Following the exponential increase in gas fees and network congestion on the Ethereum network, layer-2 projects like Polygon have experienced exponential growth. The modular network went from a little unknown scaling solution to a key player in the new Web3 economy, and several investors are now keen to buy the Polygon token.
This guide describes the best places to buy Polygon crypto for low fees and how to begin in as little as 10 minutes.
Where To Buy Polygon MATIC
Polygon’s ranking as one of the top 20 most valuable crypto assets by market cap indicates that several Bitcoin exchanges offer the asset. However, we have picked some of the top Bitcoin trading platforms offering Polygon trading. Our choice was based on reputation, liquidity, low fees, asset support, and payment methods.
eToro
eToro – one of the most popular brokers in the world. The crypto exchange began as a multi-asset broker focused on the stock and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) space. However, it has expanded into cryptocurrencies and is one of the most trusted platforms for crypto enthusiasts to trade.
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
All investors will find it easy to navigate, as the trading platform has a simple layout and clean interface, making it very beginner friendly. Registration on eToro takes only a few minutes. US and Uk Investors can buy their first cryptocurrency with a minimum balance of $10. The minimum balance for investors in other locations varies.
Although most deposits are free on eToro, including debit card deposits, the broker charges a $5 fee on all withdrawals. Users are also charged a 1% flat fee whenever an investor trades crypto on the platform. There are no extra fees for account opening or management. However, eToro charges a $10 inactivity fee monthly after an investor fails to use the platform for a year.
eToro allows investors to trade 60+ cryptocurrencies, including popular digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. The platform also accepts an array of deposit channels – from debit/credit cards and payment processors to wire transfers and direct crypto deposits. All USD deposits are fee-free, and deposits via bank transfer must be at least $500.
Getting started on a new cryptocurrency trading platform can be tedious, but eToro provides several impressive features that can help. Most prominent is the CopyTrader feature, which allows investors to find top traders on the platform and copy their moves. CopyTrader is especially popular among beginners still learning the ropes.
For security, eToro uses masking technologies and advanced encryption to protect user accounts. Signing up on the platform will also require passing a two-factor authentication (2FA) protocol.
eToro is also regulated with approval from top financial watchdogs like the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Pros
- Low fees for trading Polygon
- Quick signup process
- Well regulated broker
- Multiple payment options
- Flat fee rate on crypto trades
Cons
- eToro charges an inactivity fee
Best Exchange to Polygon MATIC
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Binance
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trade volumes. The exchange offers access to over 600 digital assets, including Polygon — a one-stop shop for everything cryptocurrency.
Binance supports well-experienced traders and provides traders worldwide (international traders) with over a hundred crypto assets to trade. Although the exchange has an interface with a great user experience and unique trading features, it is more suited for advanced traders.
Binance accepts a minimum deposit of $10. Investors can make deposits using wire transfers to credit/debit cards, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, and e-wallet solutions. Fees for these transactions vary based on the chosen payment channel. For instance, Binance charges up to 4.50% fees when investors deposit with a debit/credit card.
Trading fees are set at a limit of 0.1% for most coins. Binance even provides a 25% discount on trading fees for users who pay using its Binance Coin (BNB) token.
Looking to buy Polygon securely? Using Binance, investors can rest assured that the platform will keep their funds and data safe. The broker follows 2FA procedures and implements whitelisting and advanced data encryption to protect funds and data. Most of the coins stored with the broker are also kept in cold wallets, which are kept offline. Binance operates in over 100 countries, including the United Kingdom and the USA, where it operates via its subsidiary Binance.US.
Pros
- Impressive liquidity for Polygon trades
- Quick deposits and withdrawals
- Multiple payment options
Cons
- The interface isn’t so user-friendly
Best Exchange With Low Fees
Coinbase
Coinbase is another viable option for traders looking for the best platform to buy Polygon. The US-based exchange is one of the best platforms to buy, sell, exchange and stake cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase has a simple and clean interface. The signup process – which includes an ID verification process – is swift. New customers can complete the registration process in a few minutes.
For traders looking to start small, Coinbase is a suitable alternative to Binance. This exchange integrates the best user-friendly interface applicable to newbies keen on investing in MATIC alongside 178 cryptocurrencies to trade seamlessly.
Coinbase has one of the lowest deposit minimums in the market. New investors can get started with as low as $2 – much lower than most of its top competitors. However, deposit channels vary. Investors can pay using wire transfers, payment processors, card deposits, and direct crypto deposits. Users enjoy a 4% cash back reward whenever a Coinbase debit card is used for crypto purchases.
