New Fiat On-Ramps Make AR Even Easier to Buy

ArDrive developers have partnered with Transak and Ramp to make it easier to buy AR with fiat currencies. These fiat on-ramps lower the barrier-to-entry for the average consumer by accepting card payments and bank transfers in exchange for crypto.

@RampNetwork and @transak_finance are both providing their services, using options like credit/debit card, apple pay and bank transfers. Some KYC may be required (got to follow regulations!) and no USA support (yet!).https://t.co/1M4C4leUtfhttps://t.co/s17TqgHQ42

— ArDrive (@ardriveapp) July 8, 2021

This is vital for apps in the Arweave ecosystem to gain adoption in markets which aren’t accustomed to using trading platforms – on-ramps expand ArDrive’s potential userbase beyond experienced crypto holders, and benefit other apps which use AR as a payment method.

Ramp + Arweave

Ramp is a UK-based company, founded in 2017. It offers an open API as well as a standalone web app, so apps can either build the functionality into their product or direct users to the Ramp website. Fees are outlined here and based on transaction amount. The minimum fee for any Ramp fiat-to-crypto swap is 2.49 EUR plus the network fee (0.26 EUR for AR, at the time of writing).

Fees for card payment are higher, but the processing time is significantly quicker – under 5 minutes for card, and up to one day for bank transfers. When paying with GBP, Ramp makes ‘Easy bank payments’ available, which require KYC but take just 10-20 minutes to complete.

Transak + Arweave

Transak is the second option for buying AR directly with fiat. The interface is instantly recognizable as the same tool Metamask uses to give users a way to buy ETH in-app. Similar to Ramp, Transak charges higher fees for faster card payments, and lower for slower bank transfers. However, it does not have an equivelant fast bank payment option for GBP customers and estimates bank-to-crypto swaps to take between one and two days.

Transak’s fees structure is similar to Ramp’s and explained fully in this Notion doc.

The same 500 EUR to AR transaction via bank transfer on Transak is 0.3% more expensive, making Ramp the cheaper option by a narrow margin.

Other ways to get AR

These new fiat on-ramps are a big leap forward for consumers looking to use apps in the Arweave ecosystem, but there are other methods, too:

1. The Arweave Faucet distributes 0.05 AR per wallet after verification. Users will be verified automatically by their Twitter accounts or redirected to a human.
2. Arweave was listed on Binance in May 2021, making it possible for users of the centralized exchange to trade crypto and stablecoins for AR and withdraw it to their Arweave wallets.
3. Wrapped AR (wAR) enables cross-chain transactions and makes AR swappable on Uniswap. Swap any Uniswap-supported token for wAR, and redeem it via everPay for the same amount of AR.
4. Earn AR-based profit-sharing tokens from CommunityXYZ listings and swap them for AR on Verto.

As the ecosystem expands, we expect to see even more ways to acquire AR including support on other exchanges and innovative solutions using SmartWeave.