How & where to buy Cardano (ADA) online

Use our step-by-step guide to learn how and where to buy Cardano on the top 5+ crypto exchanges.
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Updated: May 11, 2023
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Cardano tokens are available on a cryptocurrency exchange, which functions similar to a stock trading platform. It takes just a few minutes to buy Cardano this way. Follow our quick step guide below.

How to buy Cardano instantly in 3 simple steps

To buy Cardano you need a smartphone or a computer and an internet connection. It takes 10-15 minutes the first time and you should have some photo ID to hand. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1. Sign up to eToro

eToro is the simplest crypto exchange to get started with. Create an account and supply a copy of your photo ID for verification.

1
Min. Deposit
$ 10
Best offer
User Score
10
Up to $240 bonus!
Build a diversified portfolio with crypto, stocks, and ETFs — all in one place.
Trade on the world’s leading social trading and investing platform
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer
Full Regulations:
CySEC, FCA

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Step 2. Make a deposit

Add funds via a card payment, bank transfer or an alternative payment method. You can start with as little as £10.

Step 3. Buy Cardano token

Type ADA into the search box then click ‘trade’. Enter how much money you want to spend and hit ‘trade now’.

Now you own Cardano tokens! It’s as simple as that.

Where to buy ADA easily

The overall best exchange to buy Cardano token for beginners is eToro .

Here are the top five places to buy Cardano, ranked according to their simplicity for beginners, fees, customer reviews, and safety ratings.

1
Min. Deposit
$ 10
Best offer
User Score
10
Up to $240 bonus!
Build a diversified portfolio with crypto, stocks, and ETFs — all in one place.
Trade on the world's leading social trading and investing platform
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer
Full Regulations:
CySEC, FCA

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

2
Min. Deposit
$ 0
Best offer
User Score
10
Get insights from millions of investors, creators, and analysts
Build your portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and crypto–all in one place
No minimum deposit
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
Bank Wire, Check, Debit Card, Wire Transfer
Full Regulations:
Cryptocurrency execution and custody services are provided by Apex Crypto LLC (NMLS ID 1828849) through a software licensing agreement between Apex Crypto LLC and Public Crypto LLC. Crypto trading on Public platforms is served by Public Crypto LLC and offered through APEX Crypto. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved before trading.
3
Min. Deposit
$ 1
Best offer
User Score
10
Buy, Sell, and Trade Cryptocurrencies
Trade over 130 cryptocurrencies with low trading fees
We use state-of-the-art storage technology to protect your cryptocurrency and USD assets
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
ACH, Apple Pay, Debit Card, Wire Transfer
Full Regulations:

Read more about how we rate, rank and review platforms.

Best exchanges to buy Cardano (ADA), reviewed

1. eToro. Best for beginners, copy-trading & demo-account

1500

No. assets

$10

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Popular ‘Copytrader’ function so users can follow top traders Mobile platform has great functionality Minimum first time deposit of $200 Expedient customer service, with live chat support provided Over 2,000 CFDs available to trade
Does not provide the MetaTrader platform High spreads on some assets Comparatively high fees for withdrawals and account inactivity

Overview

We love eToro because it makes it simple to trade crypto at home or on the go. If you’ve never bought cryptocurrency before, then eToro makes it simple to buy 75+ of the leading coins, including the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. Every crypto trade comes with a flat 1% fee, which makes it one of the cheapest crypto brokers on the market to boot.

As well as being a broker that offers lots of investor protection, eToro offers a very social trading experience. You can easily see what’s trending on the crypto market every day, browse the latest technical analysis about every one of those tokens, and copy other people’s trade suggestions from your desktop or the eToro app.

The fees: You will be charged a 1% fee every time you buy or sell crypto. The charge is included in the market price that’s displayed on eToro. CFD trades may be charged an overnight or weekend fee if you leave the position open.

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

2. Public. Best for sharing beginner trading ideas

public.com logo

...

No. assets

...

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Commission free stock and ETF investing Share and compare your portfolio on a social trading platform Trade crypto, fractional shares, and alternative investments
You can't trade on margin or use leverage No forex, options, funds, metals, or bonds

Overview

We love Public because it’s a social platform where you can share trading tips and get ideas from other people. Public offers 9,000+ financial instruments, including cryptocurrencies and stocks from around the world.

Alongside a community of other investors all sharing their ideas, Public offers real time news and information so that you can see the full picture before you invest. And the assets don’t just include your run-of-the-mill assets; you can make alternative investments in things like handbags and comic books as well.

The fees: Cryptocurrency trades are charged a 2.5% fee per transaction. 

3. Bitstamp. Best for professionals & trading with APIs

1

No. assets

...

