In this review, we’ll take an in-depth look at Kraken to see how it stacks up against competitors like Coinbase and Binance. We’ll examine Kraken’s offerings, including its selection of supported cryptos, trading features, fees, security, customer support, and more.

By evaluating Kraken across these key categories, we’ll get a sense of how it performs as a crypto trading platform and whether it’s a good fit for different types of users, from beginners to advanced traders.

Our goal is to provide an objective assessment of Kraken’s strengths and weaknesses so readers can determine if it is the right exchange to suit their cryptocurrency trading and investing needs.

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Quick Verdict: Kraken is a versatile and secure cryptocurrency exchange trusted by traders worldwide for its robust feature set and strong security practices.

What Is Kraken?

Kraken is one of the most popular and oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, having been around since 2011. The exchange aims to set itself apart by offering great services, low fees, multiple funding options, and top-notch security.

Founded by Jesse Powell with the mission to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency at a global scale as an alternative to traditional financial systems, achieving financial freedom and inclusion for billions of people around the world.

Unlike other exchanges, Kraken is based in the United States, which ensures its compliance with local regulations.

While this makes it readily available to American customers, it also means it offers fewer features than other exchanges, although the one it offers should be enough for most investors.

Keeping in mind that the US has struggled to create a comprehensive body of regulations for cryptos is worth remembering. Today crypto exchanges in the US operate normally, but if the US opts to impose stricter regulations on them, the situation could change quickly.

The exchange is also planning to go public in the future, having attracted the attention of major investors like London-based Rothschild Investment Trust Capital Partners.

For now, while not available to invest in it by just anyone, Kraken remains one of the best platforms to invest in some of the best and most popular crypto projects.

As long as you are not living in Afghanistan, Cuba, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, or Tajikistan, you will be able to take advantage of everything Kraken has to offer. You can check if you have any local restrictions here.

Kraken Features

One of the most important aspects of any cryptocurrency exchange is the set of features and tools it provides for traders and investors. The trading interface, coin selection, security measures, and other functionalities can make a big difference in the user experience.

Kraken has developed a fairly robust feature set across its exchange products to serve both novice and expert cryptocurrency users, as follows …

• Wide selection of cryptocurrencies – Kraken offers trading pairs for over 50 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Chainlink, Uniswap and more. This gives users lots of options for trading and investing.
• Margin trading – Kraken provides up to 5x leverage margin trading, allowing traders to amplify their gains (and losses). Margin trading carries high risk.
• OTC desk – For high volume traders, Kraken offers an over-the-counter (OTC) desk that provides personalized service and helps fulfill large orders without dramatically impacting market prices.
• Futures and derivatives – Kraken offers futures trading that allows users to speculate on the future price of cryptos. It also plans to introduce crypto options and other derivatives.
• Pro trading tools – Kraken has an advanced crypto trading platform with tools like real-time order books, depth charts, price charts and more. Useful for technical analysis.
• Security features – Kraken stores most crypto in cold wallets offline. It offers two-factor authentication, PGP encryption, and other security measures to protect accounts.
• Low fees – Kraken’s trading fees start at 0.16% per trade side, lowering based on trading volume. Fees are competitive with other major exchanges.
• Global availability – Kraken is available in over 100 countries globally and offers fiat on-ramps for many currencies like USD, EUR, CAD, etc.
• Kraken Pro mobile app – Kraken offers an iOS and Android app tailored for professionals with real-time spot prices, the ability to trade, and other account management features.
• Staking services – Kraken allows users to stake certain proof-of-stake coins on the exchange to earn rewards.
• NFT marketplace – Kraken has its own NFT marketplace that allows users to buy, sell, and mint select NFTs that are verified by Kraken. The marketplace connects to users’ Kraken accounts for easy trading.
• 24/7 live chat support – Kraken offers constant live chat support direct from their website for quick assistance with any issues.

Supported Currencies

One of Kraken’s biggest strengths is the wide variety of cryptocurrencies and tokens it supports. Kraken offers spot trading for over 50 different cryptos and altcoins.

Major coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple are to be expected. But Kraken has also made an effort to support altcoins like Cardano, Polkadot, Loopring, KAVA, and many more.

Kraken has been at the forefront of supporting some new crypto assets. For example, it was one of the first exchanges to enable Shiba Inu coin trading. And Kraken provides access to popular decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens like Chainlink, Uniswap, Aave, and more.

