How to buy Algorand (ALGO)? [Step-by-Step Buyer’s Guide]

Decentralized application (dApp) platforms can have a major impact on many areas where computing is important. That means just about any aspect of our daily lives. The introduction of smart contracts when Ethereum launched paved the way for deploying a lot of dApps (currently over 2700), among which decentralized finance (DeFi) apps are quickly becoming a major area of interest. But Ethereum has its issues as a dApp platform. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to buy Algorand (ALGO)

DeFi applications need a nice balance between three things to be viable as global financial solutions: security, speed, and decentralization, with speed (along with rising gas fees) being Ethereum’s main issue. 15-30 transactions per second just won’t cut it for global DeFi. Ethereum’s developers acknowledge this and are addressing these and other problems with their 2.0 update. But other blockchains have been developed specifically to solve these problems.

One of them is Algorand, launched in 2019 with a capacity of just over 1,000 transactions per second and a transaction finality of just under 5 seconds. Algorand has been building a nice ecosystem of DeFi applications, and this has increased the value of its native ALGO token. If you’ve already heard about Algorand and are interested in investing in it, you’ve come to the right place.

Where to Buy Algorand – Top 5 Exchanges

Being launched in 2019, Algorand is still a relatively new altcoin. It’s currently ranked #44 among all cryptocurrencies according to market capitalization. Before we go over how to buy Algorand, we need to know where we can do it. There aren’t a ton of exchanges where you can buy Algorand, but it is listed on some of the top ones. Here’s a quick overview of the top 5 Algorand exchanges:

All of the exchanges above are good places to buy Algorand. Choosing among them may come down to a specific feature you want or need. Coinbase Pro and Huobi Global have the widest variety of deposit methods. Huobi Global also supports the highest number of both fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies in this lot. Binance trades the highest volume of ALGO and, along with Kraken, offers the most trading pairs with Algorand. These are all things you want to consider when choosing your exchange.

Of course, there are other exchanges where you can get ALGO tokens. For a complete list of exchanges and trading pairs, you can check out the entry from coinmarketcap.com by clicking here.

Step-by-Step Guide on how to buy Algorand

If you’ve read this far into this article, we can safely assume you want to buy some ALGO tokens. From the list above, the number one trading pair is ALGO/USDT on Binance, so we’ll use that in this example.

Let’s assume you have some USDT in a personal wallet and want to buy 100 USD worth of Algorand.

Step 1: Create an account on Binance

This step is for you if you don’t already have a Binance account. If you do, go ahead and skip to the next step.

Head over to www.binance.com and click on the yellow “Register” button in the top banner.

Fill in your e-mail address, type in a secure password, then click on “Create account” and follow all the steps to verify and activate your account. Don’t forget to set up Two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security.

Step 2: Deposit funds

With your Binance account all set up and ready to receive funds, you need to deposit the tokens you’ll use to buy Algorand. To do that you have to transfer USDT from your personal wallet to your Binance USDT wallet.

Go ahead and log in to your Binance account and, from ribbon across the top, click on “Wallet” then on “Spot Wallet.”

This page shows you the combined value of all the tokens in your wallet. In other words, your general balance. Click on “Deposit” from the left-hand menu.

You will first be presented with the option to deposit fiat currency via transfer or credit card. Since we’re depositing USDT in this example, click on “Deposit crypto” in the top right.

On this page, select the token you want to deposit from the drop-down menu. In this case, Tether. Your Binance USDT wallet address will appear on the right. Here you can copy the address to the clipboard or scan the QR code you see there.

Now go to your personal wallet where you have stored your USDT and transfer the desired amount to the wallet address you got above. In a few minutes, after all the network confirmations have been completed, your tokens will be in Binance, ready for you to use to buy your Algorand.

Step 3: Buying Algorand

Now that you’ve successfully deposited your USDT into Binance, you’ll need to head over to the cryptocurrency market. Click on “Markets” in the top ribbon.

In this guide, we’re buying with USDT. While USDT isn’t a fiat currency but rather a fiat-pegged stablecoin, you’ll find it by clicking on the FIAT Markets tab and typing “algo” in the search bar on the right.

