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Bitstamp Review UK 2023: Pros, Cons and Features
Luis Clark
- URL: https://bitstamp.net
- Headquarter: Luxembourg
- Year Founded: 2011
- Platform App: Desktop/Mobile/Web
- No. of Cryptos: 78+
- Fiats Available: GBP, EUR, USD
- Withdraw Method: Bank Transfer
- Payment Method: Bank transfer, credit or debit card
Bitstamp Review UK: Our Opinion
The Bitstamp platform is one of the oldest crypto exchanges known for low trading fees and an easy-to-use interface for beginners. It also has some advanced trading features. However, the cryptocurrency exchange offers a limited selection of cryptocurrencies which advanced traders may find discouraging.
An Overview of Bitstamp UK
The Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange was founded in Slovenia in 2011 and is one of the oldest crypto exchanges available. At the moment, the cryptocurrency exchange is headquartered in Luxembourg with global offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. It is headed by CEO Nejc Kodric who is popular in the Bitcoin community and Damijan Merlak. Both men co-founded the company.
Currently, Bitstamp allows users to trade more than 70 digital assets including Ethereum, Stellar Lumens, Uniswap, and Litecoin with competitive trading fees.
Bitstamp offers both a beginner platform and an advanced trading platform via Active Trader. The cryptocurrency exchange now hosts over 4 million customers globally.
Pros
- Beginner-Friendly
- Users can earn rewards on their crypto assets via Bitstamp Earn
- It supports three fiat currencies including GBP and EUR
- Advanced traders have access to Advanced trading tools via Active Trader
- Low trading fees
Cons
- It supports only 2 payment methods
- Limited cryptocurrencies available
Key Features of Bitstamp
Tradeview
Tradeview is a popular and advanced analytical crypto trading tool that allows Bitstamp users to track and analyze the state of the market. It has a simple interface that allows users to place new orders and view open orders.
Bitstamp Tradeview has 5 elements: Trading charts, trades box, order book, market depth charts, and active orders.
Trading Chart
This is the central feature of Bitstamp’s Tradeview. The trading chart displays a visual representation of market price movements within a set time. Users can easily switch between time frames using a panel at the upper left-hand side of the price chart. The time frame can be adjusted between 1 minute to 3 days.
Bitstamp Tradeview uses the candlestick chart as the default chart type. Users can however switch to other chart types like line charts and bar charts.
It also features different trading indicators including Ichimoku Cloud, Relative Strength Index, and Moving Averages. These indicators can be used to predict future market movements.
Order Book
The order book displays queued open orders on Bitstamp that have not been executed. This feature is available at the bottom of the Tradeview page.
The Asks are color-coded red on the right side of the page, while the Bids are color-coded green on the left side of the page. The value of the order, the amount to be traded and the total sum for both Bids and Asks are all displayed.
Trades
The trade section displays all recent trades (both sales and purchases) of supported cryptocurrencies executed by the Bitstamp trading engine. The trades box is located on the left-hand side of the Tradeview page.
The Trades section features three columns: the price column, the time column, and the amount column.
The Time column displays the exact time trades were executed by the trading engine, the Amount column shows the number of assets bought and/or sold in the trade and the Price column shows the price at which assets were bought or sold. The price column uses green and red colors. The red prices indicate sales while the green prices indicate purchases.
Orders
The orders section is located on the right-hand side of Tradeview’s page and it allows users to place various orders including limit orders, stop orders, instant orders, and market orders for buying and selling cryptocurrencies using fiat currency.
The orders section also has a list of all open orders on Bitstamp, users can choose to display open orders for a selected currency pair or all currency pairs.
Depth Chart
The depth chart provides the user with adequate information about the relationship between the supply and demand of various cryptocurrencies. The chart displays all limit buy and sell orders open on the order book. The depth chart has two lines; green and red. The green line represents the buy orders while the red lines stand for the sell orders. Stop orders do not appear on the depth chart because they do not appear in the order book.
The lines on the depth chart are drawn by plotting the dots and each dot represents how much the user can trade up to that point. There is always a spread in the middle as both lines never meet. The current market price is located in the center between the red and the green lines.
Also, the slopes on both lines show how much money is needed to move the price of a cryptocurrency. A vertical line which is also known as “wall” indicates that there is a large amount of buy or sell orders at the price where the wall is located. A steep line on the other hand means that more money is required to move the price of the asset while a flat line means that less money is required to move the price.
Bitstamp Earn
Bitstamp Earn allows users to earn crypto rewards on assets held on the exchange for a certain time frame. Assets in the Earn Program are staked. As with other exchanges, assets staked in the platform via the Earn Program are locked and cannot be traded or withdrawn for the specified time frame.
Bitstamp uses the staked assets in Bitstamp Earn to validate blocks on the blockchain. The owner of the asset receives crypto rewards in return for locking their funds to be used for the validation.
Currently, Bitstamp Earn only supports the staking of Ethereum and Algorand. But plans are ongoing to add more cryptocurrencies to the program.
