How and Where to Buy 0x Protocol (ZRX) – Detailed Guide

What is ZRX?

What Is 0x (ZRX)?

0x is an infrastructure protocol that allows users to easily trade ERC20 tokens and other assets on the Ethereum blockchain without relying on centralized intermediaries like traditional cryptocurrency exchanges.

To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of 0x.

0x achieves this decentralized exchange functionality using a collection of open-source, publicly auditable smart contracts that work together to produce a flexible, low-friction trading protocol that developers can easily weave into their products.

The protocol is powered by an ERC20 utility token known as ZRX. Nodes that (also known as relayers) host an off-chain order book and offer user-facing applications that present this information and allow users to make, fill and cancel transactions are paid in ZRX tokens (as trading fees). ZRX can also be used to participate in platform governance, helping holders suggest and vote on changes to the protocol.

In 2019, 0x announced an overhaul of the ZRX token, adding extra functionality, allowing ZRX holders to delegate their stake to a market maker to earn passive rewards while retaining their voting capacity.

Who Are the Founders of 0x?

0x was founded in 2016 by Will Warren and Amir Bandeali. The two co-founders continue to serve the platform, with Will Warren as 0x's CEO, whereas Amir Bandeali is CTO.

The platform launched following a successful initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, during which it raised a total of $24 million — with support from prominent investment firms including Polychain Capital, Pantera Capital and FBG Capital.

Prior to the sell-out ICO, Warren worked in several research roles and briefly held the role of technical advisor to Basic Attention Token (BAT). Bandeali, on the other hand, graduated from the University of Illinois with a BSc in Finance and held several trading positions before co-founding 0x.

Now the team is composed of more than 30 individuals, including engineers, researchers and designers who work to update the platform and keep it running smoothly.

What Makes 0x Unique?

Unlike many other Ethereum decentralized exchange protocols, 0x supports both fungible (ERC20) and non-fungible (ERC-723) tokens. This means it can be used for the permissionless trading of a wide range of assets, giving holders a way to buy, sell and exchange the vast majority of Ethereum assets through more than a dozen different apps.

The 0x protocol can be applied to a wide range of use cases, including eBay-style marketplaces for digital goods and services, OTC trading desks, exchange functionality for DeFi protocols and plain-old decentralized exchanges.

Although 0x can be used to build highly flexible exchange products, it can also be built into products where asset exchange is a secondary feature — such as for in-game purchases and portfolio management platforms.

On the 0x protocol, liquidity takers pay a fee in the form of ZRX tokens — this fee is used to incentivize market maker (relayer) liquidity. Users also need to pay a protocol fee in the form of Ether (ETH), which is used to pay for the gas used in any transactions they complete. As an open-source protocol, 0x does not receive any share of this revenue, and is instead supported by ZRX tokens unlocked as team and developer incentives — along with its initial ICO funding.

Related Pages

Find out about Uniswap (UNI) — a modern alternative to 0x.

Click here to learn how to use Uniswap as a beginner.

Check out Ferrum Network (FRM) — a platform used for building blockchain-based financial products.

Stay up to date with the latest news with the CoinMarketCap Blog.

How Many 0x (ZRX) Coins Are There in Circulation?

Like many digital assets, the ZRX token has a fixed maximum supply that will never be exceeded. This is set to 1 billion ZRX. Right now, around three quarters of this maximum supply is already in circulation, and just a small fraction of this is locked up for staking rewards.

Unlike many protocols, 0x has never publicly described the emission rate for new ZRX tokens, making it difficult to say how long it will take until the circulating supply is fully diluted. But with 50% of the circulating supply released when the token launched in August 2017 and 75% of the supply released as of October 2020, this indicates it may achieve full dilution in the early 2020s.

As per an early blog entry by 0x CEO Will Warren, half of the total ZRX token supply was sold to investors in the 2017 ICO, whereas 15% each is reserved for the 0x core development organization and external project development fund, while a further 10% is reserved for the founding team with a four year vesting schedule and one year cliff, and the remaining 10% is retained for early backers and advisors.

How Is the 0x Network Secured?

0x is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, it is protected against attacks by the combined efforts of the massive Ethereum miner and node network.

As for the underlying smart contracts, version 3 of the protocol has been audited by several third party firms which checked to see if there were any underlying vulnerabilities, backdoors and redundant functions, including ConsenSys Diligence — no major issues were found.

