🟠 How to Buy Internet Computer Token (ICP) in 2024

Launched in early 2021 by the DFINITY Foundation, Internet Computer Token (ICP) caught the eye of many investors because of its promise to deliver a scalable blockchain. If you’re wondering how to buy internet computer tokens, this article covers you.

It provides a list of exchanges where you can buy ICP using fiat and other cryptocurrencies. In the end, you should be able to know how to get exposure to the asset, just in case it turns out to be the next big thing in crypto.

A quick guide on buying Internet computer tokens on Binance

• Register on Binance.com and complete their user verification process.
• Go to Wallet > Fiat and Deposit
• If supported, find your fiat currency wallet (e.g., GBP, EUR, NGN) and click Deposit.
• Follow the prompts to fund your account using a debit/credit card or bank transfer.
• Once successful, go to Trade > Convert and convert GBP to BUSD.
• Next, go to Markets and find the ICP/BUSD pair under Fiat Markets.
• Click Trade and choose the pair.
• On the next page, switch the Order type to Market under Buy ICP.
• Enter the amount of BUSD to Sell for ICP and confirm the purchase.
• Congrats! You’ve successfully purchased Internet Computer tokens and can then choose whether or not to withdraw or leave them on Binance.

Where to buy Internet computer crypto (ICP) with fiat

Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. On May 5, 2021, Coinbase announced the listing of Internet computer tokens on the Pro Platform. Users can buy ICP using USD, GBP, EUR, BTC, and USDT.

It is worth noting that while Coinbase initially listed ICP on its Pro platform, the Pro service has since been merged with the main Coinbase exchange. 

How to do it:

• Register at coinbase.com and complete the user verification process.
• Select Buy/Sell from the account dashboard
• Click Buy from the provided options and select ICP as the coin to buy.
• Specify the amount to spend.
• Choose your preferred payment method and provide the required information.
• Click Preview Buy to review the purchase details and complete the order
• Once successful, you’ve purchased Internet computer tokens.

Supported Deposit Methods: Bank Transfer, SWIFT, Debit, and Credit Card.

CoinList Pro

CoinList Pro is another platform that supports the buying of ICP with fiat. At the time of writing, the exchange offers a USD and USDT trading pair, meaning you can deposit any of these and trade them for ICP. 

At the same time, you can deposit BTC on the platform, swap it for USD or USDT, and then use it to fund your ICP purchase. This tutorial assumes you want to deposit USD on CoinList Pro to buy ICP.

How to do it:

• Register at Coinlist.com and verify your identity.
• Go to Wallets and click Deposit on your USD wallet.
• Choose to deposit via ACH or Wire Transfer.
• Input the amount and follow the prompts to complete the transfer.
• Once successful, revisit your USD wallet and choose “Send to Advanced Trading.”
• Go to pro.coinlist.com/trader and use the search bar to find the ICP/USD pair
• Switch the Order type to Market or use Limit Order if you know how it works.
• Enter the amount in USD to sell to ICP.
• Click Buy ICP.

Supported Deposit Methods: ACH, Wire Transfer.

How to buy ICP with crypto

If you already have BTC or USDT and want to convert some of it to ICP, then you can use some exchanges that support crypto-to-crypto trades. We’ll review them in this heading and consider how to do it.

Binance

Binance is a popular cryptocurrency exchange and offers a healthy selection of coins, including ICP. Aside from the quick guide, which suggests depositing fiat, Binance also supports crypto-to-crypto pairs for ICP (including USDT, BUSD, BNB, BTC, and ETH).

How to do it:

• Register with Binance and complete the user verification process. 
• Go to Wallet > Fiat and Spot.
• Click deposit on your BTC or USDT wallet.
• Copy the address and complete an external transfer to Binance.
• Go to Markets and switch the tab to BTC or Fiat Markets
• Find and click on ICP/BTC or ICP/USDT market.
• Switch the Order Type to Market and fill in the amount to exchange for ICP.
• Click Buy ICP 

Huobi Global

Like Binance, Huobi offers trading pairs for ICP. However, Huobi does not have a native fiat gateway for popular currencies like USD, GBP or EUR. Such deposits are usually through third-party providers and charge slightly higher fees. We recommend you deposit BTC or USDT on their platform and then exchange it using their order books.

