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Substratum is a cryptocurrency and open source network that enables anyone to easily allocate their spare computing power, and support the concept of decentralised web. It aims at making the internet a fair and free-of-cost place for the whole world. The network is made up of independent hosts and nodes which host and transmit the content respectively, and get paid in Substrate or SUB, the native token of Substratum.
In this guide, we will familiarise you with how to buy Substratum (SUB).
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Buy Substratum in 5 Simple Steps
Create an account on eToro
Sign up with our recommended partner eToro now to get started. Once you’ve signed up, verify your account by uploading some form of photo ID and proof of address.
Buy some ETH
Next, you’ll need to purchase some ETH to swap for SUB. Fund your account with your preferred payment method, then search for ETH. Select the trading pair with your local currency, and click “buy”.
Send your ETH to a Web 3.0 wallet
Next, set up a Web 3.0-compatible wallet like MetaMask or Trust Wallet—you’ll need this to swap your ETH for SUB. Paste your wallet address into the “withdraw” section of eToro, and transfer your ETH.
Connect your wallet to Uniswap
Go to Uniswap and connect your wallet. Your wallet will display a few prompts to confirm the connection, and after that, you will be able to complete your swap.
Swap ETH for SUB
Find the coin’s pair here, enter the amount you want to buy, then complete the swap. Your SUB will immediately display in your wallet.
5 Things to Consider if you Want to Buy Substratum
Before going ahead with Substratum purchases, you must make yourself aware of some important considerations that can potentially impact your investment. The idea here is to be well aware when you sit down to buy a SUB.
1. Carefully choose your preferred secure payment method
You’ll be offered different payment options to complete the SUB purchase, depending upon your place of residence. In the event you get offered many of these, you should analyse them based on their respective weaknesses and strengths. Mainly it will come down to the speed, convenience and cost of each payment method, and which one of these is most important to you. Some of the well-known payment methods offered in this regard include credit/debit cards, bank transfers, cryptocurrencies and PayPal.
2. Will you need to set up your own wallet?
Even though the majority of crypto exchanges and online brokers will allow you to store your SUB coins in their built-in web wallets, it’s never a good practice to use these storage mediums. Exchanges, in particular, have witnessed major accidents in the past, involving exit scams, bankruptcy and hacks leading to investors losing all their holdings. You can opt for more secure wallet types like desktop wallets, mobile wallets and hardware wallets, which we’ll discuss later in this piece.
It’s important to highlight that you’ll not require any wallet set-up if you enter into a CFD agreement with a recommended broker, to invest in Substratum. This is because CFDs don’t involve any exchange of actual cryptocurrencies.
3. Comparing costs
There are certain charges associated with buying cryptocurrency, which must be compared before finalising any specific payment method or platform.
First and foremost, there will be a blockchain processing fee associated with every Substratum transfer. SUB is an ERC-20 token and all SUB transactions are processed on the Ethereum blockchain. Considering the high fee or Gas involved in processing Ethereum transactions, it may not be practical to exchange small amounts of SUB with someone.
You will also need to factor in the cost associated with the payment method used to buy SUB. While bank transfers involve the least transaction fee, credit/debit cards have the highest.
Lastly, some fees will also be charged by the platform where you buy SUB. These can be in the form of deposit fees, withdrawal fees and transaction fees. Brokerage services normally tend to levy fewer charges compared to exchange portals.
4. Safety and security
Considering the fact that Substratum uses the Ethereum blockchain makes it an extremely secure cryptocurrency and network per se. Furthermore, Substratum also uses cryptographic algorithms to run its network and to ensure the highest level of data integrity and privacy for its users.
Apart from the inherent security features of the cryptocurrency, investors worry about the security of their holdings while transacting on exchange and brokerage sites. Regulated broker services are not so much of a concern as they’re quite safe to use. It’s the unregulated exchanges that are the biggest concern, especially because many have gone bankrupt, hacked into or witnessed exit scams, in the past. Therefore, you must always ensure that the online provider you use, should be regulated by a leading global authority, and follows all the important security protocols including Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
5. Can you understand and navigate the platform?
When it comes to first-time crypto purchases, one of the most regularly overlooked aspects is the level of technical proficiency needed to effectively use an online crypto exchange. The complexity of exchange portals continues to be a significant issue for beginning investors and traders. Broker websites, on the other hand, are relatively easier to use and offer simple user interfaces (UIs).
