How to Buy Shimmer (SMR) [For Beginners]

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If you have any interest to buy Shimmer (SMR), you will be required to have either Bitcoin abbreviated as (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) for trading purposes. I have reviewed the major cryptocurrency exchange Binance in this post to help you determine the best sites to buy cryptocurrency using a credit card or bank account. Take a read and get tips on the best cryptocurrency trading.

Step 1: How to create a Binance account:

1.1 Visit Binance’s Website (https://www.binance.com/en)

There have been several phishing cases reported over the past years that are imitations to the original site, it is essential to scrutinize the URL to the website keenly. First, be on the lookout for the ‘Secure’ certificate that should pop up in your address bar and that acts as a confirmation of the site’s genuineness. Second, to be extra safe while trading on the platform, ensure to bookmark the authentic site to evade any confusion in future searches.

1.2 Fill in your trading details

You have to fill in your details by going to the ‘’Register” tab found in the right-hand corner of the website’s page and fill in your trading details. For instance, you will need to fill in your mobile number or you choose to use your email address. For the email address, it is necessary to use your main email that you can access easily and the most secure one since you will need it to sign in to your Binance account always.

You also need to choose a strong password for your email; a strong password should comprise a mix of numbers, symbols, upper and lower-case letters. You will receive a 6-digit code via the email you provided as your account’s verification code and for completing the registration process.

1.3 Allow 2FA-Two-factor authentication (Optional)

To make your account more secure you need to allow use of a two-factor authentication after your first log in. Trust me; it is vital to set up the 2FA because it makes your account more secure from any hacking activity!

Every time you log in with the two-factor authentication, you will need to provide a unique code once your type in your email and password. To get your unique code, use the Google authenticator app downloaded into your smartphone.

Step 2: Buying your first Bitcoin (BTC)

To send money to your Crypto wallet account on Binance either directly via your bank account through SWIFT money transfer or you can opt to use your debit/credit card. For this part, I will guide you on how to use your credit card.

Binance previously didn’t allow the use of credit or debit cards on its platform, but the same has been introduced. Binance partnered with Simplex to allow its users to use their credit and debit cards to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum. This has led to faster Crypto transaction speeds, low transaction charges, and more transaction flexibility.

I highly recommend buying Bitcoin first and then trading it for the right amount of Shimmer (SMR).

It is easy to purchase Bitcoins via your credit card but I will elaborate on best ways you can do it step-by-step to make sure you understand all the trading nitty-gritty.

Move your mouse’s cursor to ‘Buy Crypto’ tab found on the top bar and activate the dropdown menu. Then choose the currency, For instance, US Dollars, and click the ‘Credit/Debit Card’ to lead you to the next step.
You be led to the next page; in this page you will see options to choose the desired Bitcoin (Select BTC), and the amount you need to spend to buy your choice Bitcoin amount. The total amount you need to spend will be displayed according to the Bitcoin amount you request and the matching market price at that time (inclusive of all fees). However, you can choose to first set the total charge then the system will automatically calculate the order amount for you.
Next, click “Buy BTC. A window that contains all the details of your order will pop up. However, before you confirm your order you need to read the disclaimer and Terms of Use. Once satisfied, confirm your order by ticking the tab and head to “Go to payment’’; click.
Fill in your credit card details and personal information too. Once done, you need to click “Pay now” and give it a moment to verify your details.
You will be required to verify your email and phone number if it happens to be your first simplex payment via a code send through your email or an SMS. Complete the verification process by opening the link in your email and type in the code you receive via SMS. Once you do all the above, you can click “Continue”.
Verification of identity follows next via the use of an official document. Basically upload your identification document photo accompanied by your personal details and click the “Upload Document” tab.

Lastly, your personal document will be approved once verified by the system and an email send to show the confirmation of order purchase. Subsequently, your Binance account is credited with the purchased BTC or Ethereum.

Step 3: Transfering Your Cryptos to an Altcoin Exchange Bitfinex

Let me show you how to purchase Shimmer (SMR) using your investment from Binance.

Not every crypto can be traded in Binance you will have to transfer your coins to an exchange that Shimmer (SMR) can be traded. So I will guide you to Bitfinex which is a well-known exchange to trade altcoins. You need to use the link below for a new account registration.

You need to follow the processes we used in the above steps and after you complete similar processes as we’ve done before with Binance you are ready to transfer our Bitcoins.

Step 4: Depositing BTC to Exchange

After you have created your new account at one of the exchanges that trades Shimmer (SMR), you will need to transfer your BTC from Binance to that specific exchange. Transferring is done via a wallet system.

Move your cursor on to “Funds” from the top right menu and click “Balances” on dropdown menu.

Once you click the “Balances” tab, you will see BTC top on the currency list. Click deposit button and copy the given “Deposit Address”

You may face some difficult in doing this part but don’t worry, it is easier than using bank transfer.

