In this guide, we will make a BAL price forecast and first review, where to buy Balancer.
BAL is a token managing Balancer, a decentralized financial protocol (DeFi) that allows users to exchange ERC-20 tokens without any centralized entity. It is a permissionless AMM protocol that allows anyone to transact on the platform just by connecting a cryptocurrency wallet.
As one of the best decentralized exchanges in the world, Balancer DEX has gained the attention of DeFi enthusiasts who are looking to exchange cryptocurrency assets and earn passive income - but is BAL a good investment?
Where to buy Balancer - best platforms
Below we will review the top cryptocurrency exchanges that listed Balancer in more detail.
1. eToro - Best overall platform to buy Balancer
eToro is one of the most cost-effective and user-friendly cryptocurrency platforms. Launched in 2007, eToro is a social trading platform that allows users to interact with each other. The Copy Trader feature emphasizes this social aspect of this platform even more.
With copytrading, users who want to buy Balancer or other cryptocurrencies can copy the trading decisions or investment portfolios of successful investors on eToro. The platform matches your investment portfolio to theirs, automatically replicating it.
Another advantage that eToro has over other cryptocurrency exchanges is its approach to fees. Instead of opting for a standard commission, which is often high, eToro asks for a fee for the basis of the spread (plus 1%) when you want to invest in Balancer or any other cryptocurrency.
In addition, the trading platform does not ask for any deposit fee to fund the account eToro via fiat currencies, including debit/credit card, PayPal, Neteller or bank transfers.
eToro currently hosts 60+ cryptocurrency assets and has more than 28 million users. It has a good reputation for cryptocurrency trading platform compliant with FCA, CySEC and ASIC regulations and has never been hacked.
In terms of accessibility, you can interact with eToro via a web browser, its mobile app or eToro's cryptocurrency wallet, which you can download for free from the website. It is one of the most secure cryptocurrency wallets on the market today featuring 2-factor authentication verification and unlosable private key.
eToro also supports cryptocurrency staking On Ethereum, Cardano and Tron. Most of DeFi's cryptocurrencies run on ETH, so it's a way to add stability to your wallet and gain passive income.
2. Crypto.com -Excellent platform for purchasing Balancer (BAL)
Another cryptocurrency platform that focuses on ease of use is Crypto.com. This platform allows investors to not only buy Balancer and 250+ other cryptocurrencies, but also leverage trading them on perpetual futures pairs - use a stop loss if you're trying this to avoid liquidation.
You can buy Balancer (BAL) on Crypto.com via debit or credit card payment, paying a 2% transaction fee. This fee only applies one month after creating an account on this platform, as Crypto.com offers a 30-day free trial period for new users, allowing them to invest in the cryptocurrency of their choice without paying any fees.
Crypto.com has many built-in security protocols to protect user assets. These protocols range from multi-factor authentication to other underlying layers of security to protect accounts from fraud. In addition, customers can take advantage of Crypto.com's coverage through the FDIC program, which gives them up to $250,000 in insurance.
Fees on Crypto.com vary depending on the volume of transactions and trading. For users trading less than $ 25k per month, the price is 0.4%. The larger the volume you trade, the lower the fees you would have to pay. Crypto.com is a good platform if you intend to trade high volumes of cryptocurrencies.
You can reduce the fee by purchasing Cronos (CRO), Crypto.com's native token. In addition, Crypto.com has its own Crypto.com Visa card, which you can use for purchases at selected retailers and get cashback of up to 8%.
The platform also offers NFT enthusiasts its NFT market.
3 - Binance: Trade Balancer at just 0.10% fees.
If you are an experienced trader looking for more technical indicators and the widest range of altcoins, Binance added Balancer on August 6, 2020, and also offers 600+ other cryptocurrencies.
Some of the features that have attracted more than 90 million users to Binance include Binance Futures Battle, Asset Conversion, Cross Collateral and Price Protection.
Binance is the number one cryptocurrency exchange in the world. It provides a lot of educational information about the blockchain ecosystem using simple language - which helps newcomers enter the cryptocurrency space without worry. This includes blogs and videos.
The Binance platform is one of the best places to trade Balancer with low fees. If buy Balancer For cryptocurrencies such as BTC or USDT (Tether), you pay only 0.10% trading fee. However, the fee for deposits using debit and credit cards is high - 4.5%. Before choosing Binance as a trading platform to invest in Balancer, you should also keep in mind that it is an unregulated platform that has only received regulations from Canada and Bahrain.
Binance also caters to a crowd of enthusiasts NFT, having its own Binance NFT marketplace, which uses the Binance BNB cryptocurrencies - As currency.
Along with Balancer, Binance offers other DeFi cryptocurrencies, such as. Bancor, Maker and Synthetix, as well as many others.
