With some impressive gains during its price history, it is no surprise that Dogecoin’s hype refuses to die down. The meme coin has not only made its mark due to endorsements by crypto celebs like Elon Musk but is also seen as a cryptocurrency with immense potential.
This article is aimed at providing a comprehensive guide to help you buy Dogecoin in Portugal.
Portugal has recently opened its doors completely to the crypto revolution by agreeing to officially license two cryptocurrency exchanges for the first time in June 2021. However, with a number of global and local online trading platforms in Portugal, choosing the one that fits an investor’s requirements while guaranteeing considerable security and convenience can be a difficult process. The section below provides a list of reputed brokers you can buy DOGE from in Portugal in 2024 to help you make the choice.
A crypto broker is an intermediary between the investor and the market who offers convenience, popular payment methods, top security features, and end-to-end support to their clients. Brokerage services are a useful place to start for new investors. This section will explain the step-by-step process of investing in DOGE with a broker in Portugal.
It is recommended that you do plenty of research into the services offered by a broker, their security system, their fees, and any hidden charges before deciding on a platform. It is also wise to ensure that the broker is legally registered and follows all the requirements of the regulatory authority. The process of registration, once you pick the broker, is fairly simple. You must fill in the registration form with details including your name, email ID, address, and contact number to continue.
Know Your Customer, or KYC, is a government-mandated identity verification process that is aimed at preventing fraud and analysing customer risk. You will be required to submit identification documents with your name and residential address to proceed with opening your account. You can submit photo identification such as a Citizen Card, passport, or driving licence to complete the process, along with some proof of address. It should not take more than 24 hours to complete the KYC process, subject to weekends and holidays.
Most brokers support popular payment methods, including direct bank transfers, third-party payment processors, and credit/debit cards. You can choose your preferred method based on speed, ease of use, and transaction fees. To add funds, you can select the payment method of your choice in the deposit funds tab and enter the value of the money you want to transfer. Once you validate the transaction, the amount will be deposited to your account on the broker’s platform, and you can start trading.
You can either choose to long or short Dogecoin based on your research and price prediction. Investors enter a long position if they believe that the value of the asset will rise and choose to enter a short position if the asset is predicted to lose its present value.
With the online crypto platform eToro, you can enter a long position without any leverage. This will let you actually own the asset and gain from it if the target price is reached. However, in the case of a short position, you don’t actually own the asset. eToro lets you bet on a coin’s price falling via a Contract for Difference, or CFD. If the prediction is realised, the investor earns the difference between the opening and closing price.
With risk management mechanisms like stop-loss orders, market orders, trailing stop orders, All or None orders, and Immediate or Cancel (IOC) orders, you can also instruct a brokerage platform to enter or exit the market when a specified condition or price target is met.
Once your target price is achieved, you can close your position to secure your profits. You can do this either manually, by clicking the sell button, or use a limit order to ensure the platform automatically exits the asset once the target price is achieved. Similarly, it is also recommended to close your position to minimise losses if the price movement does not go as predicted. Investors often use stop-loss orders to exit at a predetermined price point to protect the capital they have invested.
Cryptocurrency exchanges allow buyers and sellers of Dogecoin to interact, facilitating the exchange of actual DOGE tokens. Equipped with advanced features and highly-rated security features, exchanges focus on enabling users to purchase DOGE, which they can then hold for the long run. The next section will explain the process of choosing and navigating through buying Dogecoin from an exchange.
Crypto wallets are digital wallets that hold, secure, and manage different cryptocurrencies owned by an investor. Each type of wallet has its own pros and cons:
Software Wallets: Software Wallets are reasonably priced (usually free) and secure, as they store your cryptocurrency in your device’s hard drive. However, coins are still vulnerable to cyber threats due to internet connectivity.
Web or Exchange Wallets: Web wallets are usually built-in to your account with the exchange, making them easy to access at any time. However, these are the most vulnerable to cyber threats and hacks.
Hardware wallets: Hardware wallets are the safest and the most expensive out of the options available as they store cryptocurrencies in a physical device, offering a convenient, offline option.
Each investor chooses the exchange they invest with based on a list of criteria that are key to them. Reliability, user-friendliness, security features, advanced trade mechanisms, and convenience are some boxes that your chosen exchange must tick. You must also ensure that the exchange is a legally registered financial entity and adheres to the guidelines issued by local regulatory authorities. To join the exchange, you can create an account by entering your details and verifying your identity.