However, a vulnerability was found in the v2.0 smart contract, which was later patched by the 0x core team. This vulnerability was detected by an independent researcher and was not exploited. 0x continues to operate a generous bug bounty, to help detect and patch any issues before they can be exploited.

Where Can You Buy 0x (ZRX)?

ZRX is currently available to trade on well over 200 different exchange platforms, but the most popular ones include Coinbase Pro, Binance and BitMax. It can currently be traded against a range of other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as several fiat currencies, including U.S. dollars (USD), euros (EUR) and South Korean won (KRW).

Looking to convert your fiat to crypto? Find out how.

ZRX was first tradable on 16th Aug, 2017. It has a total supply of 1,000,000,000. As of right now ZRX has a market capitalization of USD $1,303,518,009.62. The current price of ZRX is $1.30 and is ranked 100 out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies on Coinmarketcap and has recently surged 29.05 percent at the time of writing.

ZRX has been listed on a number of crypto exchanges, unlike other main cryptocurrencies, it cannot be directly purchased with fiats money. However, You can still easily buy this coin by first buying Bitcoin from any fiat-to-crypto exchanges and then transfer to the exchange that offers to trade this coin, in this guide article we will walk you through in detail the steps to buy ZRX.

Step 1: Register on Fiat-to-Crypto Exchange

You will have to first buy one of the major cryptocurrencies, in this case, Bitcoin (BTC). In this article we will walk you through in details two of the most commonly-used fiat-to-crypto exchanges, Uphold.com and Coinbase. Both exchanges have their own fee policies and other features that we will go through in detail. It is recommended that you try both of them and figure out the one that suits you best.

uphold

Suitable for US traders

Select Fiat-to-Crypto Exchange for details:

ZRX

Being one of the most popular and convenient fiat-to-crypto exchanges, UpHold has the following advantages:

  • Easy to buy and trade among multiple assets, more than 50 and still adding
  • Currently more than 7M users worldwide
  • You can apply for UpHold Debit card where you can spend the crypto assets on your account like a normal debit card! (US only but will be in the UK later)
  • Easy to use mobile app where you can withdraw fund to a bank or any other altcoin exchanges easily
  • No hidden fees and any other account fees
  • There are limited buy/sell orders for more advanced users
  • You can easily set up recurring deposits for Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) if you intend to hold cryptos long term
  • USDT, which is one of the most popular USD-backed stablecoins (basically a crypto that is backed by real fiat money so they are less volatile and can be treated almost as the fiat money it's pegged with) is available, this is more convenient if the altcoin you intend to buy has only USDT trading pairs on the altcoin exchange so you don't have to go through another currency conversion while you buy the altcoin.
Show Details Steps ▾
ZRX

Type your email and click 'Next'. Make sure you provide your real name as UpHold will need it for account and identity verification. Choose a strong password so that your account isn't vulnerable to hackers.

ZRX

You will receive a confirmation email. Open it and click on the link within. You will then be required to provide a valid mobile number to set up two-factor authentication (2FA), it is an extra layer to the security of your account and it is highly recommended that you keep this feature turned on.

ZRX

Follow the next step to finish your identity verification. These steps are a bit daunting especially when you are waiting to buy an asset but just like any other financial institutions, UpHold is regulated in most countries such as the US, the UK and the EU. You can take this as a trade-off to using a trusted platform to make your first crypto purchase. Good news is that the whole so-called Know-Your-Customers (KYC) process is now fully automated and it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to finish.

Step 2: Buy BTC with fiat money

ZRX

Once you finished the KYC process. You will be asked to add a payment method. Here you can either choose to provide a credit/debit card or use a bank transfer. You may be charged higher fees depending on your credit card company and the volatile prices when using cards but you will also make an instant purchase. While a bank transfer will be cheaper but slower, depending on the country of your residence, some countries will offer instant cash deposit with low fees.

ZRX

Now you are all set, on the 'Transact' screen under the 'From' field, select your fiat currency, and then on the 'To' field choose Bitcoin, click preview to review your transaction and the click confirm if everything looks good... and congrats! You've just made your first crypto purchase.

Step 3: Transfer BTC to an Altcoin Exchange

Select altcoin exchanges:

ZRX

But we are not done yet, since ZRX is an altcoin we need to transfer our BTC to an exchange that ZRX can be traded, here we will use Gate.io as our exchange. Gate.io is a popular exchange to trade altcoins and it has a large number of tradable altcoins pairs. Use the link below to register your new account.

