On-ramping to Cryptocurrency via Exchanges (Reference Sheet)
Summary of recommendations:
- if you can wait a week, buy ZEC with ACH on Gemini (~1.5% fee), then send to your provider or your (self-custodial) wallet in a week.
- if you need it today, buy BTC on CashApp (~2% fee), then send to your provider or perform a swap deposit to get the ZEC equivalent in your wallet.
Your first withdrawal is likely to be slower than subsequent withdrawals.
| Exchange service | Funding source | Withdrawal hold length | Exchange fees (estimated total spread and swap fees) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CashApp | Debit card | <1 day | 2%–0% (varies by purchase size) |
| Coinbase | |||
| ACH transfer | ~1 week (5 days) | ~2% | |
| Debit card | <1 day | ~4% | |
| PayPal | |||
| Gemini | |||
| ACH transfer | ~1 week (3–5 days) | ~1.5% | |
| Debit card | ~2 days | ~5% | |
| PayPal | ~1 week (4–5 days) | ~4% | |
| PayPal | ? | ? | ? |
| Venmo | ? | ? | ? |
The information on this page is provided as an informational service only. I've done my best to thoroughly research everything I discuss in my series of resource articles, but things change and I am personally unable to verify some of the transactional methods shown above.
If you have suggestions to improve this guide, please contact me directly to let me know. Thanks! (And many more thanks to the sweethearts who have helped me compile this information. )
