What are on-ramps and off-ramps?

Welcome to the cryptohunt jam where we spend one minute a day to explain crypto. In plain english.

You’ve likely heard the terms on-ramp and off-ramp in the crypto context before. And of course you figured out that we are not talking about actual ramps leading on and off freeways.

But those on- and off-ramps serve a similar purpose in the crypto world: They describe the process of buying into crypto and selling out of crypto for real-world money.

How does it work? Very simple.

To on-ramp, you use a provider, for example a crypto exchange like Coinbase or Binance, that will connect with your bank account or credit card. Then they charge you real-world money, such as Dollars or Euros, and give you crypto in exchange.

Off-ramp is exactly the opposite. Sell crypto for money, send the money back to your account.

And you can see why both are essential. Without people on-ramping into crypto, blockchains would have no value. And if you couldn’t sell again, there wouldn’t be many reasons to buy into it in the first place, given that paying for everyday purchases with crypto is still not really a thing at all.

And if you’ve ever gone through the process yourself, you will know that these providers ask for a ton of personal information: They don’t exactly make it easy to buy in and out. In the next episode we’ll talk about why: A little acronym called KYC is at fault.

Stay tuned until then! We are thrilled you are listening to this podcast!

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.