Brought to life in 2014, Siacoin (SC) is a blockchain project that’s aiming to decentralise cloud storage. It’s currently still sitting in the top 150 cryptocurrency projects (ranked by market capitalisation).
But despite being around for more than half a decade, it’s not available in that many places.
Check out this short post for an overview of places where you can buy Siacoin (SC) in the UK.
Summary: Where Can You Get Siacoin (SC)?
Here’s a quick summary of three places where you can buy Siacoin (SC) in the UK, along with estimated fees you’d pay.
| Provider | Payment Method | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Kraken | UK Bank Transfer | Up to 0.26% |
| Crypto.com App | UK Bank Transfer | Variable Exchange Rate |
| Crypto.com App | Debit Card | 2.99% + Variable Exchange Rate |
| BC Bitcoin | UK Bank Transfer | 5% |
Kraken, one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in the UK, is the cheapest option of the lot. It supports GBP deposits and allows you to buy Siacoin (SC) at the real exchange rate without paying more than 0.26% in trading fees. Your initial deposit might not be that quick, but thereafter it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes for GBP deposits made with a UK bank transfer (via Faster Payments) to be credited to your account.
If you’re after a more personal touch or care about service, then check out BC Bitcoin. However, the fees are MUCH higher (5% if you buy less than £5000 at a time).
Let’s go through some more details about these two below.
Buy Siacoin (SC) in the UK
1. Kraken
Founded in 2011, Kraken has firmly established itself as a reputable name in the crypto industry. At the time of writing, it’s also one of the top five cryptocurrency exchanges when ranked by trading volume.
But let’s cut to the point.
The maximum fees you’ll pay on Kraken are 0.26%. Like other places, but you can get fee discounts if you’re buying or selling higher volumes. But even if you’re not, it works out as a low-cost method of buying Siacoin (SC) in the UK.
It’s free to deposit GBP into Kraken is with a UK bank transfer. Because it supports Faster Payments, deposits you make are credited fast (within minutes after your initial transfer).
However: there’s no GBP trading pair for Siacoin (SC) on Kraken, so you’ll need to first buy another currency that can be exchanged for Siacoin (SC).
In the summary below, I’ve chosen to use EUR. However, you can choose to use Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) to buy Siacoin (SC) if you prefer.
Kraken currently enables you to exchange 4 currencies/assets for Siacoin (SC):
- US Dollar (USD)
- Euro (EUR)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
Kraken charges slightly lower fees when exchanging GBP for fiat currencies or stablecoins (maximum of 0.2%, instead of 0.26%).
- Create an account with Kraken.
- Deposit GBP using a UK bank transfer into Kraken.
- Exchange GBP for EUR (maximum 0.20% fees).
- Buy Siacoin (SC) with EUR on the SC/EUR spot market (maximum 0.26% fees).
2. BC Bitcoin
BC Bitcoin is another way you can buy Siacoin (SC) in the UK.
Founded in 2017, this is a cryptocurrency broker that allows you to buy and sell almost any cryptocurrency you want to get your hands on. This includes Siacoin (SC), as well as Filecoin (FIL), AAVE (AAVE), and more.
The only exception is privacy coins – which includes Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC).
- Create an account with BC Bitcoin.
- Select “Buy Coins” on the BC Bitcoin website.
- Find Siacoin (SC) in the dropdown list and input how much you’d like to buy. You’ll be shown a preview of the fees you’ll be charged.
- Provide a wallet address. (You can find a list of wallets that support Siacoin (SC) lower in this post).
- Check the details and select ‘Next Step’. You’ll then be provided with the bank details you need to send the GBP over to.
- Once the money is received, the order will be processed and your coins will be sent to your specified wallet address.
You’ll normally be charged 5% in fees if you buy less than £5000 worth of Siacoin (SC) using a UK bank transfer.
These fees are higher than what’s possible to get on a cryptocurrency exchange. However, they have great customer service – which is something that you’ll find many cryptocurrency exchanges struggle with.
The minimum order value is £250, too. But FYI, you can buy multiple cryptocurrencies in a single order. If you want to do this, you’ll have to contact them though (it’s not possible via the website).
BC Bitcoin WebsiteBC Bitcoin Review
What is Siacoin (SC)?
