How to Buy Balancer (BAL)

A decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built on Ethereum, Balancer facilitates trading without a central order book, instead letting users create index funds by locking up as many as eight crypto assets into custom lending pools.

By doing so, users earn a portion of the trading fees as a return, along with new BAL tokens. These BAL holders, in turn, give users a say in how protocol decisions are made, from how Balancer users are reimbursed to more technical upgrades.

Not sure yet why you’d want to buy BAL? Feel free to read our ‘What is Balancer?’ guide, which offers a more extensive breakdown of the project’s technology and vision. 

There are a number of ways to buy BAL. However, many find that it is easiest to purchase it through a trusted global exchange like Kraken. 

Aside from offering the lowest fees in the industry, Kraken is constantly rated one of the most secure and trusted crypto exchanges in the world. This matters because if you lose the private key to your BAL, it can be challenging if not impossible to recover your funds. 

At Kraken, we take security seriously, with tested technology and rigorous procedures designed to safeguard funds. We don’t cut corners when it comes to security, and neither should you. 

Follow the steps below to start buying BAL on Kraken: 

1. Sign up for a Kraken account.
   First, enter a valid email address, create a new username and set a strong password to protect your account.

2. Verify your account. 
   After providing your name, date of birth, country of residence and phone number, you can buy BAL with cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH. In order to use cash (i.e. USD or EUR), you’ll need to provide our experts with additional supporting documents verifying your identity. Read about our verification processes here.

3. Deposit cash.
   You can fund your account in a number of ways. How you do so will depend upon your location and preferences.

4. Purchase BAL!
   Once your account is funded with cash, you’re ready to purchase BAL. At this point, you’ll also gain access to our advanced charting tools, 24-hour global client support and the ability to utilize spot trading on margin*, features that help make the Kraken experience beloved by millions of global traders.

*Availability of margin trading services is subject to certain limitations and eligibility criteria.

Once you buy BAL, you’ll need somewhere to safely store your cryptocurrency. 

Kraken is secure, but it’s always safest to keep your BAL in a wallet, a software or hardware device that stores the public and private keys required to make crypto transactions.

Balancer is a platform built on top of Ethereum, meaning BAL can be stored in an Ethereum wallet, of which there are many. Mobile and web wallets can make transactions easy, while hardware wallets are perhaps best suited for secure, long-term storage. 

When choosing a crypto wallet for your BAL, first spend some time thinking about what you plan to do with your tokens to find a wallet that fits your needs.

Ready to take the next step toward trading on emerging asset exchange protocols? Click the button below to buy BAL on Kraken today!