The large selection of coins makes Kraken a great option for investors looking to diversify their crypto portfolio beyond the most common assets. Traders can take advantage of fluctuations in prices between these smaller cap coins.

Kraken also allows for trading between cryptos, not just trading cryptos for fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. There are crypto-to-crypto pairs, stablecoin trading, and more.

While some exchanges like Coinbase have wider overall assets coverage with 100+ cryptos, Kraken still offers one of the larger selections in the industry. The ability to trade between a diverse pool of tokens adds to Kraken’s power as an exchange for seasoned crypto traders.

Kraken Signup and Login

A Kraken account can be easily opened by following the signup process and entering your name, email address, and password. All passwords must be at least 8 characters in length and contain letters, numbers, and special characters.

Kraken offers both basic and advanced accounts, to open a basic account users are required to give their full name, date of birth, address and phone number. Advanced account users must go through a more stringent verification process in order to complete their registration. For an advanced account it’s necessary to:

• Upload your ID. In order to verify your account you are required to upload government issued forms of identification and a proof of residence. For US residents, a Social Security Number is also required; whilst in countries such as Germany or Japan require additional ID confirmation.
• Documentation can be uploaded under the ‘Get Verified’ tab of your Kraken account and the verification time depends on the number of applications being processed and can take from a few days to over a week.
• Be sure to set up 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) which provides a secondary layer of security to your account.
• Once this is complete you can move onto funding your account. Add the bank account that you will make transfers to and from; bank transfers and wires are the only accepted methods for depositing funds.

Account Verification

While the verification process is optional, it will determine what exchange features you can use and the limits set to your account. There are 4 levels of verification: Starter, Express Intermediate, and Pro.

Let’s take a look at the features you will gain access with each level of verification:

• Starter: Add security Settings, Kraken Pro App, Kraken Mobile App, deposit cryptocurrencies with no limits, withdraw cryptocurrencies with low limits, exchange crypto, on-chain staking, generate up to 16 API keys, and a low API call rate limit.
• Express: You receive all the benefits of the starter verification with the addition of fiat deposits with an up to $9 lifetime limit, and fiat withdrawals with a $9k monthly limit.
• Intermediate: Same features as express but with higher deposit and withdrawal limits depending on your country, on-chain and off-chain staking, margin trading, futures trading, parachain auctions, and a higher API call rate limit.
• Pro: Same Features of intermediate but with the highest limits for withdrawals of crypto and fiat as well as cash deposits, access to dark pool trading, trading on OTC desk and business account, 25 API keys, and the highest API call rate limit.

To get verified, you will need to provide some personal information (express), provide your ID (intermediate), and provide financial information (pro). The process can take under 1 minute, 5 minutes, or a few days depending on the level you are looking for.

How to Make a Deposit

Navigate to the ‘Funding’ section in the Menu tab, and then select your preferred deposit method. You may choose to deposit into the exchange via the bank transfer function. Or utilize a cryptocurrency wallet in order to transfers funds.

How to Make a Trade

Once your account has been funded, it’s possible to click on the ‘Trade’ tab in the Menu and select ‘New Order’; from here you can select the currency you would like to buy and your preferred payment currency.

After entering the quantity you would like to purchase and selecting either a market or limit order, you can click on the green confirmation button in order to confirm your purchase.

Kraken Fees

Kraken is a centralized exchange run by a corporation. As such, it is a for-profit platform that makes money by charging fees when performing certain transactions on it.

The most common fee you will be charged when using Kraken is a trading fee that is charged when an order is matched with another order. If you create an order but it is not executed, you will not incur any fees at all.

This fee can vary but will always be between 0% and 0.26% of the order’s total value.

The fee will be determined by the following factors:

• The trading pair being used
• Your 30-day trading volume in USD
• If you are adding (maker) or taking (taker) liquidity from the reserve

If you are using leverage on your trading, there are two other fees that will be applied: The margin opening and rollover fees.

These fees will vary depending on the currency you are trading but will always rank between 0.01% and 0.02% for both, with the fee being for every 4 hours you maintain your position in the case of rollover fees.

Another fee you will need to consider is the address setup fee, which will vary depending on the cryptocurrency you are setting an address for. As this address will be necessary to trade certain currencies, it can vary depending on your needs and the specific coin. You can check these fees here.

If you are using the instant buy feature, which lets you instantly buy, sell, or convert cryptocurrencies without the need of creating an order, you will need to consider the following fees:

• Instant Buy: 0.9% fee for any stablecoin or 1.5% for any other crypto pair.