Cryptocurrencies Available on Bitstamp UK
Bitstamp exchange supports 78+ cryptocurrencies. Available cryptocurrencies include: Ethereum, Bitcoin, Basic Attention Token, Curve, Gemini Dollar, Chainlink, Polkadot, XRP, USD Coin, Dogecoin, XLM, Dogecoin, Polygon, Bitcoin Cash, Solana, Shiba Inu, Wrapped Bitcoin, etc.
Bitstamp Fees
Trading Fees
For its trading fees, Bitstamp uses a trading volume-based maker and taker model. Your 30-day trade volume on your Bitstamp account determines the trading fees you’ll have to pay.
30 Days trading volume: < $1,000
Standard Maker and Taker: 0.00%, 0.00%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.000%, Taker: 0.000%
30 Days trading volume: > $1,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.30%, Taker: 0.40%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.060%, Taker: 0.080%
30 Days trading volume: > $10,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.20%, Taker: 0.30
FX Fee: Maker: 0.040%,Taker: 0.060%
30 Days trading volume: > $100,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.10%, Taker: 0.20%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.020%, Taker: 0.040%
30 Days trading volume: > $500,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.08%, Taker: 0.18%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.016%, Taker: 0.036%
30 Days trading volume: > $1,500,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.06%, Taker: 0.16%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.012%, Taker: 0.032%
30 Days trading volume: > $5,000,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.03%, Taker: 0.12%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.006%, Taker: 0.024%
30 Days trading volume: > $20,000,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.02%, Taker: 0.10%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.004%, Taker: 0.020%
30 Days trading volume: > $50,000,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.01%, Taker: 0.08%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.002% , Taker: 0.016%
30 Days trading volume: > $100,000,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.00%, Taker: 0.06%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.000%, Taker: 0.012%
30 Days trading volume: > $250,000,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.00%, Taker: 0.05%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.000%, Taker :0.010%
30 Days trading volume: > $1,000,000,000
Standard Fee: Maker: 0.00%, Taker: 0.03%
FX Fee: Maker: 0.000%, Taker: 0.006%
Staking Fees
There are no fees for staking and unstaking your digital assets. But Bitstamp charges a percentage of your staking rewards before sending the rewards to your account. The commission covers every cost associated with the service. Bitstamp also charges fees when you choose to stop receiving rewards.
Here’s the cryptocurrencies that the Bitstamp exchange offers for staking, the rewards, and fees.
Ethereum2: 4.5% APY as staking rewards and 15% as staking fees charged to the profit of the staking process.
Algorand: 1.5% APY as staking rewards and 15% as staking fees charged to the profit of the staking process.
When compared to other crypto exchanges Bitstamp charges one of the highest staking fees.
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
Faster Payments (UK)
Deposit: Free of charge
Withdrawal: 2.00 GBP
Instant Purchase Fees
Instant Purchase is available with credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal. Bitstamp charges 4% in fees for this service.
International Wire Transfer Fees
Users are charged 0.05% in Bitstamp fees for all deposits via international wire transfer. For withdrawals via this method, users incur a 0.1% charge in Bitstamp fees.
Bitstamp also charges withdrawal fees for digital assets, however, the charge is dependent on the coin being withdrawn.
Bitstamp Payment Methods
Bitstamp allows you to deposit funds into your account via your bank account using the Faster Payments Service and a debit card or credit card.
To deposit funds via bank transfer you’ll need to sign into your account. Head to Deposit and select “Bank Transfer” in the menu on the left of your screen.
Next, choose the currency you intend to deposit and the balance you want to credit the payment to. If the balance you select is different from GBP, Bitstamp will convert your funds.
Hit “Deposit”. You’ll see Bitstamp’s bank account details and your message digits. Ensure you pen down your message number as it would be required for the transfer reference.
It’s also important to state that you cannot deposit money from an account that is not registered under your legal name as entered when opening your Bitstamp profile. Also, if you’re using FPS it’ll take about 1 business day for your deposit to show up in your account.
Bitstamp Security
Bitstamp is a licensed and regulated exchange. It holds 50 licenses and registrations globally. It is compliant with all regulatory and Anti-Money Laundering requirements. It holds an ISO/IEC 27001 certification, its information security management system adheres to established best practices in security and information. It also conducts periodic SOC2 Type 2 attestations.
Bitstamp conducts regular audits to ensure that the assets held matches customer liabilities. It validates the accuracy of its records at both the customer and transaction levels using specialized software from leading global providers.
The Financial Control team also conducts daily, weekly and monthly reconciliation of customers’ assets against the records of all third-party custodians holding the funds. Bitstamp monitors, validates, and accounts for each transaction regularly. At the end of the year, Bitstamp’s annual global financial statements are audited by a Big Four global accounting firm.
Bitstamp exchange stores 95% of users’ crypto assets in cold storage offline using bank-grade Class III vaults. The remaining 5% is left in hot wallets online to ensure fast processing of transactions. All assets held in cold wallets are insured. The hot wallets are secured with multi-signature technologies.
The exchange also backs up all customer’s funds held on the platform, the funds are available for withdrawal at any time. The Funds are also held in one on one custody. This means that every customer’s coin on the platform is held by a licensed and qualified custodian.
