If you’re looking for alternatives to the major cryptocurrencies, Zilliqa is a name that you might have heard of before. The currency enjoyed a spike in value during the early phases of 2021, though it petered out towards the end of the year.
On this page, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about Zilliqa such as how to buy it, whether it’s safe to do so, and if you should even think about purchasing the currency at the moment.
Best Way to Invest in Zilliqa in 2023
There are several cryptocurrency exchanges and brokerages on the market, but it’s a little trickier to find ZIL compared to other coins. Nonetheless, you can do so in a few places. We’ve listed the top exchanges and brokerages below.
What is Zilliqa? – Quick Overview
Zilliqa is a cryptocurrency that is native to the Zilliqa blockchain, which is the world’s first sharding blockchain and aims to help developers build decentralised apps (dApps) with minimal friction. The coin launched in 2017 and is currently the 111th largest cryptocurrency in the world. Zilliqa has a market cap of over $700 million at the time of writing in December 2021.
Name and tickerZilliqa (ZIL)Date launchedJune, 2017Circulating supply | max supply:12.4 billion | 21 billionBlockchain networkZilliqa blockchainCreatorsAmrit Kumar, Max Kantelia, etc.Use-casesdApp building, financial modelling, data mining, data-oriented academic research, etc.Famous backersChase Raz, Jun Hao TanSocial mediaTwitter | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
What is Zilliqa? – Explained
Zilliqa is the brainchild of researchers from the University of Singapore. In addition to Kantelia and Kantelia, the original team included Xinshu Dong and Prateek Saxena, plus other individuals.
What Are Zilliqa’s Purpose and Use Cases?
The purpose of Zilliqa is to ensure that those who use its blockchain won’t run into scalability issues, which is a huge problem with many others on the market. It does this through “sharding,” which allows blockchains to process larger volumes in a shorter timescale. Zilliqa has been used for several reasons beyond dApp development, such as machine learning.
Famous Zilliqa Backers
While you won’t have heard of many famous mainstream celebrities who’ve backed ZIL, there are several well-known names within its tight-knit community. One of those is Chase Raz, who regularly tweets about the cryptocurrency and is also a professor and corporate teacher.
Another well-known name in the Zilliqa space is Jun Hao Tan. Tan happens to be one of ZIL’s co-founders and is currently Senior Vice President for Security and Platform Engineering at the company. Like Raz, Hao Tan posts regularly about Zilliqa and cryptocurrencies/blockchains in general.
How to Buy Zilliqa
As we mentioned earlier on this page, buying Zilliqa is a little trickier than other cryptocurrencies. However, it’s by no means impossible. Below we’ve listed the different types of platforms you can use to get a hold of your ZIL coins.
Cryptocurrency Exchanges
The first place you can buy ZIL coins from is a cryptocurrency exchange. On these, you’ll submit a buy order and receive the coins after you’ve completed the purchase. It’s also worth remembering that unlike on a cryptocurrency brokerage, you’ll own any coins you purchase outright. One example of a cryptocurrency exchange where you can purchase ZIL is Binance.
Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces
Peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces are platforms where you can purchase cryptocurrencies from other users. These differ from exchanges because, with the latter, a crypto exchange will buy the coins and sell them onto you. When you use a P2P marketplace, the intermediary only gets involved if there’s a dispute. You can talk to the user before buying your crypto and get a price that you feel is fair. When using P2P marketplaces, remember to stay vigilant- scams can and do happen on these platforms. One example of a P2P marketplace where you can buy Zilliqa is Huobi.
From a Friend
Sometimes you don’t even need to go and find your coins on a cryptocurrency exchange. If you’ve got a friend who’s equally as interested in crypto as you, it’s possible that they might have some Zilliqa coins they’re willing to send to you.
If that’s the case, you can choose how you’ll pay them. You might want to transfer the money via PayPal or bank transfer, or perhaps it’s easier for you to meet in person and give them cash in hand. Once you’ve paid them, your friend should be able to send the coins directly to your wallet.
How to Sell Zilliqa
Like buying Zilliqa, your options when it comes to selling the coin are somewhat limited. However, you’ve got a couple of choices, and we’ve listed these below.
Cryptocurrency Exchanges
On cryptocurrency exchanges you can sell your coins in one of two ways. The first is to sell them back onto the exchange and receive fiat money for them after the transaction has been completed. Another way to sell your Zilliqa on a cryptocurrency exchange is by trading them for another currency. You can do this for several cryptocurrencies in addition to some fiat currencies. If you trade your coins for other cryptos, you’ll limit — and often bypass — any associated fees.
P2P Marketplaces
Selling your Zilliqa on a P2P marketplace is arguably the easiest way to get rid of them. Like with buying on this platform, you’ll sell to another person. Once the transaction is complete, you’ll need to transfer the coins over to the user that bought them.
Alternative Ways to Invest in Zilliqa
Some cryptocurrencies offer a whole host of unique ways to invest that don’t include the mainstream methods. Zilliqa has some, but they’re nowhere near as commonplace as if you were to invest in Bitcoin or Ethereum, among others. Below are the alternative ways to invest in ZIL that we haven’t yet mentioned.
Staking: If you’re not planning to sell your coins anytime soon, staking is a potential way to receive rewards for holding your ZIL. You’ll act as a validator if you adopt this method and get said benefits when you validate transactions.
Cryptocurrency Wallets: Some cryptocurrency wallets have built-in crypto exchanges or places where you can swap your coins for others. In these instances, you can pick one of these to trade.
Is It Safe to Invest in Zilliqa Right Now?
Cryptocurrency markets are volatile, and Zilliqa is no different. Its value rose significantly earlier in 2021 before dropping by a huge amount as the year went on. Buying any coin carries risks, and it’s important that you’re aware of these before making an investment.
Zilliqa solves an important problem with scalability, but the fact it’s not as well-known as other cryptocurrencies might negatively impact its growth. Compared to when it first burst onto the scene, ZIL has fierce competition, with many blockchains offering a similar solution.
From a safety perspective, we’d say it’s safe to buy Zilliqa if you do so from a reputable platform. However, you first need to question whether or not you can see the currency growing in the long run.
