How to Buy Stellar Lumens in the UK - Beginner's Guide to Buying XLM (2024)

How to Buy Stellar in the UK

The easiest way to buy Stellar in the UK is to purchase it online from a crypto exchange. Exchanges make buying and selling Stellar and other cryptocurrencies easy from your smartphone, tablet or computer. Check out our recommended platforms below and follow the steps to safely buy Stellar in the UK.

1. Choose a platform

The platform you pick should work specifically in the UK. It should operate within the financial services laws and ideally be regulated by a native government agency or by one recognised by local authorities. Our top picks below all fulfil these criteria.

2. Create and fund your account

Input your name, contact information, and other details in the sign-up form usually displayed after clicking a Sign Up button on the home page. To fund your account, you must pass KYC by submitting identity and address documents like an ID and a utility bill.

3. Buy Stellar in the UK

Navigate to your account’s explore or discover page and search for Stellar. You may see tickers like XLM/GBP or XLM-USDT, depending on the platform. Purchase Stellar directly using a funding method of your choice or with your account balance.

Where to Buy Stellar in the UK?

You have plenty of options when it comes to platforms that offer Stellar in the UK. Here is some in-depth information on some of the best.

1. eToro – Overall Best Place to Buy Stellar UK

Our favourite platform for buying Stellar in the UK is eToro, as it is rich in features and intuitive to use. By adding Stellar to your watchlist, you can keep up with its price action. You can also find the tools and information you need for analysis in the News, Research, and Stats tabs.

eToro’s social investing features distinguish it from its competitors, making it easy to connect with and learn from other Stellar traders. You can even view stats on other users’ risk profiles and profit margins, and choose a successful trader to copy with the unique CopyTrader feature.

There are more than 70 other cryptocurrencies you can trade alongside Stellar, as well as other asset types, such as stocks, forex, and ETFs. Buying and selling assets is very simple on eToro, thanks to the platform’s clear layout and user-friendliness.

You can use the smart portfolio feature to set up thematic investment strategies based around Stellar. What’s more, you can use eToro’s virtual account to build your trading skills and confidence in a risk-free environment.

Users can be confident in eToro’s strong security features, such as cold storage and SSL encryption, as well as the fact that the platform is regulated by the FCA.

The minimum deposit to start using eToro is about £8 ($10), and buying XLM incurs a transparent fee of 1% plus spread. The payment methods available in the UK include credit/debit card, bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Rapid Transfer, or Trustly. Read our full eToro review.

Pros

• Social investing features

• Multi-asset platform

• FCA-regulated

• Virtual account

Cons

• Not as many coins as some competitors

• PayPal deposits aren’t available in the UK

2. OKX – Best Exchange for Advanced Traders Buying Stellar in the UK

OKX provides everything the advanced Stellar trader needs, such as customisable charts, technical indicators, powerful APIs, and a variety of order types. There is even a trading bot for setting up smart portfolios and arbitrage orders.

OKX employs cold storage, emergency backups, and a semi-offline multi-signature mechanism for online storage to keep your XLM safe. There is also an OKX Stellar mining pool that users can join. You can even use the products in the Earn section to receive interest on your Stellar.

Beginners can access a range of educational materials in the Learn section, and simplify the trading process with instant card purchases and direct swaps between XLM and the more than 340 other cryptocurrencies available.

Users can practise their crypto trading skills without risk in the demo trading section of the platform. What’s more, OKX also provides a Web3 wallet you can use to browse decentralised applications and create and trade NFTs.

You can’t deposit fiat to OKX, but the minimum Bitcoin deposit is 0.00005 BTC, and the minimum trade size is 0.00001 BTC, at very competitive trading fees of up to 0.1%. You can also purchase a minimum of £9 worth of BTC with a credit/debit card for a 1.99% fee.

