Monero is considered a better version of Bitcoin because of its anonymity and privacy but Bitcoin is and grows to become more popular.
So, if you want to convert XMR to BTC at the best exchange rates, here’s a quick and easy guide to get started.
First things first, you need to have one of the best Monero wallets and Bitcoin wallets or a wallet that supports both. This is crucial when it comes to the transaction as you will realize later on in this article.
You could pick between a hardware and a software wallet or a mobile or desktop wallet depending on your needs. A software wallet offers more versatility and online integrations making it a much better candidate for micro transactions. However, a hardware is the more popular choice because hackers can’t get into Hardware wallets easily and they are usually protected from malware attacks.
Next, you should locate your Bitcoin wallet address. It is usually a string of letters and numbers followed by 1.
Now you should set about trying to find right cryptocurrency exchange.
Here’s what to look out for –
- Best Exchange Rates – A given but hunting for exchange rates can be quite a hurdle. You could look for an aggregator that compiles the best rates in real time so that you don’t have to.
- Customer reviews – Read all the online reviews – both negative and positive. It is easy to buy reviews so you should pay close attention to negative reviews to make sure that you’re choosing for the right exchange.
- Reliable and secure – Do a quick Google News search to find any incidents if previous hacks. This is usually not a good sign as it shows that the security of the exchange was compromised before. You should also consider the measures they took to compensate their users and protect the exchange from further attacks.
- User friendly – For first time users, this is an important criteria to keep in mind. The site must be friendly and easy to navigate.
- Privacy – Exchanges that maintain privacy without asking for verification are hard to find. If you value your privacy, you must look for an exchange that allows you to convert Monero to Bitcoins without setting up an account.
CoinSwitch is the world’s largest aggregator of crypto exchanges and meets all these requirements and then some.
CoinSwitch: XMR to BTC exchange guide
Here’s how you can transfer your Monero to Bitcoin on CoinSwitch.
- Enter the amount of Monero you want to convert and the right trading pair i.e. XMR <> BTC on the homepage. Clicking on ‘View All Offers’ will allow you to choose the best offer or choose another site that has a price locked in.
- You will be able to see more information on individual exchanges here. If an exchange has been banned in your company, you will be able to see that too.
- Next, you will need to enter your BTC wallet address
- You will receive a wallet Address and a Memo. This is held by CoinSwitch. You can just scan the QR code to get the address instead of entering it manually but the memo has to be entered manually.
- You will have to deposit Monero to the address from your Monero wallet for the transaction to begin.
- The order page will reflect that the XMR has been deposited. Your transaction will now begin and not take more than 15 minutes. It can take longer if the blockchain speed is low and the size of the transaction is large.
- Once the transaction is completed successfully, you will receive a transaction hash.
It is possible to find a peer to peer website to convert Monero to Bitcoin but it takes time and it isn’t as safe as CoinSwitch.
