Polkadot (DOT) is the newest coin in the cryptocurrency world. Therefore, buying options are minimal. For US residents, this option narrows further. In this article, we described a few trusted places from where you can buy Polkadot coins.
Kraken:
Kraken is the best place for buying and staking Polkadot (DOT). There are no other better alternatives than this. Kraken also gives the industry’s highest staking reward for Polkadot (up to 12%), and there’s no minimum DOT requirement.
For example, if you have a Polkadot account with the official https://polkadot.js.org/apps/ wallet, you need a minimum of 180 DOT for staking reward. Please visit https://polkaview.network/dot to know about the current minimum requirement for reward on the Polkadot network. For many, 180 DOT is too much.
However, Kraken does not have any minimum requirements. Even if you hold 3 DOTs, you are eligible for a 12% staking reward. Furthermore, Kraken will not lock your coin for 28 days. For example, if you stake on the official Polkadot network, they will lock your DOTs for 28 days.
The only problem with Kraken is that they don’t support ACH transactions. Kraken also doesn’t have any option to deposit funds using a debit or credit card in the US. Though it supports Wire transfer, most banks in the US charge exorbitant wire transfer fees. However, there’s a workaround to deposit USD to Kraken through ACH. We will discuss it in the Coinbase section below.
Crypto.com:
You can purchase DOT on the Crypto.com exchange. It also supports ACH transactions (still, no bank card deposits). Therefore, buying Polkadot on Crypto.com is easier than Kraken. However, Kraken provides the best staking rewards for DOT.
So, we would recommend that you buy your DOT coin on Crypto.com and transfer those into your Kraken account. Though it may take a few weeks, it’s worth it.
Use Coinbase to purchase Polkadot:
Coinbase is one of the most popular and reliable places to buy cryptocurrencies. As of writing this article, however, Coinbase does not support Polkadot. There’s also no indication or announcement of whether Coinbase will ever offer DOT.
You can use your Coinbase account to fund and purchase Polkadot on Kraken. Here are the easy steps:
- Fund your Coinbase account through ACH transactions.
- Buy stable coins with your USD. USDC is a stable coin. USD Coin (USDC) is a type of cryptocurrency that is referred to as a stable coin. You can always redeem 1 USD Coin for $1.00, giving it a stable price.
- Transfer USDC to your Kraken account.
- Use your USDC to purchase Polkadot (DOT) coins.
Not on Huobi:
You can’t purchase Polkadot (DOT) coins on Huobi if you are in the US.
Polkadot is not on Binance.US:
Binance is a reliable crypto exchange to buy different cryptocurrencies. However, please remember that there are two separate subsidiaries of Binance. One is Binance.com, and another one is Binance.us.
Binance.us serves only US customers, and Binance.com provides service for the rest of the world. It is due to the US’s financial regulatory reasons. Binance.com offers users to purchase Polkadot coin; however, you can’t buy DOT coin from Binance.us. Therefore, if you are in the US, you can’t buy Polkadot from Binance.
Sometimes, people would suggest using VPN and use Binance.com to purchase cryptos. However, we don’t recommend it, and the process is too complicated for a US resident. Here’s why the steps are complicated:
- You have to use a VPN service to change your online location from the US to other countries, such as India. Then you have to open an account on Binance.com using your email address.
- As you are using VPN and if Binance deems that some unknown IP is trying to access your account (VPN changes location), they will lock your account. It will create a lot of headaches which is not worth it.
- The first problem arises when you want to deposit fiat currency into your Binance account because Binance would ask you to verify your identity and address. As you are in the US and don’t have an Indian identity, you can’t complete the steps. However, if you somehow manage to verify your identity, here comes the next challenge.
- As you are in the US, you can’t submit Indian currencies to Binance. If you use your US bank card, you may be subject to high transaction fees.
- Furthermore, how do you bring back your proceeds to the US from your Polkadot trades from Binance.com?
Therefore, it’s not worth it to use Binance.com to purchase Polkadot for a US resident.
Binance.US also does not serve the following states. If you are from any of these states, you can’t use Binance.US to purchase cryptocurrencies.
- Connecticut
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Louisiana
- New York
- Texas
- Vermont
Not on Robinhood:
You also can’t buy Polkadot coins on Robinhood. However, even if you could, you should not purchase crypto on this platform. It’s because they don’t allow you to transfer your coin from Robinhood to your crypto wallet. Moreover, Robinhood Crypto LLC is not FDIC insured. Therefore, if they get hacked and lose all of your cryptos, Robinhood will not compensate you for your lost coins. Remember, Not Your Wallet, Not Your Coin.