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Low trading fees and no spreads Supports multiple fiat currencies Regulated platform
Limited number of coins available Major fees on deposits and withdrawals Liquidity has suffered due to the limited selection of coins and most liquidity is concentrated in top names like Bitcoin and Ether

Overview

We love Bitstamp because it has a proud reputation for top performance over more than decade. Bitstamp offers trading on 75+ cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, while staking is available on Ethereum and Algorand. 

Bitstamp was one of the first crypto platforms to set up shop in 2011 and has built up trust since. It’s designed with institutional traders in mind, so it prides itself on near 100% uptime. It stores 95% of assets in cold storage and offers a sliding scale of fees so that high volume traders get the best rates.

The fees: There are no trading fees if you trade less than $1,000 in a rolling 30-day period. Above that, fees start from 0.4% and decline the higher your trading volume is. There is a 15% charge for staking. Withdrawals are charged a flat €3 fee.

4. Uphold. Best for building long term wealth

...

No. assets

$1

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Wide range of cryptocurrencies available Zero deposit and withdrawal fees Crypto wallets to store your coins Low minimum deposits and fast account set up
Spreads can be high for some cryptocurrencies Services vary depending on region Customer support is limited

Overview

We love Uphold because it’s a regulated and transparent digital asset platform. There are 160+ cryptocurrencies available to hold and trade, along with three fiat currencies; GBP, EUR, and USD. 

Uphold’s key features include the ability to schedule transactions to avoid trying to time the market. With a focus on long term wealth building, Uphold also offers the ability to earn rewards of up to 25% on staked crypto, as well as 4% cashback paid in XRP for purchases made with the Uphold card.

The fees: Crypto spreads start from 0.9% and are usually lower than 1.3% for BTC and ETH. Other cryptocurrency spreads are higher. Average spreads on fiat currency are 0.2%. There is a $0.99 fee for transactions under $100 made with the Uphold card.

5. OKX. Best for futures and margin trading

...

No. assets

$50

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Stake ETH to freely mint FIFA WORLD CUP 2022 NFTs & big prizes 350+ cryptocurrencies & NFTs available across 650+ trading pairs Crypto spot & derivative markets available Pay using hundreds of local payment methods
Not available in the US Lack of fiat withdrawal options

Overview

We love OKX because it’s an adaptable and flexible exchange, with an app that’s available in three different versions depending on how you trade. Choose from the beginner-friendly Lite version, Web3 option for NFT traders, or the Pro version for a plethora of trading tools. 

From an app or desktop you can trade 350+ crypto coins on one of the world’s top crypto exchanges. You can fund your account easily, through a variety of simple payment methods, and a sliding scale of fees that means you can access discounts by holding the OKB token or trading high volumes.

The fees: Regular users pay a 0.1% fee on spot crypto trades. OKB crypto holders are entitled to a discount, up to 0.02% off for holding more than 2,000 coins. High volume traders are also entitled to a discount, with the cheapest fees available for traders with a 30 day trading volume above $10,000,000,000.

How to trade ADA

You can trade Cardano on a cryptocurrency exchange using a few simple steps. Here’s a quick example that clearly lays out how ADA crypto trading works:

  1. Monitor the price: Let’s say the price of ADA/USDT is $1. You read the price charts and decide that now is a good time to start purchasing ADA.
  2. Open a trade: You trade one USDT for one ADA ($1 for 1 ADA).
  3. Continue to monitor the price: The next day, one ADA token is now worth $2, a 100% increase.
  4. Close your trade: You trade your ADA token back to USDT for $2.

In this example, you buy and sell Cardano, doubling your money (trading). While the steps are simple, executing them in a profitable way is not so easy. You need to spend many hours learning to trade, reading charts, patterns, and understanding markets and margin trading; which you can do right here on Invezz.com.

1
Min. Deposit
$ 10
Best offer
User Score
10
Up to $240 bonus!
Build a diversified portfolio with crypto, stocks, and ETFs — all in one place.
Trade on the world's leading social trading and investing platform
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer
Full Regulations:
CySEC, FCA

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

What is the best way to pay for Cardano (ADA)?

The simplest way to buy Cardano cryptocurrency is with your bank card. However, there are plenty of other options as well. Here are some of the top ways to pay for ADA.

  • Buy Cardano with a credit card or debit card. Card payments are convenient and instantaneous but you may have to pay a higher fee to make a deposit this way. Binance charges 1.8% for a card deposit and some platforms charge as much as 4%.
  • Buy Cardano with bank transfer. A bank transfer is usually the cheapest way to buy crypto. Crypto platforms like Crypto.com and Coinbase do not charge for bank transfer deposits, while Binance only charges a £1 fee, and these transactions are more or less instant as they run through the Faster Payments System (FPS).
  • Buy Cardano with PayPal. Some crypto brokers accept deposits via PayPal. eToro is the best option because it doesn’t charge a fee for PayPal deposits, whereas the charge can be as high as 5% or more with other platforms.
  • Alternative payment methods. Crypto brokers often let you pay with other providers or money transfer services, like Neteller, Venmo, or Payoneer. The options vary by broker, though, so check what’s accepted before you sign up.

