How to Buy and Sell Crypto on CoinMarketCap

If you've been coming to CoinMarketCap for a while, you probably think of it as the place to check prices, scan rankings, and dig into a coin's additional details. That's still the core of what the site does, but there's a newer feature worth knowing about: You can now buy and sell crypto directly on CoinMarketCap, without leaving the website.

To be clear, CoinMarketCap is neither an exchange nor a wallet. It's a market data platform. What the trading feature actually does is connect your wallet to on-chain decentralized exchanges (DEXs) using smart routing so that you can swap coins like BNB (BNB) and Solana (SOL) without ever handing over custody of your funds. Your assets stay in your wallet the whole time.

All of this is powered by DexScan, CoinMarketCap's on-chain DEX screener that tracks trading data across more than 50 chains and 100 decentralized exchanges. For trading, it currently routes swaps on Solana and BSC, finding the best price and liquidity for each trade.

One last thing worth being clear about: Trading on CoinMarketCap is entirely at your own risk. CoinMarketCap provides the interface and the market data, but you are fully responsible for the outcomes of any trade you place, including losses from price movements, slippage, smart contract issues, failed transactions, or anything else that happens on-chain. Refer to the Trading Terms and Conditions and Risk Disclosures for more information.

What CoinMarketCap Trading Is (and Isn't)

CoinMarketCap Trading currently supports two chains: Solana and BNB Smart Chain (BSC). That means you can trade any on-chain token on those networks, from blue chips like SOL and BNB to popular Solana memecoins and major BEP-20 tokens — straight from the coin detail page.

A few things set it apart from using a centralized exchange:

Zero service fees on every trade: CoinMarketCap doesn't charge anything on top. You'll still pay standard network gas and any fees the underlying AMM protocol charges, but CMC takes 0%.
Self-custody by default: Your tokens never leave your wallet. There's no CoinMarketCap account balance, no deposit, and no withdrawal.
No registration: You don't sign up for anything. Just connect a compatible wallet and trade.
Automatic security screening: Tokens flagged as high-risk — such as suspected honeypots, rug pulls, or fakes — are automatically screened and can be restricted from trading.

If a token isn't tradeable directly on CoinMarketCap, like if it lives on a chain outside Solana or BSC, you'll still see a Trade button on its coin detail page. Clicking it takes you off-site to a third-party DEX where you can continue the trade.

Buying and Selling Crypto on CoinMarketCap: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before You Start

You'll need two things to get started: a supported wallet and some gas.

Supported wallets include Binance Wallet, Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Phantom, and anything compatible with WalletConnect. The trading panel shows "Detected" next to any wallet you already have installed.

For gas, BSC trades require a small amount of BNB in your wallet, while Solana trades require SOL. CMC will auto-reserve a small buffer (roughly 0.0012 BNB or 0.02 SOL) when you use the Max button, but it's worth topping up either way.

Step 1: Turn On DEX Mode

Head to CoinMarketCap, and pull up the coin detail page for any token you want to trade. In the upper right corner of the page, toggle DEX Mode on. The switch turns blue when it's active.

You can also hover over any token in the Trending list on the homepage to see a quick-trade card and start from there.

Step 2: Connect Your Wallet

Click Connect Wallet in the trading panel, pick your wallet from the list, and approve the connection in the wallet pop-up. Once you're connected, your wallet address will show in the upper right.

The first time you trade, CoinMarketCap shows a "Must Know Before Trading" risk disclaimer. Check the acknowledgment and click Start Trading. You only have to do this once.

Step 3: Place a Trade

Now you're ready to swap. In the trading panel:

Select the token you want to trade, either from the left panel or using the search bar.
Choose Buy or Sell.
Enter your amount. You can use the preset amounts, type a custom amount, or hit Max.
Review the Est. Receive line, and confirm the Service Fee reads 0%.
Click the Buy or Sell button, then confirm the transaction in your wallet.

A note for BSC: The first time you trade a specific BSC token, you'll need to approve CoinMarketCap's router contract before the swap goes through. The button shows "Approve {TOKEN}" first, then switches to "Buy {TOKEN}" after approval. It's a one-time step per token, and it doesn't apply to Solana.

Once you confirm a trade in your wallet, it's final. On-chain transactions can't be cancelled or reversed, so double-check the details before hitting confirm.

Step 4: Adjust Your Trade Settings (Optional)

If you want more control over your trade, click the gear icon to open Trade Settings.

Dynamic Slippage is on by default. It calculates your slippage tolerance automatically based on real-time volatility so that you don't have to guess. You can switch to a custom percentage if you prefer.
Priority Fee (Gas) has four modes: Standard, Fast, Instant, and Custom. You can save up to three custom presets for trades you place often.

Step 5: Track Your Positions and Orders

At the bottom of the trading page, you'll find two tabs worth knowing about.

My Positions shows your current holdings, profit and loss, and average cost. You can filter out high-risk, low-value, or stablecoin positions to keep the view clean.
My Orders splits your trades into Open Orders (pending) and Order History (completed or cancelled). For now, CoinMarketCap supports market orders only, but limit orders and other advanced order types such as take profit/stop loss (TP/SL) are coming soon.

Fees and Security

CoinMarketCap itself takes no cut on trades. The costs you see come from the networks and protocols doing the actual work:

Trading Fee: charged by the AMM protocol routing your swap, and varies by pool.
Gas Fee: paid to validators on BSC or Solana.
Token Tax: some tokens have a buy/sell tax built directly into their contract.

On the security side, your keys always stay yours. CoinMarketCap only requests signing permissions when you trade, so it can't access, move, or freeze your assets. Each token is also automatically scanned for honeypots, rug-pull signals, fake tokens, and abnormal buy/sell taxes and can be restricted from trading.

Final Thoughts

CoinMarketCap Trading is a useful shortcut if you're already on the site researching a token and want to act on that research without bouncing between tabs. You keep custody, you don't pay a service fee to CMC, and the whole flow runs on-chain through your own wallet.

Just remember: This is live, on-chain trading. Once a transaction is confirmed, you can't undo it. Check the details, make sure your wallet is on the correct network, and start small the first time through. Crypto products evolve quickly, so for the latest on supported chains, wallets, and features, it's always worth double-checking the trading page directly before you place a trade.