Bankless Times

How to Buy Substratum Online in 2024

Amala Pillai
Amala Pillai
December 1st, 2023
Why trust us
Advertiser Disclosure

Substratum is an open-source project aimed at facilitating a free and fair internet. Nodes host and serve content over the internet and get SUB tokens in return.

Are you wondering whether to add SUB tokens to your portfolio? We explain how to buy SUB, trade, the different payment methods, and much more.

Best Brokers to Buy Substratum in 2023

Before buying and trading SUB, there are numerous issues you need to understand. We have narrowed down the top brokers that guarantee you low fees for a smooth and quick start.

Sort by
eToro8.7Visitetoro.com

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

Plus500 CFD Broker9.8Visitplus500.com

82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Pepperstone9.0Visitpepperstone.com

Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Eightcap8.8Visiteightcap.com
Webull8.3Visitwebull.com
Coinbase8.4Visitcoinbase.com
Changelly7.4VisitChangelly.com
Trading 2128.4Visittrading212.com

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Not all financial instruments described on this website may be available for trading on the Plus500 platform. Always consult the Plus500 website at https://www.plus500.com/en/Instruments/ and platform for up-to-date information.

What Is the Difference Between Buying and Trading Substratum?

Beginners typically interchange the two terms. There are stark differences between the two.

Buying: Involves getting SUB tokens for fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies. On exchanges, you will find references of trading pairs, e.g., SUB/BTC, SUB/USDT, SUB/EUR, or SUB/USD. Buyers need to understand that there are fiat to crypto and crypto to crypto exchanges.

Trading: It mainly involves speculating on the price movement of crypto assets. Traders do not own the underlying crypto asset.

You can choose to go long or short on your SUB tokens. CFD brokers enable you to short sell crypto assets. You can also choose to leverage your crypto assets which increase your risk exposure. Some other trading instruments include margins and future trading.

How to Buy Substratum Online?

As explained, you can deposit fiat to an exchange and buy SUB tokens or deposit crypto and use that to buy SUB.

We recommend using credible crypto platforms that are regulated. This will reduce the risk of losing your financial and personal data.

Here is a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Find a Suitable Exchange or a Broker
Step 2: Create an Account and Fund It
Step 3: Make a Purchase
Step 4: Store Your Coins

How to Trade Substratum?

Trading takes away the hassle of buying and storing crypto assets. It allows the use of trading options without owning the underlying crypto assets.

In this case, traders can use CFD brokers to speculate on the price movement of SUB. You can decide to leverage the price and increase the risk exposure enabling you to profit. Other trading instruments include futures and spread betting.

Step 1: Find Broker
Step 2: Deposit Money
Step 3: Trade

We advise beginners to open demo accounts and practice these trading options. Use small amounts for your first few trades.

What Are the Different Ways to Pay for Substratum?

Payment methods available on a crypto platform will depend on the jurisdiction and partnerships. Choose an option that is convenient for you; most buyers consider the fees as well.

Exchanges list the different funding options they accept. Check the fees as well. Here are the main ways to pay for Substratum:

Credit Cards

Credit cards are a moderately accepted mode of payment. Banks extend a line of credit to the cardholder depending on their creditworthiness.

  • Fast transactions
  • Convenient
  • Easy to use

Debit Cards

Debit cards, unlike credit cards, require you to have a positive bank balance. Buyers, however, can access an overdraft facility.

  • Fast transactions
  • Easy to use
  • Secure

Prepaid Cards

Like debit cards, these cards are loaded with cash. Some exchanges accept prepaid iTunes, Amazon, and Google play cards.

  • Promotes privacy
  • Easy to use
  • Convenient

PayPal

PayPal is a popular online payment option with over 300 million users. This method is typically more expensive than many other options.

  • Easy to open and fund an account
  • Easy to use
  • Secure

Cryptocurrencies

They are acceptable on all crypto to crypto exchanges. Buy SUB tokens with mainstream cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum or stable coins like Tether.

  • Swapping crypto is free on most exchanges
  • Widespread adoption on platforms, including decentralized exchanges
  • Fast transactions compared to bank and wire transfers
  • Avoid multiple fees levied on fiat currencies

What to Consider When Buying Substratum?

When buying Substratum, there are some considerations to make. Below are some of the most crucial examples.