Hence, you must thoroughly navigate the platform you’re planning to use for Substratum purchase. Don’t forget to check out the demo version if any is offered by the portal, to understand its workings. In essence, you should familiarise yourself with processes like deposits/withdrawals and placing buy/sell orders. If you find it all too complicated for your liking, you can always use a broker to buy SUB coins, or invest in Substratum through CFDs.
What is the Best Payment Method for Buying Substratum?
Before you try to ascertain the best method for buying Substratum, you must ponder and figure out the level of speed, cost and convenience you expect from it. Let’s discuss some of the well-known payment modes used to purchase SUB in the market.
Buying Substratum with a cryptocurrency deposit: Purchasing Substratum with a cryptocurrency deposit is a very fast way to acquire the cryptocurrency. You just need to locate an exchange that offers a trading pair with SUB as the one half, and your preferred crypto as the other. Thereafter, it will be just about depositing your crypto coins into the exchange account and executing the trade.
Buying Substratum with a bank transfer: Bank transfers aren’t just the most affordable means of buying cryptocurrency online, they are also commonly accepted by the majority of exchange and broker websites out there. The convenience of hassle-free movement of funds between exchange/broker account and bank account, delivered by bank transfer, is found missing in other payment methods. However, processing bank transfers takes considerably more time than other popular options.
Buying Substratum with debit/credit cards: Debit and credit cards are globally accepted and have evolved to become the most popular means of buying goods & services on the internet and offline, second only to cash purchases. Apart from offering plenty of conveniences, credit/debit cards deliver additional security in the form of chargebacks/disputes too. That being said, their high transaction cost goes against them when it comes to buying cryptocurrency. Moreover, not all crypto exchanges are welcoming of credit/debit cards as valid means of payment. Regulated brokers, however, have no problems with them.
Buying Substratum with PayPal: PayPal is another form of payment that isn’t very popular with crypto exchanges. Regardless, it continues to be trusted globally, especially for online payments. Substratum purchases with PayPal get processed quicker than bank transfers and are less expensive than debit/credit cards. Regulated brokerage websites are more receptive to Paypal as a valid payment mode.
What Fees are Involved in Buying Substratum?
Please keep in mind, you’ll need to pay certain fees for buying Substratum, which will be charged on the basis of the platform and payment method chosen by you. These fees constitute a significant revenue medium for crypto exchanges/brokers and enable them to develop a secure environment for trading activities. Below you can go through some frequently charged fees.
Transaction fees Each time you transact in SUB, you’ll be charged a fee (Gas) for using the Ethereum blockchain’s resources. As it can be a substantial amount, it may not make sense to transfer small quantities of SUB. Besides that, the broker or exchange portal will also levy its own transaction fee which will depend upon the exact payment option used.
Deposit fees Whilst almost all the exchanges impose a small percentage as a deposit fee for funds uploaded to the accounts on their platforms, brokers avoid charging this fee, as an incentive for traders to sign up with them. Few brokers who do levy this charge, keep it lesser than what’s normally imposed by exchanges.
Withdrawal fees There may also be a fixed or variable fee charged on withdrawals made from a cryptocurrency exchange. This charge will be levied irrespective of whether you make withdrawals in fiat currency or crypto coins.
Safely Storing Your Substratum
In case you didn’t take the CFD route to invest in Substratum and chose to buy SUB coins for short/long-term investment purposes instead, you’ll need to store the acquired cryptocurrency in a crypto wallet. There are multiple wallet types offered in the market, some of which we’ll briefly touch upon below.
Web Wallet Web wallets are online storage mediums that offer easy accessibility to your crypto coins. Their convenience comes from the fact that they’re built into the cryptocurrency exchanges and brokerage websites, and constitute an integral part of their service. It is worth mentioning that web wallets aren’t the safest to store your coins.
Mobile Wallet Mobile wallets are apps that have been gaining a lot of popularity in the crypto world lately, primarily due to the constantly increasing use of mobile devices for crypto trading and investments. Although they’re more secure than web wallets, owing to integrated security protocols and the unlock code feature of mobile devices, their perpetual connectivity to the Internet can expose your Substratum coins to hacking attempts. There’s also the risk of the device getting stolen. SUB being an ERC-20 token can be stored in any Ethereum-compatible mobile wallet like Atomic or Coinomi.
