The cheapest way to buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) in the UK with GBP on Kraken. You’ll pay nothing to deposit GBP into this cryptocurrency exchange with a UK bank transfer. You’ll pay a maximum of 0.26% trading fees on Kraken.
Another (easier) way to buy Stellar Lu202mens (XLM) in the UK is via CoinJar. Compared to cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinJar offers a simple and intuitive interface – which I think is perfect for beginners. However, you will be charged trading fees of 1%.
Read on to find out more.
Where Is the Best Place to Buy Stellar Lumens (XLM)?
This table shows where you can buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) in the UK with various payment methods.
| Provider | Payment Methods | Fees (Approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Kraken | UK Bank Transfer | < 1% |
| Coinbase (Advanced) | UK Bank Transfer | < 1% |
| CoinJar | UK Bank Transfer | 1% |
| CoinJar | Credit & Debit Card | 2% |
| Crypto.com | UK Bank Transfer | Variable |
| BC Bitcoin | UK Bank Transfer | 5% |
Kraken is one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges around, and only charges up to 0.26% in trading fees. But while it’s cheap, Kraken isn’t a simple entry point if you’ve never used an exchange before – you will need to spend some time learning everything.
A simpler and easier way to buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) is via CoinJar. This allows you to easily and quickly buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) and dozens of other cryptocurrencies with a UK bank transfer or bank card.
Read on to find out more about these few options.
How to Buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) in the UK
1. Kraken
In 2023, Kraken has more than 6 million users and remains a popular cryptocurrency exchange with high trading volume (top 5 worldwide).
In the past year, they’ve continued to add more and more GBP trading pairs. It’s also become easier and quicker to deposit GBP with a UK bank transfer (via Faster Payments). It’s FREE to deposit GBP using a UK bank transfer too and it doesn’t long for it to be credited either.
Once you have GBP on Kraken, you’ll be charged a maximum of 0.26% in fees to buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) on the XLM/GBP market.
- Create a Kraken account. You’ll need to verify your identity, but it shouldn’t take long to get sorted.
- Send GBP (via UK bank transfer) to your GBP wallet on Kraken.
- Buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) with GBP on the XLM/GBP market (real exchange rate, max 0.26% fees).
You can currently trade the following cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies for Stellar Lumens (XLM) on Kraken:
- British Pounds (GBP)
- Euros (EUR)
- US Dollars (USD)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
If you choose to buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) with a debit or credit card on Kraken, be aware that you’ll pay significantly higher fees.
2. CoinJar
CoinJar allows you to buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) and other cryptocurrencies directly with GBP using a simple and intuitive interface.
And you won’t be ripped off for the added convenience. It charges a fixed fee of 1% whenever you buy or sell any cryptocurrency. The exchange rate you’re quoted is pulled from the CoinJar Exchange – which tends to have prices that are a little higher than Kraken (but not by much).
You can deposit GBP with a UK bank transfer into your CoinJar account. They support Faster Payments too, which means that GBP deposits are credited within minutes (after your initial deposit has cleared).
- Create a CoinJar account. It shouldn’t take long to get verified.
- Send GBP (via UK bank transfer) to your GBP wallet on CoinJar.
- Buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) with your GBP wallet balance. Simple as that!
You can also instantly buy whatever cryptocurrency you want with a credit or debit card on CoinJar – but you’ll pay a fee of 2% instead.
CoinJar also has an exchange that more advanced users can use. This is a bit more intimidating if you’re a beginner, but using it unlocks access to much lower fees (up to 0.1%).
Signing up and getting verified doesn’t take that long either.
What is Stellar Lumens (XLM)?
Stellar Lumens (XLM) is the native token of the Stellar network. The Stellar network is a blockchain that hopes to bridge the gap between traditional financial infrastructure and the world of cryptocurrencies. Its primary goal is to provide a fast and secure way of sending money across the globe without compromising decentralisation or affordability.
Here’s a short video that explains what the Stellar network is and how Stellar Lumens (XLM) are used to power a new world of borderless transactions:
Stellar is a decentralised network that offers an affordable and efficient way to send money across the world. It claims to be an “open network for storing and moving money” and its goal is to enables financial systems to seamlessly work together.
Founded in 2014, Stellar was created by Joyce Kim and Jed McCaleb as a competitor to Ripple (XRP). To this day, Stellar and Ripple remain similar projects – as they both hope to simplify how we send money across international borders.
What makes Stellar unique is that its entire network relies on the concept of tokenization. When you use the Stellar network to send funds from one place to another, you’re actually sending a tokenized version of the currency or asset of your choosing rather than the actual currency or asset.
To understand how this works, let’s use an example.
Suppose I’m a business owner in the UK that transacts in British Pounds (GBP) and I want to pay my American supplier in US dollars (USD).
I could make this transaction using the Stellar network by sending GBP tokens that are pegged 1:1 to actual GBP. My American supplier would receive GBP tokens that they could then seamlessly swap for USD tokens and then withdraw into actual USD.
The best part? All of these transactions can happen within seconds and for a fee that’s no more than a few pennies.
Stellar makes all of this possible through its very efficient consensus protocol that requires minimal energy resources. By having an efficient consensus protocol, Stellar can reduce fees and transaction times without jeopardising decentralisation.
If you’re wondering where Stellar Lumens (XLM) come into the picture, the answer is in paying network fees.
Although fees on the Stellar network are very small (usually around 0.00001 XLM), they’re a must for all transactions. These fees are designed to prevent bad actors from spamming the network without making transaction costs inaccessible.
Stellar Lumens (XLM) is primarily a utility token, so it doesn’t have much of a purpose outside of the Stellar network.
Unlike on other networks, you can’t even earn passive income by staking Stellar Lumens (XLM) – because the XLM that’s collected from network fees is burned out of circulation (i.e., destroyed).
But that doesn’t mean XLM is useless.
Rather, the value of Stellar Lumens (XLM) is found in the Stellar network itself. Proponents of the network argue that it has the power to revolutionise how we send money across borders.
In fact, the Stellar network already facilitates millions of international funds transfers at incredibly low costs each year. Supporters of the system believe it will become particularly popular for sending remittances and other micropayments due to its low transaction fees. If Stellar becomes a popular way to send money, the value of XLM could also increase in the long term.
Best Stellar Lumens (XLM) Wallets
What Hardware Wallets Support Stellar Lumens (XLM)?
The following cryptocurrency hardware wallets support Stellar Lumens (XLM):
I’m a fan of the Ledger Nano S. It supports more cryptocurrencies than any other hardware wallets and is one of the cheapest options out there.
To find out more about it, check out my Ledger Nano S Review.
Where Can I Store Stellar Lumens (XLM)?
If you’ve bought Stellar Lumens (XLM) from one of the options we’ve covered, then you can keep it stored there.
But you can withdraw it to a cryptocurrency wallet on your computer or mobile phone. I’m a fan of Atomic Wallet, which is a multi-currency wallet that supports Stellar Lumens (XLM) and is available for desktop and mobile devices.
The official Stellar website has a list of software wallets that you can check out here. Two options that look decent are Solar Wallet and Lobstr.
Other Crypto Guides
Thanks for checking out this guide to buying Stellar Lumens (XLM) in the UK!
Looking to find the best place to buy other cryptocurrencies?
Check out my other UK-orientated guides! They’ll walk you through how to buy other cryptocurrencies with a range of payment methods.