Coinhouse is an exchange that lets users purchase cryptocurrency using their credit card. It is an excellent choice for those who want to begin investing in crypto and, therefore, need to make their initial exchange using fiat currency. Coinhouse offers payment with credit or debit cards or by bank transfer, with all billing transactions in Euros. It promises reputable service, low fees, and instant delivery. This company has its offices in Paris, France.
The biggest benefit of Coinhouse compared to many other cryptocurrency exchanges is that you can purchase your Bitcoins or Ether using your fiat currency. Specifically, you use a bank transfer, debit card, or credit card. This makes the world of cryptocurrency more accessible.
Additionally, Coinhouse delivers your purchased crypto instantaneously, so you do not have to wait around for the transaction to finish. It is also transparent, always selling at the current market price in Euros plus its commission, both of which are clearly listed on the homepage.
Coinhouse also stands out with its reputation and compliance. To make purchases, you must verify your ID, something that makes this exchange compliant with regulations in most areas. The exchange complies with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Additionally, it has a strong reputation because of it’s physical location in France, La Maison du Bitcoin.
What is La Maison du Bitcoin?
La Maison du Bitcoin is the crypto store behind Coinhouse as well as its physical location. You can conduct your transactions there, in person, for the fees outlined above. You can also make appointments with advisors there or attend one of the events or conferences. The location is at 35 rue de Caire in Paris, and it allows for trading of 250 cryptocurrencies in minutes.
Who Can Use Coinhouse?
To use Coinhouse, you must live within the SEPA zone or a be French resident who has a French residency permit. As a reminder, there are 34 countries within the SEPA zone, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Hungary, Greece, Germany, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Bulgaria, Belgium, and Austria. If you are a national from one of the SEPA countries but live outside the zone, you can still join Coinhouse if you have a bank account within the zone and only use wire transfers for transactions with Coinhouse.
How Do You Buy and Sell Crypto on Coinhouse?
Buying and selling Bitcoin or Ether on Coinhouse follow very similar processes. To buy your chosen currency, use the Coinhouse platform to start a transaction for sales. You will enter the details of your bank, along with the quantity in Euros you want to sell. The system will automatically display the equivalent amount in either ETH or BTC. Click “Confirm,” and you will see a QR code and long alphanumeric string, the wallet address.
Now, you can open your crypto wallet and hit “Send.” For phone wallets, you can scan the QR code; otherwise, copy and paste the alphanumeric address you received. (You can email yourself the address on the phone to ensure you copy it correctly). If the fees don’t add automatically, remember to include them. Enter the quantity the Coinhouse platform displayed and hit “Send.” Once the address receives the funds, Coinhouse will make the SEPA transfer. Remember that you should only send BTC to Bitcoin public addresses and ETH to Ethereum public addresses.
Keep in mind that cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed. Because of this, you should always confirm that you send funds to the right address before hitting “Send.” You also cannot recover crypto that was accidentally sent to an address for receiving another type of cryptocurrency. As such, always confirm you selected the appropriate address for your crypto (ETH or BTC) and copied and pasted it exactly.
Coinhouse Fees
Coinhouse does charge a fee whether you choose to buy or sell your cryptocurrency. However, this is clearly listed on the website. At the time of writing, the buying fee was 4.9 percent and the selling fee was 3.9 percent. There is also the option of completing the transactions offline at La Maison du Bitcoin, where there is an additional fee of 9.90€. Those who do a crypto switch will have to pay a fee of 5 percent of the crypto switched.
| Transaction type | Online | Offline (La Maison du Bitcoin) |
| Buy | 4,90% | 4,90% + 9,90€ |
| Sell | 3,90% | 3,90% + 9,90€ |
Premium clients have lower fees for most transactions. All bank card transactions, either online or offline, have a 3.9 percent fee. Wire transfer transactions have a fee of 2 to 3.9 percent, and sales have a fee of 2 to 2.9 percent. The fees for wire transfers include a gradual reduction of 0.06 percent of your fee for every 50,000€ in cumulated transactions. For selling, there is a similar gradual reduction of 0.03 percent for each 50k threshold you meet.
| Transaction type | Online | Offline (La Maison du Bitcoin) |
| Buy (Bank Card) | 3,9% | 3,9% |
| Buy (SEPA transfer) | 3,9% to 2%* | N/A |
| Sell | 2,9% to2% ** | 2,9% to 2% ** |
| Crypto-Switch | N/A | 5% of the cryptocurrency switched |
Remember that there are also minor fees charged by Bitcoin for any transaction, known as mining fees. These vary based on the network load, but you can always see these fees at Bitcoin Fees. To get your fee, multiply the figure on the website listed for Satoshi per byte by your transaction weight, which you will see as you begin the transaction.