How do I store Cardano (ADA)?

Most people keep their crypto on the exchange they used to buy it. If you only plan to hold onto it for a little while then that’s a perfectly acceptable option. If you want to hold it for years or you own a lot of Cardano then you should move it to a crypto wallet.

A crypto exchange is similar to a bank account, in that it means trusting a company to protect your funds for you. A wallet is like your personal wallet, or a safe, where you take responsibility for it yourself. Two of the best Cardano wallets to use are MetaMask and the Ledger Nano S.

Is Cardano (ADA) a good investment?

Whether it’s good for you depends on your goals and the fundamentals of the project. Here are some key features of Cardano and its token to help you decide whether to invest in ADA.

  • Cardano is faster at processing transactions compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum. One of Cardano’s most prominent features is the speed at which it can process transactions. It can process 250 transactions per second, which is considerably more than Bitcoin (7) and Ethereum (20). 
  • You can earn rewards and passive income if you own ADA. One of the benefits of owning ADA coins is that you can stake them and earn rewards. Staking is the process of ‘locking up’ your tokens to validate transactions on the blockchain. As a reward, you’ll earn rewards, in the form of more cryptocurrency. 
  • All updates are based on peer reviewed research. Any update on the Cardano network is based on peer reviewed papers and backed by scientific research and development. Cardano uses academics to develop its blockchain meaning its platform has some of the best minds working on it. 
  • ADA is dubbed an Ethereum killer. Cardano is often reffered to as an Ethereum killer because it aims to improve what Ethereum offers. It is already much faster than Ethereum and can process ten times as many transactions per second. It is also a cheaper network, with transaction costs of approximately $1. 
  • Cardano is a ‘third gen’ blockchain with lots of competition. Despite its good work, the challenge for Cardano is the same as for many other ‘third gen’ blockchain platforms: there are a lot of them. Bitcoin and Ethereum dominated the first two generations in part because there was much less competition, Cardano has to battle with a mass of alternatives competing for the same space.

Use this quick summary of pros and cons to compare Cardano with other, similar projects.

Pros

  • If you own ADA you can earn rewards just by holding it in a wallet
  • It’s very open about new developments and what Cardano is trying to achieve
  • All new updates are based on rigorous scientific research and peer-reviewed papers
  • Along with the science, Cardano is backed by famous names in the crypto world

Cons

Ultimately, many different factors play into the answer. Cryptocurrency is inherently volatile but you can reduce the risks by investing in quality projects that provide value to the community.

How has Cardano (ADA) performed this year?

The current Cardano price today is $0/31, which is 90% below its all time high of $2.93, which it reached on August 30, 2021]. ADA is down 77% this year, with a 52 week high of $1.64 and a 52 week low of $0.295. 

Is now a good time to buy Cardano?

The answer depends on the current price and your own investment goals. Put simply, buying Cardano, selling Cardano, and trading ADA are all the exact same process. It’s really just your personal investing intentions that defines whether now is a good time to invest or not.

  • If you’re a trader: as a cryptocurrency trader, your goal is to make money trading regularly. What do we mean by regularly? Hourly, daily, weekly. Traders buy and sell a coin quickly to secure their profit (or to avoid a loss). They don’t #hodl that coin long term in the hopes of larger profits. In this sense, any time is a good time to buy Cardano.
  • As a long-term investor: a long term investor is not concerned if the price is up or down 10% on any given day. Rather, they care that the price of the native token is overall up months or years later, when they’re ready to sell that investment. So if you’re a firm believer in the foundations of Cardano and its decentralised aggregator platform, then a good time to purchase Cardano is on any major dip.

In our experience, most newcomers to the crypto market sit between the two. You don’t want to wait several years for a return, but buying Cardano and selling it the next day probably isn’t why you’re here either.

Regardless, closely following ADA price news & analysis will help you decide when to pull the trigger:

Cardano (ADA) has today launched its version of Wrapped Bitcoin token cBTC on the Cardano testnet. The project’s development team aims to attract Bitcoin (BTC) users to the nascent Cardano decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The cBTC will run on Cardano’s anetaBTC protocol that aims at attracting Bitcoin liquidity…

FAQs

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Sources & references
Risk disclaimer
Prash Raval
Financial Writer
When not researching stocks or trading, Prash can be found either on the golf course, walking his dog or teaching his son how to kick a… read more.