How to Buy Crypto
You need crypto in a wallet or on an exchange before you can deposit. Three routes get you there, they do not cost the same, and the coin you pick changes how long you wait.
From money to balance
Pick a coin and a network
Start from the table below rather than from what an exchange promotes. The coin and the network you choose have to be on that list, or the deposit has nowhere to land.
Buy it
Use one of the three routes compared below. Whichever you pick, the slow part is the first identity check, and it happens once.
Send it out
Withdraw from the exchange either to your own wallet or straight to the deposit address shown in your account. Select the same network you chose in step one.
Deposit
Open a deposit request, copy the address and the exact amount, and send before the request expires. The balance updates once the network reaches the required confirmations.
Three ways to buy
Same result, very different cost and waiting time. Pick the row that matches what you are trying to do.
| Route | Speed | Cost | Verification | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centralised exchange | Minutes once verified | Lowest of the three: a trading fee, then a withdrawal fee to send the coin out | Full identity check before you can withdraw | Buying more than once, or buying a larger amount |
| Card on-ramp | Minutes | Highest: a card processing fee on top of a wider spread | Light check for small amounts, full check above the provider’s threshold | A first, small purchase you want finished now |
| Peer-to-peer marketplace | Minutes to hours, depending on the counterparty | Varies with the seller’s spread; the marketplace fee itself is usually small | Set by the marketplace, and often by the counterparty as well | Local payment methods that global exchanges do not accept |
What this site accepts
Read from the platform. These minimums, confirmation counts and median times are the ones actually applied to your deposit.
| Coin | Network | Minimum deposit | Confirmations | Median time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDTTether | Tron (TRC-20) | $10.00 | 19 | 1 min |
| USDTTether | Ethereum (ERC-20) | $50.00 | 12 | 3 min |
| USDCUSD Coin | Tron (TRC-20) | $10.00 | 19 | 1 min |
| USDCUSD Coin | Ethereum (ERC-20) | $50.00 | 12 | 3 min |
| BTCBitcoin | Bitcoin | $20.00 | 2 | 20 min |
| ETHEthereum | Ethereum | $20.00 | 12 | 3 min |
| LTCLitecoin | Litecoin | $10.00 | 6 | 3 min |
| SOLSolana | Solana | $10.00 | 32 | 20 sec |
| XMRMonero | Monero | $10.00 | 10 | 2 min |
Network fees are charged by the blockchain and by the service you buy from, not by this site, so they are not listed here — no page can quote them honestly, they move with network congestion. What is listed is what the platform commits to: how little you may send, how many confirmations are waited for, and how long that usually takes.
Which one to pick
Three facts read from the list above, for the three reasons people usually choose one coin over another.
- Fastest to confirm
- SOL · Solana — 20 sec
- Lowest minimum deposit
- USDT · Tron (TRC-20) — $10.00
- Most networks to choose from
- USDT — 2
If you want the amount to stay put
A dollar-pegged coin holds its value between buying and playing. A volatile one can move while it travels, and you are sending a fixed quantity of coin, not a fixed amount of money.
If you are sending a small amount
Network cost weighs most on small transfers: what is trivial on a large deposit can be a real share of a small one. Compare the minimums above and take the lowest one your source supports.
If you want to play now
Confirmation time is the whole wait. Pick from the short end of the median column, and remember the balance moves only once the required confirmations are in.
What actually goes wrong
Sending on the wrong network
The same coin exists on several chains and they are not interchangeable. The address you copied belongs to one of them; sending on another puts the funds where the deposit cannot see them, and getting them back is a manual case at best.
Dropping the memo or tag
Some networks identify a deposit by a memo or tag rather than by the address alone. Leaving it out sends the funds to a shared address with nothing to attach them to.
Sending below the minimum
Each network has its own minimum, and it is per network rather than per coin. Below it, the transfer arrives but is not credited automatically.
Paying after the window closed
A deposit address is generated for one request and stays valid for a limited time. Reusing an old address, or paying long after opening the request, means the payment is no longer matched to it.
Rounding the amount
The amount to send is exact to the last decimal. Wallets that round, and exchanges that take their withdrawal fee out of the figure you typed, both produce an underpayment that needs handling by hand.
Ignoring the source’s own limits
Exchanges apply daily withdrawal limits and holding periods on freshly bought coins. Check both before you plan anything around the money arriving today.