How to buy Uniswap (UNI) – A Beginner’s Guide
By: Alex Miguel | Last updated: 2/21/24
Uniswap (UNI) is the official governance token of Uniswap, the major decentralized exchange. In this post, I’ll go over what makes UNI valuable, as well as where you can purchase it from.
How to Buy Uniswap Summary
- Get a Uniswap-compatible wallet (Ledger, Exodus).
- Locate your UNI address and sign up to CEX.IO.
- Buy UNI using another crypto or a credit card.
- Withdraw your UNI tokens to your wallet (or leave them on CEX.IO if you plan on trading them).
Here are the top exchanges that you can use to buy UNI:
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76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
CFDs are not available to US customers.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn moreThat’s the basics of how to buy Uniswap! For a more detailed review and a step-by-step guide, keep on reading below. I’ll be covering:
1. What is Uniswap?
Before describing the UNI token, we should first understand the platform it is tied to – Uniswap.
Uniswap is a decentralized exchange, a type of platform commonly known as a “DEX”. More specifically, this type of DEX is called an automated market-maker (AMM).
DEXes allow users to trade directly out of their wallet – without having to trust a centralized third party to hold their funds for them. They also have several other benefits, including minimal sign-up and verification processes, no token listing fees, and the potential for community ownership.
Uniswap has maintained the top spot as the largest DEX in the cryptocurrency ecosystem almost non-stop since it was launched – both in terms of market cap and trading volume.
You can read more about the most recent version of the exchange (Uniswap v3) here
What is Uniswap’s UNI used for?
Uniswap’s UNI token represents ownership and governance rights in the Uniswap decentralized exchange. Holders of the UNI token can vote on proposals for future changes to the Uniswap protocol, as well as receive a share of the fees generated by the platform.
There are a total of 1,000,000,000 UNI tokens, with the following distribution:
- 600,000,000 (60%) allocated to community members
- 212,660,000 (21.3%) allocated to team members and employees
- 180,440,000 (18.0%) allocated to investors
- 6,900,000 (0.69%) allocated to advisors.
2. How to buy Uniswap
Step 1: Get a Uniswap-Compatible Wallet
Assuming that you want to buy and hold Uniswap for the long-run, it’s important that you have a compatible wallet to store it in. Uniswap is an ERC-20 (Ethereum-based) token, so there are plenty of reliable wallets which support it.
Uniswap Hardware Wallets
The safest way to store your UNI tokens would be in a hardware wallet. Hardware wallets are physical devices that store your private keys offline. As long as you have possession of your hardware wallet, nobody will be able to access your coins remotely via the internet.
Ledger hardware wallets – These wallets will let you safely store UNI, as well as a huge range of other altcoins. There are two primary models to choose from – the Nano S and the Nano X. The Nano X is the newer of the two models, with a special feature that lets you control your wallet via your phone AND laptop.
You can read our review of the Ledger Nano X here.
Another hardware wallet that I recommend is the TREZOR Model T. You can read our full review of the TREZOR T here.
Uniswap Software Wallets
Exodus – A popular blockchain asset wallet with a great user interface. It’s been downloaded over 4 million times, and supports over 100 cryptocurrencies and tokens including UNI and Bitcoin. Exodus has a built-in exchange, which enables users to rapidly swap between crypto assets.
MetaMask – A popular browser extension wallet which makes it easy to connect to DApps. MetaMask makes it easy to connect to the Uniswap exchange or governance portal. Also available as a mobile app on iOS and Android.
Coinbase Wallet – A mobile wallet by the popular crypto exchange Coinbase. It allows users to connect to decentralized applications (DApps) and link their Coinbase account for the easier management of funds.
Locate Your UNI Address
Once you have your wallet ready to go, you’ll need to find your UNI address. UNI is an ERC-20 token, so its address is the same as an Ethereum one – a long sequence of random letters and numbers, starting with “0x”.
Here is an example of what it should look like: 0xd695c1a662c23497773a5160c3140360a77d4boj
Step 2: Find a UNI Exchange
Buy Uniswap Through CEX.IO
CEX.IO is a well-established and regulated exchange that’s been around since 2013. On CEX.IO, you can buy UNI instantly using a credit card, or buy it after making a deposit of USD, EUR, GBP, or USDT. You can make a deposit using a credit card, or other payment methods like Skrill, bank transfers, or ACH payments.
Read our full review of CEX.IO here.
Buy Uniswap through Coinbase
Coinbase lets users buy UNI via a debit card or bank account. Coinbase accepts buyers from all around the world and the fees on the exchange are relatively low (mainly for ACH transfers inside the US). The company trades publicly and was founded all the way back in 2012. For most users in Coinbase’s supported countries, it is probably the fastest and easiest option for buying UNI.
Read our full Coinbase review here.
Buy Uniswap through Binance
Binance is the largest and most popular global crypto exchange today, known for having amazing liquidity. You can buy UNI on Binance using any other cryptocurrency that the exchange supports, or buy it instantly using a credit card. They also offer bank deposits and P2P trading for selected countries.
You can read our Binance review here.
Buy Uniswap through eToro
If you’re only after making a profit on Uniswap’s price changes and don’t require actually owning the tokens, eToro may be the easiest and cheapest option. (Note: CFD trading is not available to US users.) eToro offers a user-friendly app that will let you swap between UNI and fiat currency (USD, EUR and more) quickly and easily. They have a very complicated withdrawal process, however, so I recommend using them for trading purposes only. If you decide to use eToro for trading purposes only, you can skip step 1 of getting a Uniswap wallet as you won’t be storing the tokens.
Read our full eToro review here.
eToro disclaimer: This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
CFDs are not available to US customers.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn moreStep 3: Withdrawing Your UNI Tokens
After you’ve bought your Uniswap tokens, you’ll want to transfer them off the exchange and into your wallet for safekeeping.
To do this, find your UNI wallet address as mentioned in Step 1 above, then send your tokens to that address from the exchange. This way, you’ll have full control over your UNI and peace of mind that nobody can access them online.
3. Conclusion
Uniswap is currently the leading decentralized exchange in the crypto world and it will most likely be around for a long time in the future.
For those who regularly use and believe in the Uniswap DEX, it makes sense to own a stake in it via the UNI token. When you own UNI, you get real utility: An influence in Uniswap’s future direction, as well as a share of its revenue.
What do you think about Uniswap? Give me your thoughts in the comments section below!
