How to Buy STORJ - Your Top 8 Options

Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader or a complete beginner, the information listed below will help you determine the best way to buy STORJ. Read on to learn about all the best cryptocurrency exchanges that support the ERC-20 Ethereum token.

What Is STORJ?

The STORJ network is a decentralized cloud storage system that lets you rent out your spare hard drive space in exchange for STORJ token rewards.

This excerpt from the STORJ white paper provides a high-level overview of how it works:

“The main duty of the storage node is to reliably store and return data. Node operators are individuals or entities that have excess hard drive space and want to earn income by renting their space to others. These operators will download, install, and configure Storj software locally, with no account required anywhere.”

The STORJ network was founded in 2014. Over the past several years, the developers have added a number of improvements to the platform. For example, STORJ now provides an easy, frictionless way for the platform’s users to switch from Amazon Web Services to STORJ.

STORJ developers have come up with solutions for addressing node churn, security vulnerabilities, latency and other issues common to decentralized storage networks. The 90-page white paper linked above contains detailed technical information about each of these improvements.

Leadership

Ben Golub – Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer. Golub is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved with many tech startups. From 2010 to 2012, Golub was the President and CEO Gluster, a provider of open source storage solutions.
Shawn Wilkinson – Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to co-founding STORJ, Wilkinson studied computer science at Morehouse College. He was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in 2014.
John Quinn – Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer. Quinn’s background is in finance. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1995 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He worked at several banks and became the Director of Deutsche Bank in 2010. He got involved in blockchain 2017 when he founded the investment firm Decentral Park Capital.
Philip Hutchins – Chief Technology Officer. Hutchins was the Director of DevOps at Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay. Before that, he was a Systems Engineer at Turner Broadcasting.

The Most Convenient Ways to Buy STORJ

Just a few years ago, the only way to buy cryptocurrency was through a cryptocurrency exchange. Today, there are a growing number of ways to buy that make it easy for people with no technical knowledge whatsoever to invest. Cryptocurrency exchangers like Changelly and ChangeNOW provide a quick and easy way to buy STORJ and other cryptocurrency assets.

Here’s a quick walkthrough of how Changelly works.

Changelly

Prerequisites for using Changelly

Debit or credit card.
Government-issued ID card.
Digital camera.
Cryptocurrency wallet.

Changelly is a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchanger. In other words, it’s a purchasing service that handles the complex part of trading one currency for another. To buy STORJ through Changelly, all you essentially need is a debit or credit card. Prior to making your purchase, you should set up a cryptocurrency wallet. Several excellent free crypto wallets are available, including Jaxx and Coinomi.

To get through the ID verification process that Changelly requires, you’ll also need to send in a picture of your driver’s license, passport or some other government-issued ID card.

Making your purchase

Changelly’s wizard guides you through all the steps you need to take to buy STORJ. The process begins with two simple menus: You Send and You Get. Select USD in the first menu and STORJ in the next, then continue on to step two.

The confirmation screen depicted below shows you some additional information. Under Expected exchange rate, you’ll see your exchange quote. Beneath that, you’ll see the amount you’ll pay Changelly in commission fees.

To complete the next step, you’ll need to copy and paste your STORJ address from Jaxx, Coinomi or whichever cryptocurrency wallet you chose earlier.

Now, Changelly will once again display a price quote and ask you to confirm the information that you provided.

All that’s left to do is provide your payment information. Changelly supports Mastercard and Visa bank cards.

Changelly pros and cons

If your goal is to quickly exchange a few hundred dollars for STORJ, Changelly makes sense. A $100 purchase only incurs a 50 cent commission fee.

However, if you intend to buy several thousand dollars’ worth of STORJ or more, using a cryptocurrency exchange is probably a better idea. Advanced exchanges are much cheaper to use because they offer much lower commission rates.

Another limitation of Changelly is that the minimum purchase you can make is $100. Follow the link below for a detailed look at Changelly’s benefits and disadvantages.

ChangeNOW

ChangeNOW is a crypto exchange service that’s very similar to Changelly. In fact, ChangeNOW’s interface is almost identical to Changelly’s.

One advantage that ChangeNOW has over Changelly is that it will let you buy as little STORJ as you want. If you use a credit or debit card to buy STORJ or any other cryptocurrency through Changelly, you have to spend at least $100.

Another difference between Changelly and ChangeNOW is that ChangeNOW has buttons on the top of the menus let you switch between Classic Rate and Fixed Rate.

If you use Classic Rate when purchasing cryptocurrency through ChangeNOW, your quote will be based on the current market price of whatever cryptocurrency you want to buy. In other words, you’re essentially placing a market order. Fixed Rate is more like a limit order because you can specify an exact amount. Your order won’t process until ChangeNOW finds a sell order that meets your criteria.

Unfortunately, Fixed Rate doesn’t work with USD or STORJ. Classic Rate, however, lists both USD and STORJ.

Unlike Changelly, ChangeNOW doesn’t charge commissions. Instead, ChangeNOW builds the cost of doing business into the prices that it offers its customers. This means that the buy and sell quotes that you’ll find on ChangeNOW are slightly above and below the prices that you’ll find on advanced crypto exchanges.

