One of the latest cryptocurrencies to catch the eye of traders and investors (especially as the Ripple founder is now one of the richest people in the world is Ripple.
XRP is the token of Ripple – a payments company that provides solutions for global money transfers. Ripple operates RippleNet, which is a network of banks, payment providers, and other financial institutions that uses a single application programming interface (API) to make the process of moving money around the world faster and cheaper.
Best crypto exchanges for buying XRP (Ripple) in the UK
Use our comparison table of Ripple (XRP) accounts to compare costs and the different ways to buy and sell Ripple (XRP). Please Note: Investing in Ripple (XRP) and other cryptocurrencies is very high risk and not regulated by the FCA. There is a very high chance you may lose all your money.
| Cryptocurrency Platform | Good For | Number of Cryptocurrencies | Costs & Fees | Customer Reviews | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Investors | 120 | 1% | (Based on 277 reviews)
| See Offer Capital at risk |
 | All-Rounder | 30 | 1.49% | (Based on 934 reviews)
| See Offer Capital at risk |
 | Beginners | 150 | 3.5% | (Based on 3 reviews)
| See Offer Capital at risk |
 | Intermediates | 8 | 0.12% to 0.18% | (Based on 934 reviews)
| See Offer Capital at risk |
 | Pros | 395 | 0.02% - 0.04% | (Based on 0 reviews)
| See Offer Capital at risk |
What is Ripple?
Here’s what IG, one of the world’s largest brokers has to say about it:
Ripple positions itself as a complement to bitcoin, rather than its rival. The ripple network is meant to allow the transfer of any form of currency, regardless of whether it is the traditional sort, such as dollars or euros, or the new types such as bitcoin. Ripple’s XRP unit is, like bitcoin, a form of currency based on formulae, with a limited number of units that can be mined.
Where is the best place to buy XRP ripple?
The answer to this really depends on “how” you want to buy Ripple…
If you want to buy and hold Ripple then you need a cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase or eToro.
However, when looking for a crypto exchange a little research can go a long way.
For example, you can see on crunchbase, who keep a record of VC fundings that Coinbase has had around $225m in funding so far from VC’s like Greylock Partners and that it is also a publically listed company on the NASDAQ- you can see the Coinbase share price here and if you’d rather bet on the house than Ripple, we explain how to buy shares in Coinbase here.
You need to be aware though that you have little to no protection if these exchanges go bust as there is very little regulation or compensation schemes in place.
However, if you just want to speculate on the price of Ripple, you may find that a Cryptocurrency broker is more efficient – but as will all trading there are some other risks attached.
Trading Ripple on CFDs or through a spread bet enables to you trade them just like any other foreign currency on margin. Which means you take leverage bets on where you think the price may go.
With CFDs and spread betting you also have the benefit of being able to bet on the cryptocurrency going down, by shorting Ripple…
Beware though, cryptocurrencies are very volatile and you can lose all your money very quickly as if you want to buy £10k of Ripple, you only need to put down a 40% deposit (IG’s current margin rate) – so your risk/reward ratio is more than doubled.
All the Ripple brokers in our comparison tables are regulated by the FCA, so some of your funds will be protected under the FSCS should there be any insolvency issues.
If you want to reduce this risk/reward ratio but still trade crypto through spread betting (so no tax on profits) or CFDs, Ayondo, will allow you to set your margin rate at 100%. Essentially meaning you have to fully pay for your positions.
Bare in mind with all leveraged positions, fully margined or not, there will be overnight financing charges to pay. Cryptocurrency financing is expensive at the moment so beware the cost of holding long-term leveraged positions.
Can you trade Ripple CFDs and spread bets?
Yes, but only if you have a professional trading account.
If you are going to trade Ripple deriviatives, watch your exposure, Cryptocurrency CFDs or Cryptocurrency spread bets are traded on leverage so you only put down a small amount of deposit for a large position. As cryptocurrencies are pretty much the most volatile asset class out there at the moment keep tabs on your positions and always use stops.
Make sure your broker is FCA regulated, our cryptocurrency comparison tables only include brokers that are regulated by the FCA with UK offices. Don’t be tempted to go with an offshore broker. UK brokers offer some of the best client protection in the world.
Buying Ripple USD (RLUSD) as a stable coin
To invest in Ripple USD (RLUSD), you need an account with a specialised crypto exchange as, at the moment, mainstream investment platforms like eToro only offer trading in XRP, rather than RLUSD.
RLUSD is a stablecoin, the value of which is pegged to $1. Stablecoins are cryptoassets programmed to be exchangeable for a specific value in another asset, though there have been several examples of stablecoins failing.
The token was first made available on exchanges Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENAlistings on 16 December 2024
Following its launch, other exchanges including Bullish, Bitstamp, Mercado Bitcoin, Independent Reserve, and Zero Hash were slated to enable trading in the following weeks.
Only Uphold, MoonPay, Archax and Bitstamp are among the the UK regulated crypto exchanges or platforms that we have compared and reviewed at the Good Money Guide.
Readers should take care to do research about any crypto exchange they use as well as the tokens they trade in.
RLUSD saw a surge in trading volume after it’s launch
RRLUSD saw its trading volume surge more 2,000% over the weekend of it’s launch
According to data from CoinMarketCap the token’s total 24-hour trading volume was above $600 million as of Sunday, which makes it the fourth most-traded stablecoin product. This is despite the stablecoin having a market cap of just $53 million.
The cryptocurrency’s trading volume has since fallen back down to around $22 million as of Tuesday, meaning the surge was temporary.
Nearly all of the surge in trading volume originated from crypto exchange Bullish, which recently enabled trading in RLUSD, suggesting that a few big owners of the coin were responsible.
RLUSD’s launch
RLUSD was launched by crypto transaction fintech Ripple with the aim of supporting its development of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions.
Ripple said the cryptocurrency would provide benefits to institutions including facilitating the instant settlement of cross-border payments and offering a bridge between traditional fiat currencies and the crypto ecosystem.
On RLUSD’s launch Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse saidL “As the U.S. moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins such as RLUSD, which offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry.”
Ripple is also backed by another cryptocurrency, XRP, which has been the subject of an ongoing lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which views it as an unregistered security.
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
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