If you are using a card or online banking to buy the crypto, you will incur one of the additional fees:

• An extra 3.75% for payment processing fee
• An extra 0.5% for the online banking processing fee

It is important to keep in mind that when using Kraken, your trading fees will decrease as your 30-day volume in USD increases. The first level at which you will notice a decrease is if you reach a $50k trading volume.

Fiat deposits will also incur fees depending on the method, with some of them being free or as high as 21 British Pound, but this will be discussed later on in the funding section.

Is Kraken Safe?

Kraken is widely considered one of the most secure cryptocurrency exchanges available in the crypto world, having never been hacked in the past. Binance, arguably the biggest crypto exchange, suffered a hack in 2019, which makes Kraken’s record the most impressive.

According to the exchange, it stores 95% of all deposits in cold storage distributed geographically to ensure its safety, using reserves to ensure liquidity. Its servers are also under 24/7 surveillance to ensure that unauthorized physical access is not possible.

Cold storage is the safest way to store tokens – and it is almost impossible to hack tokens that are being stored in this way.

With 2FA, email confirmations for withdrawals, customizable API keys, PGP signature, constant monitoring, SSL encryption, Zero settlement risk, and configurable account timeouts, your crypto will be as safe as it can be when in Kraken.

While security is a concern with any crypto exchange, Kraken is one of the best options that anyone in the US can choose.

Kraken Trading Volume and Liquidity

As one of the most popular exchanges, Kraken does pretty well in terms of trading volume and liquidity, consistently being one of the top 10 spot exchanges in these regards.

Kraken aims to drive high liquidity by incentivizing high trading volumes, providing multiple funding options and low fees, and having more active users by reducing fees for makers.

According to the exchange, it is able to achieve spreads as tight as 1 point per percentage (pip), which allows its users to trade high volumes without incurring big losses in the process.

Kraken Customer Support

Kraken offers several resources to its users to support them on their journey through the crypto world.

These resources include support guides for the platform’s features, an in-depth “learn” section that provides information on everything related to crypto, podcasts, videos, and 24/7 global customer support.

Unlike most cryptocurrency exchanges, which focus on a ticket system, Kraken offers its customers phone support from Monday to Friday from 6 am to 6 pm EST, which can be a deal-breaker for many looking for a more personalized touch.

If you are not the kind of person who likes talking on the phone, Kraken also offers a live chat which will allow you to receive live help from support specialists at any time during the week. If you would rather fill a support ticket, this is also possible.

Due to the size of the exchange, reply times can vary depending on the demand.

While Kraken didn’t excel in the customer support department some years ago, it is clear that the exchange is focusing on improving the experience for its users, with the addition of phone support being a great plus.

Is Kraken Good for Beginners?

While Kraken can be used by beginners who have or are willing to do their research, the exchange is not exactly user-friendly when compared to other exchanges. This is not only limited to its user interface when trading but also to its deposit and withdrawal methods if you are unable to use a debit or credit card.

The signup process can also be more cumbersome than other exchanges due to its compliance with local regulations, which requires it to adapt Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) measures.

This means you will be required to provide personal information and verify your identity when registering an account.

However, if you are familiar with other market platforms or have no problem with reading a few guides, it is possible to use Kraken as a beginner.

If you are not a beginner, Kraken’s mobile app and platform have a lot of customization alternatives that make it super adaptable to your specific needs as well as straightforward features, which could make it easy to use depending on your experience.

Kraken Interface & Apps

In addition to its web platform, Kraken also offers several ways in which users can take advantage of its features. For example, Kraken offers three official Apps that are available both for iOS and Android users.

The first App is the standard Kraken App, which will allow users to buy crypto using a debit/credit card or ACH online banking, monitor prices and track their portfolio, deposit their cryptocurrency, and purchase predefined amounts of crypto.

The Kraken Pro APP is intended to provide a professional trading experience and as such, it provides access to eligible users to margin trading, advanced order types, and multiple charting tools.

Another app is specifically available for those looking to trade futures: Kraken Futures. If you are eligible, it will allow you to trade crypto with up to 50x leverage, transfer between your sport and futures wallets, trade futures, and access personal support as well as educational content.

In addition to the mobile and web apps, Kraken also offers access to its REST API. If you have programming knowledge, this will allow you to interact with Kraken’s platform in a more customizable way.

Not only does the API provide access to market data via a public endpoint but it also allows authenticated endpoints to be accessible, providing user data, trading, funding, and staking features to your apps or bots.

