Decred Trading: Ways to Buy and Trade Online

Risk Warning: Your Capital is at Risk.

Traders have a few possibilities to gain exposure to Decred prices, including digital currency exchanges, and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives from online brokers.

This post explores some of these methods and presents reasons for and against trading Decred, and a list of regulated brokers who offer cryptocurrency trading on their platform.

In a hurry? If you want to get started trading Decred, here are brokers available in to consider:

Disclaimer: Availability subject to regulations.
Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

How Can I Start Trading Decred?

One method to speculate on the price of Decred is to not buy cryptocurrencies at all but instead trade derivatives such as Contracts for Difference (CFDs) , options, and forex-pairs through a regulated broker.

Online Decred Brokers in

Here is a list of regulated brokers available in that offer trading products on cryptocurrencies such as Decred.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74%-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Please Note: Availability subject to regulations. Cryptocurrency CFDs are not available to UK retail traders.

How to Buy Decred Online

Acquiring Decred isn’t as simple as buying Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ethereum.

If you want to purchase one of the “big three” it’s as easy as logging onto an exchange and purchasing your tokens directly with fiat currency.

Some exchanges will even let you use a credit or debit card.

Decred, like many other altcoins, is generally obtained by trading it for other cryptocurrencies through an exchange. The easiest way to do this is to trade Bitcoin for Decred.

Exchanges That Trade Decred Directly

Most users opt to go through an exchange like Bitfinex. This involves purchasing cryptocurrency with fiat currency and storing your tokens in a virtual wallet.

While this approach is common it carries a number of risks. You should make sure to do your research before selecting an exchange.

Here’s a list of popular crypto exchanges and platforms:

How To Buy Decred Via Coinbase

If you want to buy Bitcoin to trade for Decred then one choice is an exchange called Coinbase. It has an easy-to-understand interface and you even have the option to buy BTC using your credit or debit card.

Coinbase’s fee is competitive. Purchasing BTC will typically result in a 3.99% fee if using a credit or debit card and a 1.49% fee for most kinds of bank transfers.

What Does Coinbase For Trading?

Coinbase requires an ID and your address when registering. This is to comply with anti-money-laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) legislation.

While not technically a legal requirement in most countries, ID checks are considered best practice by many exchanges. It helps prevent the exchange from being used to conduct criminal activity.

However, there are legitimate reasons not to want your ID revealed to an exchange and privacy-conscious traders will want to take a different route.

How To Buy Decred Via LocalBitcoins.com

If you are unwilling or unable to reveal your identity then you may want to choose to purchase Bitcoin through LocalBitcoins.

This peer-to-peer exchange does not require any identification and it allows users to purchase Bitcoin with almost any currency.

If you decide to use LocalBitcoins you should remember to vet other users thoroughly. The exchange has a review function and you really should use it. Some unscrupulous users have been known to attempt to scam new traders.

If you are unsure about a user or see bad reviews then it is generally safest not to make the trade. Some LocalBitcoins users will even meet in person to conduct business in an attempt to ensure both parties are being honest.

Reasons You Might Trade Decred

Here are a few reasons you may consider trading Decred.

1. Unique hybrid consensus method.
2. Strong community and development team.
3. Democratic blockchain could lead to a stronger currency.

Important: This is not investment advice. We present a number of common arguments for and against investing in this commodity. Please seek professional advice before making investment decisions.

Decred’s Unique Hybrid Consensus Method

By combining Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake consensus methods, Decred has put itself ahead of the curve.

The only major cryptocurrency to do this is Dash, and even then, the approach taken by Decred is arguably more democratic as it does not require a large amount of capital to participate.

By ensuring that both Stakeholders and Miners rely on each other for rewards, Decred can help prevent either group from completely dominating the network and controlling the debate.

Decred’s Strong Community and Development Team

While Decred is still relatively small compared to say Bitcoin or Ethereum, the team behind it has involved the community every step of the way. This is important because it means that people trading the currency are less likely to suddenly sell everything.