After you have copied your unique BTC wallet address go back to Binance.

Place your mouse’s cursor to “Wallet” on the right hand side of the topbar and once the popup shows up, click on “Fiat and Spot (Deposit & Withdrawal)”. Look for BTC in the list and click on “Withdraw” on the right hand side.

You will be required to Paste the deposit address you just copied from the other exchange and select BTC as the transfer network. Next, write down the amount that you want to withdraw (you may click the Max button if you want to withdraw all).

After clicking the Max button, the next thing is to click on the Submit button to begin with the withdrawal process. To continue with the withdrawal, Binance may ask you for your 2FA code and also you will have to confirm the withdrawal with an e-mail.

That is all you need to do, now you should wait for a few seconds so that the blockchain confirms your transaction.

Step 5: Trading your Shimmer (SMR)

You now need to go back to Bitfinex to buy Shimmer (SMR) with the Bitcoins you sent. Move your mouse over to trading and then click standard found under cash trading.

On the left side there is a column, make sure to select “BTC” pair and in the search bar type in “SMR”.

After you have moved your coin click on it and now you will see a price chart of SMR/BTC in the middle of the page. Select the “Market” tab as that is the most straight-forward type of buying orders. You can either type in your amount or choose what portion of your BTC deposit you would like to spend on buying, by clicking on the percentage buttons.

After you have confirmed everything, click “Buy SMR”. Now you have bought your SMR!

Other Exchanges to Buy Cryptos

The following are other sites you can buy from these exchanges:

HotBit (Which permits US investors)

MXC (This exchange allows US investors)

Bilaxy

OKEx

Huobi Global

On top of the above-listed exchanges, there are some more common crypto exchanges where daily trading volumes and a huge user base is available. This helps to ensure that you can sell your coins any time you want and the charges for the trading are not high. It is recommended that you should also register on these exchanges because whenever Shimmer gets listed there it give the traders who have already registered a large amount of trading volumes, that means you will be provided with some great trading opportunities!

Final Step: How to Store Shimmer securely in hardware wallets

1. Ledger Nano S

Easy to set up and has a friendly trading interface.
Allows use on desktops and laptops
Lightweight and Portable too
Has been designed to Support most blockchains and a wide range of (ERC-20) tokens
Has many trading languages.
Designed by a well-established company found in 2014 with great chip security
It is not expensive but can be acquired at affordable price

Buy Ledger Nano S Now

2. Ledger Nano X

It made with a more advanced and secure element chip (ST33) than Ledger Nano S
Has an easy design that allows the use on desktop or laptop, or even smartphone and tablet through Bluetooth connection.
Also Lightweight and Portable and has a built-in rechargeable battery
Has a Larger screen
Comes with more storage space compared toLedger Nano S
It supports most blockchains and wide range of (ERC-20) tokens
Provides several languages for every customer
It was designed by a famous company found in 2014 with great chip security
Can be obtained at an affordable price

Buy Ledger Nano X Now

If you still have plans to stay at hodl” as some people call it, basically misspelt “hold” (which become famous as time passes) your Shimmer for some long time, you need to find ways to ensure it stays safe safe,

However Binance is the most safe cryptocurrency exchange, in the past few years there have been hacking incidents and funds were lost. Because of the design of the wallets in exchanges, they will be accessible always via the internet (“Hot Wallets” as they are called), therefore exposing certain aspects of weaknesses.

Thus safeguard your cryptos by putting them in “Cold Wallets”, where the wallet will only have access to the blockchain(or simply “go online”) when you send out funds,. This reduces the chances of being hacked. For example, use a paper wallet which is a type of free cold wallet. It can also be defined as an offline-produced pair of public and private address and that you write on a paper for keeping safely with you. But, it is not permanent and may be faced by certain risk.

Thus, Hardware wallet is therefore the best compared to cold wallets. Since they are usually USB-enabled devices that can hold the key information of your wallet in the safest manner. Also they are designed using military-level security and their firmware’s are continuously upgraded by their manufacturers and this makes them extra safe to use. For example, Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X and are most common hardware wallets, you can buy one at $50 to $100 depending on the specifications they have. I highly recommend these for holding your assets because these wallets are a worthy every penny according to my experience and opinion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to buy Shimmer with cash?

The answer is No. Because there is no way you can directly buy Shimmer with cash. But, using marketplaces such as LocalBitcoins to first buy Bitcoin, and completethe rest of the steps by transferring your bitcoin to respective AltCoin exchanges.

How do I Buy Bitcoin from local sellers?

You can go to LocalBitcoins that is a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange. It is more of a marketplace where users can buy and sell Bitcoins to and from each other. Users, known as traders, make advertisements to show their price and the payment method they want used. Then buyers buy from the traders to buy from sellers in a particular nearby region on the platform. LocalBitcoins is after all a good place to go to buy Bitcoins when it is impossible for you to find your favorite payment methods somewhere else. The site’s prices are high and you have you have to be extra careful to avoid conmen.

