Best on-ramps in the United States

Because each provider prices by channel. The fee line is only part of the cost; the rest sits in the exchange rate, and providers set both differently on their own checkouts and inside partner apps. On October 17, 2026 we asked for the same $500 of bitcoin by card on each provider's own checkout and in MetaMask's quote list for Florida. Then we compared the crypto offered with CoinGecko and Coinbase prices at the same minute.

Most of the gap is the rate. On its own widget MoonPay's bitcoin rate was about 4.5% above market, on top of its 4.5% fee; inside MetaMask's list its markup almost disappeared. Ramp's own-checkout rate was about 4% above market, while MetaMask's quote for Ramp showed no fee lines and a rate within about 0.5% of market for orders up to about $1,100. Banxa's direct checkout carried the widest markup we saw. Banxa's own site says its partner pricing is "flexible and customized based on your integration requirements and volume".

• Compare the amount of crypto each quote gives you, not the fee line.
• Check the quote list inside your wallet before you go to a provider's own website.
• Re-check at checkout. MetaMask's provider list changed from minute to minute in our checks: a provider could be missing from one quote and back in the next.
• Small and large orders price differently. Ramp's near-zero MetaMask quote stopped above about $1,100, where MoonPay's quote in the same list was slightly lower.

These are quotes from one afternoon and one connection outside the US, not purchases. We could not open the checkout MetaMask hands over without signing in, so we cannot confirm it honors these amounts. Our Banxa and Ramp Network reviews document the same channel gap in other currencies.

In New York, only MoonPay. It is the only one of the four on the New York DFS register of licensed virtual currency businesses, and in MetaMask's New York quote list it was the only one of the four that returned a quote. Elsewhere each provider skips different states, so check the table before you pick one.

"Yes" means the provider's own list does not exclude the state. MoonPay's API allows buying in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, but its developer FAQ says selling is unavailable for residents of Louisiana, Texas, New York and the US Virgin Islands. In New York MoonPay's API offers 27 of the 65 coin and network pairs it sells elsewhere in the US. Banxa's own coin table leaves 44 coins in Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, against about 190 in most states.

California's new license law

Since July 1, 2026, crypto companies serving Californians must hold a license under the Digital Financial Assets Law or have applied for one. The US companies of all four providers are on the California DFPI's list of companies "that have submitted a DFAL application that the DFPI is reviewing", last updated July 30, 2026. We found no DFAL license issued to any of them, so treat all four as applicants, not licensees. We read the DFPI's pages through the Internet Archive because its site refused our requests.

Pick a provider from your wallet's Buy screen or its own site, verify your identity, pay by card, and the crypto goes to your wallet, often within minutes, though MoonPay says card orders can take a few hours. On October 17, 2026, $500 of bitcoin by card was quoted at about 6.2% to 17% all-in on the four providers' own checkouts, and about 0.3% to 5.2% in MetaMask's quote list.

• Open your wallet's Buy screen and compare the quotes it lists.
• Verify your identity: all four ask for your Social Security number, an ID or both before or during your first standard order (MoonPay's Express Checkout in some partner apps starts with basic details only, up to $750 a week).
• Pay by debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. MoonPay and Ramp priced Apple Pay the same as a card in our quotes.
• Check the receiving address before you confirm, because completed orders are final at all four.

Can you use a credit card?

You can, but some card issuers treat crypto purchases as cash advances. A Chase cardmember agreement lists cryptocurrency among the "cash-like transactions" it treats as cash advances. A Bank of America card disclosure lists "cryptocurrency to the extent accepted" as a cash-equivalent advance, with a 5% fee and interest from the transaction date. Use a debit card, or read your own card agreement first. Ramp doesn't accept prepaid cards.

It depends on the coin, the size and the channel. On October 17, 2026, on its own checkout, Ramp was the cheapest of the four for $500 of bitcoin (about 6.2%) and of USDC (about 2.5%). In MetaMask's quote list Banxa was cheapest at $500, Ramp led on a $100 order, and above about $1,100 MoonPay's quote was slightly lower than Ramp's.

• Stablecoins were usually quoted lower. Ramp's own checkout quoted USDC at about 2.5% against 6.2% for bitcoin, because its USDC rate was close to market.
• Minimum fees hit small orders. MoonPay's US disclosure allows a minimum fee of up to $3.99 on direct orders, and Ramp's public API shows a $2.80 minimum fee.
• Network fees vary: $6.85 on MoonPay's own bitcoin quote, against 7 to 43 cents on the other three providers' own checkouts.
• Bank payments were quoted lower where offered. MoonPay's ACH quote was about 7.9% against 9.7% by card, Ramp's ACH quote was about 2.0% for USDC, and Transak's wire quote came to about 3.6% on $5,000 of USDC.

Spread disclosure is uneven. Transak discloses a spread of 0% to 2.5% but quoted 2.7%, and Banxa says its own spread is typically 2% to 4%. MoonPay says a spread is included in the price without giving its size, and Ramp publishes no spread at all.

Yes, but not with every provider. MoonPay is the only one of the four that takes PayPal, Venmo and Cash App Pay, and MoonPay and Ramp are the only two that list ACH for buying (Ramp in its US terms and price quotes; we could not confirm it shows for every US buyer). The prices below are quotes from October 17, 2026.

• ACH: MoonPay (a 2.5% fee in our quote; MoonPay says ACH orders take four to five business days) and Ramp (a 2.0% fee in our quote; three to five business days under its US terms, via Plaid). Banxa's docs say ACH is not available for buying, and Transak offers wire transfers instead.
• PayPal and Venmo: MoonPay only. In MetaMask's quote list they were the dearest way to pay MoonPay, about 9.1% on $500 of bitcoin.
• Cash App Pay: MoonPay only, and its cheapest method in MetaMask's quote list, about 3.7%.
• Inside MetaMask's US list, none of the four returned an ACH quote; the bank options there came from other providers.