Competition: There is real competition from web decentralizing projects like MaidSafe and Skycoin. According to Coinmarketcap statistics, Substratum lags far behind these projects. With such competition, we advise great caution when investing.

Project Roadmap: After an ICO in 2017, the company burned through $13 million and started laying off some staff. Substratum has been acquired by a company named Epik as of August 2021. The new owners promise renewed vigour on the project.

Fees: Some of the fees you have to contend with include deposit, withdrawal, and trading fees. Credit cards and PayPal may be subject to higher ones. Bank transfers offer the best bet for lower prices. Look at the fee schedule of the crypto platform to ascertain the best funding method.

Volatility: Like any other crypto, SUB tokens have been subject to small price swings over the past year. Price movement is an important consideration, especially for traders who want to take advantage of bear or bull market volatility.

Availability: Only a limited number of crypto platforms offer SUB tokens. Examples include HitBTC and Bitbns.

Is It Safe to Buy Substratum Online?

It is possible to buy SUB tokens safely online. However, to avoid losing personal data or crypto assets, ensure the exchange you use has put measures in place to mitigate security risks.

Here are factors to look out for:

Two-factor Authentication: On signing up, activate two-factor authentication (2FA). This offers another layer of security to your account apart from the typical email/password combination. Other exchanges provide 2FA on funds withdrawal.

Secure Wallets: Transfer the SUB tokens to an external wallet for safekeeping.

Get Help on Official Sites Only: Avoid getting scammed by asking for help on official sites only. Use official emails and support channels.

Using a Secure Internet Connection: We recommend using private networks if possible; otherwise, use VPN or the Tor website. Avoid accessing your wallet or exchange on public networks.

Provide Only Mandatory KYC Documents: Providing personal details on exchanges is compulsory. Provide only the required details to avoid excess information leaking out in case of a security breach on the crypto platform.

Use reputable sites only: Buy SUB tokens from reputable sites only to avoid scams and data leaks.

How to Store Substratum?

Storing Substratum tokens is critical, especially for long-term investors. Although exchanges and brokers have wallets, leaving your crypto assets there is never a good idea. Here are the two main categories of wallets you can use to store your SUB tokens:

Hot wallets: These are digital wallets that are accessible online. Some function through the web, while others are downloadable. SUB is an ERC20 token and is compatible with Ethereum-based wallets. Examples of these wallets are Parity, MyEtherWallet, and Trust wallet.

Cold wallets: Cold wallets are not free, unlike hot wallets. Some of the leading SUB wallets are Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S. The coins are still on the blockchain, but you need to physically verify transactions — which adds a layer of security.

How to Sell Substratum?

You can sell Substratum using crypto exchanges. Use the following steps:

Step 1: Sign Up for an Account
Step 2: Deposit Your SUB Tokens
Step 3: Sell Your SUB
Step 4: Transfer Your BTC or USDT
Step 5: Select the Cryptocurrency Pair
Step 6: You Can Cash Out

Is It Worth Buying Substratum Right Now?

From an all-time high of $3.25 in 2018 to $0.0043 presently, Substratum prices have fallen sharply. The project has not been in a great place in the recent past. The project has faced some headwinds, especially with layoffs of critical staff members. Competition from similar blockchain projects is another factor.

A company named Epik has acquired Substratum. They have not announced what they plan to do with the project so far. It is interesting to see what’s in store in the long term.

Final Thoughts

The Substratum project aims to decentralize the internet. Only a limited number of crypto platforms support Substratum.

The prevalent method to buy Substratum presently is by use of other cryptos. After purchase, we recommend storing your SUB tokens safely in an external wallet.

Brokers provide a way to trade SUB without owning the tokens. We recommend using the broker list we provided.

FAQs

Can I buy Substratum in any country?
Is there a limit to how many Substratum I can buy?
Can I buy Substratum without ID?
Can I buy Substratum instantly?
What is Substratum?
How does Substratum work?

Contributors

Amala Pillai
Senior Content Editor
Amala is custom content and news editor based in London. She is a former financial journalist based in Singapore with 7 years of experience covering a range of business and financial topics. Now she focuses on crypto and macro-economics. She has also covered feature profiles, tech, business politics and ESG— she was the Environment Editor for the Solutions Newspaper, 2016 and worked in an editorial capacity at both News corp (Dow Jones) and JBN. She also has experience as a content creator, strategist and brand editor for various financial institutions and banks.