Bitstamp is one of the more established and moderately feature-packed Cryptocurrency Trading exchanges out there. But does it provide everything that we seek in the best Cryptocurrency Trading exchanges out there? We’ll see by the end of this Bitstamp review.
The positivity in the starting lines isn’t a result of any sponsorship or financial gain to us by the company. Rather our own personal experience, as well as collective reviews and feedback gathered from the Internet (Reddit, Forums etc).
Fair warning though, if you seek “anonymity” in an exchange, you may take a look at our extensive list of the Best Anonymous Cryptocurrency Trading Exchanges. (Bitstamp isn’t anonymous, refer to the KYC Verification section for details).
We promise, there can’t be a more unbiased, transparent and detailed review than this Bitstamp review right here. You’ll see our strict and detailed dissection of the company if you go through the following questions:
- Does Bitstamp Require KYC Verifications?
- How can you Deposit/Withdraw on Bitstamp?
- What are the Fee and Minimum Trading Amounts on Bitstamp?
- Which Trading Pairs are Available on Bitstamp?
- Is Bitstamp Secure?
- How to Contact Bitstamp Support?
- Can you use Bitstamp on Mobile?
Disclaimer: Proceed only if you agree 100% to our Disclaimer.
Bitstamp Cryoto Exchange Quick Overview
A brief outline of the company before you dive deeper and get your hands dirty with this Bitstamp review:
- Primary URL: https://www.bitstamp.net/
- KYC: Mandatory
- Supported trading pairs: 15
- Deposits: Fiats + Cryptocurrencies
- Fee: 0.5- 0.005% Trading fee
- Security: Cold Storage, Withdrawal Address Whitelisting, 2-FA
- Mobile Support: Yes
- Live-Chat: No
Does Bitstamp Require KYC Verifications?
Probably the only, yet the biggest deal-breaker for me personally is its mandatory KYC requirement. Bitstamp doesn’t let a user deposit, trade neither withdraw without the KYC completion.
Comparatively, this is the most extreme level of KYC-requirement which can be implemented. We’ve already seen in our BitFinex Review and binance review how those companies are a lot more liberal, allowing Crypto trades without any KYC and only demanding it when trading with Fiats.
Infact, companies like Binance and Paxful have completely optional KYC policies. Both Crypto and Fiat trades can be conducted without any KYC whatsoever. Hence compared to those, Bitstamp doesn’t fair well when it comes to anonymity.
As soon as a user signs up on Bitstamp, they’re redirected to the verification page.
The worst and most painful part for me personally was that it seems to only be accepting “Passports” as identity proofs. In addition to the document, the mobile number also needs to be verified via OTP.
This doesn’t mean Bitstamp isn’t a good, secure or trustworthy Bitcoin trading exchange. It simply means it’s not “anonymous”.
How can you Deposit/Withdraw on Bitstamp?
Bitstamp allows not just Cryptocurrency deposits, but also deposits via Fiat modes directly. This makes it an exchange of choice for those who do not own any Crypto yet, but wish to start trading Cryptocurrencies.
The platform accepts fiat deposits via:
- Credit cards
- SEPA
- International Wire Transfers.
The accepted Cryptocurrencies for deposits are:
- BTC, BCH, LTC, XRP, ETH, and IOU
Compared to other exchanges, I personally feel the number of accepted Cryptocurrencies is way lower than most. If you go through our P2PB2B Exchange Review or KuCoin Review, you’d see they accept over 200 Cryptocurrencies.
What are the Fee and Minimum Trading Amounts on Bitstamp?
Bitstamp refrains from using the maker-taker model for its trading fee. Rather it uses a standard, static fee for both the parties.
The fee however is still based on a user’s 30-day trade-volume as is the case with most other best Bitcoin trading exchanges.
It starts with 0.5% for traders with a 30-day volume below USD $10,000.00. This is the minimum you’d be paying until you cross the USD $10,000.00 threshold.
It decreases as the trade-volume increases. The lowest possible payable fee is 0.005% for traders with a 30-day volume of < $10,000,000,000.
Although if you have a 30-day trade volume greater than > $10,000,000,000, there’s no trading fee and trades become absolutely free.