Many traders in DCR have done so because they believe in the future the currency represents.

The community involvement in development decisions also means that people are likely to hold onto DCR so that they can vote on future decisions. This could increase the value of DCR as a long-term asset.

Decred’s Democratic Blockchain

One of the biggest problems for Bitcoin in recent memory has been the scalability debate. The argument tore a huge rift in the community and left a lot of bad blood.

The argument eventually led to the Bitcoin Cash hard fork.

A stronger level of user involvement in the direction of the blockchain could help prevent arguments around issues like scalability from escalating to that level.

Furthermore, active user involvement in the future of the blockchain will theoretically make it easier to implement radical solutions that a small team of developers may not have considered.

Potential Risks of Trading Decred

There are also risks associated with trading Decred, like:

1. Decred does not have much market share
2. Decred has potential – but this is no guarantee of success
3. Exchanges aren’t always safe

Decred Has A Small Market Share

Despite the promising technology behind it, Decred has failed to garner mainstream appeal.

This is partially because of the name recognition that large coins like Ethereum and Bitcoin enjoy and partially due to the relatively low number of exchanges that trade in Decred.

This means that it is difficult to predict when, if ever, Decred will finally make a breakthrough.

Lack Of Mainstream Support For Decred

Decred is still a small currency and unless it can gather mainstream support it will take a long time for Decred to make a breakthrough.

A strong community and good development team can take a coin a long way but they will hit a stopping point if they can’t garner mainstream attention.

The development fund could provide a potential fix for this problem if the community decides to devote a portion of it towards advertising the currency in an attempt to get it listed on more exchanges.

Altcoin Exchanges Are Loosely Regulated

Keep in mind that exchanges are not safe and you will need to be serious about your security.

Always enable two-factor authorization and avoid keeping all of your coins in a single wallet.

Also, remember that you should never leave your coins in an exchange wallet unless you are planning to exchange them. If you don’t own the keys to your wallet then you don’t own the tokens inside it.

How Can I Store My Decred?

The best way to secure your Decred is in a hardware wallet or by putting them in cold storage. Cold storage involves keeping your cryptocurrency in an offline wallet that only you have access to.

Remember that you are entirely responsible for your own security. You will also need to take extra care to ensure that your computer is secure and password protected.

Is It Safe To Store Decred In A Private Wallet?

Any breach could result in your coins finding their way into the wallet of a hacker.

You will also need to keep very careful track of your wallet’s access codes. If you misplace those then your DCR investment will be trapped in a wallet you can no longer access.

Is It Safe To Store Decred On An Exchange?

On top of this, there are risks that you have no control over. Whenever you use an exchange you are relying on them to protect you and your DCR. The problem is that they sometimes fail to do this properly.

The most well-known example is the MtGox debacle. In 2013, MtGox was by far the largest Bitcoin exchange with control over 70% of the market.

The cracks started to show in May 2013 as FinCEN seized their accounts. This led to many users losing the ability to withdraw USD from the exchange.

The situation continued to deteriorate as hackers attacked MtGox and stole around $500 million worth of Bitcoin, forcing MtGox to file for bankruptcy.

Do Exchanges Improve Their Security Measures Following Breaches?

Sadly, it seems as though exchanges have not learned their lesson. In August 2017, Bitfinex was hit by a similar hack. The attackers emptied random wallets and stole around $72 million worth of cryptocurrency.

In order to prevent individual users from losing everything, Bitfinex decided to spread the losses, reducing everyone’s account balance by 37%.

Further Reading

• Learn more about the history of Decred and its price.
• Find out everything there is to know about cryptocurrency trading.
• Learn how to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Verge, and ZCash.

Also, see our guides on CFDs and crypto brokers to find out which online trading platforms are available in .

If CFDs don’t seem right as a trading instrument, you can learn about options trading — some online brokers cryptocurrency options.