What Are Premium Clients?
To become a premium client, you must either invest more than 30,000€ or have invested more than this in the past (a figure that can be cumulated over various transactions). Your account must be validated by the Coinhouse conformity team, and you must also pay a 349€ annual fee.
As a premium client, you get reduced fees, as well as a specific phone support line, access to the crypto information and knowledge of Coinhouse’s expert team, priority status for meetings at La Maison du Bitcoin, and guaranteed access to VIP events and private conferences.
How Does Coinhouse Get Its Rates?
The rates Coinhouse charges are based on the actual market value, so you can get always get a fair price. At the time of writing, one BTC was 7,535.90€ and one ETH was 579.77€. When you pay with a bank card, the exchange rate becomes fixed when you initialize the transaction and is guaranteed for 30 minutes. For bank transfers, it is fixed when Coinhouse’s bank account receives the transfer. This is typically within 96 hours of you issuing the transfer.
How Long Do Transactions Take?
Most bank transfer-based transactions will take three to four days to reach Coinhouse. It will include a CNHS0000 code that you should include in your transfer details. If you don’t include this, the processing time of the transaction will be longer. Transactions with credit cards should be instant. You can confirm that your transaction is complete and that you received your funds. Look at a blockchain explorer, and just paste the receiving address in the search bar.
How Can You Pay for Your Transaction?
As mentioned earlier, Coinhouse accepts debit and credit cards as well as bank transfers for payment. It accepts either Mastercard or Visa, provided that the 3DS (3D Secure) is activated. 3DS ensures payments are not reversible, which protects Coinhouse from chargebacks and helps keep prices low. Depending on the bank you use, you may also need to use a security card, get an SMS, or use your special password to complete the transaction. Coinhouse does not offer wallet services, so you cannot store crypto on the platform to use in transactions.
Sometimes, you might notice that you do not see an option for paying with a bank card. In this case, your account has been limited to either transactions at Coinhouse’s physical counter or bank transfers. You can remove the limits in your profile’s Parameters or Limits sections. Additionally, you can ask the support team to help you activate this, which might require additional documents.
Account Verification & Limits
Your level of account verification on Coinhouse directly affects your daily limit. During registration, you must at least upload an image of yourself holding your ID, as well as a scan of the ID. Based on your document quality and type, your daily limit following the initial verification will be between 200€ and 5,000€.
The document you show must include your full date of birth and full name. It can be the front and back of your French national identity card, your French residence permit, your French passport, or an international passport from within the SEPA area. You also need proof of residence from within the last three months with your full name and date of birth, such as an internet, phone, or energy bill or a tax assessment. Finally, the photo of yourself with the ID must include you holding a note with “Coinhouse” and the date. In the photo, you must have your full face visible without anything, like glasses or hair, in the way. Everything within the photo must be fully visible and legible.
Account validation may take as little as a few hours or as long as three business days, depending on the number of applicants. If you don’t have a proof of address with your name and are instead hosted by someone, you can instead share the relevant documents of your host. This includes your host’s proof of residency within the past three months, both sides of their identity document, a handwritten letter from them certifying you live there, and a photo of the host holding their ID and letter, with both documents legible and their face visible.
Is Coinhouse Safe ?
Coinhouse does not have its own wallet, which saves the need for many security measures. However, it suggests you use Ledger Nano S. Even so, this is just a recommendation. The lack of wallet on Coinhouse means that no funds could be recovered from hacks, making it invulnerable to this threat.
Additionally, Coinhouse has strict policies on anti-terrorist financing, anti-fraud, and KYC, all of which are designed to protect customers and the company. It always aims to provide competent authorities with transparent, reliable services.
For further account security, it uses two-factor authentication, making it impossible to hack your account. You can also trust that your data is safe. This is because Coinhouse prohibits commercial solicitation, sharing, or resale of customers’ confidential information. Instead, it stores your information with respect and security via encryption.
Conclusion
Coinhouse lets users enter the world of cryptocurrency by offering the option to buy Bitcoin and Ether using bank transfers and credit or debit cards in Euros. Since many exchanges do not accept fiat currency, let alone credit cards, this is a very useful service for those who want to start investing in crypto or turn more of their fiat savings into crypto.
The fact that Coinhouse has a physical location where you can go and buy cryptocurrency is an important factor when considering the legitimacy of this company, the founders are very open to the public and hold regular crypto events where you can go and become familiar with this technology.
As long as you live within the SEPA zone and are only interested in Bitcoin or Ether, Coinhouse is definitely worth consideration.
Coinhouse
Pros
- Fiat Purchases
- Easy to Use
- Physical Location
- Trustworthy Company
Cons
- Not many cryptocurrencies
- No Trading
- Higher Fees