4. Coinbase: the most popular exchange through which you will invest in Balancer.
Our other recommendation through which to buy Balancer and other cryptocurrencies is Coinbase, which has tens of millions of users and is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. You can start your investment journey through Coinbase with a free 10$ signup bonus (link below). It has a simple interface, is easy to use, and provides many additional features, including cryptocurrency staking.
Coinbase listed Balancer on October 6, 2020. Like the other exchange platforms we reviewed, Coinbase also provides insurance facilities to compensate its users if they lose their funds due to any fraud. In addition, you can start investing in Balancer On Coinbase for a minimum deposit of just $2. This is a good option for those retail investors on a budget.
In terms of fees, Coinbase charges higher fees than some of its counterparts. For example, the deposit fee when using a debit card is 3.99%, and when using a bank transfer the fee is 1.49% - the trade-off is that the transaction process will take longer.
When it comes to trading fees, use Coinbase Pro to pay low fees that use maker / taker fee amounts of 0.6% / 0.4%.
Despite the high cost of deposit, some users prefer Coinbase because of its emphasis on security. Once funds are deposited into a Coinbase account, the platform stores 98% of them in cold storage. In addition, it provides the option to enable two-factor authentication, requiring a one-time password (OTP) each time you log in.
What is Balancer?
Balancer is a decentralized exchange (DEX), Automated Market Maker and liquidity pool protocol that you can use to exchange ERC-20 tokens without going through any centralized entities. It is a permissionless platform - allowing users to engage in the cryptocurrency market without providing any verification.
At the core of this protocol is AMM. AMM or Automatic Market Maker is a platform that uses an algorithm to manage cryptocurrency orders and determine asset values.
Should I buy a balancer
The Balancer DeFi protocol had been in development since 2018 by Balancer Labs. It was finally launched by BlockScience, a blockchain consulting firm, in 2020 after the platform raised $3 million in its funding round - selling 5 million BAL - the native token of the DeFi protocol.
Balancer is among the top 10 DeFi platforms in the world and had more than $2 billion in assets locked up as of early 2022.
Balancer operating principle
Balancer uses algorithms instead of relying on centralized entities to determine transactions. He introduced a concept called Balancer pools. These pools of two to eight different cryptocurrencies provide liquidity for traders.
Once a Balancer pool is created, the systems sets the ratio of tokens within that pool. For example, suppose the pool consists of Tether, Ether and Bitcoin; at this time the algorithm sets the ratio of these cryptocurrencies to 25%, 25% and 50%.
After the user starts trading, the ratio will rebalance. This means that when the ratio of a given token is reduced, the percentage of another token present in the same pool increases. For example, if someone takes 5% of Tether out of the pool, the new cryptocurrency ratio becomes 27.5%, 20% and 52.5%.
When trading, the underlying balancing system decides the best price for the available pools using SOR or Smart Ordering Routing. This ensures that the trade achieves the highest profit without high fees and gas costs.
As for the fees for extracting liquidity from the pool, this is a decision left to the pool developers. Fees range from .0001% to 10%. The fees do not go solely to the pool creators. Instead, the system divides them among those providing liquidity to the pool.
The Balancer Protocol has three types of pools:
Private Pools: As the name suggests, these are private pools in which the owner has all the management rights. Private pools have only the owners as input to their liquidity. In addition, owners can adjust the terms of their pools.
Pool shares: Share pools consist of multiple users who add liquidity to the pool. In return, the Balancer pool rewards them with BPTs or Balance Pool Tokens.
Smart Pools: Smart Pools are private pools under the control of a smart contract. Similar to shared pools, they also reward with BPT and contribute to pool liquidity.
What makes Balancer unique
Balancer is unique among exchanges. It is an automated creator that offers permissionless trading steps. This means that there is no need to create an account and no verification steps to trade outside the platform. But this is not the only distinguishing factor of this DeFi protocol.
Balancer allows pool operators - this can be any user - to set their exchange fees, making Balancer the least expensive place to trade stable cryptocurrencies. Two versions of Balancer have been released, V1 and V2.
V2 provides additional features such as protocol value for assets, Flash loans, Flash swaps, custom AMM formulas, internal user balances, etc.
Token Balancer
Balancer cryptocurrency is a management token, which means that Balancer token holders who decide on the course of development of the Balancer protocol. The total supply of BAL tokens is limited to 100 million.
According to the white paper, 145,000 Balancer tokens are distributed weekly to liquidity providers on the Balancer protocol. This would bring the annual distribution of BAL tokens to 7.5 million. Users can earn tokens by adding liquidity to the pool or adjusting them.
That said, developers have not yet finalized the Balancer protocol's management structure, leaving the current utility of the BAL token questionable. But, it is likely that BAL will follow the same management structure as other DeFi protocols.
