Welcome to Logos Red, I go bylogos and:
You’ve realized that you need to anonymize your online purchases and that Bitcoin is not as anonymous as you thought, Monero is the right choice and a solid foundation for your privacy.
But I won’t deny that it is hard to find a vendor that does sell Monero.
That’s why I’m here, we’ll dive in with my main method of buying: Monero.com. I will make it very simple and clear. I’ve personally exchanged Ethereum into Monero and had no issues.
DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored or affiliated with Cake Labs or Monero.com. I believe in and use their products, simple as that.
My Promise
This post will finally end your meaningless search for a valid answer, and you will leave with a purchase of Monero.
If there are still any questions left, let me know so I can add it to help the next person who will arrive here.
My Goal
To help you improve in less time than it took me and to make sure you leave with what I promised.
I want you to join our community and for this to be a place that you revisit often.
How to buy using Monero.com
This is the simplest and quickest way to get Monero and the method I’ll be using as it requires no KYC.
What is Monero.com?
Monero.com is a website and mobile application that acts as a monero-only wallet and exchange.
It’s a subsidiary of Cake Labs, which developed Cake Wallet. They have a good reputation and are well respected.
Can I trust Monero.com?
Unfortunately, it’s hard to trust anything these days, but Monero.com ranks high on the trustability list.
Their app is completely open source and available on GitHub,here, Cake Labs and Cake Wallet are known and respected.
Here are some Reddit threads with people debating Cake Wallet, the consensus being that it’s safe: Link1 Link2 Link3
The head of Cake Wallet/Monero.com, Vik, is trusted and active on Reddit at VikXMR.
You can do more due diligence, but I personally trust them.
But you also should not send more money than you can afford to lose.
Step 1: Download the Mobile App
You can get the download links from monero.com
If you want to do this on PC, you can use Cake Wallet, but the process won’t be exactly like mine. I don’t use Cake Wallet because the Linux app is in beta and has caused me issues.
You can also set up any other Monero wallet and use the website to exchange or buy.
Step 2: Set up the wallet
If you’ve set up a crypto wallet before, the process isn’t different.
Follow the on-screen instructions and leave everything on default; save your seed phrase.
Keep that seed phrase safe as that’s how you recover your wallet if you lose access to the app. Anybody with access to the seed phrase can transfer your funds out.
Step 3: Buy with FIAT or exchange other crypto
At the bottom, there are two buttons that need to interest you: Buy and Exchange.
Here it depends on your personal choice.
If you want to buy with FIAT:
- You click the “Buy” button
- Choose Onramper, and go with your currency of choice
- Choose your preferred payment method
- Click on Buy XMR, make sure the fees are fine.
If you want to exchange crypto:
- You click on the Exchange button
- At “Convert from” choose your crypto of choice and the refund address as the wallet address of your non-monero crypto.
- At “Convert to” select XMR and that will automatically set your current wallet as the receive address.
- Click on Exchange, keep the trade ID safe as that is your receipt in case of any issues and follow the on-screen instructions.
Exchanging crypto might seem daunting but it’s the method I’ve used to transfer my Ethereum into Monero and everything worked out fine first try.
It might take a few minutes for the exchange to happen, don’t worry, the app usually displays what is happening in close to real time.
Conclusion
You should now be the proud owner of Monero, congratulations. If you’re looking for a practical way to use your Monero, consider spending it on a privacy-focused VPN like Mullvad. I’ve put together a simple tutorial on how to purchase Mullvad with Monero—check it out here. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with Monero.
More Resources
If you didn’t understand something or you need some help, we have our own Discord community and I currently offer free coaching.
You can also leave us some feedback with what you did not understand and we will make sure to correct it.
