This blog post is a follow on from the video below which takes you step by step through how to buy Cardano ADA, choose a wallet to store them in and then stake so you can earn ADA rewards every epoch which is every 5 days.
How to Buy Cardano
In the video at the top of this post I walk through how to buy ADA on Binance and on Kraken. Both offer easy options to deposit EUR / USD or GBP on the exchanges and then buy Cardano.
Binance
If you are trying to buy using another crypto like bitcoin as your funding source then you wont need to do KYC which is verifying who you are. If you are looking to deposit any FIAT currency (EUR, USD, GBP etc) then you will need to verify your account first which is done using ID documents. The normal Binance website doesn’t accept US citizens so if you are in the US you will need to use Binance.us
Link – Binance.com or Binance.US (for us citizens)
Kraken
Kraken is another exchange where you can buy Cardano and one I have personally used for a long time for buying and selling Bitcoin and other cryptos. To use Kraken you will need to verify your account first and Kraken is open to US citizens.
Link – Kraken.com
How to Choose a Cardano Wallet
Since the video that started this post I have done a new one walking through all of the wallets which you can see below
There are many options for storing your ADA which I cover in the video and I will outline below are well.
Leave your Cardano on an Exchange
One option is to just leave your ADA on an exchange once you buy it. I do trust Binance and Kraken as they are 2 of the biggest in the industry but in general I never leave crypto on an exchange as if something happens that exchange my funds would then be gone. There is a saying in crypto “Not your keys not your coins” which basically means if you dont own the private keys for your coins you dont fully own them. Private keys are the strings of letters and numbers that allow someone to access their coins on the blockchain and you are only in control of them when your funds are off exchanges.
Exodus Wallet
Exodus is a very good multi-asset wallet that allows you to store multiple crypto currencies in the same wallet. With Exodus you do own your private keys but when you get to the staking process you don’t have an option on the pool you delegate to.
Link – exodus.io
Atomic Wallet
Like Exodus it is a very good multi-asset wallet that allows you to store multiple crypto currencies in the same wallet and you own your own private keys. They also allow staking within the wallet but currently there is a bug that stops you choosing which any other stake pool except their own.
Link – atomicwallet.io
Daedalus Wallet
This is the official Cardano wallet built by Emurgo and if you are not using a hardware wallet this would be my choice, they will also soon be introducing hardware wallet support so it will be the best solution in my mind then. Daedalus is a desktop wallet that downloads the blockchain to your computer, I have a full video on the Daedalus wallet and how to stake using it below
Link – daedaluswallet.io
Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets are my own personal choice when storing your crypto. They are a physical device that needs to be connected to your computer or phone when you are accessing your crypto and no-one can move your coins without having physical access to the device to confirm the transactions on it.
The 2 most popular wallets are Ledger and Trezor and currently you use a chrome plugin called Yoroi to access your funds. I have done a video on how to use your hardware wallet with Yoroi and will add it in below.
Ledger – Ledger.com
Trezor – Trezor.io
How to Stake Your Cardano
The video above on the wallets show how to store and stake your ADA so I wont go over that again. 2 really good websites to use when looking for a pool are adapools.org and pooltool.io which I show in the main video on this page.
I have my own stake pool Ticker: PAUL which I really appreciate people delegating to and I also done a video below on the factors to look at when choosing a stake pool.
I hope this post has been useful and please feel free to SHARE it if you think it will help others and let me know below if there is anything missing as I will be adding to it over time.
where can I buy cardano in new york?
Binance.us
Hi Paul. I’m quite new in the crypto world. How do I access the 15 word ITN wallet. Regards
If you are only new you wont need that. The ITN was the testnet prior to July 2020 so if you didn’t have a wallet on the testnet before then you wont have that seed
Hello Paul!
Thank you for your channel and all the news and tips!
I live in Canada and just got into the world of crypto and purchased some ADA… I realized I cannot hold my ADA in the Ledger Nano X wallet and so it’s on AdaLite right now. Is that the best and the only way to keep my ADA?
Would the same apply to all the other altcoins (holding them on AdaLite)?
Must say this process seams quite confusing and frustrating for a beginner 😓
Hey AJ, you can store your ADA on your Ledger. I use a ledger for my own ADA and then use Daedalus and Yoroi to check the balance of the wallet. You can also store your ADA on the ledger and access it through ADAlite. Did you create a wallet through ADAlite when you first started or did you connect your ledger to ADAlite?
Joseph, NY sucks as far as regulations. If you have coin base wallet you can get it through http://www.simpleswap.io.
You’ll have to swap out with another crypto from your coin base exchange.
Pain in the ass. Europe has so much better access.
I’m on the THETA bandwagon as well as ADA.
good luck and be careful out there.
PS Im from Ireland and in NY for 40 years
Thanks for the input Chris. Hope the states is treating you well. I have also been told Voyager works in NY? Do you know if it does
Paul Thanks for all this information. My question is once you stake your ADA it leaves your wallet correct? I am new how can you have your ADA in a Ledger and stake at the same time. If it’s in a Yoroi Wallet would that be different.
Hey Kelly. The ADA always stakes in ledger. When you stake you are just signing a transaction to say which pool you are basically voting for but all control of the coins still stays with you and your ledger
Paul – I didn’t see a blog for calculators specifically, so I chose this one…
I think they are fantastic! Beyond their obvious utility, they really got me thinking that I might be able to hodl enough ADA to supply a modest life style. This assumes that the value remains constant of course (and we know that crypto has not been that stable – to date). But perhaps in 10 years there may be enough stability in the network(s) to keep the price relatively stable. That would certainly allow an old codger, like myself, to actually retire… whatever that looks like.
So – well done. You gave me some hope…. not to be confused with hopium.
