How to Buy Dash – A Beginner’s Guide

By: Ofir Beigel | Last updated: 8/16/20

In recent years, Dash has become one of the more popular cryptocurrencies around due to the anonymity it provides its users.

In this guide, I’ll give you a short overview of the currency and explain the different methods you can buy it online, and even offline.

How to Buy Dash Summary

In order to buy Dash follow these steps:

Get a Dash Wallet (Ledger Nano X, Edge) Find your Dash address Sign up to CEX.io Buy Dash via the brokerage service / trading platform Withdraw your Dash coins to your wallet.

If CEX doesn’t work out for you here are additional recommended options for buying Dash:

*eToro users: 75% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Your capital is at risk

That’s how to buy Dash in a nutshell. If you want a detailed review of Dash and additional buying options keep on reading, here’s what I’ll cover:

1. What is Dash?

Dash is a popular open source, peer to peer (P2P), decentralized cryptocurrency that focuses on anonymity, ease of use and fast transactions. It aims to be a true form of digital cash, hence its name.

The Dash Core team consists of around 50 employees who are continually improving the protocol. Dash forked out of Bitcoin’s protocol back in 2014.

Dash promotes anonymity by enabling a feature called PrivateSend. This feature mixes coins through computers called Masternodes in order to make it nearly impossible to track a transaction from start to finish.

Dash also has a feature called InstantSend, which allows payments confirmation in less than a second, while avoiding the double spend problem that is a common concern with other cryptocurrencies.

In addition, Dash is secure, as transactions are confirmed by thousands of miners around the world. As you can see, Dash has a number of advantages over Bitcoin, as it ensures nearly instantaneous, private transactions while Bitcoin isn’t completely anonymous.

Dash also manages to address other main issues Bitcoin faces like the ability to track transactions on the Blockchain and slow confirmation time.

For a deeper explanation about Dash watch this excellent video by Box Mining:

2. How to buy Dash in 3 Simple Steps

Step 1 – Get a Dash Wallet

Before starting the process of buying Dash you’ll need to get a Dash wallet. Much like Bitcoin wallets, there are different types of Dash wallets.

For large amounts of Dash, always use a hardware wallet. If you’re just “playing” with the currency, a mobile or desktop wallet will do as well.

Dash Hardware Wallets

Hardware wallets keep your private key (i.e. your funds) offline and are nearly impossible to hack. However, unlike software wallets they have a price tag.

Most popular hardware wallets support Dash so you can choose from either Ledger, TREZOR or KeepKey.

Personally I think that the Ledger Nano X or the TREZOR Model T are the best ones around today. You can read my Nano X review here, and the Model T review here.

Dash Desktop Wallets

The easiest way to store and use Dash is to use a desktop wallet like the Electrum Dash Wallet. This wallet doesn’t have a lot of the desirable features like InstantSend and PrivateSend so it may not be the best choice for users who are looking for full scale functionality.

Anyone looking for all the benefits of Dash should use the Dash Core wallet available for Mac, Linux, and Windows.

Dash Mobile Wallets

There are a few mobile Dash wallets available for both Android and iOS. Edge is the most popular choice for both platforms. Additional options include the Dash Core wallet for iOS and Android and also Coinomi.

For a complete list of compatible Dash wallets, visit the official Dash site.

Finding your Dash address

Once you have your Dash wallet you will need to get your Dash address. A Dash address is a long string of numbers and letters (case sensitive) that starts with an “X”. Here’s an example:

Xf9RGJcz2vRS6Pv79rYjUHrGUE7CYtJ3Xa

Step 2 – Find a Dash Exchange

Purchasing Dash or any cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, is often far trickier than it should be for anyone who is new to this industry. Here are the top options for buying Dash with a credit card or wire transfer.

Purchase Dash through eToro

eToro – Platforms like eToro allow you to instantly invest and trade Dash to make money off its price changes. They also give you actual access to your coins, but it’s less easy to withdraw them than with other crypto exchanges.

In other words, this platform is for you if you want to speculate on the price. You can read my complete eToro review here.

IMPORTANT! If you use eToro you don’t actually need a Dash wallet if you’re only speculating on the price as you probably won’t withdraw your funds.

Cryptocurrencies can widely fluctuate in prices and are not appropriate for all investors. Trading cryptocurrencies is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. So keep in mind that your capital is at risk.

Purchase Dash through CEX.io

CEX.io, established in 2013, is one of the oldest companies in the game. You can buy Dash through their brokerage services or use their trading platform.

If you know your way around trading platforms (i.e. market orders, limit orders, etc.), it’s best to use the trading platform as you’ll save substantially on fees. Otherwise, use the brokerage service (“Buy/sell” on the nav bar).

Deposits can be made with credit card, debit card, wire transfer or SEPA transfer. You can read my complete CEX.io review here.

Purchase Dash through Bitpanda

BitPanda allows you to buy Dash using your credit card, Skrill account, SEPA transfer or SOFORT transfer. Buying on Bitpanda requires verification and buying limits are relatively low.

BitPanda is available in Europe only and for now only offers a brokerage service. This means the company will sell you Dash directly for a premium. You can read my complete Bitpanda review here.

Purchase Dash through Binance

Binance is a crypto only exchange that accepts credit or debit cards for one time purchases. Buying through this option will be relatively expensive as there are fees related to using methods that allow chargeback such as a credit card.

Alternatively, if you already own Bitcoin or Ether you can simply trade it for Dash as well. You can read my complete Binance review here.

Purchase Dash through Kraken

Kraken allows you to fund your account with USD or EUR through a wire transfer and then buy Dash directly. While this method will take longer and possibly require additional verification it will probably have the least amount of fees. You can read my complete Kraken review here.

Buy Dash Directly With Cash

Dash ATMs – Can be found across three locations in the United States: Oregon, Florida, and New York. While the fees are high, this is one of the easiest ways to acquire Dash.

ATM locations to purchase BTC and other cryptocurrencies can be found at CoinATMRadar.

Step 3 – Move the Dash Coins to Your Wallet

Once you finish buying Dash, don’t forget to move the coins into your personal wallet. Never leave coins on an exchange as they can be lost or stolen.

Once the coins reach your wallet you officially own Dash.

3. Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Price of Dash?

The current price for 1 Dash is 72 USD.

Is Dash Mining Profitable?

Yes. Dash mining is still profitable with the right setup and hardware. It’s best to use a Dash mining calculator to estimate profitability based on your personal electricity cost.

What does Dash Stand for?

Dash stands for Digital Cash.

4. Conclusion

Dash is one of the main contenders when it comes to anonymous cryptocurrencies (other alternatives include Zcash and Monero).

As one of the earlier cryptocurrencies out there, Dash has continuously held the top positions in terms of market cap. Whether or not Dash will be the preferred method for anonymous transactions remains to be seen.

Have you had any experience with Dash yourself? I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.