Gate.io is an American cryptocurrency exchange that launched 2017. As the exchange is American, US-investors can of course trade here and we recommend US traders to sign up on this exchange. The exchange is available both in English and Chinese (the latter being very helpful for Chinese investors). Gate.io’s main selling factor is their wide selection of trading pairs. You can find most of the new altcoins here. Gate.io also demonstrates an impressive trading volume. It is almost every day one of the top 20 exchanges with the highest trading volume. The trading volume amounts to approx. USD 100 million on a daily basis. The top 10 trading pairs on Gate.io in terms of trading volume usually have USDT (Tether) as one part of the pair. So, to summarize the foregoing, Gate.io’s vast number of trading pairs and its extraordinary liquidity are both very impressive aspects of this exchange.

ZRX

After going through a similar process as we've done before with UpHold, you will be advised to set up 2FA authentication as well, finish it as it adds extra security to your account.

Step 4: Deposit BTC to exchange

ZRX

Depends on the policies of the exchange you might be required to go through another KYC process, this should usually take you from 30 minutes to possibly a few days maximum. Though the process should be straight-forward and easy to follow. Once you're done with it you should have full access to your exchange wallet.

ZRX

If this is your first time making a crypto deposit, the screen here may look a bit scary. But don't worry, it's basically simpler than making a bank transfer. At the box on the right, you will see a string of random numbers saying 'BTC address', this is a unique public address of your BTC wallet at Gate.io and you can receive BTC by giving this address to the person to send you the funds. Since we are now transferring our previously bought BTC on UpHold to this wallet, click on 'Copy Address' or right-click on the full address and click copy to grab this address to your clipboard.

Now head back to UpHold, go to the Transact screen and click on BTC on the "From" field, choose the amount you wan to send and on the "To" field choose BTC under "Crypto Network", then click "Preview withdraw".

On the next screen, paste the wallet address from your clipboard, for security consideration you should always check if both addresses are matching. It is known that there are certain computer malware that would alter the content in your clipboard into another wallet address and you will be essentially sending funds to another person.

After reviewing, click 'Confirm' to proceed, you should receive a confirmation email instantly, click on the confirmation link in the email and your coins are on the way to Gate.io!

ZRX

Now go back to Gate.io and head to your exchange wallets, don't worry if you haven't seen your deposit here. It is probably still being verified in the blockchain network and it should take a few minutes for your coins to arrive. Depending on the network traffic condition of the Bitcoin network, during busy times it may take even longer.

You should receive a confirmation notification from Gate.io once your BTC has arrived. And you are now finally ready to purchase ZRX!

Step 5: Trade ZRX

ZRX

Go back to Gate.io, then go to 'Exchange'. Boom! What a view! The constantly flicking figures might be a bit scary, but relax, let's get our heads around this.

ZRX

In the right column there is a search bar, now make sure "BTC" is selected as we are trading BTC to altcoin pair. Click on it and type in "ZRX", you should see ZRX/BTC, select that pair and you should see a price chart of ZRX/BTC in the middle of the page.

Below there is a box with a green button that says "Buy ZRX", inside of the box, choose the "Market" tab here as that is the most straight-forward type of buying orders. You can either type in your amount or choose what portion of your BTC deposit you would like to spend on buying, by clicking on the percentage buttons. When you have confirmed everything, click "Buy ZRX". Voila! You have finally bought ZRX!

ZRX

But we are not done yet, since ZRX is an altcoin we need to transfer our BTC to an exchange that ZRX can be traded, here we will use BitMart as our exchange. BitMart is a popular exchange to trade altcoins and it has a large number of tradable altcoins pairs. Use the link below to register your new account.

BitMart is a crypto exchange from the Cayman Islands. It became available to the public in March 2018. BitMart has a truly impressive liquidity. At the time of the last update of this review (20 March 2020, right in the middle of the crisis with COVID-19), BitMart’s 24 hour trading volume was USD 1.8 billion. This amount placed BitMart on place no. 24 on Coinmarketcap’s the list of exchanges with the highest 24 hour trading volumes. Needless to say, if you start trading here, you will not have to worry about the order book being thin. Many exchanges does not allow investors from USA as customers. As far as we can tell, BitMart is not one of those exchanges. Any US-investors interested in trading here should in any event form their own opinion on any issues arising from their citizenship or residency.

ZRX

After going through a similar process as we've done before with UpHold, you will be advised to set up 2FA authentication as well, finish it as it adds extra security to your account.