Thanks Mike appreciate the comment and great to hear you got use from them
Hi Paul, very useful videos especially for newbies
I have a question if u may:
I did all the process, downloaded and registered daedalus , and did the process of moving my ada there from kraken
I am currently seeing “daedalus is syncronizing with blockchain, process ..% complete, this feature will be available once fully syncronized”.
Will this happen everytime I open the wallet app? do i need to have my pc on all the time in order for the staking to happen? Or i finish the process and then i can go offline?
Thank you
Sorry for the late reply, yes the first time you open it takes a while to sync as it has to download the full blockchain but after that it will be a lot quicker as the next time it only has to download what happened since you last opened the wallet
Hi Paul,
I’ve seen a couple of your videos and would like to say thanks for all the info you put out. I’m new to this and still a bit confused.
I want to eventually have all my ADA on a Trezor T. I have just bought some ADA on Kraken and it is sitting there for 72 hours. I then want to transfer it to Yoroi. The Trezor T is going to take a couple of weeks to arrive. I’m sure this is obvious and correct, but will I be able to transfer all my ADA from Yoroi to my Trezor T later?
Bit confused about whether ADA stays on Yoroi or if it can all go into my hard wallet? I want it all on my Trezor and nothing in Yoroi.
Thanks alot
Cesar
Hey Cesar, ya you will be free to transfer your ada anywhere from yoroi including your trezor T. Good to see you are getting a hardware wallet, they are always the best way to secure your funds
Ok thanks Paul
Que tal Paul ? quisiera hacerte una consulta tengo ada en dos billeteras como unas 2000 en binance y exodus donde puedo pasarlas para hacer staking ya que en binance solo me deja si tengo 5000 y exodus no lo acabo de ver claro …
Sorry I’m not sure what you mean. Can you post your comment in English?
Hello Paul,
Great info! Quick question I may have missed if someone already asked. But if u purchase ADA and send to my Ledger X. Will it automatically stake ADA in Daedalus after purchase or will I have to restate every transaction?
Thanks!
You only need to stake once and then anything new you add will be auto staked for you
Hi Paul. I have ADA staked currently in Yoroi wallet. I don’t like how it’s set up. If I get another wallet like Daedalus can I transfer my ADA straight to there? And if I do will it still be staked in your pool or will I have to start over again?
You can restore the same wallet in daedalus using your seed phase so you won’t have to move any ADA or anything as it will still be the same account
I have cardano ada binance.us How do I get it from there to exodus. Binance will not seem to accept the cardano address from Exodus.
If I ever want to cash out my rewards, do I have to send them to an exchange first, then send them to my bank account? Or is there a way to send it to my bank straight from my Yoroi wallet?
Hey Paul,
Thanks so much for the info. Question regarding the ADA app on Ledger nano – can I uninstall the app to free up space once I have set up everything on Yoroi? or will this impact my Yoroi account? The Ledger nano S only has enough space for about 3 apps so I was hoping to uninstall ADA since I do everything through Yoroi.
Yes you can uninstall and just reinstall again when you need to move any of your ADA
Also since Ledger Nano does not support ADA yet is it recommended to go with Trezor for hardware wallet security or is it safe on Yoroi? Yoroi would be classified as a hot wallet and Ledger/Trezor a cold wallet?
I personally use Ledger and have it connected to my Yoroi and Daedalus wallets
Paul, thanks for sharing all of the insight and experience.
If Ledger and all hardware wallets are technically cold wallets, and thus not connected to the internet, how does Ledger also talk to Daedalus/Yoroi and allow for staking?
Also, how does the breach of Ledger’s data and the associated phishing impact your view of the security of the product? Hardware wallets in general?
Cheers,
Miguel
Thanks Miguel, With staking once you stake that is registered on the blockchain so it stays registered until you change it. Your public key is remembered in yoroi / daedlaus which means the wallet can see all your addresses and balances but any transactions need to be approved by your private key which stays on your hardware wallet so you need to connect it to approve.
With breach that was not a good luck for Ledger but was peoples personal info rather than anything related to your wallet
In US, Transferring USD to Kraken to buy Coins is done only by Wire transfer and it cost at least $15 can go up based on the Bank we use.
which exchange it is easy to transfer the money easily and has options for the staking ?
I hear about Crypto.com app, is that exchange and wallet ? is it good ? does it has Staking options.
crypto.com dont offer staking but they have an alternative calling saving which they offer for ADA and multiple other coins. I use their debit card but I don’t hold any coins on the app outside the CRO I need to for the debit card
Hello, I have a question about staking. If I have began to stake using a specific wallet. Can I buy more ada, send to the same wallet. Will it automatically stake the new ada?
Yes once you delegate it stakes the full wallet so anything new added to it will be auto staked for you
If I send my ADA from Yoroi to an exchange will I lose the rewards I have built up? I had 6.9 rewards that I forgot about and tried to
Hi Paul!
I have a question. For example, if I have 1,000 ADA mad let’s say I split them into 2 wallets, 500 on YOROI and 500 on DAEDALUS, but both of them I stake them on CWP2. Do I get a different outcome on rewards doing that way rather than just put the whole 1,000 on YOROI and/or DAEDALUS and stake them on CWP2?
You would get the same amount of rewards as you get a percentage based on the number of ADA you stake. You would end up with slightly less when using multiple wallets as you pay transaction fees on both
Hi Paul, I have a Ledger Nano S which I use on Ledger Live for keeping my crypto safe, I also use it with my Yoroi wallet, can I also use it with my Nami wallet or will there be some conflict between them or do you suggest buying another Ledger device.
If it did mean me buying another Ledger I assume I would have to set that up in a different site to my existing Ledger site.
Looking forward to your reply
Howard