Pros

• Advanced trading tools

• Products for earning interest

• 340+ other coins

• Low trading fees

Cons

• Card fees could be lower

• No fiat deposits

3. Coinbase – Best Place to Buy Stellar in the UK for Beginners

Coinbase makes it simple to buy XLM, regardless of experience. It’s as simple as clicking the “Buy / Sell” button, choosing Stellar, and typing in how much you want. You don’t need a big budget either as the minimum purchase amount is just £2.

Check out your dashboard for a clear display of your portfolio’s past performance, or use your watchlist to keep track of the price movement of Stellar or any of the 150+ other coins available. You can also set up automatic XLM purchases on a regular basis with the recurring buys feature.

Crypto newbies can head to the Learn section of the website to access tips, tutorials, and articles on Stellar and a range of other crypto topics. Coinbase’s Learning rewards section also provides an opportunity to earn some free crypto while you learn about new projects.

The platform received an e-money licence from the FCA and keeps your assets safe and insured, in cold storage. If you prefer to keep your XLM in a self-custodial wallet, you can download Coinbase Wallet, link it to your exchange account, and even use it to explore Web3 and NFTs.

You will need to deposit at least £50 by bank transfer to get started, and after that, there will be fees of 0.6% when you buy or sell XLM in the Trade tab. You can also make instant card purchases instead of depositing, but the fees for this can be significantly higher. Read our full Coinbase review.

Pros

• Very accessible for beginners

• Purchase as little as £2

• Educational materials and learning rewards

• FCA-regulated with strong security

Cons

• Limited payment methods for UK users

• Minimum deposit higher than many competitors

4. Uphold – Best Place to Easily Buy Stellar With GBP

Buying Stellar in the UK couldn’t be simpler on Uphold. You can buy directly with GBP, so there’s no need to complicate the process with currency conversions or buying stablecoins. Once you’ve made an account, you can enter the amount of GBP you want to spend and click Buy.

There are more than 160 cryptocurrencies available, and you can set up regular automatic purchases or limit orders without commitment or blocked funds. The mobile app makes it easy to manage your portfolio and trade from anywhere.

Although Uphold doesn’t offer savings accounts, you can stake more than 20 altcoins to earn rewards of up to 25% APY in weekly payments.

The platform adheres to high security standards, including auditing, encryption, and a responsive 24/7 monitoring system. Uphold is always fully reserved, never loans out customer funds, and is totally transparent, providing details of its reserves in real time. It is also regulated by the FCA.

The minimum deposit to start using Uphold is £10. There is a spread, which is 0.85% when buying XLM and 1% when selling it. UK customers can fund their accounts with a debit card for a 2.49% fee or with a bank transfer via Faster Payments for free.

Pros

• Buy Stellar directly with GBP

• Easy to use

• Staking services

• FCA-regulated

Cons

• No credit card deposits

• Lack of technical trading tools

How to Buy Stellar in the UK - Tutorial

Our guide focuses on eToro as it is our overall best place to buy Stellar in the UK. However, these steps can be applied to other crypto exchanges in this guide.

1. Open an account

Click on the Start Investing button on the homepage to get started. Fill in your details on the sign-up form and create an account. You can also download the mobile app from the Play Store/App Store and do the same.

2. Verify your account

You’ll receive an email verification link when you create an account. Click on it to start the process. Complete your profile by submitting details like your date of birth and a passport photo, after which you submit KYC documents. These documents include proof of ID (National ID or driver’s licence) and proof of residence (utility bill).

3. Make a deposit

Once your account has been verified, click on Deposit Funds on the left pane of your dashboard. The deposit options available will be displayed. Choose one and set the amount you’d like to deposit. You can deposit GBP directly using cards, bank transfer, Neteller, Skrill, Rapid Transfer, or Trustly.

4. Buy Stellar in the UK

Search for Stellar in the Discover tab. An interface like the one below should load. You can buy immediately at market price or set a price you’d like to buy at.

Is Stellar a Good Investment?

We cannot outright say whether or not Stellar is a good investment. However, we can give pointers to help you arrive at that decision yourself.

