Buying Cryptocurrency in Sri Lanka?

So you’ve seen all these posts on social media about how blockchain backed cryptocurrency is the future and has the potential to make you a millionaire before your 30s, now you’re wondering how you can get your initial investment in? You google it and the first hit you get is Coinbase, you’re all excited that you’re going to buy your first bitcoin(s)/Ethereum tokens and you get the buzzkill message saying that they don’t support purchases in Sri Lanka. I understand your emotion because I was in the same place during last summer’s bull run of cryptocurrencies.

A “Sri Lankan” Gentleman thinking about Cryptocurrencies.

If you dig a little deeper in your search results for “where can I buy bitcoin or ethereum with credit card online” you’ll come across some services where Purchases from Sri Lanka are supported, the two sites I have used are CEX.io and Coinmama.com which have horrendous fees stacked on top of the purchase value making you pay about 12% to 15% more than market value for your desired currency. Both sites require rigorous verification for KYC(Know Your Customer) purposes and credit card fraud protection so be ready to have your ID/License/Passport out when you’re ready to make your purchase. This process costs way more of your time and money to just get into the world of cryptocurrencies and unless you’re making a purchase of more than $10,000 worth of cryptocurrencies I don’t think it’s worth it. If you want to purchase altcoins, they currently cannot be bought with credit cards, you’ll have to put your Bitcoin or Ethereum on an exchange to buy your desired altcoin.

The next method I suggest is purchasing Bitcoin or Ethereum from a person selling locally on LocalBitcoins.com for Bitcoin or LocalEthereum.com for Ethereum. These two sites introduce you to sellers based locally who will sell you their coins for cash. There are fees involved but they’re usually less than what CEX and Coinmama charge. The next best alternative would be joining the Cryptocurrency Sri Lanka Facebook group and posting your classified ad there, you can purchase Bitcoin/Ethereum or any other Altcoin for cash, It’s usually quite fast to strike a deal there and classified ads are closely monitored for scammers. I personally would have sold cryptocurrency worth 100,000 LKR there by now which is quite amazing for a group consisting of less than 1000 members as of today.

I have personally used all the above mentioned methods and my personal favourite in terms of safety and delivery time combined is Coinmama but in terms of fees it is quite high, the next best alternative is the Facebook group Cryptocurrency Sri Lanka, I’m recommending it over LocalBitcoins.com and LocalEthereum.com because of the time it takes to set up a trade and the inability to purchase Altcoins for cash. If you’re not satisfied by any of the methods listed above you’re next option is to MINE your currency which I will cover in another article in the future.

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Please note that with cryptocurrency trading there are major risks involved and I will not be liable for any monetary loss as this is not financial advice that I have stated above. Please proceed at your own risk after doing your own research.