ADA, the crypto token of the Cardano blockchain, has ranked among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization since December 2017 (17th on CoinGecko as of October 9, 2026). The next generation blockchain technology has many people excited about its potential growth over the next several years. Some even project it to overtake Ethereum, sooner rather than later.
To get in before the next bull run, you’ll want to know how to get your hands on ADA tokens. This guide is going to show you how to do that, so you can start trading on a popular exchange like Binance.
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What is Cardano?
Dubbed part of “Blockchain 3.0”, Cardano is a smart contract platform aiming to be an extension of what Ethereum started. The platform was founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the original core team of Ethereum.
Cardano utilizes a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, an alternative to the power-hungry Proof of Work systems used by earlier blockchain iterations. It consists of two layers – the Cardano Computational Layer (CCL), on which smart contracts and decentralized applications are run. And the Cardano Settlement Layer (CSL), an accounting layer which employs ADA to provide complex financial applications.
The scope of what Hoskinson and his team are attempting to do with Cardano is why it has generated so much hype. Not only are they trying to create a self-sustainable, decentralized computing system. ADA and the Settlement Layer focus on bringing financial services to the billions around the world living in emerging markets with little to no access to reliable banking systems.
According to IOHK (now Input Output, or IOG), the company working behind Cardano, explains that the project is a blockchain platform with advanced features that aims at solving many of the issues faced by other blockchain networks, including Ethereum (ETH).
Now let’s see how to get your first ADA tokens, and start trading.
Cardano Wallets
Keeping crypto held on an exchange is risky. For that reason, you’ll want to get a secure wallet that supports ADA, to hold your coins while not trading.
Daedalus is a full-node Cardano wallet developed by IOG, one of the three organizations that launched Cardano. It is an open-source desktop wallet for Windows, macOS and Linux. IOG also makes Lace, a lighter wallet.
To get the Daedalus wallet, head to their website and download it for free. Set up secure authentication and your recovery phrase, and once the wallet syncs with the Cardano blockchain, you’ll be ready to go.
Hardware wallets support Cardano too. The Ledger Nano S added ADA support in March 2019. Ledger has since retired that model, but its newer devices and current Trezor models support ADA as well.
There are many other Cardano wallets in the market that were developed by many companies. Some of them include the ADA Lite Wallet, Yoroi and Trezor Wallet. The best thing to do is to always store virtual currencies in hardware wallets.
How to Buy Cardano
The ADA token is now widely listed, so you can get your hands on it quite easily. The best method depends on whether you want to buy in (paying for ADA with Fiat, such as USD or EUR), or you already hold crypto and are looking to trade your existing coins to Cardano.
I already hold crypto
If you’re already invested in cryptocurrency, and are looking to trade or move some of your portfolio into ADA, you’ll need an exchange that lists ADA. While not all exchanges have support for Cardano trading, there are certainly a number of high-volume exchanges that do. One of them is the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance.
Binance is a great place to trade crypto, as they offer trading between Bitcoin or Ethereum for almost every coin worth knowing about.
If you haven’t signed up yet, you’ll need to create an account.
Binance is one of the best platforms to purchase digital currencies because it is one of the largest exchanges in the market. There are hundreds of different trading pairs and Cardano has a large liquidity in this exchange. As of October 2026, Cardano can be exchanged on Binance for ADA/BTC, ADA/ETH, ADA/USDT, ADA/USDC and ADA/FDUSD, plus fiat pairs such as ADA/EUR, ADA/TRY, ADA/BRL and ADA/JPY.
When this guide was written, this cryptocurrency exchange registered a trading volume of $698 million in 24 hours, which made it the 9th largest exchange in terms of trading volume according to data provided by CoinMarketCap.
The registration is a similar process to any crypto platform. Enter your details, set up your security measures and authentication (2-Factor Authentication is always recommended for the most security), and submit several KYC documents. Binance.com does not serve US residents, who use the separate Binance.US.
Once you are logged in and your account has been verified, you’ll need to make a deposit to Binance. Binance now also sells crypto for fiat money (see the next section), but if you already hold crypto, you can deposit it to the platform. Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT or USDC work well, as each trades directly against ADA. You can deposit other altcoins too, but you may have to convert them to one of those coins before you can buy Cardano.
Click “Deposit”, then “Deposit Crypto”, and choose the coin and the network you are sending it on. The network must match the one used by the platform you send from. Binance will give you an address to send whatever crypto you wish to deposit. Make sure you double check the address is correct before sending, and make sure you only send the specified coin. I.E., if you’re depositing in Bitcoin, send only Bitcoin to that address, nothing else.
Once you’ve made a deposit to Binance, you can start trading.
Click “Trade” in the header, then “Spot”, to start trading.
Once you’re on the Spot page, search for “ADA”. You can pick pairs with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) or First Digital USD (FDUSD).
Once you’re here, you’ll have several in-depth pricing charts for the pair you’ve chosen. Underneath the charts, you have the option to buy or sell ADA.
You can choose how much you want to buy, and the transaction will be completed within minutes. You also have the option to trade a specific percentage of your Binance wallet for ADA (25%, 50%, 75% or 100%), or set a Stop-Limit order. The Stop-Limit order will automatically execute a trade to buy or sell when the coin hits a price you specify.
I don’t hold any crypto/want to buy more
Many exchanges now offer direct ADA-fiat pairs. Binance trades ADA against the euro, Turkish lira, Brazilian real and Japanese yen, and Coinbase and Kraken sell it for US dollars and euros.
Binance also sells ADA by debit or credit card in supported regions, similar to what Coinbase offers its users.
Coinmama is the savior for investors looking to get into crypto through ADA. Cardano is one of the coins they sell by credit or debit card. After signing up and completing the KYC process, Coinmama users in almost 200 countries can instantly buy crypto with either USD or EUR.
The alternative is to purchase a coin like Bitcoin or Ethereum on an exchange with Fiat pairs – such as Kraken. Once you have either BTC or ETH, you can deposit to Binance and start trading ADA.
It is very important for users to withdraw funds from the exchange after purchasing the digital currencies. That means that once the user has its ADA tokens, the best thing to do is to withdraw the funds to a personal wallet (on Binance, go to “Assets”, then “Overview”, and click “Withdraw”, choosing a network that matches your wallet address). The best thing to do is to always use a hardware wallet such as a Ledger or Trezor device, among others.
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There are Other Platforms
You can always buy Cardano (ADA) from other platforms. Everything depends on your needs, the services they offer and the coins that are available. It is also worth taking into consideration that not all exchanges are available everywhere around the world. You should search for the best platforms available in your region.
This is just a guide that focuses on Binance, but each of the exchanges has similar procedures. Thus, this guide could eventually be applied to other exchanges that have a standard onboarding system for users.
In Summary
When this section was written, Cardano was the 13th largest digital currency in the market and it had a market capitalization of $1.34 billion. In addition to it, each ADA could be purchased for $0.0516.
ADA has since passed its January 2018 peak, reaching an all-time high of about $3.09 on September 1, 2021 (CoinGecko). On October 9, 2026, it traded near $0.24.
