Looking to buy Audius (AUDIO) in the UK?
The cheapest place where I was able to find it available to buy with GBP in the UK is CoinJar. You can deposit GBP into CoinJar for free using a UK bank transfer, and then you’ll be charged 1% to buy Audius (AUDIO) using your account balance.
For more details, or alternatives to consider, scroll down and read the full post.
Intro: Ways to Buy Audius in the UK
Here are some places where you can buy Audius (AUDIO) in the UK:
| Provider | Payment Method | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| CoinJar | UK Bank Transfer | 1% |
| CoinJar | Debit Card | 2% |
| Crypto.com App | UK Bank Transfer | Variable Exchange Rate |
| Crypto.com App | Debit Card | 2.99% + Variable Exchange Rate |
| Gemini | UK Bank Transfer | 1.99% (if > £150) |
| BC Bitcoin | UK Bank Transfer | 5% |
| Gemini | Debit Card | 5.48% (if > £150) |
Scroll down to learn more about my favourite choices.
How to Buy Audius UK
1. CoinJar
CoinJar (founded in 2013) has a beginner-friendly web interface and mobile app that makes it simple to buy Audius (AUDIO) and dozens of other cryptocurrencies.
Compared to some other popular cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinJar also has much better reviews on Trustpilot (4.2-star rating, 2000+ reviews).
You can buy Audius (AUDIO) using two payment methods on CoinJar:
- Deposit GBP with a UK bank transfer, then use your account balance to buy Audius (AUDIO). This incurs a 1% fee.
- Use a debit card to instantly buy Audius (AUDIO). This incurs a 2% fee.
Because CoinJar utilises the Faster Payments Service (FPS), you should find that GBP you send via a UK bank transfer is credited quite quickly. For reference, GBP I’ve sent has been credited within minutes.
2. Gemini
Gemini (founded in 2014) is a well-known cryptocurrency platform that’s owned by the Winklevoss Twins.
Like CoinJar, it allows you to buy Audius (AUDIO) and a growing number of other cryptocurrencies in the UK – including Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
And while I like how simple and intuitive its web interface and mobile app are, I’m not a fan of their fee structure. This is because it’s a tiered system, where you’ll end up paying higher fees if you buy less than £150 in a single transaction.
If you do buy more than £150 in a single transaction, then you’ll be charged 1.49% plus a ‘convenience fee’ of 0.5%.
But if you use a debit card to buy Audius (AUDIO)? Then you’ll pay an extra 3.49% on top of that. That’s quite a chunk more expensive than CoinJar for this payment method.
3. Crypto.com App
The Crypto.com app is an increasingly popular mobile app that allows you to buy more than 250 cryptocurrencies – which includes Audius (AUDIO), Ethereum (ETH), and even fan tokens.
And although it advertises itself as selling you cryptocurrencies at “true cost”, it’s critical that you check the exchange rate that you’re quoted when buying Audius (AUDIO) or any other cryptocurrency.
This is because the exchange rates I’ve previously been quoted when buying a range of (large and small) cryptocurrencies using the Crypto.com app have been more than 1% higher than what you’d be quoted on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
If you choose to buy Audius (AUDIO) with a debit card via the Crypto.com app, you’ll also be charged an extra 2.99% in fees (in the UK).
What is Audius (AUDIO)?
Audius (AUDIO) is the native token for Audius, a decentralised music streaming and sharing platform that wants to make the music and recording industries more equitable. The primary purpose of the AUDIO token is to provide token holders with governance votes and rewards on the platform.
The company was launched in 2018 by a venture capital-backed team of developers and entrepreneurs that included Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning. Both the streaming platform and Audius’ native token, AUDIO, were released in 2020.
Here’s a video that gives a quick overview of Audius’s streaming services and how the AUDIO token works:
The main goal of Audius is to give musical artists more power over their work by taking the control of their creations away from large music labels. Audius also wants to give fans a better music listening experience by providing them with additional opportunities to interact with their favourite artists online.
To achieve these goals, Audius is designed to be wholly decentralised. It eliminates record labels from the picture and gives artists full control and ownership over their music rights and royalties.
How Audius works is simple: Anyone can upload and distribute their music on the platform. All music that’s uploaded to Audius is stored on an extension of the decentralised InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and distributed through decentralised nodes.
These nodes are responsible for storing and transmitting the metadata of uploaded music files. Metadata is data that provides information about other data (in this case, music files).
With this metadata, anyone using Audius can independently verify who created a music file. You can also use this metadata to verify that a given music file is legitimate. This prevents copyright infringement and ensures that everyone gets credit for the authentic music that they release on Audius.
Once artists upload their music, fans can stream that music through the Audius web and mobile apps.
Artists get paid in AUDIO tokens based on the popularity of their work on the platform. However, unlike other platforms, such as Spotify, artists aren’t paid solely based on how many times their tracks are played. Rather, Audius also pays artists based on their engagement with fans and for earning spots on the platform’s trending tracks playlists.
Audius also has its own built-in NFT marketplace called Audius Collectibles where artists can sell NFTs directly to fans. This marketplace also hopes to help artists crowdfund for their future albums or host contests for prizes like backstage passes at real-life concerts.
The Audius (AUDIO) token has a number of roles on the streaming platform. Some of the biggest benefits of holding AUDIO tokens include:
- Network Security. Staking AUDIO helps to run nodes and secure the Audius streaming network.
- In-App Payments. AUDIO is the primary method of payment on Audius for artists who upload their work.
- Fan & Artist Rewards. Both fans and artists can use AUDIO tokens to unlock rewards, such as exclusive content or payment bonuses on Audius.
- Governance Voting. Anyone that holds AUDIO tokens can vote on proposed changes to the Audius platform.
- Staking Rewards. If you stake AUDIO tokens, you can earn a share of the network fees paid to the platform.
- AUDIO VIP Status. Audius has a VIP system that’s based on the number of AUDIO tokens you hold. Earning VIP status can unlock new features on the app and get you access to exclusive content.
Best Audius (AUDIO) Wallets
Audius (AUDIO) is an ERC-20 token that’s compatible with most Ethereum network wallets.
If you bought your AUDIO tokens on an exchange and just want to move them to a non-custodial wallet for safekeeping, you can use most ERC-20-compatible wallets, like MyEtherWallet or Coinbase Wallet.
But if you want to use your AUDIO to earn rewards and access exclusive content on Audius, consider using MetaMask.
MetaMask is currently the only wallet with a direct integration to the Audius Protocol Dashboard where you can stake your tokens and place governance votes. It’s also the only wallet that directly connects to the Audius streaming platform where you can earn rewards, buy NFTs, and interact with your favourite artists.
The Audius streaming platform also works with WalletConnect, a third-party software that integrates decentralised apps (DApps) and non-custodial wallets. You can use WalletConnect to integrate other AUDIO-compatible wallets, like Trust Wallet or Atomic Wallet, to Audius’s streaming platform so you can access your AUDIO rewards.
Want to use a hardware wallet instead?
You can use the following hardware wallets to manage your AUDIO tokens:
However, you can’t stake AUDIO tokens or access AUDIO rewards directly from your hardware wallet. Rather, you can connect your Trezor device to MetaMask or your Ellipal and CoolWallet devices to WalletConenct to access Audius’s streaming and staking platforms.
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