While most brokers charge fixed fees for trades, Coinbase has a relatively complex structure. The broker uses a maker-taker fee with traders who place orders at the market price paying between 0.055 and 0.60% of their trades. On the flip side, orders that aren’t immediately matched are put in Coinbase’s order book, with the broker charging between 0.00% and 0.40%.
Coinbase’s product offering goes beyond traditional crypto trading. The digital asset exchange provides a suite of services that includes crypto staking, dedicated crypto wallet service, crypto debit cards, and many more.
In terms of security, Coinbase also comes with top-notch security infrastructure. The broker stores 98% of its funds in cold storage. The platform also employs an insurance policy in case of a security breach and uses multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorised access to investors’ accounts.
Coinbase is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recognises it as a money transmission business.
Pros
- Intuitive user interface
- Regulated and reputable platform
- Insurance in case of hacks
- Low minimum deposit
Cons
- Complex fee structure
Best Beginner Friendly Exchange
Kraken
Rounding out our list of the best exchanges to purchase Polygon is Kraken. Also based in San Francisco, this exchange has continued to grow over the years – as has its offering to prospective customers.
Like Coinbase, Kraken provides a simple interface for anyone looking to buy crypto. The exchange also has several additional services – professional trading services, an institutional section for companies and high-net-worth individuals looking to trade, and an upcoming marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
With support for over 190 cryptocurrencies, Kraken has one of the strongest bases of coins out there. Investors can easily move between these coins, with Kraken having hundreds of trading pairs. The broker’s minimum deposit of $10 makes it easy for beginners looking to enter the market as well.
Kraken has a simple fee structure – 1.5% for crypto trading and 0.9% for stablecoin trades. While this is slightly higher than the industry average, the fixed price makes it easy to estimate profits on trades.
In terms of security, Kraken implements email verification for transactions and 2FA. The broker also uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to protect users’ data. All of these are done in tandem with Kraken’s regulatory requirements, with the broker being licensed by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Pros
- Expansive service range
- Great for beginners to use
- Broad asset base
Cons
- Higher-than-average trading fees
Best Reliable Crypto Exchange
What is Polygon?
Formerly known as the Matic Network, Polygon is a layer-two scaling solution that provides several tools for decentralised application (dApp) developers to build their apps in a quick, cost-effective manner.
Polygon was built to be a gateway to the Ethereum blockchain – the major smart contract network. Ethereum is home to thousands of dApps – from non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces to decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols and blockchain gaming platforms. Over the years, the blockchain has expanded as more users pivot into the decentralised economy.
However, Ethereum’s success has also turned out to be its bane. Relying on the competitive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm, the smart contract protocol has not been able to meet the growing demand for its services. The ripple effect has led to high transaction fees (gas fees for computation and resource cost) and network congestion. The Ethereum network is slow as it processes only a meagre 17 transactions per second (TPS), which does not meet the current throughput of conventional payment networks like Visa, which boasts over 2,000 TPS.
Looking to solve this problem, Polygon acts as an add-on layer to Ethereum. It doesn’t affect the original Ethereum blockchain, but it provides a simpler framework for developers looking to build on it.
Polygon operates as a multi-level platform that looks to scale Ethereum. It works with sidechains, which help reduce the load on the main Ethereum blockchain. Sidechains are essentially unique blockchains tied to Ethereum and help house some of the dApps available on Ethereum.
The Polygon Software Development Kit (SDK) is at the core of Polygon’s network. The SDK helps users build dApps as sidechains and connect them to Ethereum. To increase the parent’s network transaction metric, the Polygon network essentially bundles transactions and validates them off-chain. Once transactions are verified, they are added back to the Ethereum network.
Polygon has continued to break strides in the crypto space as it is now the poster child for Ethereum as the established blockchain network slowly migrates to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. The platform has already attracted over 19,000 dApps due to its highly scalable network (powered by a 65,000 TPS), low fee and low energy density. This is a major feat as the Ethereum network only has about 4,000 blockchain-based applications building on its ecosystem.
The MATIC token powers the scalable sidechain, which is responsible for network fees, staking, and governance. MATIC’s price has more than tripled as it hit an all-time high (ATH) of $2.92 in late December 2021.
The MATIC Token
MATIC is the Polygon network’s native token. The asset is used to help boost network development and can also serve as a speculative investment.
