How to buy Dogecoin in New York — get DOGE with ease

How to buy Dogecoin in New York
How to buy Dogecoin in New York (Image credit: Dogecoin)

Note: This is not financial advice. This is for educational purposes only. Please note that cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset class; only invest what you can afford to lose.

“How to buy Dogecoin in New York'' is a popular question east-coast crypto investors are asking. Searching for marketplaces that sell crypto to New Yorkers is like finding a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, many Dogecoin-supported cryptocurrency exchanges do not serve New Yorkers, including Binance US, Kraken, Voyager, WeBull, Crypto.com, and countless others.

Coinbase is one of the few exchanges that New Yorkers have access to, but users cannot buy Dogecoin on the platform at this time. Thankfully, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that Dogecoin will arrive on the US-based crypto marketplace within two months. However, many New York investors want to get a head start on owning DOGE (Dogecoin’s ticker symbol) before the Coinbase listing date, which could drive the price up.

New Yorkers believe the only platform for purchasing Dogecoin is Robinhood, but many are turned off by the app because it doesn’t allow users to transfer their cryptocurrencies to other wallets; they can only buy and sell. Thankfully, there is another app New Yorkers can use to buy Dogecoin: AnchorUSD.

Not only can you purchase Dogecoin on AnchorUSD, but you can also trade stocks. It even offers a free high-yield savings account with 7.83% APR. Most importantly, you can transfer Dogecoin out of AnchorUSD into a cold or hot wallet. Before I can give you instructions on how to buy Dogecoin, let’s dive into why it’s such a pain in the ass to buy Dogecoin — and other crypto — in New York.

Why it’s difficult to trade crypto in New York 

New York requires crypto exchanges to obtain a BitLicence to service its residents. According to CoinSpeaker and JD Supra, applying for a BitLicence can cost up to $100,000 and the approval process can take a long time. On top of that, businesses have to grapple with the costs of staying in compliance with strict New York regulations.

On one hand, there are positives to New York’s BitLicence requirement. It offers New York residents important consumer protections and ensures that businesses follow anti-money laundering laws, cybersecurity regulations, and more. Knowing that a business possesses a BitLicence gives New York crypto investors a peace of mind. On the other, because the process is arduous, costly and onerous, many exchanges forwent the BitLicence application.

“The BitLicense was intended to safeguard the public, but its greatest impact has been creating a regulatory burden that makes it cost prohibitive for most fledgling companies to operate in New York,” JD Supra said.

Although finding a cryptocurrency exchange that lets New Yorkers trade less-established coins is like searching for BigFoot, residents may find some satisfaction with the AnchorUSD app.

How to buy Dogecoin in New York

To buy Dogecoin in New York, download you'll need a Coinbase account and the Atomic Wallet app, which is available for iOS and Android. Next, you'll need to purchase Stella Lumens (XLM) from Coinbase, send it to Atomic Wallet, and finally, swap it for DOGE. Here's how to do it.

1.  In Coinbase, click on the third icon from the top titled "Prices." Next, scroll down to "Stellar Lumens."

2.  Click on "Trade."

How to buy Dogecoin in New York

How to buy Dogecoin in New York (Image credit: Future)

3.  Depending on how much DOGE you'd like to buy, you can click on any of the pre-selected amounts (i.e. $10, $50, $100, $500, $1,000). Or you can click on "Custom" to input a specific amount. 

4.  Click on "Buy now."

5.  Open the Atomic Wallet app and type in "XLM" in the search bar. Tap "Receive."

6.  Copy the address. Navigate back to Coinbase and click on "Send/Receive" on the top-right corner.

How to buy Dogecoin in New York

How to buy Dogecoin in New York (Image credit: Future)

7. Make sure to select XLM in the "Pay With" section. In the "To" area, paste the address you copied from Atomic Wallet.

8. Click on "Send all," and hit "Continue." This will send XLM to your Atomic Wallet.

9. Open Atomic Wallet, type in XLM in the search bar, and select it. Your XLM should be there (if not, give it a new minutes).

10. Click on "Exchange" on the bottom taskbar. Select "XLM" for the "You Send" section and "DOGE" for the "You get" section. Tap on "Send all."

11. Tap "Exchange," and voila, you now have DOGE.


Note: This is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency is extremely risky; exercise proper risk management before investing. 

Kimberly Gedeon

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!