how-to-fund-your-ripple-wallet

How to buy/trade Ripple (XRP)

Update on 12/15/14: If you’re not using Ripple’s built-in wallet for trading, Cryptsy finally supports USD and BTC trades for XRP.


Update on 5/24/14: Since I originally wrote this post back in December, a few additional options for purchasing XRP have sprung up:

  • Snapswap.us: Send Snapswap USD, and they’ll send your Ripple IOUs, which you can trade for XRP (more details below). This is the primary way I’ve acquired XRP.
  • Kraken: A cryptocurrency exchange based in Europe. If you’re in the U.S., you’ll have to first deposit another cryptocurrency like bitcoin in your Kraken account before you can trade it for XRP.
  • Ripplewise: Simply send Ripplewise some bitcoin and your XRP address, and they’ll send you back XRP. The price is a bit higher than you’ll get through Snapswap, but I have used Ripplewise several times successfully in the past. It’s probably the simplest way to fund your Ripple Wallet.
  • BuyXRP: I haven’t used this service, but it looks similar to Ripplewise.

Buying ripple (XRP) isn’t quite as easy as buying bitcoin yet, but it’s getting there slowly. I only know of one alternative currency exchange so far that supports ripple, and that’s therocktrading.com. If you don’t want to use a currency exchange, you can buy Ripple with USD by following these steps:

  1. Create a Ripple Wallet at Ripple.com
  2. Open an account with a Ripple gateway (think of a gateway like a bank you can use to transfer money to your Ripple wallet). I used SnapSwap.us. If you’re in Europe, go to SnapSwap.eu.
  3. Once you’ve created an account on SnapSwap, click the “Send to Ripple” link:

    how-to-fund-ripple-wallet-1

  4. Type in the amount of USD you’d like to send to your Ripple wallet. Note that you will be charged a fee:

    how-to-fund-ripple-wallet-2

  5. Click the “Generate Invoice” button. SnapSwap will then email you an invoice with instructions on completing your transfer.
  6. Set up a funds transfer to SnapSwap. Here are details from SnapSwap’s Invoice email:

    You can deposit money to this account at any Wells Fargo branch. It is free of charge and you do not need to have an account with Wells Fargo to do so. The deposit will be posted to our account and processed on the next business day or the day after, depending on the time of the deposit.

    You can also use Wells Fargo SurePay option, any other online payment processor, or your online bank. You can send an ACH or a wire transfer. A wire transfer will bear a charge of $15 on our side, in addition to standard fees.
    Please write the invoice # and your SnapSwap username on the deposit slip or in payment notes.

    Since I don’t bank with Wells Fargo, I used PopMoney.com, which has partnered with my bank to send money to SnapSwap.

  7. Now, you get to wait. In my case, it took three days for my payment to clear.
  8. After your payment clears, you’ll need to add a SnapSwap trust line to your Ripple account (basically saying you trust SnapSwap to send you money). SnapSwap will provide details on doing this via email, or you can follow these instructions from Ripple.
  9. Email SnapSwap after you’ve set up the trust line for your incoming funds. They’ll process the deposit within 24 hours.
  10. Now, you’ve got USD in your Ripple Wallet, and you need to trade those dollars for XRP. To do that, login to your Ripple Wallet and click the Trade tab:

    how-to-fund-ripple-wallet-4

  11. There, you’ll be able to place a buy order at the price you desire:
    how-to-fund-ripple-wallet-3
    Once the trade executes, you’ll be the proud owner of some XRP!

Know an easier way to buy XRP? Let everyone know about in the comment section below. Wondering how may cryptocurrencies there are out there right now? Check out our database of cryptocurrencies, which lists more than 200 alternate currencies.

Are you ready to buy XRP? Make sure you check out my ripple price prediction page.

Photo Credit: Water background by Krmn777.

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1 comment

  1. rippler

    Found this, he’s selling ripple account activation dead cheap

    http://www.bit.do/ripple

    Definitely the cheapest I have seen around, better than paying for an amazon gift certificate.

    I used it and the ripples arrived in my wallet in less than 10 minutes.
    Also it is advertised that he sends 35XRP but i recieved 50XRP, dont know if this was an error or he is doing it for everyone.

    Anyway, just thought I would share as i dont know how long its going to last.

    : 😀

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