MATIC holders can earn the token by providing their computer resources and services to the Polygon network. They can do this by validating transactions on the network or executing smart contracts.
At the same time, users can stake MATIC to contribute to the network and earn voting power on possible upgrades and developments. Voting power is decided by the amount of MATIC staked – just like every other PoS coin.
What Can You Do With Polygon?
As explained earlier, Polygon allows developers to build dApps on the Ethereum blockchain. Polygon provides access to Ethereum’s resources as a layer-two scaling solution. Because of Polygon, investors don’t have to deal with Ethereum’s high transaction costs and lengthy processing times.
However, Polygon has also gone from being a scaling solution to becoming a much broader ecosystem where users and developers can participate in different activities – including and especially launching Ethereum-compatible sidechains and dApps. Users can also mint NFTs on Polygon, become validators and delegators, and stake MATIC.
Several projects have already launched on Polygon. They include yield generators Curve Finance and Aave, SushiSwap, one of the most popular decentralised exchanges (DEXs), and OpenSea – the largest NFT marketplace.
Polygon Wallets
Investors looking to buy Polygon must also understand the best wallets for storing the asset. A crypto wallet acts like a traditional wallet and a bank account. It allows traders to store their coins while providing a simple way to send and receive them if the need arises.
Crypto wallets operate with two major components – private keys and public addresses. A public address is like a bank account; an investor sends it to someone so that they can receive coins from them. On the flip side, the private key is an authorisation key for transactions. Users need to keep this safe, as any unwanted person who gets access to it will be able to authorise transactions from their wallet.
Generally, crypto wallets come in different forms:
Hardware wallets
These are physical devices that store users private keys. A private key acts as a gateway to authorise crypto transactions on the blockchain network. This key gives a crypto user ownership of the funds on their wallet address.
One unique feature of a hardware wallet is its cold storage implementation – storing cryptos off the internet. While these wallets are the most secure on the market, they can also be slow when authorising transactions. However, it is the most preferred option because they are less prone to hacker attacks.
Software wallets
These are online applications that investors use to store and send their digital cryptos. They can be installed on desktop or mobile devices, making it easy to send and receive crypto by clicking a few buttons.
Software wallets are the most convenient because they are easy to access and ensure quick transactions. They are also most susceptible to hacks, it is important to protect the device – and, by extension, the wallet.
Paper wallets
Paper wallets are pieces of paper with a trader’s wallet address written on them. Some options have barcodes that allow investors to scan them and send money to an investor’s wallet immediately. Of course, these are just pieces of paper, so investors need to be especially careful with these wallets.
How to Buy Polygon
We know where to buy Polygon and what the asset is. Here, we provide steps on how to purchase it. eToro is our top option among exchanges, and investors can get access to Polygon by following these steps:
Step 1: Sign Up
Go to eToro’s home page. Click on the “Start Investing” button and register directly. Investors could decide to create their accounts using a Google or Facebook account.
Or they can create their account by inserting their username, email address, and password. Then, click on the “Create Account” button.
Step 2: Verify Your Identity
As a regulated broker, eToro places a high value on KYC (know-your-customer) and ID verification.
To complete the process, tap on the profile and select the “Verify” button. Upload a driver’s license, international passport, or another acceptable government-issued ID. Investors will also need a recent copy of their bank statement or utility bill.
The entire ID verification process should take only a few minutes to be completed.
Step 3: Deposit Your Funds
Once the ID verification is complete, a deposit can be made. Go to the profile tab and tap “Deposit Funds”. Choose a payment method and outline how much to deposit.
Payment methods on eToro vary. Investors can choose wire transfers, payment processors, digital wallets, or cards. The minimum deposit starts at $10.
Click on the “Deposit” button to complete the process.
Step 4: Find & Buy MATIC
Next, click the search bar, type in “MATIC” and tap the crypto when it pops up. Click the “Open Trade” button to buy the asset on eToro, the investor’s wallet should be updated immediately.
Conclusion
Polygon is a layer-two scaling solution that helps decentralized application developers build their apps in a swift and economical manner. Its native token, MATIC, boosts development across the network. Polygon is appealing because it is no longer just a scaling solution. As Polygon continues to expand its use cases, MATIC could be one of the best crypto investments in the long run.
We recommend using eToro for investments in Polygon. eToro offers low trading fees and a user-friendly interface. In addition, eToro’s CopyTrader feature enables users to copy the trading strategies of more experienced investors and earn profits as they do. This is an excellent risk mitigation strategy for new traders.