This is how a noob can buy Monero

Saw a cool post recently asking how many people owned Monero. I estimated that around 50k people in this sub owned it, but it might be less. Point is, we have a ton of people in this subreddit that aren't owners.

If you don't own any Monero, here's an easy guide for a low-risk method of obtaining some Monero without any KYC loopholes to jump through:

Step 0: Get a wallet https://www.getmonero.org/downloads/

For simplicity and speed, just click the simple options and keep your 25 word passphrase somewhere safe. The wallet linked is highly trusted in the community and is open source. I've never had a problem with it.

Step 1: Set up a Zelle account: https://www.zellepay.com/

If you have a bank account in the US, it's very likely that you can link a Zelle account to your bank and transfer money for NO FEES. It's also unlikely to do chargebacks like Paypal, which is also much better for your risk.

Step 2: Set up a Haveno account: As of Feb 8, 2025, Retoswap.com is a safe and trusted option.

This should work on almost any computer regardless of operating system. It's a safe option for trading that runs through TOR and doesn't require any more KYC info than necessary to create a transaction. You can click "Account" in the top and simply use your Zelle email or phone number (whichever you chose when you set up Zelle).

Step 3: Create an offer or take an offer.

Go to the Buy XMR tab on Haveno and either take an offer someone else has made, or create your own offer. I prefer to create offers since I get to choose what % markup (I usually choose 1% or 0% since I like to get my offer taken quickly).

One note, if you don't have XMR, you'll need to either get it lended (a random guy in a SimpleX group once sent me .2 XMR to get started which I voluntarily repaid .3 XMR back once I had bought more) or use the "No deposit" option on Haveno, since most Haveno offers require a security deposit to reduce the risk of scamming.

Step 4: Done!

You now have a currency that is private, fungible, resistant to inflation, and will likely increase in value over time: A true digital asset and a highly useful currency. A study on cryptocurrency buyers found that dollar cost averaging, spending a set amount on the same day each month yielded the most profit and lowest risk, and this is what I do, feel free to copy my strategy if you'd like.