Decentralisation

Firstly, Stellar is decentralised. It does not depend on governments to legitimise it or companies to run and maintain its blockchain infrastructure. Transactions are free from many of the controls and drawbacks of traditional finance networks like high fees for international transfers.

As the digital age progresses, more components of our lives will be moved to the digital space. Crypto technology mathematically safeguards digital assets and places ownership with users, making it crucial for a free digital future.

Liquidity

Cryptos are generally very liquid and portable assets. They can be bought on one crypto exchange, moved to another exchange in a different country and sold in a matter of minutes, creating a way to move wealth easily.

High Return Potential

Stellar has a track record of delivering high returns on investment either due to its volatility or more fundamental reasons like growing adoption and institutional interest. Combine this with the fact that blockchain technology is still in its early stages, the growth (and profit) potential is significant.

Store of Value

Crypto can be used as a long-term store of value, especially those with a finite maximum supply, like Stellar. Because supply is capped, the value of coins could grow over time as demand increases. This makes digital currency a possible long-term alternative to gold.

Portfolio Diversification Option

Stellar is a digital asset that can be used as an asset class when building a diversified portfolio. Its equity potential (the possibility to increase in value) makes it worthy of consideration for modern portfolios.

Risks of Buying Stellar

There are downsides to buying Stellar. The first is its volatility. Crypto is known to swing wildly, losing significant portions of its value within a few weeks and often leaving investors reeling from losses.

There is also a risk of rug-pulls, blockchain attacks, and wallet hacks. These are technological risks that involve an attacker hacking a crypto’s blockchain network or your wallet and usually ends with funds getting stolen.

Finally, crypto at large is still the target of legal crackdowns and harsh regulatory policies that could stunt its growth and adoption rate.

What Payment Methods Can I Use to Buy Stellar in the UK?

Ideal payment methods should support GBP natively and while not all platforms allow deposits in GBP, these are the methods you can easily use to buy Stellar in the UK.

Credit/Debit cards

Credit or debit cards are probably the most accepted payment method across platforms but also the most expensive. eToro doesn’t charge fees but those of OKX and Coinbase are 1.99% and 2.49% respectively. On other platforms, fees generally range between 1% – 3%.

Bank Transfers

Local transfers through a UK bank account are available on many platforms. It is free on eToro, and can vary on Coinbase depending on the bank. A conversion fee may be charged for deposits in other currencies than the account-denominated currency.

PayPal

PayPal is one of the most popular payment services and electronic wallets in use today. However, it is not as widely supported as the first two payment methods. For example, eToro and Coinbase do not support PayPal as a direct funding method in this region.

Cash via ATM

You can also buy XLM in person at a crypto ATM. You can use cash or a card to make a purchase and the coins you buy will be transferred to your wallet. However, this is a much slower process than using an online platform, and the fees can be exorbitant.

You’ll need to find a crypto ATM in your region. There are 21 in the UK, including 15 in London, 4 in Birmingham, and 2 in Manchester.

Ways to Invest in Stellar in the UK

There are several ways to gain exposure to Stellar and profit from its price movements in the UK. This section dives into them and how they relate to Stellar.

Buy and Hold Stellar

The buy-and-hold strategy involves buying Stellar and holding it for a long time, usually as long as you can. This strategy is popular in the industry as it has proven to be effective over long periods, usually years.

This strategy can be varied using a buying technique called dollar cost averaging (DCA) where you buy a set dollar amount of Stellar at fixed intervals regardless of price.

Trade Stellar

This strategy profits from Stellar’s volatility. Trading XLM involves relatively short-term buying and selling, usually from as little as a day to as long as a year. Positions held for longer are often classified as investments.

Trading creates an opportunity to explore other financial derivatives like futures, options, and CFDs that give traders exposure to XLM’s price movement without the need to buy the coin. It also allows for leverage facilities that can magnify traders’ wins (or losses).

