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After the initial success of Bitcoin, the technology company based in the United States and with private funds Ripple Labs, Inc. has created its own currency exchange. "Ripple" refers to one of three things: a cryptocurrency (XRP), the company that created it and the Ripple network based on the ripple transaction protocol.
Ripple's remittance network consists of an overall real-time gross settlement system developed in 2012. The blockchain ledger uses the cryptocurrency known as XRP, which banks and payment networks currently use to settle transactions. XRP, although not as popular as Bitcoin, it still ranks as the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization with $ 14.7 billion now exceptional compared to the current $ 68.3 billion Bitcoin.
Just like with other altcoins, it is necessary to go through an exchange or broker to exchange the XRP cryptocurrency behind the Ripple network. Once you have decided to buy and sell XRP, then you need a unique product cryptographic portfolio where you can store your XRP.
An address in the cryptocurrency collector works much like an email address, except that you use the wallet address to pay for goods and services and to receive payments and gifts. You can access your wallet on your computer, tablet or mobile device and / or through a web-based portfolio.
Ripple charges an additional cost to keep XRP in a wallet, but you run the risk of hacking if you keep your XRP in a bag, so choose the option that looks better.
Overview: Ripple purchase in South Africa
The purchase of XRP in South Africa requires access a cryptocurrency exchange that allows South Africans to register and offers Ripple's XRP. Currently, two cryptocurrency scholarships operate in South Africa: Luno and IceCUBED. However, neither offers XRP for customers.
South Africans who work with XRP can still use these exchanges, but they must do it first buy Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency, send it to another stock exchange and then exchange it for Ripple. Despite the additional steps, buying Ripple in South Africa can be quite easy, so the broker or exchange you choose the most counts.
South Africans have the opportunity to purchase Ripple with ZAR directly through international exchanges such as Cex.io and semi-international exchanges such as Coin Direct. Otherwise, if you use one of the two exchanges used by South Africans, you need to register with Binance or some other international exchange that accepts accounts from South Africa to buy Ripple.
Step 1: Open an account for a cryptocurrency exchange
Before opening a cryptocurrency account, First you need an account funded as a bank account, although some exchanges accept credit and debit cards, PayPal and electronic funds transfer. Before starting to trade, you should be fully aware of the risks and have some knowledge of how to exchange cryptocurrency.
After obtaining a source of funding, you can open an account with a cryptocurrency exchange that accepts users from South Africa. IceCUBED (ice3X) and Luno make up the two cryptocurrency exchanges most commonly used by South Africans.
Both exchanges accept deposits from South African bank accounts and, once your account is approved, allow you to trade different cryptocurrencies. Despite the fact that you can not buy Ripple directly through these exchanges, you can exchange XRP indirectly through both.
Step 2: Get a Cryptocurrency portfolio
In order to exchange XRP and maintain full control over your transactions, you must withdraw them from the exchange or from another source to a personal cryptocurrency portfolio. When you open an account with Luno or iceCUBED, a bitcoin wallet for your transactions comes with your account. Basically, a cryptographic portfolio consists of software that allows you to communicate with the cryptocurrency network.
The Wallet software allows you to send notifications to the network when you want to send and receive transactions. You can install the software on a desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. As an alternative, you can use a web version of a wallet that does not require a download. For added security, cryptocurrencies can be stored on a hardware portfolio consisting of a peripheral device that connects to a network.
All crypto-wallet accounts are composed of two elements: your public address, which is very similar to an email address that you can give and receive cryptocurrencies; is a private key, that would be equivalent to your password on an email account. Your private key allows you to make purchases with your cryptocurrencies and, just like your e-mail password, must remain secret.
In South Africa, you can download different types of portfolios, regardless of whether you decide to open an account with an exchange or not. These include a desktop portfolio, that you should protect with antivirus software, a mobile wallet, used to make payments in brick and mortar stores by scanning a QR code or using a Touch NFC pay for web-based options and portfolios, which do not require a download that can be used from any location with an Internet connection.
