Home » Guide How to buy Tezos (XTZ) Complete beginner’s guide 2020 2 How to buy Tezos (XTZ) Complete beginner’s guide 2020

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Have you read about Tezos and the cryptocurrency XTZ? And are you like many others interested in investing in it because of its potential?

Then you have come to the right place. Here I will talk about it and how to buy Tezos.

Tezos and its cryptocurrency XTZ has since its launch quickly become one of the most talked-about projects and cryptocurrencies in the blockchain industry.

The Tezos foundation ran an ICO to fund their ideas that on the whole brought in a total value of $232 million worth of BTC and ETH. Now that is a lot of funding.

Let’s explore more what’s behind the hype.

What is Tezos?

Tezos is very much the pinnacle vision of what blockchain and decentralised networks are trying to achieve.

It is all about providing a decentralised network where developers can propose new features and upgrades, and token holders can vote on their favourites.

And of course, you’ve got smart contracts like with Ethereum and many others.

Add to that the ability for the Tezos blockchain to handle new upgrades and developments without major forks. Which in truth is a bit of a hassle for the people that just want to hold some tokens.

“Built to last”

That is one of the key phrases that Tezos wants to put forward to separate themselves from the rest. And truth be told there are many others in the rest group. All sharing similar traits and abilities.

So will Tezos be one of the winners? And with it will their cryptocurrency XTZ be one of the big winners?

Many think so. And if you are one of those that do and you are looking into ways to buy and store your XTZs? Then this guide will be perfect for you!

Step by step summary of buying Tezos XTZ:

Here we will talk you through some of the most popular options to buy XTZ cryptocurrency. We will include a few different options so that you can choose then you like the most.

Basically the steps to buy XTZ and securely storing it on the Tezos blockchain is as follows:

If you already have a Tezos wallet then skip directly to part 2 here.

Additionally, we have looked into how you can use different payment methods to buy XTZ. For example buy Tezos with a credit card or debit card, how to buy Tezos with USD, with a bank transfer, and with other cryptocurrencies.

Part 1 – Best Tezos wallets

Now in this part, we will mention a few of the most popular wallets to use for storing your XTZ on the blockchain and using it to send, receive and check your portfolio balance.

TezBox (web, browser add-on, desktop + mobile wallet)

The TezBox was one of the first Tezos wallets to be developed. It is a GUI wallet that is easy to use and comes with all the basic features necessary for a token holder.

The code for the TezBox is open-sourced and it has been audited by security firms. The TezBox wallet can also be used in conjunction with hardware wallets like the Trezors and Ledgers.

You can use the TezBox to delegate (stake) your XTZ and start earning more!

Currently, it is available for macOS, Windows, Android and as a Chrome extension and web wallet.

Find out more and download the wallet here

Learn more how you can use the Galleon wallet to start delegating your XTZs here

Galleon (desktop wallet)

The second choice of Tezos wallets is the Galleon wallet. It is a downloadable smart wallet in which you can use it to interact with the Tezos blockchain and delegate your XTZs to earn more.

The Galleon wallet is currently available as a desktop wallet for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Find out more and download the Galleon wallet here

Learn more how you can use the Galleon wallet to start delegating your XTZs here

Trezor Model T or One (hardware wallet)

The other option you could go for is to invest in a secure hardware wallet to use as your main Tezos wallet.

This is perfect for token holders that wants to have their XTZs safely stored on the blockchain and plan on letting it be there without using it too often. That fits perfectly for long term investors.

The Trezor Model T and One work with Trezor if you use the 3rd party web wallet Simple Staking. It is available as a desktop wallet and as a web wallet.

You can use Simple Staking to delegate your XTZs also.

Either choice of the two available Trezor wallets is a good one to invest in. The have the same main features but the Trezor Model T has a colour touchscreen and slightly bigger storage space.

Trezor wallets from SatoshiLabs are the first and original crypto hardware wallets.

Find out more about using the Trezor with Simple Staking here

Find out more about Trezors support for Tezos here

You can buy the Trezor Model T here and the One here

Ledger Nano X or Nano S (hardware wallet)

The other popular hardware wallet that you could use with Trezor is the Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S.

They are two of the most popular hardware wallets available on the market. And they both do an excellent job of securing your XTZs.

You can use the Ledger Nano X and S with Tezos and it can be used to stake (delegate) your XTZs.

You need to download the Ledger Live application to set up your Tezos wallet. And it can then be used as your main wallet application. But other wallets also are compatible with the Ledger hardware devices.

You can stake/delegate your XTZ straight from Ledger Live

Download Ledger Live here

Learn more about staking XTZ with a Ledger device here

Learn more about Ledger’s support for Tezos here

And you can buy a Ledger Nano S or X here

Part 2 – Where to buy Tezos

Now we have come to the most interesting part (at least that’s what I think ;), and that is to buy Tezos’s cryptocurrency XTZ!

As mentioned earlier we will include a range of options, based on things like payment method available, popularity, security, and ease of use.

How to buy Tezos with a credit card or debit card

It is of course extremely common and popular to buy things with our credit card or debit cards today, and buying crypto with a card is becoming easier every year. But there aren’t too many options available currently to buy XTZ with a card.

But we have found a few good exchanges that lets you do this. You can normally use any VISA or Mastercard on these sites.

You can buy XTZ with your credit or debit card at either:

Bitpanda (only for Europeans) Coinbase (use this link to get $10 worth of BTC for free when buying for $100 or more) Changelly

All three of those options are popular amongst traders and investors today. And the process of using them to buy with your card will be fairly similar.

Buy XTZ with a bank transfer (wire transfer)

If you want to use a bank transfer, because you aren’t in the same rush and you want to save on some fees then we can recommend a few options for you.

