In this detailed guide, we will show you everything that you need to know to get started. However, before we proceed any further, please do keep in mind that cryptocurrency trading is a HIGH-RISK investment due to its volatile nature. ONLY INVEST money that you are WILLING TO LOSE! Now that that is out of the way, without further ado, let’s dive into it.  

Disclosure: * Some of the links below are referral links *

Step 1 : Register For Coinbase

So far, there aren't many exchanges in the market that offer service to buy IOTA directly using USD, not that we know of at the time of writing.  We assume that you don't own any kind of cryptocurrency in the first place ( since this is a guide for the complete beginner ) and start by showing you the way to change your fiat into crypto.  Coinbase is one of the most popular exchanges out there and perhaps one the simplest way to get your hands on Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin using fiats.

Account Registration

Start by registering an account via Coinbase. A strong password with both upper and lowercase and at least a symbol is recommended. For extra security, turning on 2-factor authentication is highly advisable. Upon creating an account, you will receive a confirmation link via email which you will need to click on to officiate the account creation. 

Payment Method 

The next thing that we need to do would be to deposit your fund into the account. To do that, head over to Settings --> Linked Accounts --> Link a New Account as shown in the picture below. You will see two options available, " Bank Accounts" or " Credit/Debit Card". Bank Account is recommended if you are looking to deposit a larger amount of funds. However, one downside of using bank account is that it will take a few days to process which might not be favorable if you are looking to buy IOTA as soon as possible. Using credit/debit cards has its catch as well, the exchange fees are typically higher than its counterpart  ( 3.99%). The detailed fee structure for each option from different locations can be found here. You might need to verify your identity before you will be able to proceed.

Coinbase



Exchange for Ethereum

Now you might ask, why ethereum instead of bitcoin? Because ethereum transactions are generally faster and more importantly, much cheaper. From my personal experience, ethereum transaction typically takes around 8-10 minutes while bitcoin transaction might take somewhere around 30 minutes or even longer sometimes. ( Some reported the transaction fee to be as high as $26 per transaction ) 

Type in either the amount of eth or USD, hit the buy button and we are ready to proceed to the next step. Coinbase

Step 2: Register for Binance

The steps to register an account in Binance are almost the same as Coinbase. Once you’ve successfully signed up an account and click on the link in the confirmation email, you’ll then be taken to your Binance account page. Again, we always recommend that you enable Google 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) for the sake of your account security. It might be a good idea to store the code in more than one personal device ( that only you have access to ) as losing your mobile device could mean losing access to the exchange and thus your investment. Recovering your account would be a long, tedious and dreadful process. Some of the exchanges, however, does provide you with a single-use backup code which could come in handy at times like this.  

Step 3: Transfer Your Ethereum

The concept of transferring cryptocurrencies is almost analogous to conventional bank transfer. Each cryptocurrency is stored in their own wallet ( like a bank account ) with their own address ( like a bank account no. ). With the address, you will be able to send your fund from one wallet to another ( in our case, from coinbase Ethereum wallet to binance ethereum wallet ). The process is rather straightforward. First of all, we need to find out your ethereum address on Binance. Click on Fund --> Deposits as shown below.

Binance

Using the drop-down list and select Ethereum. You will then see your ETH wallet address displayed as a long string of alphabets and numbers. Copy the address and then head over to the Coinbase website. 

Binance


Once you are in Coinbase, select the Account tab, locate your ETH wallet and click on the Accounts tab, and select your ETH Wallet. You should see your balance there if you follow through correctly. In the recipient field, this is where you should be pasting your address that you have copied from the binance wallet.  Select the amount that you would like to transfer, hit the continue button and voila!

Step 4: Wait...

Now this is the part where you stare at the screen and wait. Successful transfer of Ethereum would typically take around 30 block confirmation for binance (sometimes 36 for some exchanges ), while Bitcoin normally takes around 3-6.  In the case of Bitcoin, approximately every 10 minutes ( In between 10-15 seconds for Ethereum), a new block is generated and added onto the blockchain via the mining process. This so-called  "block"  records and verifies any incoming new transactions. After 3-6 blocks, the transactions are then considered to have been finally confirmed by the mining network.

Generally, the transfer should only take a few minutes but sometimes it can take longer if there is a congestion in the network for some sort of reasons. To check if your fund has arrived, you can click on Funds --> History in Binance Dashboard. You should be seeing a pending transfer shortly in about a few minutes time. Head to the next section once you have safely received your fund. 

Step 5: Finally! It is IOTA buy time!

Finally, now we can buy some IOTA. At the Binance dashboard, hover over the "Exchange" tab and click Basic.  ( Personally I prefer the advanced view over the basic view but essentially they aren't much different ) On the top right corner, select the "ETH" tab, type in IOTA and click on IOTA/ETH. 


You will see an interface like the image attached below at the lower part of the page. If you look closely, you will see three tabs, namely limit, market and stop-limit. Here a brief explanation of what they mean respectively.  

  • Limit order :  You specify the buy or sell price, if someone is buying and selling at that price, your order is executed.  ( E.g. The price now is at $2.7, you place a limit buy order at $2.5, if someone is selling at $2.5, your order get executed. 
  • Marker order :  Order is excecuted at market price. ( E.g. The price now is at $2.7, but the best selling price in the market now is $2.8, if you place a market order, your order will be fullfilled at $2.8 ) 
  • Stop-Limit order : A stop-limit order will be executed at a predefined price, after a given stop price has been reached. Once the stop price is reached, the stop-limit order will turn into a limit order to buy or sell at the limit price or better.

    Normally, the default interface was set to the limit order. To buy, simply input the price that you would like to buy your IOTA for and input the amount of IOTA that you would like to buy ( Alternatively you could use the percentage option, if you would like to buy IOTA with all your ETH, select "100%" ) If the exchange has a decent amount of volume for the trading pair and your price is not too far away from the current market price, you order should be filled pretty quickly.

Step 6 : Sit back & Relax

That's it! You have got your IOTA. Now you just have sit back, relax and let it do its thing. I will be uploading a lot more articles covering different subjects regarding the cryptospace. If you like what you are reading, remember to subscribe to our newsletter to get all the important updates right to your inbox! Thank you for reading and see you at the mooooooon!!



Disclaimer: This is not a financial advice


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2 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the super detailed guide! Super helpful for beginners, just a suggestion that you could also produce an article on a comparison between the best crypto wallet and trading floor too!