Step 3: Find an XRP exchange agent in ZAR
Coindirect provides a list of local XRP agents in South Africa through which XRP can be exchanged directly with ZAR to buy or sell XRP using a personal portfolio. Below is a list of stockbrokers:
Step 4: Receive XRP for BTC
As an alternative to step 3, you can buy Bitcoin via Luno or iceCUBED and then send it to an exchange that allows you to buy and sell XRP. You can find an extensive list of exchanges where you can convert BTC to XRP on CoinMarketCap by searching for the XRP / BTC currency pair.
You can also use other cryptocurrencies to buy XRP, such as Litecoin (LTC), Etherium (ETH) or any other cryptocurrency that you can exchange from your Luno or IceCUBED account.
After purchasing Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency in your local stock exchange, You can then withdraw it from your IceCUBED or Luno wallet to the portfolio of the XRP exchange you have selected to receive the BTC.
After completing the previous steps, you must exchange BTC for XRP through an exchange. For example, you can use the Binance bag to sell BTC and buy XRP from the XRP / BTC trading screen. Below is a screenshot of the Binance trading screen:
Once you have converted your BTC into XRP, you can leave it at the Binance exchange at no cost, or you can withdraw the XRP from a personal portfolio in your control.
Keep in mind that keeping Ripple in a portfolio has a small cost in the form of a reserve requirement. Requesting this quantity protects the shared global XRP registry from excessive growth that may result from spam or malicious use. According to Ripple, The current minimum reserve requirement is a modest 20 XRP for a wallet address that does not have other items in the ledger.
If you are going to simply exchange XRP without taking the cryptocurrency into a personal portfolio, then the use of an online broker that accepts South African customers would probably be your best alternative.
Also, if you only trade through a broker, you can also do it take advantage of the margin deposit up to 300: 1 with some brokers. If you intend to trade the market without taking over the cryptocurrency, you can give up your wallet and exchange your brokerage account.
While not all brokers offering cryptocurrency transactions will hire South African customers, XTB offers award-winning forex, ETF and cryptocurrency mediation and currently accept customers from the country.
Step 5: Pay XRP income taxes
Owning the cryptocurrencies themselves does not subject you to taxation, so the taxation of cryptocurrencies in South Africa generally derives from revenue from trade or from an increase in interest on cryptocurrencies. Basically, any South African commercial cryptocurrency could be subject to the payment of income taxes from their commercial activities.
In addition, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) states that:
"In South Africa, the word" currency "is not defined in the Income Tax Act (Act) The cryptocurrencies are neither official South African offerings nor widely used and accepted in South Africa as a means of payment or exchange. As such, cryptocurrencies are not considered by the SARS as a currency for the purposes of income tax or Capital Gains Tax (CGT), but cryptocurrencies are considered by SARS to be intangible assets. "
This income remains subject to normal taxation as gross income, since while it is not considered in cash by SARS, it is possible to evaluate cryptocurrencies to determine an amount earned on transactions to meet the definition of "gross income" in the tax law. Following the normal SARS rules related to income tax, income accumulated or received from cryptocurrency transactions is taxed as income under gross income.
Final thoughts
Buying Ripple in South Africa may seem a bit cumbersome compared to buying Bitcoin due to the extra upgrade. However, once you have learned the above procedure, you should have no problem getting started. Furthermore, following the process will instruct you and help you better understand how to store and exchange cryptocurrencies.
If the extra Bitcoin transaction makes Ripple a puzzle, then the easiest way to start trading Ripple would be to open an account with exchanges like CoinDirect or CEX.io, or with one of the online brokers mentioned above that allows XRP transactions. Remember that going through an intermediary will require you to make a minimum deposit on the margin.
The South Africans could not find Ripple the best cryptocurrency to buy or sell because of the added step of buying Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, but if you go through an international exchange or an online broker, you can make your XRP negotiate directly without having to do that step further.