Looking to buy Balancer (BAL) in the UK?
In this quick guide, I’m going to cover some of the most popular platforms in the UK where you can get this cryptocurrency in 2023.
Overview: Where to Buy Balancer (BAL) in the UK
Here’s a quick overview of where you can buy Balancer (BAL) in the UK.
| Provider | Payment Method | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Coinbase (Advanced) | UK Bank Transfer | Up to 0.6% |
| CoinJar | UK Bank Transfer | 1% |
| CoinJar | Credit & Debit Card | 2% |
| BC Bitcoin | UK Bank Transfer | 5% |
| Crypto.com App | UK Bank Transfer | Variable Rate |
| Crypto.com App | Credit & Debit Card | 2.99% |
Keep reading on for an overview of these platforms.
How to Buy Balancer UK
1. Coinbase
Founded in 2012, Coinbase is one of the longest-running and most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges around.
In 2023, Coinbase’s Advanced Trade dashboard remains one of the lowest-cost ways to buy cryptocurrency for UK residents.
Here’s what I like about it:
- You can deposit GBP with a simple UK bank transfer (for free) into Coinbase.
- Funds sent via a UK bank transfer are credited quickly (within minutes).
- Maximum fees on Coinbase Advanced are 0.6% per trade.
- Has GBP trading pairs for many of the popular cryptocurrencies that it supports.
But although Coinbase Advanced allows you to trade and store Balancer (BAL), you can’t directly buy it with GBP. This means you’ll need to convert your GBP into Bitcoin (BTC), then exchange that for Balancer (BAL) on the BAL/BTC market.
As this requires two trades, you’ll be paying closer to 1.2% in fees when using Coinbase Advanced as a route to go from GBP into BAL.
Importantly, you must toggle the Advanced Trade interface to get access to these fees. If you just use Coinbase’s Simple interface, then you’ll pay higher fees.
Coinbase WebsiteCoinbase Review
2. CoinJar
CoinJar has been around for quite a while too – founded in 2013, UK and Australian residents can use it to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and a growing number of cryptocurrencies.
Balancer (BAL) is one of the cryptocurrencies that they’ve recently added to their platform. This brings the total supported cryptocurrencies on the platform to more than 25.
Here’s what I like about it:
- It’s much easier to use than cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase Advanced.
- You can deposit GBP with a UK bank transfer (for free) into CoinJar.
- Alternatively, you can instantly buy Balancer (BAL) with a credit or debit card.
- Fixed fees are 1% if you buy Balancer (BAL) using funds in your CoinJar wallet.
- If you use a credit or debit card, you’ll be charged a fixed fee of 2% instead.
The only thing you need to consider is that the exchange rate you’re quoted might sometimes be higher than what you get on a cryptocurrency exchange with lots of trading volume.
3. BC Bitcoin
Established 2017, BC Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency broker that allows you to buy and sell almost any cryptocurrency you want. This includes popular coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) – as well as tokens like Balancer (BAL).
Although BC Bitcoin supports other payment methods, making a UK bank transfer is the cheapest way to buy Balancer (BAL) with them.
You would normally be charged 5% when buying any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin (BTC) on BC Bitcoin. This fee is reduced by 1% if place an order of £5000 or more.
Another thing that might put you off is that there’s a higher minimum order value (£250) than alternatives like CoinJar.
BC Bitcoin WebsiteBC Bitcoin Review
Best Balancer (BAL) Wallets
Balancer (BAL) is a token issued on the Ethereum (ETH) network. This means that you should be able to receive, store, and send Balance (BAL) using any ERC-20 capable wallet.
Two popular browser extensions that can be used to store Balancer (BAL), but also interface with the Balancer DeFi app, are Metamask and Coinbase Wallet.
Alternatively, you can also keep your Balancer (BAL) token inside multi-coin wallets like Exodus or Coinomi or a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano S or Trezor One.
For other options, check out this site.
What is Balancer (BAL)?
Balancer (BAL) is the governance token for the Balancer protocol. The Balancer protocol is an automated market maker (AMM) that’s used to power several decentralised finance (DeFi) apps.
Balancer also offers its own automated portfolio manager and trading platform for cryptocurrencies. The BAL token is used to incentivize participation in Balancer’s ecosystem.
The Balancer protocol was founded in 2018 by Balancer Lab, a blockchain and software development firm spearheaded by Mike McDonald and Fernando Martinelli. Balancer’s native token, BAL, was launched two years later in 2020 to encourage traders to deposit funds into the protocol’s liquidity pools.
Here’s a quick video that explains how the Balancer protocol and the BAL token work:
There are many aspects of Balancer, though the most important feature of the protocol is its automated market maker (AMM) service.
AMMs are a key part of many DeFi applications as they let people buy and sell cryptocurrencies whenever they want, even if there isn’t someone on the other end of the transaction.
Unlike traditional asset markets, like stock exchanges, there are no order books in many decentralised exchanges (DEXes). Instead, DEXes use AMMs to ensure that users can place transactions whenever they’d like.
AMMs are effectively smart contracts that manage user-supported liquidity pools. Anyone can deposit supported tokens into a liquidity pool (LP) and these tokens are used to facilitate transactions on a DEX or another DeFi application. When someone deposits tokens into a platform’s LP, they normally get a share of the transaction fees earned on the platform.
That said, Balancer isn’t the only AMM in the cryptosphere. But what makes the Balancer protocol unique is that its LPs can support up to 8 ERC-20 tokens at once, unlike the traditional single token LPs found with many AMMs. The tokens in Balancer LPs also automatically rebalance using algorithms whenever a user places a trade that draws from the LP.
Balancer’s multi-token support and automatic rebalancing gives it many advantages over other AMMs.
For users that want to invest in the LPs, Balancer offers a unique service that acts like a crypto-themed index fund. Just like when you invest in an index ETF or mutual fund, users that deposit tokens into Balancer’s LPs effectively get investment exposure to up to 8 different ERC-20 tokens at once.
Balancer’s other major feature is its trading exchange. This DEX is powered by Balancer’s AMMs. As a result, investors can use the Balancer DEX to trade ERC-20 tokens or they can use Balancer’s AMMS to invest their assets and generate passive income.
BAL is the governance token for the Balancer protocol.
Anyone that invests in Balancer LPs gets paid in BAL tokens as a reward on a weekly basis. These tokens provide governance voting rights, so they effectively serve to incentivize people to deposit tokens into Balancer’s LPs.
BAL token holders can then place votes on proposed changes to the protocol. The goal is that the Balancer protocol will eventually become completely decentralised and that it will be run solely by BAL token holders.
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