small amount. You can buy coins like XLM with different payment methods, including Visa or MasterCard.

There’s a variety of deposit options, from PayPal to Neteller.

4. Navigate to Stellar Lumens and make a purchase

Once your fiat deposit has been confirmed, simply navigate to the CRYPTO section and select Stellar Lumens. Input the desired amount and buy Stellar Lumens.

Click on ‘Open Trade’ to confirm your investment.

5. Stellar Lumens is now added to your eToro portfolio

After your BUY transaction has been completed, the equivalent value of Stellar Lumens will appear in your portfolio.

How to Sell XLM

If you buy Stellar Lumens on eToro, then it will also be simple to sell back into cash at any time. The process is quite similar and supported by the platform.

You don’t have to pay high fees when you want to cash out of your tokens. You just need to head over to the portfolio section and place an order.

Alternatively, you could open an account at a second exchange such as Binance, send your XLM to yourself there, and sell them for fiat or a stablecoin such as Tether (USDT).

Also, the advantage of selling into stablecoins like USDT, USDC or BUSD is that it locks in your profits. Stablecoins are determined by the value of the US dollar and don’t fluctuate like other cryptos. But your capital is still on the exchange ready for use. 

Things to Remember Before Buying Stellar Lumens

Don’t put in more than you can afford to lose – Cryptocurrency and other financial investments are potentially risky, although they can be highly rewarding. Stellar Lumens, like other coins, has unpredictable price actions, and therefore, you must have sound risk management before delving into crypto investment.

Also, you should not risk more than you can afford to lose when trading cryptocurrency, as all your investments are continuously exposed to the risk of loss. 

Resist ‘fear of missing out‘ – A common mistake many traders make is trading on emotion. Fear of missing out is the fear of missing out on a potential price rise. Avoid jumping into a trend without proper market analysis, as you might end up losing your investment quickly.

Understand tax consequences – cryptocurrency is taxable in the United Kingdom like any other owned property. Ensure you know the financial complications of trading cryptocurrency and comply with them.

Long vs. short-term investment – As a newbie, it is crucial to determine whether you are going for a long or short-term investment. It’s also essential to choose a suitable platform that works perfectly with your strategy.

Final Thoughts

XLM first became popular in 2017, and unlike many altcoin projects, it hasn’t been forgotten.

In fact, its become the 25th ranked token on Coinmarketcap in terms of market capitalization. Therefore, it’s fair to say that Stellar Lumens has passed the test of time. 

If you want to invest in XLM in a safe and easy way, you should do it via eToro. With this FCA-regulated crypto platform, you can buy Lumens with a minimum deposit of $10 as well as network with other investors to copy and learn from.

Hopefully, our comprehensive guide on how to buy Stellar Lumens in the UK helped you put things into perspective and make the right decision.

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