Ripple's XRP is the hot new cryptocurrency — here's how you buy it

The third-largest crypto by market cap, Ripple's XRP is quickly becoming the hot new investment behind bitcoin and Ethereum.

The logo of blockchain company Ripple is seen at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto.  (Thomson Reuters)

Following bitcoin's booming 2017, cryptocurrencies have become the hot new investment play.

One of the most talked-about cryptos is Ripple's XRP, which had grown by more than 3,000% since mid-2017. Its market cap of $7.6 billion makes it the third-largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin and Ethereum.

Unlike those two other giants, if you want to buy Ripple it takes a bit more finagling than just taking a trip over to the popular exchange Coinbase (although it's still important).

Here's how to buy your first batch of Ripple's XRP coins.

There are several exchanges for Ripple's XRP, many of which are overloaded with requests at the moment. For the sake of convenience, I used Bitsane.

There are several exchanges for Ripple's XRP, many of which are overloaded with requests at the moment. For the sake of convenience, I used Bitsane.  (Bitsane)

Bitsane is unique in that people in the US can't buy cryptos directly with their credit card, which is how Coinbase works. You have to exchange other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or Ethereum for XRP.

For most people, this means using Coinbase to first buy some Ethereum, bitcoin, or bitcoin cash.

(Here's a walk-thru of how I bought bitcoin using Coinbase back in early 2017.)

Once you set up your Bitsane account, go to the Balances tab at the top. Then you can locate the crypto you'd like to exchange for your XRP. I chose Bitcoin Cash.

Once you set up your Bitsane account, go to the Balances tab at the top. Then you can locate the crypto you'd like to exchange for your XRP. I chose Bitcoin Cash.  (Bitsane)

To buy XRP, you first want to deposit your other crypto in Bitsane. Click the Deposit button to display your unique wallet address.

This is the address you'll plug into Coinbase so it knows where to send the other cryptocurrency.

I decided to exchange 0.15 bitcoin cash for the equivalent amount in XRP. The fee was a few pennies.

I decided to exchange 0.15 bitcoin cash for the equivalent amount in XRP. The fee was a few pennies.  (Coinbase)

Bitsane said the process of sending bitcoin cash to my wallet should only take 30 minutes, but the confirmation took much longer. After about 45 minutes, I let it be. Much later at night I saw it had gone through.

Bitsane said the process of sending bitcoin cash to my wallet should only take 30 minutes, but the confirmation took much longer. After about 45 minutes, I let it be. Much later at night I saw it had gone through.  (Bitsane)

The next step was buying XRP.

At the main dashboard, under the Exchange tab, select Ripple (XRP) in the first box and bitcoin cash (BCH) in the second. This means you'll be buying Ripple's XRP with bitcoin cash.

Select either a Market or Limit order for the buy and type in the amount. In my case, 0.15 in Bitcoin Cash got me 175 Ripple coins.

Hit Buy.

Almost instantly, the transaction went through.

Almost instantly, the transaction went through.  (Bitsane)

Under the Balance tab, the bitcoin cash value showed the original 0.15 minus the amount in XRP.

It wasn't exactly 0.15 since the 175 XRP came out to a bit less. Bitsane also took a negligible fee, putting my final balance of XRP at 174.7375.

If and when I decide to sell, I can trade it for another coin hosted on Coinbase and do the whole thing in reverse until I get back to USD.