Siacoin (SC) is the native utility token of Sia, a decentralised web-based file storage solution. With Sia, anyone can securely store their files online without the need to sacrifice their privacy by trusting a third-party cloud storage solution. Siacoins (SC) are used to rent hard drive space for file storage.
The Sia network was founded in 2013 by blockchain developers Luke Champine and David Vorick. Champine and Vorick first began work on Sia when they were computer science students in university, though the network didn’t officially launch until 2015.
Here’s a quick video that explains what the Sia network is and the role that Siacoin (SC) plays in keeping it running:
Sia’s biggest claim to fame is that it was one of the first-ever decentralised cloud storage networks that operated on a blockchain. Although there are now other decentralised file storage projects out there – such as Filecoin (FIL) and Storj (STORJ) – Sia predates nearly all of them by at least a few years.
That said, Sia offers more than just a long-standing track record of performance. When compared to other similar services, Sia’s biggest advantage in its cloud storage services is that it places decentralisation above all else.
But to understand what makes the Sia network unique, you first need a good idea of how it all works.
The idea behind Sia is that the network allows anyone to securely store their files on the cloud without the need to trust a centralised company, like Google or Dropbox.
Sia runs a network of storage providers who “rent out” storage space on their hard drives. Anyone that wants to use this storage space for their files can pay to do so without sacrificing their security or anonymity in the process.
What makes Sia popular in the decentralised cloud storage sector, however, is how it secures its network.
Sia operates using a wholly trustless and decentralised model where storage providers need to run a full node to participate in the network. These storage providers also must operate under Sia’s unique Proof-of-Storage security mechanism to ensure that they are actually storing the files that they claim to have on their hard drives.
To rent out storage space, users and storage hosts both need to enter into a smart contract. These smart contracts detail the terms of what data will be stored, how long the data will be stored, and how much the user will pay for this storage.
To receive payment, storage providers on Sia need to regularly prove that they are holding the agreed-upon data (hence the term Proof-of-Storage). Theoretically, this Proof-of-Storage system should ensure that a user’s files are always stored properly and securely throughout the terms of their storage contract.
Siacoin’s (SC) main role on the Sia network is to facilitate payments between file storage users and storage providers. All payments for storage on the Sia network are processed in Siacoin (SC). Without it, the network simply couldn’t operate.
The primary benefit of holding Siacoin (SC) is that it lets you participate in the Sia network. Holding Siacoins (SC) allows you to store files remotely on Sia’s decentralised network of servers as it’s the native currency for the network.
There aren’t many other uses for Siacoin (SC) outside of the Sia network. Since the Sia blockchain operates using a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, there’s no way to stake Siacoins (SC) to earn rewards.
Note that some decentralised finance (DeFi) apps might offer interest on any Siacoins (SC) that you deposit on their platforms. But there’s no option to directly earn Siacoins (SC) by staking on the Sia network.
However, the Sia network has a unique feature called Siafunds that can be a source of passive income for qualified investors.
Holders of Siafunds earn a portion of the transaction fees (3.9%, to be exact) generated on the Sia network. These fees are distributed to Siafunds holders in the form of Siacoins (SC) whenever a contract is completed on the network.
But there are only 10,000 Siafunds in circulation and they’re not available on regular exchanges. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US also designated Siafunds as securities under US law, so purchasing them can be legally complicated. Anyone interested in buying Siafunds should speak to a financial law expert in their region for more guidance.
Best Siacoin (SC) Wallets
You can leave Siacoin (SC) on cryptocurrency exchanges (and with some brokers). This is sometimes the best option, especially if you’re looking to trade back and forth.
However, it’s well-recommended across the crypto-community to take ownership of your coins by withdrawing them to a wallet that you control.
But…
Compared to other projects, Siacoin (SC) has quite a low number of wallets that you can choose between.
The most obvious choice is to download the official client: Sia UI. This is only available on desktop computers, but it looks slick!
It also looks like you can store Siacoin (SC) on the Ledger Nano S – but it requires a bit of messing around to get this working.
Thanks for Reading
Thanks for checking out this guide to buying Siacoin (SC). I hope it’s been useful.
Any questions? Let me know in the comments.
And while you’re here, here are some other posts you might like: