🟠 How to Buy Monero (XMR) in the UK

Monero is one of the first digital currencies to appear in the market, and its price has risen significantly over time. Monero is also one of the few cryptocurrencies that guarantee anonymous transactions; no wonder so many people try to find out how to buy Monero in the UK.

Notably, Monero's enhanced privacy is a controversial feature that has led to its removal from many popular cryptocurrency exchanges. So, it is no longer that easy to get Monero in certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom.

However, this article discusses several ways of getting Monero (XMR) in the UK. Both crypto holders and people with fiat money can do that, and this article describes the most popular and secure approaches. 

A quick guide on buying Monero in the UK

LocalMonero is a popular option for investors who want to buy XMR with GBP. The steps are also relatively straightforward.

1. Sign up on LocalMonero or enter an existing account if you have one.
2. Set the United Kingdom as your location and GBP as the currency to spend.
3. Input the amount of Monero to purchase
4. Review offers from various sellers for the desired.
5. Select a seller from the list of options based on completion rate, price, and payment method.
6. Click Buy to initiate the trade. Input the exact amount and open the trade.
7. Complete a payment to the seller and confirm on LocalMonero that you have made the payment.
8. The seller will verify your payment and release the assets to your account.
9. Withdraw to your self-custodial Monero wallet.

How to buy Monero (XMR) with GBP

Naturally, it is more comfortable to buy XMR for fiat money. Here are some popular platforms where you can do so. 

ChangeNow

ChangeNow is a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange where anyone can buy XMR with GBP. This simply means that you have to provide a payout address to which the exchange will transfer your XMR upon purchase. The process is also relatively straightforward, as we'll see.

How to do it:

• Visit Changenow.io and create a new account.
• Select GBP as the currency to spend and XMR as the coin to buy.
• Input the amount and Provide an XMR address on the next screen
• Click on Confirm to initiate the purchase
• Provide your card details on the next screen and complete KYC if prompted.
• Complete the purchase and wait for ChangeNow to transfer XMR to your designated address

Supported Payment Method: Visa/Mastercard

BestChange

If you're looking for where to buy Monero for pounds, BestChange offers one of the most efficient and cheapest ways to buy XMR with GBP. 

Basically, the platform aggregates some vetted exchanges that let you buy XMR using GBP. Most of the exchangers do not require KYC, especially if you're buying a small amount. 

Complete the following steps to buy Monero using Best Change:

1. Go to Bestchange.com 
2. Select Visa/Mastercard GBP as currency to give and XMR as currency to receive.
3. Review the list of exchangers and choose one that has sufficient reserve.
4. Compare requirements (such as KYC and card limits) across listed exchangers to make an informed choice.
5. Choose an exchange and follow the prompts on their website to buy Monero for GBP.
6. Provide card details and your Monero address to receive the purchased amount.
7. Complete the purchase.

How to buy XMR with other cryptos

Aside from buying XMR with GBP, you can also buy XMR with any other cryptocurrency using platforms that support such exchange. Although the procedure may differ on various platforms, here's a simple guide on how to do it using Simpleswap. Ideally, you can choose to exchange either BTC or ETH for XMR.

1. Visit the exchange
2. Select BTC or ETH as your coin to exchange for XMR.
3. Input the amount of coins to purchase
4. Click on Exchange after reviewing the quoted prices.
5. Enter your XMR wallet address on the next page.
6. Click on Create an exchange
7. Transfer cryptocurrency to the address provided by Simpleswap.
8. The exchange will transfer coins to your XMR address, usually under 30 minutes after confirming your payment.

Things to consider before buying Monero

Privacy: As noted earlier, Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. Buying the cryptocurrency on regulated platforms where users must complete KYC processes removes the privacy feature. However, if you buy XMR with GBP simply for speculative purposes, then there is no reason to bother about the lack of privacy. You can withdraw the coins to a self-custodial wallet for better security.

Purchase Limit: Depending on the amount you want, it might be best to check the purchase limits on the exchange you wish to use. Most exchanges support purchases ranging from a few hundred to thousands of pounds.

Ideally, the best way to purchase large amounts is to use your existing cryptocurrency balances, brokerage firms, or peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges like LocalMonero.

Price History: The cryptocurrency market is well known for its volatility. Hence, it is essential only to invest an amount you can afford to lose, or at least can do without, for a long time. Also, you may prefer to buy at a time when the price of XMR has dropped significantly from its all-time high price. Then, you can purchase and decide how long you will keep the Monero coins to make sizable profits. 

Where to store XMR

The range of wallets to support Monero is significant since it is one of the most popular coins in the modern market. Therefore, consider the following variants:

• Monero wallet on any exchange;
• The official Monero wallet, developed as part of the project's ecosystem.
• Hardware wallets, including Ledger and Trezor;
• Desktop and mobile Exodus wallet;
• Monero CLI wallet, which is a text box powered by written commands;
• Monero paper wallet secured with a seed phrase.

Privacy and security tips

One of the worst moments for a crypto investor is losing coins to security breaches caused by a wallet platform or human error. Abiding with the following security tips can help you avoid such ugly experiences: 

• Double-check wallet addresses and payment details before transferring your coins. 
• Buy Monero only on trustworthy and highly-rated exchanges.
• Try to withdraw XMR from the exchange wallets immediately after you complete the transaction and store it in a more secure place;
• Enable 2FA to protect your tokens;
• Ensure device safety: check it for malware, the latest protection measures, etc.;
• Use VPN and Tor browser to avoid being tracked. 

Conclusion

Monero (XMR) is a popular cryptocurrency. You can choose to buy it with debit cards or cryptocurrency. You can buy XMR with GBP on any exchanges covered in this guide. The procedure is similar on most of these platforms, so you will see that it does not take much effort to get XMR.