Deposit Fee
Each mode of payment, as well as Cryptocurrency has its very own Deposit fee. Depositing funds via SEPA is completely free. International Wire deposits cost 0.05%, or USD/EUR 7.50 (whichever is higher). A maximum of USD/EUR 300 will be charged as the 0.05% of a deposit.
Credit Card deposits are charged at 5% of the transaction. Cryptocurrency deposits are free as well with just one exception. Ripple IOU is charged at 0.20% if you transfer IOUs within accounts.
Withdrawal Fee
Withdrawals too have varying fee. SEPA withdrawals for instance are charged at 3.00EUR/withdrawal.
International Wires on the other hand are charged based on “percentage”. The fee is 0.1% of the transaction for Intl. Wire Transfers. Note that this fee is never lower than USD/EUR 25.00.
Cryptocurrency withdrawals aren’t free either. BTC withdrawal is priced at 0.0005BTC, Ripple at 0.02XRP, Litecoin at 0.001LTC, ETH at a 0.01ETH and finally BTCH at 0.0001BTCH/withdrawal.
You can also withdraw Bitcoins via BitGo Instant, in which case the withdrawal fee is 0.1%.
Other Fees
Bitstamp also charges a number of other fees in certain cases. They can be found in the following screenshot:
These I believe are comparatively higher than what other exchanges are charging for similar actions and cases.
Minimum-Trade Amount
What’s the lowest trade you can place at Bitstamp? Well for Cryptocurrency pairs involving Bitcoin, it’s 0.001BTC.
If the trading pair involves USD/EUR, the minimum a trade has to be worth is USD/EUR 25.00.
Which Trading Pairs are Available on Bitstamp?
The number of available trading pairs is another aspect on this Bitstamp review which isn’t very impressive. The screenshot below shows all the currently available trading pairs on the platform:
So the coins you can currently trade on the exchange are:
- BTC, LTC, ETH, XRP, And BCH.
It clearly shows that you can’t trade most Altcoins on Bitstamp. Rather the exchange is limited to the popular and widely used Cryptocurrencies only.
Is Bitstamp Secure?
It does seem so. The traditional yet secure methods are all available, they include:
- Cold Storage.
- 2-Fa (2 Factor Authentication)
- Withdrawal Address Whitelisting.
Cold-Storage guarantees the user-funds are safe, and can’t be hacked into. The last time Bitstamp was hacked half a decade back in January 2015 for USD $5Million.
2-Factor authentication is available, but more importantly it’s mandatory. The user can’t place trades without enabling 2-Factor authentication. While it’s a bit of an overkill, but it does make the account secure without doubts.
And finally the Withdrawal Address Whitelisting is bliss. This is the final layer of security which products your funds from being stolen by unauthorized parties.
Even in case the 2-FA as well as the password are compromised, the funds can only be withdrawn to pre-specified addresses.
How to Contact Bitstamp Support?
Not the most impressive aspect of the Trading exchange. It doesn’t provide for a live-chat and that’s a bummer. Especially if you’re a newbie, with trades and money there are a ton of questions.
The company provides for 4 E-mail addresses, and 3 numbers they can be reached on. Although the E-mails will obviously be a slower mode of communication, and calls for international customers isn’t very feasible.
Can you use Bitstamp on Mobile?
Being one of the oldest Bitcoin trading exchanges, it’s hard for it to not have a Mobile app. The Android version of it weighs just around 7Mb, although it totally is also available for iOS as well.
I must say, it differs widely from the interfaces offered by most other similar platforms. It’s a lot more demanding as well. You need to have a verified account, with 2-FA enabled in order to access Bitstamp on mobile!
Bitstamp Pros and Cons
The Pros and Cons, summed up.
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Final Verdict:
It’s time we wrap this Bitstamp review up. As mentioned earlier, the exchange is one of the best Bitcoin exchanges “if” anonymity isn’t your priority or requirement.
Also, if you wish to trade primarily in Altcoins, or the “not very popular” coins Bitstamp may not be the best choice. But sure when it comes to security or advanced features (specially with its trading interface) it nails them.
So well it does have its pros and cons, it’s you who decides what matters more to you. Do let us know your choices and verdict on this Bitstamp review and the company using the comments.
