How & where to buy Polkadot (DOT) online

Use our step-by-step guide to learn how and where to buy Polkadot on the top 5+ crypto exchanges.
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Updated: May 11, 2023
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77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

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Polkadot tokens are available on a cryptocurrency exchange, which functions similar to a stock trading platform. It takes just a few minutes to buy Polkadot this way. Follow our quick step guide below.

How to buy Polkadot instantly in 3 simple steps

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To buy Polkadot 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

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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

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

Step 3. Buy Polkadot token

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

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

Where to buy DOT easily

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The overall best exchange to buy Polkadot token for beginners is eToro

Here are the top five places to buy Polkadot, 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
$ 100
Best offer
User Score
9.6
CFDs on BTC, ETH, LTC, NEO, XRP, IOTA, EOS, BAB, ADA, TRX, XMR
No need to open a crypto exchange account or use a special wallet
Regulated Broker - FCA, ASIC, CySEC (license number 250/14)
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
American Express, Apple Pay, Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, Discover, Google Pay, Mastercard, PayPal, SEPA, Trustly, Visa, , skrill
Full Regulations:
ASIC, FCA, FSA, MAS, cysec-250-14-regulator, isa-regulator

82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

3
Min. Deposit
$ 0
Best offer
User Score
9.1
Nexo is the world's largest and most trusted lending institution in the digital finance industry
Available in 200+ jurisdictions
Earn daily interest on your crypto
Start Trading
Payment Methods:
Apple Pay, Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, Google Pay
Full Regulations:

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

Best exchanges to buy Polkadot (DOT), reviewed

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

1500

No. assets

$10

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Great for beginners, simple to set up and get started Zero commission stock trading Popular ‘CopyTrader’ function lets you follow top traders Excellent customer service, with live chat support provided Over 2,000 CFDs available to trade
Comparatively high fees for withdrawals and account inactivity Does not integrate with the MetaTrader platform High spreads on some assets

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. Plus500. Best for international CFD trading*

2800

No. assets

$100

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Can get a free demo account A great mobile platform Well regulated in multiple jurisdictions Wide variety of CFDs to trade Several good risk management tools
No support on trading information and education Website isn’t brilliantly designed to help users find answers to their questions No MetaTrader trading platform compatibility

Overview

We love Plus500 because it is one of the industry’s most transparent and reliable brokers. Its fees are clear and you’ll know exactly what you will be paying before you make a trade. Its technology driven platform gives access to over 2800 instruments, including CFDs on stocks, forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies among several others.

Plus500 has something for all types of traders, no matter what level of experience. It’s zero commission and tight spreads make it a top choice for day traders and its trading academy is packed with educational content, perfect for beginners just starting. 

For accurate instrument availability, visit plus500.com.

The fees: There are no commission fees on any trades with Plus500 and it makes it money through the Bid/Ask spread. Spread starts from 0.01% or 0.9 pips and varies depending on the instrument. Additional fees include overnight funding which is dependant on trade size and guaranteed stop orders, which add a minimum of 10% to the spread. There is an inactivity charge of £10 per month for accounts not logged in for three months. 

*Based on a comparison of 60+ leading brokers and trading platforms.

82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

3. Nexo. Best for earning interest & rewards

...

No. assets

...

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Offers excellent rates of interest on crypto and fiat savings Nexo debit card makes it easy to access and spend your funds Access crypto loans and collateral Equipped with top quality security infrastructure and insured
No anonymous option, your identity must be verified to place buy and sell orders Margins calls if the value of your collateral drops between a certain level

Overview

We love Nexo because you earn rewards every time you make a purchase. You can trade 60+ cryptocurrencies and earn rewards of up to 0.5% on every transaction, then store your coins on Nexo to build your wealth through passive interest payments.

You can trade on the go from a mobile app and Nexo is designed for simplicity. Every trade is locked in at the rate you see on your screen, so you won’t suffer from price slippage, and it has the added bonus that any crypto held in your account automatically starts to earn interest. 

The fees: Nexo charges a 2% spread on buy and sell transactions. There are no fees for storing coins in your Nexo account. Depending on your loyalty tier, you receive a fixed number of free withdrawals, and any additional withdrawals will be charged a network fee. 

4. KuCoin. Best social trading altcoin exchange

1

No. assets

...

Minimum deposit

Crypto

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Anonymous trading with up to 2 BTC withdrawals/24 hours Wide variety of cryptocurrencies No deposit fees
Low trading volumes not suitable for big traders Doesn’t support U.S. customers You might experience delays and lags during high-traffic times.