The ALGO/USDT trade pair will show up in the window. Click on it to go to the trading page.

You’ll be asked to choose between the Classic or Advanced trading views. Since we’re making a simple purchase, the classic will do just fine for now.

This is the market page for the Algorand/Bitcoin trading pair. The first part will show some pricing information. The part you need to make the purchase is at the bottom, so scroll down.

The right-hand column is for buying USDT with ALGO, which is the opposite of what we want to do. So we need to look at the left-hand column. In the “Total” box, fill in how much USDT you want to spend. In this example, 100 USDT. We can see here that we’ll get 72.02 ALGO. After everything is filled in, click on the “Buy ALGO” button to complete the process. In a few minutes, your Algorand tokens will be in your wallet.

Best Wallets to Hold ALGO

Ok. Now you know how to buy Algorand. But if you’re going to be investing in Algorand, you’ll need a wallet to store your tokens. This is very important. Crypto exchanges don’t give you the private keys to your wallet. So, as long as those tokens remain on the exchange, you don’t really own them. Being on its own blockchain and still a relatively minor altcoin, there aren’t many wallets to choose from, but here are the top five Algorand wallets:

Ledger Nano X is a hardware wallet that can hold not only Algorand but over 1300 different crypto tokens. It’s an excellent option for keeping your cryptocurrencies safe. If you’re considering investing heavily in crypto, you definitely want to think about getting a hardware wallet. Algorand Wallet is the official wallet developed by the team, so it interacts well with all assets on the Algorand blockchain and gets new features as soon as they’re implemented. It also integrates well with Ledger hardware wallets. Atomic wallet is one of the most popular multi-currency wallets, meaning you can store multiple tokens instead of needing one wallet for each coin you buy.

More information about Algorand [FAQs]

What is Algorand?

Algorand is the name of both a blockchain-based dApp platform and the native cryptocurrency powering that blockchain. The Algorand blockchain was created as a solution to the low capacity and high transaction fees of the Ethereum blockchain. It can process about 1,000 transactions per second with a finality of under 4 seconds.

How does the Algorand platform work?

Algorand achieves its high transaction capacity and speed by actually splitting the blockchain into two layers. Almost as if there were two different blockchains. The first layer is where all simple transactions like sending or receiving tokens, as well as simple, smart contracts are executed. More complex smart contracts, like those required for most DeFi applications, run on the second layer. By separating the actions on the blockchain, simple operations don’t have to be slowed down by the more complicated contracts, which can run in their own space without needing to allocate resources for simple payments. Algorand also uses its own version of the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, called Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS), to keep everything running smoothly and securely.

Is Algorand a Good Investment?

This is the big question. Should you invest money in Algorand? It’s not an easy answer, especially in the crypto world, where prices are so volatile that one guy can cause a significant increase or decrease in price with a single tweet.

The long-term success of any altcoin depends on how successful its blockchain-based platform is. Algorand is no exception, so let’s look at what the blockchain itself offers: a secure, efficient, fast, high-capacity platform for dApps, especially targeted towards decentralized finance. That’s a pretty good project that can bring a lot of value, so things are looking good for Algorand from this angle.

Algorand price predictions tend to agree. On January 1st, 1 ALGO was worth about 0.41 USD and is currently trading at 1.45 USD, meaning it has increased in value by about 3,400% since then. And some predictions say ALGO could be worth 5-6 USD by the end of the year and as much as 22 USD by 2025. So, according to most predictions, yes. Algorand looks like a good investment in the mid-to long term.

How to buy Algorand: Conclusion

Algorand is an interesting project. A high-capacity dApp platform that can deal with Ethereum’s issues could be a potential game-changer. The only major obstacle for Algorand is that they are hardly the only ones that have come up with a solution. Besides Ethereum itself with its 2.0 upgrade (with no set release date, though), there are other options, some with an even higher capacity. Solana, for example, currently supports up to 65,000 transactions per second. Still, Algorand is building up a good-sized ecosystem of DeFi applications, and the project looks solid. It’s definitely worth considering. Now that we’ve shown you how to buy Algorand, you know how to do it. But what do you think? Are you considering buying some ALGO? Or are you a developer looking to launch a dApp on Algorand? Let us know in the comments.