Desktop Wallet What mobile wallets are to mobile devices; desktop wallets are to desktop/laptop computers. These are software applications that can be downloaded into a computer. A few of the well-known desktop wallets to store SUB include Mist, MetaMask and Exodus.
Hardware Wallet Hardware wallets are unarguably the safest among all the cryptocurrency wallets available in the market today. Most of them come in the form of tiny flash-drive-sized hardware devices which stay disconnected from the internet all the time, unless you plug them into a mobile device or computer, to access your crypto funds. Trezor is a well-known hardware wallet commonly used to store Substratum coins.
Wallet CombinationsThe logic that you must never store all your eggs in one basket, applies to cryptocurrencies too. Few of the above-discussed wallets can be connected to achieve a higher level of comfort and security. Thus, if possible, you should always spread your SUB coins over different interconnected wallets, to reduce your overall risk. Hence, it may be possible to connect the Trezor hardware wallet with the Atomic mobile wallet to achieve the right mix of safety and accessibility for your SUB tokens.
What Other Coins Can I Trade or Use to Buy Substratum?
While new investors may want to buy Substratum with fiat currencies, people who’ve been trading in crypto for some time would rather prefer buying it with another cryptocurrency of their choice. Exchanges are known to offer something called a trading pair, through which they combine two different crypto coins and enable easy exchange between them. Hence, SUB may be available as a pair with other popular crypto coins, making it possible to buy Substratum with Tether, Ethereum, Ripple or Bitcoin.
What’s the Smallest and Largest Amount of Substratum I Can Buy?
Let’s talk about the minimum limit first. While some platforms may allow you to buy small amounts of SUB, doing so may not be very practical keeping in mind its low price. Furthermore, considering that it’s an ERC 20 token, the high (Gas) Ethereum fee involved may also make it impractical to buy smaller quantities.
Now concerning the upper limit, it would entirely depend upon the website where you are buying the token and the local regulatory restrictions. Though you may be able to buy SUB without a limit on an anonymous exchange, it’s not recommended to deal with such platforms. The risk is not worth it.
Can I Buy Substratum Anonymously without ID? Is it Safe and Legal to Buy Substratum?
Please note that the legality of SUB purchases will be determined mainly by the country/state you reside in. Even though cryptocurrencies are globally accepted today, there may be few jurisdictions where it’s still illegal to buy or trade them. But then there may be websites that will make it possible for you to buy SUB anonymously, without any traces left by the transaction. Most of these platforms will also enable you to buy SUB without ID. Having stated all that, please bear in mind that you’ll be completely on your own if you choose to buy SUB with no verification on these portals.
Will Buying Substratum Make Me Money?
Whether or not you manage to make money with SUB will be decided by your experience and skills in crypto trading. Are you someone capable of using their crypto knowledge and trading experience to correctly predict market movements?
If you’re keen on studying Substratum’s price history, and prospects and want to know the best price to buy SUB today, don’t forget to visit our SUB price page.
How to Spend Your Substratum
The creators of Substratum have developed a unique solution called ‘CryptoPay’ on their blockchain network. The websites hosted on the Substratum network can easily integrate CryptoPay as a payment gateway, and allow shoppers to pay for goods & services in any currency they prefer, including fiat and crypto coins like SUB. The service is just like ‘PayPal’ but powered by blockchain tech and compatible with cryptocurrencies.
How to Sell Your Substratum
Crypto exchanges and brokers are the ideal platforms to sell your Substratum tokens. Notwithstanding, sometimes using exchanges can be a nightmarish experience for beginners. Hence, as stressed earlier in this guide, you must thoroughly navigate the exchange portal before placing any orders on it.
In contrast, brokers are normally very easy to use as they have simpler user interfaces. Not only can you buy and sell SUB coins through brokers, but you can also bet on Substratum’s future price movements via CFDs provided by them. In case you wish to sell your SUB coins held inside a CFD, the process will be relatively easier and involve simple closure of the corresponding CFD, and absorption of whatever profit or loss that may result from it.