How Do You Get Monero?

By gmoney777 | MoneroNews | 20 Dec 2020

Edit 12/20/2020: WARNING! I recently mentioned using Ledger wallets (Nano S and Nano X) for safe HODLing. Please do not use Ledger wallets (Nano X, Nano S) until all further legal and security issues are resolved. Ledger had been hacked before and it was believed that wallet addresses were not compromised so there was no threat to your crypto holdings. However, it now appears that the personal data (names, emails, physical addresses) of Ledger users have started to be released by hackers. This poses a direct threat to the physical safety of everyone, particularly individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings. Be aware of phishing attempts, and toss out the Ledger. They say it only affects Ledgers bought from 2019 - present but they literally got hacked and are going by what's been released so far. Legal action has now started.

Sources:

@Ledger (Top Pinned Tweet of the Ledger Official Twitter)

https://twitter.com/Ledger/status/1339269266156056576

@JimmyMcShill (Top current tweet when searching "Ledger hack" on twitter)

https://twitter.com/JimmyMcShill/status/1340733120610447365

Cointelegraph - literally the news

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ledger-users-threaten-legal-action-after-hacker-dumps-personal-data

While you may have read and heard a lot about Monero, you might not have any. In addition, you probably want to know how to do so safely and privately. Below, I will outline some typical ways to buy, sell, and HODL Monero.

The Fastest

The fastest way I know to get Monero is through an exchange. For this, I would recommend Kraken as they support Monero, have ample liquidity, and are focused on safety. Due to growing regulatory concerns, many exchanges such as Coinbase have delisted Monero despite nothing being illicit with the network itself. It offers wonderful Earn rewards for learning about cryptocurrencies, but the closest they offer is Zcash (which is kind of the same but actually completely different). While exchanges such as Kraken are reliable, the exchange itself is in the custody of the coins and records where your coins were received, where you send them, how many you have, and how this has changed over time. This causes a lot of concerns for Monero users, particularly ones buying Monero off of exchanges.

Fixing The Problem

But, there is a simple way you can clean the coins. If you transfer your coins to another wallet, such as MyMonero, you break one of the two links. Since you did receive a transaction from a KYC-exchange wallet, that reception is recorded via the exchange. But, if you pass this Monero to another wallet such as Monerujo or LocalMonero, you can break the second link. Since individual Monero isn't tracked like with Bitcoin (imagine cash without a serial number but with seals to ensure it is real), the links you need to break are KYC transactions.

Buy Anonymously

Of course, this was all because you got Monero with one click off of an exchange. What if you wanted to buy it clean from the start? To do so, you can use a non-KYC exchange such as LocalMonero. This is an "off the exchange" transaction directly between you and another party. You will likely pay a higher price, 20-50% marked-up depending on your mode of payment (PayPal, wire transfer, crypto, gift cards, and more). The transaction doesn't happen instantly either. Instead, your transaction will need to go through first, and then yours will process. While it may seem super sketchy, it has always been successful for me, just pick someone with good reviews and who seems normal. I think the issue is with scammers that try to offer really great rates, vs paying slightly higher for the real deal. The only trace will be with your method of paying, but the Monero you have is clean.

Sell Anonymously

To sell your Monero anonymously, you would ideally already have your Monero is a secure wallet. From here you can move it once and then onto an exchange, or move it to a peer-to-peer exchange like LocalMonero. Now, you are in the driver's seat, and you get to pick how you want to get paid, be it in Dogecoin, PayPal, Visa Gift Card, or whatever you like.

Private Storage

So you have your Monero all to yourself, but how do you protect it? The safest way is with hardware wallets. Paper wallets are the safest from technological threats but have the worst physical safety - it's paper. While you can store Monero on a paper wallet, you need to be at least connected to a web wallet to send the Monero. However, paper wallets can be used to receive as much Monero as you want. For a functional hardware wallet, Only the Trezor Model T supports Monero. Note that the Trezor One does not support Monero. The Ledger Nano X and S both do also, but they recently got hacked so that defeats the purpose and trust altogether. Also note that Monero and Bitcoin both take up a lot of space. This means that while they support many cryptocurrencies, you can only hold a few different types on a single wallet. But, if you want true safety and anonymity, you could either create a hardware wallet from a sufficiently sized hard drive (at least several hundred gigabytes, not a little thumb drive), or you could transfer your Monero to an offline paper wallet using a safe site like moneroaddress.org but MAKE COPIES AND STORE THE COPIES SECURELY. Have you heard of the nightmares of lost Bitcoin? Don't let it happen to you with a privacy coin designed to make where you stored the Monero untraceable.

Want Free Monero?

There are very limited ways to directly get free Monero. However, one way is with a faucet such as monerofaucet.info

The amounts you can receive are very small, and if you try to withdraw directly to an exchange like Kraken the amount will be too small to process and it will disappear forever. So, what do you do? You need a light wallet like Monerujo (Android-only currently). With such a wallet, you can anonymously receive Monero. Remember the exchange problem? Well, there are some ways to get free cryptocurrencies that you could then sell and transfer to another exchange. For example, Coinbase has "Coinbase Earn" and Binance has "Learn and Earns" where they show some videos, you answer some questions, and you receive the crypto, usually $3-10 in BAND, ZEC, OXT, XLM, and others in recurring offers. You could then compile the free crypto and send it to an exchange like Kraken to trade for Monero.

Free Crypto Reference List

Here is a list of sites and apps to get Monero and other cryptos for free.

Monero Faucet - http://monerofaucet.info/

Receive free Monero. Please do not withdraw directly to an exchange.

Coinbase - https://www.coinbase.com/join/kitche_fo

Receive $10 in Bitcoin (BTC) after making a trade worth over $100.

Binance.US - https://accounts.binance.us/en/register?ref=52108645

Binance offers Learn and Earns, similar to Coinbase.

Fold - https://use.foldapp.com/r/LJTAMN4P

20,000 satoshis for signing up and a free daily spinner that pays 100 - 10,000.

Quicrypto (Android-only) - https://quicrypto.page.link/b635

Beta phase android app that pays you in your choice of BTC or NANO.