Operational since 2011, Bitstamp is one of the most trusted and respected crypto exchange in the market. The credit goes to the large user-base of European crypto enthusiasts Bitstamp holds.
The exchange maintains an array of offices all around the world and is offering dedicated crypto trading services to clients across the borders. Bitstamp is popular within both, experienced and intermediate crypto traders.
Bitstamp located in Slovenia (Europe)
Bitstamp was found to provide exclusive service to European clientele and was also meant to provide an alternative to the crypto market which was dominated by Mt. Gox. The company started out in Slovenia and Bitstamp’s first office was opened-up in the UK in 2013 and the other one in Luxembourg in the year 2016. Apart from this, Bitstamp maintains a dedicated presence in London as well as New York City.
History on Bitstamp
In the year 2011, the founders of Bitstamp were two friends and they launched this platform to compete with Mt. Gox. When we talk about Mt. Gox, it was one of the biggest exchange in the region during that time. After Mt. Gox was hacked in 2011 and over 850,000 BitCoins were lost, the founders of Bitstamp realised the importance of reliability as well as security. Bitstamp founders realized that users will prefer an exchange they can actually trust over anything in the crypto segment. Hence, Bitstamp was built on robust and secure blockchain and crypto technologies. In the year 2013, the exchange expanded their business to London with an aim to become the centre of European crypto trading.
You might be fascinated to know this when Bitstamp moved to London, there were no regulations at that time by the government regarding the crypto trade. The exchange believed that people will trust that crypto exchange which is governed by rules and regulations. Hence, Bitstamp started to look for other countries which had well-framed rules at that time. It was when David Marcus who is the former president of PayPal suggested them to try Luxembourg, Bitstamp started having meetings with the Luxembourg government in the fiscal year 2016. By the mid-April of the same year, Bitstamp became the world’s first-ever crypto exchange which held a national crypto license. Further, this also benefited the platform as they got automatically licensed in 28 other European Union countries.
Since then Bitstamp has maintained credible relations with top financial institutions around the world like Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Swissquote as well as Credit Agricole. That is why Bitstamp is believed to be one of the most popular and respected crypto exchange. Bitstamp was rated as the 6th largest crypto exchange in the month of April 2018. The exchange carried a combined value of around $12 billion USD. The platform handles around 8.9% of the world’s entire crypto trade and encounters over 15 million visitors on a monthly basis. If you wish to associate with Bitstamp, you can get access to the portal from over 60 different countries. Fiat currency trading is what makes Bitstamp unique. You can make use of fiat currencies like Russian Ruble (RUB), US dollar (USD) as well as Chinese Yuan (CNY) to begin trading on the platform. This is a good news for the beginners.
Bitstamp’s team
Bitstamp maintains a dedicated portfolio of its executives on their website unlike a majority of crypto exchanges. Nejc Kodric is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bitstamp. Talking about CFO, the post helps by Edward Kemp. David Osojnik is the CTO of the company. Whereas, Stephane Leloup is the head of legal affairs at Bitstamp. All of these names are pioneers in the crypto trading world. Talking about the CEO, apart from Bitstamp Nejc Kodric was the marketing director at GSracunalniki which is an IT consulting company.
How to trade on Bitstamp?
Talking about what kind of cryptocurrency pairs are available on Bitstamp, you can leverage pairing such as Bitcoin (BTC/USD, BTC/EUR), Ethereum (ETH/USD, ETH/EUR, ETH/BTC), Litecoin (LTC/USD, LTC/BTC, LTC/EUR) and more. Further, the altcoins available on Bitstamp apart from the major ordinary ones are Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and many more. When it comes to depositing methods, a user can make use of direct wire transfers, AstroPay, debit and credit cards, cryptocurrency and even the SEPA payments.
Trading fee of Bitstamp generally rests between 0.1% to 0.25%. The deposit fees at Bitstamp for the credit card is 5% plus while for SEPA and Cryptocurrency deposits, it’s zero. However, the more you trade on Bitstamp, the more you will save. If your account is new or you have traded very low volumes of crypto through your account, you can expect a trading fee of around 0.25% from Bitstamp. Further, you would be delighted to know that if you make frequent trades, the same fees can go as low as 0.1%. Also, if you’re a big trader and can trade over $20 million USD in a mere period of 30 days, you can get access to the ultra-low fees.