Choosing a Stellar Wallet in the UK

Wallets are important because they store your valuable cryptos, so choosing the right one is crucial. Wallets are generally split into hardware and software wallets. Hardware wallets store cryptos offline on a device while software wallets store cryptos online and are always connected to the internet.

Software Wallets

• Web wallet: These wallets come as either browser extensions or web apps that store your private keys in your browser. Web app variants are accessible through any browser, but the extension variant must be installed on a new browser and a seed phrase must be used to recover your wallet. eToro, OKX, and Coinbase provide free web wallets that store Stellar.

• Mobile wallet: This wallet is a mobile app downloadable from the Play/App stores or the internet. Binance’s mobile wallet is called Trust Wallet and it supports Stellar.

• Desktop wallet: This is an application that runs on your computer and stores your private keys on your hard drive. There are several desktop wallets available depending on the level of control you want and your familiarity with blockchain technology. However, a good option for beginners is the Electrum wallet available for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.

Physical and Hardware Wallets

• Hardware wallet: A hardware wallet is a physical device that stores private keys offline. They are much harder to hack and are currently the safest storage option. Hardware wallets that support Stellar include Trezor and Ledger.

• Paper wallet: A paper wallet is a piece of paper with public and private keys printed on it. While they are a good way to keep your private key offline, they are not recommended as you may lose the paper or the ink could wear off with age. Paper wallets have gone out of fashion since the advent of hardware wallets.

Wallet Combinations

You can combine two or more wallets for added security or a better user experience. For example, you can use a hardware wallet like Ledger with a web wallet extension to buy coins on a decentralised exchange and immediately send them to your hardware wallet.

Should I Buy Stellar Now? - Things to Consider Before Buying Stellar In the UK

Whether or not you should buy Stellar now depends on the state of the economy, your investment goals, your risk tolerance, and the cost of investments. Consider these factors when making a decision.

Stellar Fees

The total cost of buying Stellar is made up of network fees, exchange fees, and deposit fees across exchanges.

The network fee is the charge the blockchain takes for processing transactions. This fee usually goes to computers that help secure and run the network. It could rise and fall based on the volume of transactions for certain blockchains. However, newer networks are built to accommodate high volumes without significant changes to transaction fees.

Exchange fees are charged for conversion, trading, or other related services. Some platforms are cheaper than others in certain regards. For example, conversions on Binance are cheaper than eToro at 0.1% per trade compared to 1% charged by the latter.

However, eToro trumps Binance when it comes to deposits as it supports free deposits while Binance charges $1 for bank transfers and 1.8% for credit card payments.

Aggregate the costs of using various components of an exchange to obtain a holistic view of the cost of using that exchange, then compare it with others to find a cheap option.

Stellar Price

Stellar’s price is known to change rapidly and swing wide i.e. change quickly and by a considerable amount. For traders, this is good news as it presents opportunities to profit from this volatility.

Long-term investors, on the other hand, may not be too bothered by short-term fluctuations as price historicals show an overall uptrend with pocket downtrend periods. In the long-term investment case, a simple buy and hold strategy, or one combined with a DCA, may prove effective.

Buying Stellar in the UK Safely

Security is of the utmost concern when dealing with cryptocurrencies and the exchanges that sell them. The first thing you should observe is the exchange’s regulatory status. The ideal situation is when the exchange is registered in its country of operation.

However, this is not always the case. Crypto exchanges sometimes offer services to users in certain geographical regions using entities registered in a nearby jurisdiction or in a jurisdiction where regulations allow them to onboard users from other countries.

In this case, ensure the regulatory agency is transparent and enforces industry-standard security and legal practices.

Buying Stellar in the UK Anonymously

Buying Stellar anonymously is not as easy as some may assume due to widespread regulation on all major exchanges and platforms. The key to remaining anonymous is to refrain from providing personally identifiable data. Platforms allow this to varying degrees.

Crypto ATMs are a way to buy crypto anonymously. They only require the money with which you buy crypto and the wallet address you want to send it to. Currently, most ATMs are limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, but more are popping up with support for more coins.