Step 4: Deposit BTC to exchange

ZRX

Depends on the policies of the exchange you might be required to go through another KYC process, this should usually take you from 30 minutes to possibly a few days maximum. Though the process should be straight-forward and easy to follow. Once you're done with it you should have full access to your exchange wallet.

ZRX

If this is your first time making a crypto deposit, the screen here may look a bit scary. But don't worry, it's basically simpler than making a bank transfer. At the box on the right, you will see a string of random numbers saying 'BTC address', this is a unique public address of your BTC wallet at BitMart and you can receive BTC by giving this address to the person to send you the funds. Since we are now transferring our previously bought BTC on UpHold to this wallet, click on 'Copy Address' or right-click on the full address and click copy to grab this address to your clipboard.

Now head back to UpHold, go to the Transact screen and click on BTC on the "From" field, choose the amount you wan to send and on the "To" field choose BTC under "Crypto Network", then click "Preview withdraw".

On the next screen, paste the wallet address from your clipboard, for security consideration you should always check if both addresses are matching. It is known that there are certain computer malware that would alter the content in your clipboard into another wallet address and you will be essentially sending funds to another person.

After reviewing, click 'Confirm' to proceed, you should receive a confirmation email instantly, click on the confirmation link in the email and your coins are on the way to BitMart!

ZRX

Now go back to BitMart and head to your exchange wallets, don't worry if you haven't seen your deposit here. It is probably still being verified in the blockchain network and it should take a few minutes for your coins to arrive. Depending on the network traffic condition of the Bitcoin network, during busy times it may take even longer.

You should receive a confirmation notification from BitMart once your BTC has arrived. And you are now finally ready to purchase ZRX!

Step 5: Trade ZRX

ZRX

Go back to BitMart, then go to 'Exchange'. Boom! What a view! The constantly flicking figures might be a bit scary, but relax, let's get our heads around this.

ZRX

In the right column there is a search bar, now make sure "BTC" is selected as we are trading BTC to altcoin pair. Click on it and type in "ZRX", you should see ZRX/BTC, select that pair and you should see a price chart of ZRX/BTC in the middle of the page.

Below there is a box with a green button that says "Buy ZRX", inside of the box, choose the "Market" tab here as that is the most straight-forward type of buying orders. You can either type in your amount or choose what portion of your BTC deposit you would like to spend on buying, by clicking on the percentage buttons. When you have confirmed everything, click "Buy ZRX". Voila! You have finally bought ZRX!

ZRX

But we are not done yet, since ZRX is an altcoin we need to transfer our BTC to an exchange that ZRX can be traded, here we will use Binance as our exchange. Binance is a popular exchange to trade altcoins and it has a large number of tradable altcoins pairs. Use the link below to register your new account.

Binance is a popular cryptocurrency exchange which was started in China but then moved their headquarters to the crypto-friendly Island of Malta in the EU. Binance is popular for its crypto to crypto exchange services. Binance exploded onto the scene in the mania of 2017 and has since gone on to become the top crypto exchange in the world. Unfortunately, Binance does not allow US investors so we recommend you to sign up on other exchanges we recommend on this page.

ZRX

After going through a similar process as we've done before with UpHold, you will be advised to set up 2FA authentication as well, finish it as it adds extra security to your account.

Step 4: Deposit BTC to exchange

ZRX

Depends on the policies of the exchange you might be required to go through another KYC process, this should usually take you from 30 minutes to possibly a few days maximum. Though the process should be straight-forward and easy to follow. Once you're done with it you should have full access to your exchange wallet.

ZRX

If this is your first time making a crypto deposit, the screen here may look a bit scary. But don't worry, it's basically simpler than making a bank transfer. At the box on the right, you will see a string of random numbers saying 'BTC address', this is a unique public address of your BTC wallet at Binance and you can receive BTC by giving this address to the person to send you the funds. Since we are now transferring our previously bought BTC on UpHold to this wallet, click on 'Copy Address' or right-click on the full address and click copy to grab this address to your clipboard.

Now head back to UpHold, go to the Transact screen and click on BTC on the "From" field, choose the amount you wan to send and on the "To" field choose BTC under "Crypto Network", then click "Preview withdraw".

On the next screen, paste the wallet address from your clipboard, for security consideration you should always check if both addresses are matching. It is known that there are certain computer malware that would alter the content in your clipboard into another wallet address and you will be essentially sending funds to another person.

After reviewing, click 'Confirm' to proceed, you should receive a confirmation email instantly, click on the confirmation link in the email and your coins are on the way to Binance!