Ramp, where it is available. Its quotes were lower than MoonPay's in every channel we priced for $500 on October 17, 2026 (6.2% against 9.7% for bitcoin by card on each provider's own checkout), although above about $1,100 MoonPay's quote in MetaMask's list was slightly lower.

• Ramp Network: the lowest own-checkout price we were quoted; not available in eight states.
• Banxa: the cheapest of the four in MetaMask's quote list at $500 and the most coins, but avoid its own website.
• Transak: the only one with US wire transfers, for orders of $1,000 to $10,000.
• An exchange account: Kraken's published fees put the cost of buying $1,000 of bitcoin on Kraken Pro and withdrawing it at $9.22 on October 17, 2026, though Kraken doesn't serve New York or Maine. Coinbase is licensed in New York, though it doesn't publish its simple-buy fees in advance. See the best crypto exchanges in the US.

All four are registered with FinCEN as money services businesses and hold state money transmitter licenses by their own lists. FinCEN registration is not a license, though: FinCEN says it does not verify what registrants submit and does not endorse them. What matters is whether your state is covered and what each provider's record shows.

We found no action against Transak, Banxa or Ramp on the CFPB, FinCEN or NYDFS pages we searched, and nothing new against MoonPay. Absence from those pages is not proof of a clean record.

How do scams use on-ramps?

Scammers don't need to hack an on-ramp. They talk victims into buying crypto through a legitimate one and sending it to an address the scammer controls, and the purchase can't be reversed. People reported $11.366 billion in crypto losses to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025, up 22% on 2024, from 181,565 complaints (up 21%); $7.228 billion of it was investment fraud. The FTC's advice is blunt: "Only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency." Completed orders are final at all four providers.

Yes, at all four. Each asks for your Social Security number, an ID or both before or during your first standard order. The exception is MoonPay's Express Checkout in some partner apps, which starts with basic details only, up to $750 a week.

• MoonPay: its first standard tier asks for basic information, a phone number and your SSN, and ID comes next. Its Guest and Express checkouts in some partner apps defer the ID check up to $750 a week, but not in New York.
• Transak: an SSN at every level; it allows no lighter check in the US.
• Banxa: an Express tier needs your name, address and SSN but no ID photo, up to $760 a week.
• Ramp: ID verification at every order size, and it may ask for your SSN for a background check.

So treat a "no KYC" offer aimed at US buyers as a warning sign. None of the four we rank sells to Americans without collecting your details.

Yes. Three of the four pay out to a US bank and one to a card.

• MoonPay pays out to a US bank by ACH, but selling may be unavailable in Texas, Louisiana, New York and the US Virgin Islands.
• Ramp pays out by ACH or RTP outside its excluded states. Its help center lists a 0.99% fee, but its live quotes showed a 2.00% fee.
• Banxa sells to a US bank by ACH, for $10 to $25,000, per its help center.
• Transak pays US sellers to a debit card, with a published 0.99% fee.

Inside wallets the choice narrows. Exodus sells only through MoonPay, Ledger Wallet's only confirmed US sell route is Transak to a card, and MetaMask asks US sellers to pick their state first.

Not on the purchase alone. Buying crypto with dollars and holding it doesn't make you answer Yes to the digital asset question on Form 1040, and the on-ramp fee becomes part of your cost basis. Tax comes when you sell, swap or spend the crypto.

Form 1099-DA is filed by brokers that take possession of what their customers sell: gross proceeds for sales from January 1, 2025, and cost basis for certain sales from January 1, 2026. None of the four says on its own pages that it issues Form 1099-DA. MoonPay says it reports certain transaction information to tax authorities where the law requires, Transak says it may withhold and report tax if applicable law requires, and Banxa emails a tax invoice for every order. The IRS is clear either way: "Every taxpayer must report any related income, gains, or losses, whether they receive a Form 1099-DA or not." Keep your receipts, and see our US crypto tax guide.

Use an on-ramp for a quick purchase straight into your own wallet. Use an exchange account if you buy regularly or in larger amounts.

• On-ramp: fast, no account balance to manage, and the crypto lands in your wallet; the price depends on the channel.
• Exchange: an order book and lower trading costs (Kraken's published fees put buying $1,000 of bitcoin on Kraken Pro and withdrawing it at $9.22 on October 17, 2026), no Kraken fee on ACH deposits or withdrawals according to its fee page, and a Form 1099-DA when you sell. You withdraw to your own wallet yourself.

Compare the best crypto exchanges in the US and the best crypto wallets in the US.

• January 1, 2025: Form 1099-DA gross-proceeds reporting begins for broker sales.
• June 2025: MoonPay USA receives New York virtual currency and money transmitter licenses.
• November 2025: MoonPay Trust Company receives a New York limited purpose trust charter.
• December 3, 2025: Ramp announces six new state money transmitter licenses.
• January 1, 2026: cost-basis reporting on Form 1099-DA begins for certain sales.
• January 2, 2026: OSL Group completes its takeover of Banxa.
• February 10, 2026: Ramp's Arkansas license is issued.
• July 1, 2026: California's DFAL licensing requirement takes effect.
• August 19, 2026: Trust Wallet adds Cash App Pay through MoonPay.
• Between August 26 and October 8, 2026: Ramp's licenses page adds Arizona, according to Internet Archive copies.
• September 18, 2026: MoonPay announces Guest and Express checkouts.
• October 7, 2026: MoonPay's in-app checkout arrives in Trust Wallet for US users.