What are the quickest ways I can buy Shimmer while living in Europe?

While in Europe you have the advantage of buying cryptos in an easy and quick way. Because Europe has even online banks which help buyers to simply open an account and transfer money to exchanges such as Coinbase and Coinmama. Such banks which are common as online banks in Europe are Bunq, N26 and Revolut.

Can I use alternative platforms to purchase Shimmer or Bitcoin with credit cards?

Yes you can, you just need to visit Changelly which an easy to trade in site especially when it comes to buying Bitcoin with credit cards. It provides an automatic cryptocurrency exchange that gives a buyer the opportunity to exchange crypto fast and buy them using credit card. It has been designed to allow users to have easy crypto buying since it has a simple user interface and provides instructions that are easy to follow too.

About Shimmer (SMR)

$SMR is the native token of the Shimmer network, the official incentivized staging network of the IOTA distributed ledger technology (DLT). $SMR serves as the network’s economic backbone, facilitating value transactions and interactions within the Shimmer ecosystem. Users of Shimmer use the $SMR token to launch new DeFi applications, DEXs, NFT, DAOs and other dApps. It is also used to reward participation by the community in the Shimmer network, in the form of freshly minted SMR tokens.

What is IOTA?

The IOTA DLT – known as “The Tangle” – goes beyond blockchain by providing scalable and feeless DLT, with the goal of being the most reliable DLT infrastructure for Web3 applications and digital economies. IOTA uses its unique open-source technology to solve three fundamental problems with blockchain: high fees, scaling and centralization, and by avoiding the energy-intensive miners common to traditional blockchains, IOTA promotes itself as a green alternative in the crypto market.

IOTA currently relies on an additional security feature issuing milestone called “the coordinator”; once this is removed, and the network becomes fully decentralized, both IOTA and Shimmer will be secured by the Multiverse consensus. The Shimmer network helps to accelerate the transition to a fully decentralised, permissionless and feeless network.

Visit www.iota.org for more information.

What is Shimmer?

Shimmer is the official validation network, helping to properly test and harden any new feature and the leaderless Fast Probabilistic Consensus mechanism. Shimmer is a rapid innovation playground with short development cycles, allowing developers to build applications and use features that are not yet available on the IOTA mainnet, before moving their applications onto the main IOTA network (though it is envisioned that Shimmer will evolve into its own community-governed network after the launch of IOTA 2.0, and several projects will choose to remain on Shimmer).

Several new updates are developed by IOTA, each one bringing it closer to reaching its goal of being the most scalable, affordable, and efficient DLT network. But, given that these updates potentially open the door to bugs and other vulnerabilities, each one needs to be thoroughly tested, before they are released on the IOTA mainnet.

The Shimmer network is where updates are put to the test. It receives all features earlier than the IOTA mainnet and makes these features available for use, testing and adoption before they are available on the IOTA mainnet.

Shimmer is designed as a development network, an ambitious ecosystem that mirrors the IOTA network with all of its applications and frameworks, use-cases and economy, and which users can explore, test, build on – and even attack. To incentivize users, Shimmer is also host to its own token economy (SMR).

What is the Shimmer token ($SMR)?

Through its own token economy, Shimmer offers opportunities for users to put the Shimmer network thoroughly to the test. Before its launch, the Shimmer token is awarded to anyone actively staking the IOTA token during a period of three months. This makes Shimmer the first DLT project to fairly distribute its entire token supply on IOTA, with more to follow. During the staking event prior to the network launch, users are rewarded with one $SMR every 10 seconds for each staked MIOTA. Once the Shimmer network has been launched, users can stake Shimmer tokens to help secure the network and get rewarded with even more Shimmer tokens.

The $SMR token also plays an important role in encouraging attackers to put the Shimmer network to the test and find certain loopholes or attack vectors.

Overall, the Shimmer token has the following utility:

Staking rewards: Users are awarded Shimmer tokens when they stake on the Shimmer network, as well as receive Mana (the IOTA reward mechanism that promotes users’ transactions and messages, voting rights etc., which secures the network. By staking, earning and delegating $SMR tokens, users contribute to the growth of the Shimmer network.
Access to innovations: Using the $SMR token fast-tracks users to the latest innovations of IOTA, giving them early advantage in developing dApps and participating in the ecosystem.
New yield opportunities: Any new economy that wants to thrive needs participating users. Token holders will be able to benefit from a vast ecosystem of new DeFi, NFT and GameFi dApps. The token utility of Shimmer will be expanded with the growth of the ecosystem.

Beyond being a test laboratory for innovations before integration with the IOTA mainnet, Shimmer is designed to evolve into its own ecosystem and community. The $SMR token is an integral part of that evolution.