Once again now every site or exchange that you might use today will offer you the option to deposit funds via a bank transfer.

But don’t worry a few reliable ones do. And they work in a similar way.

You first register an account Then you deposit funds to the exchange’s bank account Wait 1-2 days (might be quicker) until the funds appear in your account and then you can buy Tezos with your money

You can currently buy XTZ with a bank transfer at for example:

Coinbase (USD + GBP + EUR) Kraken (USD + EUR)

Trade another cryptocurrency for XTZ at a crypto exchange

One of the most common options that most traders and investors use it to trade XTZ with another cryptocurrency, often BTC, ETH, XRP or LTC.

This, of course, means that you need to already have those cryptocurrencies beforehand.

If you don’t have any then you should look into using either sites/exchanges that we recommended where you can buy XTZ with a card or via a bank transfer.

You can also if you preferred first buy for example BTC/ETH/XRP at one exchange for example via a bank transfer and then send those BTC/ETH/XRPs to another exchange to buy XTZ. But that might seem overkill and with no real added benefit

Some of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges where you can buy XTZ are:

How to buy XTZ on a crypto exchange – example journey with Binance

To make it really easy for those of you who are completely new, or just a bit unsure how it works when it comes to trading a cryptocurrency exchange we have decided to walk you through the steps of buying Tezos at Binance.

When you buy or sell a cryptocurrency at a cryptocurrency exchange then you actually trade X crypto for Y crypto. It could be trading Tezos for Bitcoin (XTZ/BTC as trading pairs).

So to buy XTZ at Binance you need a cryptocurrency first. We are going to use Bitcoin (BTC) in this example.

First, you sign up at Binance and when signed up you click Trade and Basic And then you locate Tezos or XTZ in the list with the trading pair you want to use (we are using BTC) And then you simply select the amount and the price you want to pay and click Buy XTZ

That is it. Simple enough. You can change price, or bid to whatever you like. If you are going under the current highest sell offer then you might have to wait a while before a seller accepts your bid.

Remember you are buying from other people on exchanges.

When it comes to picking a cryptocurrency exchange to use I personally go for these things:

How good is the trading volume for that coin? There is no point signing up for new crypto exchanges if there are no sellers and buyers there – be aware that fake trading volume is happening at some exchanges How reliable and secure is it? Does it seem legit? Are there any reviews to read about it? What’s the talk on social media? How’s their customer support? And finally what’s the current price. Sometimes there might be a price difference between different exchanges so that is something you could take advantage of

Coinpaprika and Nomics are two cryptocurrency exchanges sites that works on showing a more truthful and honest price and trading data

You can also Go CryptoMarket to find real-time prices for XTZ/USD. This lets you find the exchange with the lowest prices.

Similar sites are Coinmarketcap and Coingecko for checking exchange listing and prices.

Part 3 – Send XTS to your Tezos wallet

You send and receive XTZs like any other cryptocurrencies.

So the steps are as follows:

Locate your XTZ wallet address – copy this Go to your wallet where you have your XTZs, for example where you bought your XTZs at Send your XTZ to the copied address – paste the address in and hit send 😉

There are two types of addresses on the Tezos blockchain. tz1 and kt1.

So at tz1 address could look like this: tz1hTFcQk2KsSdsZykCwbj7E1zY1xBkiHsk (don’t send anything to this address)

could look like this: tz1hTFcQk2KsSdsZykCwbj7E1zY1xBkiHsk And a kt1 address could look like this: KT1DKT2QpnwNnRCzVnYgfGsuZuuS2dfAajHBC4 (don’t send anything to this address)

The kt1 has smart contract functionality but not the tz1. Both tz1 and kt1 can be sent and received in the same way. With the kt1 account, you can use to delegate your XTZ to other bakers.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tezos

We thought it could help to answer some of the common questions we’ve seen been asked on forums and social media about Tezos and buying XTZ.

Can I store my XTZ on the exchanges?

You can, but that doesn’t mean that you should. The general advice is that you should be in control of your cryptos. You wouldn’t want to share others to have shared access to your bank account, would you?

Make sure you are in control of your own cryptocurrencies. That means you and only you have access to the private keys to your wallet.

Can I stake my XTZ?

Yes you can stake your XTZ. When you stake, or ‘delegate’ your tokens then you let another user or baker use your coin for two main purposes.

Creating new blocks, aka baking. And verifying blocks and transactions, aka endorsing.

And or doing baking and endorsing the users get rewarded new XTZs. For creating new blocks the reward is 16XTZ and verifying blocks it is 2XTZ

You can find a list of delegates or bakers here

Is it safe to stake my Tezos?

Yes staking your Tezos as in delegating them to a choosen baker is perfectly safe. In fact your XTZs never leave your wallet. And you can move your tokens at any time. The staking part, or delegating part of the Tezos network is optional (learn more here).

How much can I earn from staking my XTZ?

That depends on the number of active stakers. But roughly 5.5% at the moment, minus the 10% in fees that goes to any bakers (if you are not baking Tezos yourself, and delegating your XTZ to someone else).

Is it safe to invest in XTZ?

If you are wondering if it is a smart investment choice to buy XTZ cryptocurrencies then you need to be aware of the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.

Like with stocks, commodities, etc you could lose your money. Is it likely that you will lose all your money? Probably not. But there are risks with crypto, as with any investment.

When it comes to keeping your tokens safe and protected then we urge you listen to our advice and be in control of the private keys to your Tezos wallet.

Conclusion

I hope this guide to buying Tezos was helpful. If there is anything in the guide or process that you are still not sure about then feel free to leave a comment and we will get back to you.

Otherwise, I hope it is clear now what you can do for buying XTZ. And then storing it on the blockchain in a safe wallet that you own the private keys to.

If you did like this guide then please share it with others!

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