Buying Cryptocurrencies and Its Challenges

One of the barriers of entry into the cryptocurrency world is the process needed to buy assets in the first place. I recall my first time in that after months of reading through understanding these assets, I spent additional weeks researching it to the proper on boarding ramp to select. While many are hesitant to provide personal information in order to acquire these assets, that honestly has not been an issue for me as I have always been a tax paying citizen whether I like it or not. Whereas that may change in the distant future, I also always believe that we should not give ourselves undo risk for saving some money. However, even with that in mind it was still quite an adventure sorting through selecting a good exchange to do business with.

I think that has changed since the market had it exponential rise in 2017 but it continues to be a challenge for people just to get started. I continue to believe that a more streamlined interface is needed to increase adoption rates for cryptocurrencies. This includes security issues as we always hear about the vulnerabilities being found so frequently in this industry. Given the fact that the incentive will continue to be out there, we must ensure that whatever way we choose, it is a secure way for assets. As the infrastructure for these markets has continued to improve, we have seen a number of new ways to onramp from fiat come into the market. This includes not only bank transfers or deposits but also the use of credit cards.

I personally prefer to buy directly from fiat to cryptocurrency as I like to have detailed records of all of my transactions for accounting purposes. However, as I have diversified my portfolio into different cryptocurrencies I have found that it is impossible to have a straight fiat to crypto conversion. This has brought an administrative burden for me personally which impacts my enthusiasm to buy assets more frequently. It is probably why I really haven’t bought any cryptocurrencies so far this year. However, as I have seen the market pick up in the last couple of weeks I feel that we are closer to the bottom than in the past. Therefore, I am actively looking at my next moves in order to build my portfolio.

Steem continues to be at the top of my list and my monthly purchase is overdue as the market has continued to improve and my hesitation has been apparent due to me expecting a pullback. As I have been waiting for the opportunity, I have also been researching additional ways to acquire my Steem to bypass some of the administrative burden burden from using more than one cryptocurrency purchase. Therefore, I have looked to a number of options that have started to offer the use of credit cards to buy crypto directly. I want to emphasize before providing details that I believe that nobody should buy any type of asset using a credit card if they do not have the funds to pay it off. The reason being is that assets can go down in value while the amount owed will only increase is not paid off due to the interest component.

The first attempt I made was using the website Netcoins which listed steam a couple of months ago due to the great work from our community in voting for it as an option. They have deployed a number of platforms for them to include Steem into their ecosystem of payments. This is exciting as their platform has the reach of over 100,000 merchants around the world. I recently read they now have the optionality to purchase Steem with credit cards and thought I would give it a try. However, for whatever reason it does not allow me to select Steem as an option of crypto currency to purchase with my credit card. Therefore, have to look for other options.

Binance exchange was the other that also recently announced the ability to buy cryptocurrencies with credit cards. However, the assets listed to buy are somewhat limited and do not include Steem. However, I was willing to buy some Ethereum so then convert into Steem and other assets I have on my list. Despite this being burdensome and again adding to my concerns on accounting, I was willing to try it out just to see how it worked. However, when selecting amounts I quickly saw that the costs of using this methodology were not quite attractive relative to buying from fiat.

This image was taken when the listed price on @coingecko was around $137. That means that there is $13 or 10% in fees and spread in doing this transaction. Therefore, the consideration becomes whether that amount is commensurate with the alleviation of the administrative burden of skipping one step. For me personally it is not and therefore I didn’t proceed with the transaction. However, this was for a relatively small transaction and I believe that as you buy more that fee will scale down word and therefore make it more convenient. I will try it again when I am ready with a higher amount when ready to buy as I would like to see the speed with which it happens and also to test to see if my financial institution will even allow me to do it.

The fact remains the industry and ecosystems surrounding it continue to evolve to provide ways to become involved much easier than it once was. There has been plenty of discussion given the recent launch of the new Samsung devices having a built in hardware wallets and its implications for the adoption of cryptocurrencies. There continues to be a path forward to increase adoption and security that will fundamentally change we transact in the financial system in the future. I look forward to the continued improvements around the system and its implication for the market.

Trying eSteem Surfer out for the first time so let me know your thought of any differences you may see. Thanks to @fullcoverbetting for sharing his experience!

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