Most exchanges offer popular payment methods like direct bank transfer, debit/credit cards, and third-party payment processors. It is important to choose a method that you are comfortable with and ideally has a low transaction cost. Both local and global exchanges in Portugal facilitate payments directly with the Euro, saving foreign exchange charges.
Once you deposit the funds into your account, you can either buy Dogecoin manually at the market price or place an order to be automatically executed once the price of the asset meets your target price. The funds will be withdrawn from your account once the buy order is executed, and Dogecoin will be deposited to your web wallet embedded in the exchange.
It is not advisable to hold Dogecoin in your web wallet, as these are prone to mismanagement and cyber threats. You can withdraw the coins and store them in a software or hardware wallet based on your needs. To withdraw, you must enter the address of the crypto wallet you want to transfer the DOGE to before validating the transaction in the withdrawal tab of the exchange’s interface.
Despite numerous cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms operating digitally, some investors prefer to trade via cash to protect their identity and preserve anonymity. You can trade using cash in Portugal either by meeting another investor who wants to sell the cryptocurrency that you want to buy or through a peer-to-peer exchange. You can also buy Dogecoin conveniently using cash via a crypto ATM.
Trading through a P2P exchange offers additional security as compared to trading directly with another investor as one can use the escrow account to ensure that the amount is released only after the transaction can be verified. Crypto ATMs, on the other hand, are preferred because they are fast, easy-to-use and accessible.
There are two crypto ATMs in Portugal located in the cities of Braga and Porto. Both these ATMs facilitate the purchase of Bitcoin using Euros. The purchased Bitcoin can then be traded for Dogecoin via a P2P exchange. With more crypto ATMs on the way, the advantages of buying cryptocurrency through a tangible medium are further expected to improve crypto adoption in Portugal.
While Portugal has begun licensing virtual asset service providers (VASPs), including crypto exchanges, based on compliance with the legal and regulatory provisions on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, the country does not possess any specific law dedicated to cryptocurrencies
While Dogecoin is being hailed as an investment with immense future potential, it is important to remember the risks associated with investing in a volatile market. Here are three things to keep in mind before your first investment:
There is no substitute for thorough research when it comes to making the right investment choices. Despite various resources online predicting the price movement of DOGE, it is crucial to understand the history and fundamentals of Dogecoin, and you should make your own prediction for the currency using technical analysis. It is also important to remember that timing is crucial while investing in crypto to capitalise on a bearish or bullish market.
Each broker or exchange offers a unique set of services to traders. Each will implement its own fee structure, with different brokerage fees, transaction fees, withdrawal fees, and commissions. It is important to determine what services are crucial to your trading journey and compare the charges between platforms to choose one that is cost-effective while also catering to your needs.
The security of your sensitive personal information and assets requires both constant care and precautionary measures. Educate yourself on the various security layers you can enable, such as two-factor authentication. You must also ensure that you study the security features offered by your online trading platform. SSL encryption and DDoS protection should be the bare minimum offered.
Both global and local exchanges in Portugal support transactions directly through the Euro. You can refer to the guide above to understand the step-by-step process of seamlessly investing in Doge using the local currency. As the Euro is one of the top global currencies alongside the US Dollar, DOGE/EUR trading pairs allow you to skip over any foreign exchange fees that might have eaten into your profits.
This section explains ways in which you can obtain DOGE without working with a broker or an exchange.
Use a Dogecoin ATM to Buy DOGE: You can use websites like CoinATMRadar to identify the nearest crypto ATM and buy Dogecoin directly using the local currency. Many ATMs only support Bitcoin (BTC) purchases, in which case you’ll need to buy BTC before exchanging it for DOGE on a peer-to-peer or decentralised exchange. This method preserves your anonymity.
Other Ways to Get Dogecoin: Mining is an uncertain yet rewarding method to procure Dogecoin. While it requires costly equipment and expertise, it is important to note that Dogecoin mining became increasingly profitable in 2021, reaching its highest revenue figures since early 2018. Another popular method is to buy directly from investors around the globe via a peer-to-peer exchange. The DOGE community also tips small portions of the coin to content creators on websites like Reddit and Facebook, or in donations and fundraising drives.
Dogecoin has emerged as a viable alternative for investors who are looking to diversify crypto investments beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Its design, unlimited supply, and upcoming update that is expected to solve scalability issues and improve transaction speed have convinced experts that DOGE is more than just another fad. In a country like Portugal with an untapped market for cryptocurrency, Dogecoin presents the perfect opportunity to show the potential of an emerging coin.