Advanced Crypto Exchanges That Support STORJ

If you want to buy large amounts of STORJ or save money on commission fees, you may want to consider signing up with one of the full-featured cryptocurrency exchanges listed below.

The first generation of cryptocurrency exchanges had poor security mechanisms, were notoriously buggy and not very user-friendly. However, the industry has come a long way in recent years. Today’s top professional cryptocurrency exchanges are equipped with advanced features like peer-to-peer margin trading, technical charts that help you predict price changes and more.

Binance

Binance– one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges– lists STORJ and hundreds of other cryptocoins and tokens.

Day traders like Binance because of its bustling, highly liquid markets. The high volumes and low commission fees make it easier to profitably place a rapid series of trades. Fees start at just 0.1% and that rate drops lower when a trade involves Binance Coin (BNB). To put that fee schedule in perspective, Binance’s commission rate is five times lower than Changelly’s.

Another feature that professional traders like about Binance is API access. API access lets you set up trading bots that can trade on your behalf.

The primary downside of Binance and many other professional crypto exchanges is that it doesn’t accept any form of fiat money. Crypto exchanges that don’t accept government-issued funds have fewer compliance responsibilities, which is why they are cheaper to use. However, lack of fiat support can be a hassle– especially if you don’t already own Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency. If you don’t have any cryptos to trade for STORJ, you’ll have to go through a third party service first to make your initial exchange.

Another disadvantage of Binance is that margin trading is not an option. Crypto exchanges that support margin trading let you borrow money to place trades. This lets you leverage your gains and earn more profit that you would ordinarily make.

Bittrex

If you’re looking for an advanced crypto exchange that supports fiat money and STORJ, Bittrex could be the best choice. Bittrex customers can transfer fiat money into their accounts via wire transfers. In addition, Bittrex has 286 trading markets. This gives you many options for trading not only STORJ, but also many other cryptocurrencies.

Advanced features of Bittrex include real-time analytical charts, limit orders and API access. Margin trading is not available, though. Another downside is high fees. Bittrex charges a flat 0.25% commission rate. Whether you add to Bittrex’s liquidity or take away from it, the rate remains the same. High volume traders do not receive any commission discounts.

Huobi

Another way to buy STORJ is through Huobi, a Singapore-based exchange with international availability. Huobi is similar to Binance in that it’s a professional crypto exchange with low commission fees that does not accept government-issued money.

One feature that Huobi has that Binance lacks is an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund). The ETF lets you invest in a large selection of cryptocurrencies and tokens. Investing in the ETF might make sense if you believe that cryptocurrency prices as a whole will recover and continue their upward movement.

If you’re interested in crypto day trading, Huobi’s low fees and busy trading markets are a benefit. Like Binance, Huobi is a high volume exchange. High volume means better liquidity, which in turn means faster, more accurate trading. Commission fees start at 0.2%, but members of Huobi’s VIP program receive a 0.1% commission rate.

The main downside of Huobi is that it has high withdrawal fees. It’s one of just a few crypto exchanges that charge you for withdrawing cryptocurrencies. On top of mining fees, you have to also pay a separate variable fee to make a withdrawal. For STORJ, that fee is 2 STORJ. Huobi also places a limit on the amount of cryptocurrency you can withdraw in a day. Currently, STORJ’s withdrawal limit is 1000.

Other Exchanges That Support STORJ

ABCC

According to CoinMarketCap, the highest volume market for trading STORJ is currently ABCC. ABCC’s base commission rate is 0.1%. It doesn’t accept fiat deposits. However, credit card purchases are available through Simplex, ABCC’s bank card processor.

CoinTiger

STORJ is also available on CoinTiger, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. There’s a flat 0.08% fee for trades that add to CoinTiger’s liquidity and a 0.15% fee for trades that take away from it. CoinTiger accepts fiat deposits through bank transfers.

IDAX

Another way to buy STORJ is through IDAX. IDAX applies a flat 0.2% fee to all buy and sell orders. Advanced features include support for options, futures and over-the-counter trades. Currently, IDAX doesn’t support USD deposits, but it does support a number of other fiat currencies.

What’s the Best Way to Buy STORJ?

Before you sign up with any of the exchanges listed above, you should first consider your experience level and your trading goals.

For beginners

If you’ve never traded crypto before or if you simply want to buy a small amount of STORJ, Changelly and ChangeNOW are both excellent choices. If you want to spend less than $100, you should pick ChangeNOW. Changelly won’t process your transaction unless you spend more than $100. Both services are somewhat pricey, but their fees won’t matter much unless you intend to make a large purchase.

For advanced traders

If you have some experience trading cryptocurrency, you may want to use a professional exchange to save money on fees. Binance offers a very competitive commission schedule, but does not support government-issued currencies. Bittrex does accept wire deposits, so it’s more convenient. However, it’s also slightly more expensive to use because its commission fees are higher.

how to buy storj

How to Buy STORJ – Your Top 8 Options