SEPA withdrawals, debit card withdrawals and wire transfers are all subjected to a withdrawal transaction fees. Now talking about the deposits, if you make a direct bank transfer, it can take a maximum of 2-5 days to reach your crypto account. In case of SEPA transfers, the period rests between 1-3 business days. However, if you transfer your cryptocurrency to Bitstamp, then your funds will be migrated as soon as blockchain network confirms the transaction. It usually takes about 60 minutes. When you have a working Bitstamp account, the first step is always to add funds to your account.
For the purpose of allocating relevant funds to your account, you can simply stroll over to Deposit tab on the Bitstamp dashboard. Under this option, a user can pick from options like bank transfer, crypto transfer or credit/debit card transfer. Let’s assume that you have your required funds assembled in your account. Now, you can start trading on Bitstamp. On the right side of the screen, you’ll be able to see the ‘Buy’ option in the green theme. Enter the correct price as well as relevant quantity and you can execute your buy order. Just below the ‘Buy’ segment, users can see the ‘Sell’ option supported in a red theme. If you wish to sell, you can simply enter the amount and sale price, and click on sell button.
Apps
What comes as a fascinating fact is that Bitstamp maintains a dedicated official application for smartphone users. You can simply stroll over to the iOS app store and can download the application for free. With Bitstamp official smartphone application, users can deposit and withdrawal Bitcoins (BTC) directly with added ease. Also, the app has been secured with a PIN code authentication feature. You can make payments on the go with the help of Bitcoin addresses and QR codes. Also, get access to around the clock real-time market data. For Android users, they can also download the Bitstamp app from Play Store. The user interface is great and intuitive and it’s certainly attractive for new users.
Create an account on Bitstamp
When it comes to creating an account on Bitstamp, you can simply stroll over to their official website. A user can open his/her free account by following a simplified signup process. You’re required to provide initial information like name, email address, country and of course, the password. Upon successful fulfilment, your account will be created real-quick. Now, the next step is to verify the email address provided during the time of sign-up. Stroll over to your email and click on the verification link sent by Bitstamp. Also, at this point when the new screen appears, you should enable two-factor authentication. This can surely provide a security shield to your account.
Further verification is required to be done in order to get access to high withdrawal limits. You won’t be able to get your hands on bank account transfer function until and unless you verify your Bitstamp account. For that, you require documents such as a valid national ID card or even the citizenship card will do the job. One can also make use of driving licenses as well as passports. Users are also required to provide a proof of their residence. For this purpose bank statements, utility bills and other government documents can be used. Also, you’re required to verify your phone number via OTP. Once you’re through all of this, you will unlock around the clock access to your Bitstamp account. Make purchase, deposits, trades & withdrawals as per your requirement.
KYC
If you wish to make an account on the Bitstamp crypto exchange, then you’re required to be in possession of a valid government-issued ID card. Also, other documents that are required to be submitted are photograph and proof of residency.
In the year 2014, Bitstamp was threatened via a DDOS attack by a group of hackers. Nejc Kodric refused to negotiate with the hackers who were demanding over 75 bitcoins. After dedicate security power move, the operation was restored at Bitstamp and company had suspended withdrawals for some time as a security measure. Bitstamp started to take security and verification seriously from that time and today maintains some of the best crypto exchange security standards.
Security
As mentioned earlier, Bitstamp is considered one of the trusted, reliable and safest platform for the purpose of selling and buying crypto. The exchange has implemented dedicated security measures such as two-factor authentication. Also, the anti-money laundering guidelines have further optimized the security at Bitstamp. What comes as a most important fact is that, in lieu of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy, the company is also transparent about the information it might collect and how it might use the same. Further, it’s a relieve that Bitstamp keeps over 98% of their coins in safe and secured cold wallets. You should know that the portal makes use of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) data encryption protocol for the purpose of authenticating all the files which have been uploaded.
Conclusion on Bitstamp’s review
Considering the fact that Bitstamp is one of the oldest crypto exchange out over there in the market, Bitstamp maintain high liquidity values. Bitstamp currently handles over 100 million euros worth of euro-pair trade every day. Also, when it comes to US dollar pairings, the amount rests around $400 million USD on a per day basis. Easy sign-up, dedicated document verification process, high levels of security, intuitive user-interface makes Bitstamp a preferred choice for crypto trade. Customer support is also dedicated and whenever a support ticket is raised, Bitstamp people answer the same within 24 to 72 hours. Thus, we can say Bitstamp provides a trusted and reliable service to its clients around the world.
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