Also, Bitstamp customers’ fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies are stored separately from Bitstamp’s cooperate assets. Bitstamp cannot lend or stake users fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies without their approval.
Users can also secure their accounts with various measures like address whitelisting, two-factor authentication, confirmation emails and password change prompts. Bitstamp takes full responsibility for the security of private keys of cryptocurrencies stored in the Bitstamp wallet in the platform. However, all funds stored in users’ offline wallets are their sole responsibility.
Bitstamp Staking Rewards
You can earn interest on some of your digital assets held on the cryptocurrency exchange via the Bitstamp Earn program. The platform offers cryptocurrency rewards in exchange for you holding your cryptocurrencies for a particular amount of time. However, Bitstamp only offers 2 cryptocurrencies for staking (Ether and Algorand) which unlike other cryptocurrency exchanges that offer the service is a limited number. That said, Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange offers up to 4.5% APY on held assets with a 15% fee on gained rewards.
Opening a Bitstamp Account
You can easily create a profile on the cryptocurrency exchange via the Bitstamp app.
To do so, go to Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and download the official Bitstamp app. Alternatively, you can go to the Bitstamp website and click the app download link to ensure you’re downloading the official app.
Once you’ve done that, launch the app, and choose your nationality.
Next, enter your full name as shown on your government-issued identification, email address, and date of birth.
You will receive a confirmation email. Open your email inbox and confirm your address.
That’s it, you’ve created your Bitstamp profile.
Once you’ve created your account, select “Personal Account Verification”.
Next, go ahead with filling out the verification form and uploading all documents requested.
After your verification request is approved, you’ll need to submit the required data on the KYC form. The KYC form will help the Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange process deposits and withdrawals more quicker.
Required documents for verification include HQ images of your national identity card, proof of residency document, or international passport.
Trading Experience on Bitstamp
Bitstamp has 3 trading platforms the Bitstamp mobile app, Bitstamp Tradeview, and Bitstamp web. It’s important to note that trading fees are the same on every trading platform as some other cryptocurrency exchanges like Gemini charge different fees per platform.
The web trading platform on Bitstamp.net is for the basic buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. It features instant, stop, and market limit orders. The trading platform also simply shows a basic chat, purchase form, and open buy and sell orders.
Bitstamp’s advanced trading platform is via Tradeview as it offers advanced trading tools such as quick trading forms, in-depth charts, and live updated order books. However, the order types available on the advanced platform are the same order types on its basic trading platform.
For mobile, Bitstamp has a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices. It features the functions you get from the Bitstamp web platform.
Customer Service
Bitstamp provides customer support via phone and email at support@bitstamp.net. Customers with complaints can also contact Bitstamp Support via a support ticket.
Bitstamp has a well-equipped Help Center as well as a Bitstamp FAQs section, with lots of guides on how to use the platform.
Customer Satisfaction
Bitstamp exchange review by several users shows that the personal account verification process is poor and intrusive. The customer support rating is also poor. While some customers testify of receiving good service from the Bitstamp support team, others complain of poor response from Bitstamp’s customer support.
Concerning the mobile app, Bitstamp has done a great job. The Bitmap mobile app has a 4.5 stars rating on the Google Play store and 4.8 stars on the Apple App Store.
Does Bitstamp Offer Education?
Bitstamp provides education via its Crypto Learn Center which offers Bitstamp tutorials, cryptocurrency guides, crypto definitions, articles on Web3 developments, blockchain technology, and much more.
Is Bitstamp Right for You?
Bitstamp is best for casual investors whether advanced or beginner as the crypto exchange offers a limited number of cryptocurrencies and basic trading features.
Final Thoughts
The Bitstamp crypto exchange is one of the oldest platforms in the blockchain space that allows users to trade assets securely. However, when compared to other exchanges, Bitstamp offers a very limited set of cryptocurrencies, a small selection of advanced trading tools and features (no margin trading or futures trading), and eligible staking assets. This will discourage advanced users looking to trade a large selection of cryptocurrencies.
Our extensive analysis of the UK Crypto Exchanges doesn’t stop here. You can also read about our CoinCorner Review as an alternative to Bitstamp.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Bitstamp is waiting for approval for its regulatory application to the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world and has had no major security incidents except the 2015 hack where $5 million in Bitcoin was stolen.
Bitstamp keeps 98% of its crypto assets in offline cold storage and offers industry-standard security measures.
Yes, Bitstamp is the first fully regulated exchange (crypto payment platform) in Europe.
There’s a huge possibility that Bitstamp has had contact with the HMRC, however, this isn’t known for sure.
Yes, Bitstamp was hacked on January 2015 and the hackers got away with over $5 million of investor funds. The hackers targeted 6 employees of Bitstamp for a phishing attack. The effect of the hack was that Bitstamp lost tons of customers interested in investing in bitcoin.
We always try to provide the most accurate information available, and make sure our team follow through.
If you want to know more about our Crypto Exchanges Review Methodology follow the link below
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