ZRX

Now go back to Binance and head to your exchange wallets, don't worry if you haven't seen your deposit here. It is probably still being verified in the blockchain network and it should take a few minutes for your coins to arrive. Depending on the network traffic condition of the Bitcoin network, during busy times it may take even longer.

You should receive a confirmation notification from Binance once your BTC has arrived. And you are now finally ready to purchase ZRX!

Step 5: Trade ZRX

ZRX

Go back to Binance, then go to 'Exchange'. Boom! What a view! The constantly flicking figures might be a bit scary, but relax, let's get our heads around this.

ZRX

In the right column there is a search bar, now make sure "BTC" is selected as we are trading BTC to altcoin pair. Click on it and type in "ZRX", you should see ZRX/BTC, select that pair and you should see a price chart of ZRX/BTC in the middle of the page.

Below there is a box with a green button that says "Buy ZRX", inside of the box, choose the "Market" tab here as that is the most straight-forward type of buying orders. You can either type in your amount or choose what portion of your BTC deposit you would like to spend on buying, by clicking on the percentage buttons. When you have confirmed everything, click "Buy ZRX". Voila! You have finally bought ZRX!

Last Step: Store ZRX securely in hardware wallets

Ledger Nano S

Ledger Nano S

  • Easy to set up and friendly interface
  • Can be used on desktops and laptops
  • Lightweight and Portable
  • Support most blockchains and wide range of (ERC-20/BEP-20) tokens
  • Multiple languages available
  • Built by a well-established company found in 2014 with great chip security
  • Affordable price
Ledger Nano X

Ledger Nano X

  • More powerful secure element chip (ST33) than Ledger Nano S
  • Can be used on desktop or laptop, or even smartphone and tablet through Bluetooth integration
  • Lightweight and Portable with built-in rechargeable battery
  • Larger screen
  • More storage space than Ledger Nano S
  • Support most blockchains and wide range of (ERC-20/BEP-20) tokens
  • Multiple languages available
  • Built by a well-established company found in 2014 with great chip security
  • Affordable price

If you are planning to keep("hodl" as some may say, basically misspelt "hold" which get popularised over time) your ZRX for a considerable long time, you may want to explore ways of keeping it safe, although Binance is one of the safest cryptocurrency exchange there had been hacking incidents and funds were lost. Because of the very nature of the wallets in exchanges, they will be always online("Hot Wallets" as we call them), therefore exposing certain aspects of vulnerabilities. The safest way of storing your coins to date is always putting them into a type of "Cold Wallets", where the wallet will only have access to the blockchain(or simply "go online") when you send out funds, reducing the chances of hacking incidents. A paper wallet is a type of free cold wallet, it's basically an offline-generated pair of public and private address and you will have it written somewhere, and keep it safe. However, it is not durable and is susceptible to various hazards.

Hardware wallet here is definitely a better option of cold wallets. They are usually USB-enabled devices that store the key information of your wallet in a more durable way. They are built with military-level security and their firmware are constantly maintained by their manufacturers and thus extremely safe. Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X and are the most popular options in this category, these wallets cost around $50 to $100 depending on the features they are offering. If you are holding your assets these wallets are a good investment in our opinion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy ZRX with cash?

There is no direct way to buy ZRX with cash. However, you can use marketplaces such as LocalBitcoins to first purchase BTC, and finish the rest of the steps by transferring your BTC to respective AltCoin exchanges.

LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange. It is a marketplace where users can buy and sell Bitcoins to and from each other. Users, called traders, create advertisements with the price and the payment method they want to offer. You can choose to buy from sellers from a certain nearby region on the platform. is after all a good place to go to buy Bitcoins when you can't find your desired payment methods anywhere else. But prices are usually higher on this platform and you have to do your due diligence to avoid getting scammed.

Are there any quick ways to buy ZRX in Europe?

Yes, in fact, Europe is one of the easiest places to buy cryptos in general. There are even online banks which you can simply open an account and transfer money to exchanges such as Coinbase and Uphold.

Are there any alternative platforms to buy ZRX or Bitcoin with credit cards?

Yes. is also a very easy to use platform for buying Bitcoin with credit cards. It is an instant cryptocurrency exchange that allows you to exchange crypto fast and buy it with a bank card. Its user interface is very easy to use and the buying steps are pretty self-explanatory.

Read more on 0x Protocol's fundamentals and current price here.

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