Overview

We love KuCoin because it;s a great place for beginners to trade more than 700 altcoins. KuCoin is a social trading platform with 20+ million investors worldwide in 200+ countries.

KuCoin’s beginner zone offers up rewards up to $500 for new users. The rest of the platform has plenty of features for the crypto enthusiast: a staking service to earn money on your stored crypto, an NFT marketplace, and margin trading features to buy leveraged tokens.

The fees: Trading fees are charged on a sliding scale. Fees are 0.1% on trading volumes below 50 BTC in a 30 day period. Discounts are available if you pay fees in KCS or store more than 1000 KCS in your account.

How to trade DOT

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

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

In this example, you buy and sell Solana, 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 Polkadot (DOT)?

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The simplest way to buy Polkadot 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 DOT.

  • Buy Polkadot 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 Polkadot 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 Polkadot 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 Polkadot (DOT)?

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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 Polkadot 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 Polkadot wallets to use are MetaMask and the Ledger Nano S.

Is Polkadot (DOT) a good investment?

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

  • Polkadot connects different blockchains. Polkadot is trying to solve the issues that have held blockchain technology back so far. Most notably, these are transaction bottlenecks and the difficulty of sharing data between isolated blockchains. Polkadot perform many transactions simultaneously, can transfer data internally, and build bridges that connect it to external blockchains.
  • Demand for DOT may increase if more developers join. If the Polkadot network entices more developers, it could increase demand for the rest of the DOT in circulation. The aim is to have 80% of the DOT in existence locked up within Polkadot, cutting the supply of DOT on the market in the first place. Polkadot has also been able to get the jump on some competition and is doing deals to bring new developers on to start building.
  • To build on Polkadot, DOT tokens are required. If a developer wants to build a decentralised app on the Polkadot network, they will need to ‘buy’ or ‘lease’ a slot to build on. They can only pay for this slot using DOT tokens. As the network grows and more apps are built on it, the value of DOT should increase with more usage. 
  • DOT tokens can be staked to earn rewards. Staking is the process of locking up some of your coins to earn rewards by validating transactions. You can use a number of different services to stake your DOT tokens to earn passive income, which is especially beneficial to long term holders. Polkadot provides stable APY raning between 10% – 20%. 
  • Polkadot still has challenges to overcome. The main one comes in the form of Ethereum 2.0. Many of the problems Polkadot is trying to solve are also being addressed by its bigger-name rival in an update that’s being rolled out over the next couple of years. If Ethereum 2.0 is a success, Polkadot could find it difficult to convince developers to keep working on its own network. 

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

Pros

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  • Polkadot has quickly established itself as a popular cryptocurrency
  • It’s been developed by well-regarded, big names in crypto
  • Has already done deals with independent developers to build on its platform
  • As DOT is required to build on the platform, more development should push the price up

Cons

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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 Polkadot (DOT) performed this year?

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The current Polkadot price today is $5.37, which is 90% below its all time high of $55, which it reached on 04 November, 2021. DOT is down 80% this year, with a 52 week high of $39.35 and a 52 week low of $4.99. 

Is now a good time to buy Polkadot?

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The answer depends on the current price and your own investment goals. Put simply, buying Polkadot, selling Polkadot, and trading DOT 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 Polkadot.
  • 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 Polkadot and its decentralised aggregator platform, then a good time to purchase Polkadot 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 Polkadot and selling it the next day probably isn’t why you’re here either.

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

The altcoin market presents impressive price increases as Bitcoin battles to close above $35K. BTC hovers at $35,110 as bulls continue to rule the cryptocurrency industry, pushing the overall value of all digital coins to $1.32 trillion at press time. Amidst the bullish markets, Polkadot awaits cruc
DOT/USDT chart and technical analysis DOT/USDT recently broke the 4.190 resistance level and closed above this level. The trend is turning bullish after the recent rally of the overall crypto market and will possibly remain bullish in the coming weeks. Price will possibly make a pull-back after the
The Polkadot-based parachain Moonbeam has dominated the crypto market trends today, with its native token, $GLMR, gaining more than 55% over the last 24 hours. GLMR defied the broad market’s bearish mood following the latest announcement by the top Korean exchange Upbit. Upbit to list Moonbeam
Get started with Polkadot

FAQs

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Sources & references
Risk disclaimer
James Knight
Editor of Education
James is the Editor of Education for Invezz, where he covers topics from across the financial world, from the stock market, to cryptocurrency, to macroeconomic markets.... read more.