Another method is using prepaid cards to purchase cryptos on peer-to-peer markets. You send the code to the counterparty and they send your crypto. Visa offers prepaid cards but you’ll need to ensure you won’t have to give up personal details to obtain it.

Is Buying Stellar Legal in the UK?

Yes, it is legal to buy, sell, and exchange Stellar and other cryptocurrencies in the UK. The FCA has banned crypto derivatives, like futures, options, and CFDs, for UK retail traders, but anyone is allowed to trade actual cryptocurrencies.

You should bear in mind that all cryptocurrencies are unregulated in the UK. This means that if you lose money due to a scam or poor investment advice, you are unlikely to be able to get assistance from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

What Banks Let You Buy Stellar in the UK?

Here is some information about where some of the UK’s most popular banks stand on crypto.

NatWest

NatWest has said that its customers can use debit cards and Faster Payments to purchase crypto. However, the bank restricts payments to crypto platforms that it perceives as posing the highest risk of financial harm. NatWest customers that want to buy Stellar should try using a large and well-regulated platform. For example, NatWest allows payments to eToro.

Santander

Santander isn’t an especially crypto-friendly bank. For example, it started blocking payments to Binance following the FCA’s consumer warning about the exchange, and it has placed limits on how much money you can send to other crypto platforms. However, you can still withdraw money from Binance to your Santander account, and if you want to deposit less than £1,000, you can do this through Santander on many other crypto platforms, like Coinbase.

Revolut

Revolut is a fintech company that provides banking services through an app. As you might expect for a modern digital bank, Revolut is very crypto-friendly. It doesn’t block payments to crypto platforms, and you can even buy and sell crypto through the Revolut app itself.

Is Stellar Taxable in the UK?

The HMRC taxes Stellar profits in the UK, but the type of crypto activities you engage in will determine whether you owe any tax and what kind. For example, if you simply buy Stellar and hold onto it, you won’t owe any tax.

Once you sell your Stellar, you could owe Capital Gains Tax on the profits. However, there is an annual tax-free threshold for capital gains in the UK, and you won’t need to pay any CGT if your gains for the year are below that threshold. If you use your XLM for activities such as lending and DeFi, the nature of the return will determine whether it is subject to CGT or Income Tax.

You should accurately report your crypto profits and losses on your tax return, even if you make less than the tax-free threshold, if you want to avoid a penalty. For more advice on calculating your taxes, check out our Crypto Tax UK Guide.

Final Thoughts

As a popular cryptocurrency, Stellar can be purchased from pretty much any crypto platform. While this array of choices may seem overwhelming, this guide should show you the top options and whether they’re right for you.

After careful consideration, we believe eToro is the best place to buy Stellar in the UK, as it is FCA-regulated, secure, easy to use, and provides access to unique features, like copy trading. To see how easy it is to buy Stellar on eToro, just follow the step-by-step tutorial further up this page.

More Cryptocurrency Guides in the United Kingdom

Check out more of our popular crypto guides for Singapore below.

• How to Buy Avalanche in Singapore
• How to Buy Decentraland in Singapore
• How to Buy FTX Token in Singapore
• How to Buy Fantom in Singapore

Methodology - How We Picked the Best Platforms to Buy Stellar In the UK

We decided on the best platforms by first testing them individually. Our criteria for assessment include fees, deposit and withdrawal methods, reputation, credibility, security, ease of use, trading features, coin selection, and competitive edge.

The platforms listed on this page are ones that we found to be the best at the features we listed them under e.g. cheapest way to buy Stellar. All platforms have a track record of providing value to users.

We also placed an onus on security and credibility. These platforms have millions of users and employ some of the highest security measures in the industry.

Finally, we considered fees and limits. These platforms have various fees and deposit/withdrawal limits, but they are all within reasonable limits.

To learn more about how we test and choose platforms, visit our why trust us and how we test pages.