Is Balancer a good investment?
We took a brief look at what a Balancer is and its use case and application in the DeFi space. Crypto assets, however, tend to be volatile and their price changes rapidly every day. Before you buy a BAL, consider the following factors:
DeFi market is optimistic
The DeFi market is growing at a rapid pace. In February 2021, its value was $72 billion. But in 2022, the value rose to $106 billion - an increase of 47%. Since Balancer is one of the largest DeFi exchanges on the market, the chance of a bull market in the price of BAL cryptocurrency is high.
Balancer Ecosystem Fund.
Five million BAL tokens are earmarked for the Balancer Ecosystem Fund. Its goal is to attract strategic partners to help the Balancer ecosystem platform grow even more. Given the growth of the DeFi market, there is a chance that the protocol will attract skillful investors who will use their expertise to expand the platform in the DeFi space.
Fundraising
Balancer Labs, the team behind the Balancer protocol, has raised $3 million during a seed funding round. The funds, if put to good use, could grow the protocol ecosystem by expanding operations.
How to buy a Balancer - the best ways
We've gone through all the facts you need to consider before investing in Balancer. We've also covered the best cryptocurrency exchanges from which you can buy Balancer, the current BAL price action and future forecasts. This section discusses best ways to buy Balancer.
Buy Balancer with a debit or credit card
If you want to use your debit or credit card to buy Balancer, you can do so in five minutes.
Platforms such as eToro, Binance, Crypto.com and Coinbase provide this facility. And they all follow the same method. All you have to do is create an account, deposit funds and invest in Balancer or any cryptocurrency.
But keep in mind that the deposit fee these cryptocurrency exchanges ask for can vary. While eToro gives you the benefit of no deposit fee (if you deposit in USD), fees range from 3% to 5% for other cryptocurrency exchanges. Crypto.com, for example, charges a deposit fee of 2.99%.
Buy Balancer with PayPal
If you don't want to give your bank account details to any cryptocurrency exchange, you can use PayPal to buy Balancer.
This process will allow you to link your PayPal account to your cryptocurrency account and buy any cryptocurrency with a single click. eToro will allow you to deposit funds via PayPal without paying a deposit fee, but once again, the condition is to use USD. Otherwise, you will have to pay 0.5% as deposit fees.
Buying a Balancer without KYC
Very few secure platforms will allow you to deposit funds into your account unless you provide KYC verification documents. The reason is governments around the world are pushing cryptocurrency exchanges to become more regulated.
And providing details is not a bad idea and would prevent trading platforms from considering you a bad actor - allowing you to trade freely without any problems or accusations of money laundering.
Best wallet to store cryptocurrency Balancer
When it comes to wallets, you can choose between hardware and software wallets. An encrypted hardware wallet, especially those made by Trezor or ledger, provides high security to safeguard your funds. Also, since they are not connected to the Internet, you are safe from phishing scams or hacking attacks.
Your other option is the eToro Money wallet. It is the best cryptocurrency wallet available and has multiple security protocols to protect your funds.
It has a non-removable private key feature and a free recovery service that encrypts your key and password. Moreover, unlike hardware wallets, it is free. All you have to do is use your smartphone and download it from the official eToro website via the link below.
How to buy a Balancer - shebki guide
Here is a complete guide on how to buy a Balancer through the FCA-regulated platform, eToro.
Step 1: Create an account eToro
Visit the official eToro website and create an account by entering your username and email, and choosing a password.
Step 2: Upload documents for identity verification
You can withdraw Balancer or other cryptocurrencies on eToro only after providing verification documents. Send your government-issued ID and proof of residence as KYC verification documents.
Step 3: Deposit funds
To start your investment journey, deposit a minimum of $10 on eToro. When depositing, you can choose one of the payment methods: credit/debit card, PayPal, Neteller, bank transfer or Skrill.
Step 4: Buy Token Balancer
Go to the eToro search bar and type in "Balancer." You will see a drop-down list with Balancer popping up. Click on the "Trade" button next to it. It will redirect you to the Balancer investment page. Enter the amount with which you want to buy Balancer tokens and click on "Open Trade" to finalize your order.
How to sell Balancer
Once you buy a Balancer, the process of selling it is the same on eToro. There is only a small withdrawal fee of 5$ to cash out the stored cryptocurrencies. All you have to do is go to your portfolio, select Balancer and place an order.
Summary
Balancer is DeFi's Automated Market Maker protocol that focuses on permissionless finance, allowing anyone to trade ERC-20 tokens on the platform without creating an account or providing detailed information. It is one of the largest projects in the growing DeFi space that gives full control to the community through BAL tokens.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be taken as financial advice either. Every investment and transactional activity involves risk, so you are advised to do your own research when making any trading, investment or financial decisions.