How to do it:

• Register at Huobi.com and verify your account via email.
• Go to Balances > Exchange
• Click Deposit on your BTC wallet and copy the deposit address Huobi sends to your email address.
• Complete the transfer to the address and wait for the network confirmation.
• Once successful, go to Spot Trading > Exchange
• Use the search bar to find the ICP/BTC trading pair.
• Change the Order Type to Market and enter the amount to exchange.
• Click Buy ICP to confirm the order.

KuCoin

Kucoin is another top-tier exchange where you can buy ICP with crypto. Although Kucoin offers a fiat deposit service via its partners, we also recommend that you stick with crypto for the purpose of this tutorial.

How to do it:

• Register on Kucoin and complete their email verification process.
• Go to Assets > Main Account
• Click Deposit on your BTC or USDT account.
• Copy the provided address and complete the transfer to Kucoin
• Once successful, click Transfer to your wallet and transfer it from your Main Account to the Trading Account.
• Go to Trade > Spot 
• Open the search bar on the top left to find the ICP/BTC or ICP/USDT pair
• On the order page, switch the type to Market and input the amount of BTC or USDT in exchange for ICP.
• Review the Order and click Buy ICP.

OKEx

OKEx has an interface similar to Kucoin and Huobi. They also support the same ICP pairs, namely BTC and USDT.

How to do it:

• Register on OKEx and verify your email or phone.
• Go to Assets and click Deposit on your BTC or USDT wallet.
• Transfer the funds to the provided address and wait for confirmation.
• Go to Trade > Basic Trading
• From the Trading pair menu on the left, use the search bar to find the ICP/BTC pair and open it.
• Switch the Order Type to Market and Input the amount of BTC to exchange for ICP.
• Click Buy ICP to complete the order.

Where to store ICP tokens

• Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S Plus or Ledger Nano X
• Web and Desktop: NNS wallet offered by DFINITY.
• Custodian: Coinbase Custody

Things to consider before buying Internet computer token

Traction: The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is an ambitious project that attempts to extend the ‘functionality of the global internet, allowing the network to host smart contracts that run at web speed.’ 

While the ICP token launch followed the roll-out of the first generation of applications on the network, the project is yet to exit beta, and there is no guarantee that it will gain the same level of traction as existing blockchains.

Market Value: At the time of writing, ICP is ranked in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The asset was previously in the top ten cryptos.

Based on market dynamics, potential investors must determine whether the token isn’t overpriced, especially given the current nature of the general crypto market. By considering this factor, they can decide when to include ICP tokens in their portfolio and the amount they can allocate.

Storage: Currently, most custodial wallets still do not support the storage of ICP tokens. This is primarily a result of the complex nature of the network’s infrastructure. 

The native NSS wallet app is also relatively difficult to set up for inexperienced investors, leaving them at the mercy of exchanges until more custodial wallets include support for the asset.

Privacy and security tips

While you figure out how to get exposure to ICP tokens, keep the following privacy and security tips in mind:

• Always enable advanced security features such as two-factor authentication (2FA) and biometrics login to your exchange account.
• Offline hardware wallets such as Ledger’s appear to be the safest way to store ICP tokens. 
• As Internet Computer, is a fairly new project and most products are in beta, users must exercise extra caution while interacting with them. 

Conclusion

This article reviewed how you can buy Internet computer tokens (ICP), including exchanges where you can get them and a step-by-step guide on how to do it with both fiat and cryptocurrency. We also revealed where you could store your assets and privacy and security tips for potential investors.

Judging by its stellar debut, Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) could become one of the most successful cryptocurrency-based projects. However, like every other investment, we recommend that investors analyze their risk profile and decide whether or not to buy ICP and how much to put into it.