This is a great way for power users to automate their trading strategies and gain access to unique insights depending on their needs.

If you want to be able to use bots to trade your account, Kraken is a good options to consider. With a fast exchange structure, and loads of data, Kraken is built for anyone that uses automated trading tools on a regular basis.

Conclusion

Kraken is an efficient, reliable, and safe exchange that offers a good balance between features and compliance with regulations, ensuring it is a safe bet for investors of any level of experience who are not looking for advanced features.

With all the crypto exchanges that are out there – Kraken stands out as a great choice, especially for anyone who lives in the USA. Be sure to understand what features an exchange offers before you make a deposit, and start trading.

Given its emphasis on educating its users on the multiple aspects of cryptocurrency and providing them with security, it is a great alternative for beginners who don’t mind having to navigate a user interface that is not that user-friendly.

The company also gives its clients ready access to customer support, so that they can get the help they need. After many years of development, Kraken offers its clients a full set of trading tools that are simple to use, and very effective.

When looking at Kraken in-depth, it is not hard to see why it is one of the most trusted and used cryptocurrency exchanges out there.

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Kraken FAQs

Is Kraken available in my country?

Kraken is available in most countries worldwide, with the exception of New York and Washington state in the US. Check their website for your specific country.

Does Kraken have insurance protection?

Yes, Kraken maintains full insurance coverage and digital asset protection up to $100 million. This protects users from theft or loss of funds.

What are Kraken’s fees?

Kraken has a tiered fee schedule based on 30-day trading volume. Fees range from 0.16% maker/0.26% taker at the lowest tier to 0% maker/0.10% taker at the highest VIP tier.

Does Kraken have a mobile app?

Yes, Kraken has iOS and Android mobile apps. The Kraken Pro app is designed for professionals and includes order execution.

What customer service options does Kraken offer?

Kraken offers 24/7 live chat support as well as an extensive help center and FAQ knowledge base. You can get account assistance over email also.

How do I deposit/withdraw funds on Kraken?

Kraken allows both crypto deposits and fiat currency deposits through wire transfer or electronic funds transfer. Withdrawals work similarly in reverse.

Is Kraken safe to use?

Kraken utilizes top security measures like two-factor authentication, PGP encryption, and the majority of assets held in offline cold storage. Its security practices are considered highly safe.

The post Kraken Review: Complete Guide to This Crypto Exchange appeared first on Blockonomi.

The exchange allows traders around the world to engage in leveraged margin trading in a select range of crypto products, and digital assets such as BTC, ETH, EOS, and XRP can be traded using up to 100x leverage.

With its headquarters in Singapore, Bybit operates as a strictly crypto to crypto exchange, doesn’t require its users to perform stringent KYC verification, and currently generates close to $1B worth of daily trading.

Bybit also incorporates cutting edge tech, solid security protocols, and a dedicated customer support service that is aimed at helping the exchange rival the market’s leading derivatives trading service providers.

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Who is Behind ByBit?

Bybit was founded in March 2018 by Ben Zhou, and he previously established himself in the world of Fintech by working as XM’s China District General Manager for seven years.

XM is a leading provider of brokering services and Bybit’s core team come from investment banking, and the Forex industry, as well as being early blockchain adopters.

The exchange is registered in the British Virgin Islands, and has its headquarters in Singapore alongside supplementary offices in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

While Bybit goes by the official company name of Bybit Fintech Limited its registration number and incorporation details are not currently publically available, however, the team maintain a central address at  6 Shenton Way, #12-11/11A, Singapore, Singapore 068809, SG.

The team also provide the details of their publicly available LinkedIn page and in addition to Ben Zhou prominent members include Latica Qiu who also has experience of working for XM, while the tech team includes individuals with experience of working at leading companies such as Morgan Stanley, Tencent, Ping’an Bank, and Nuoya Fortune.

There are approximately 50 Bybit employees with public profiles on LinkedIn and anyone can go through the team profiles to get a better understanding of the people behind the exchange.

Bybit’s Main Features

As a P2P crypto to crypto derivatives trading platform, Bybit allows traders from various countries to participate in trading using up to 100x leverage.

Traders from a wide variety of countries (excluding the US) are catered for and Bybit incorporates a number of key features in order to provide its users with an efficient and responsive crypto trading experience.

These include a customer support service that includes a live chat function, and a Grey release feature which ensures that platform maintenance is conducted “on the go” which results in minimum downtime, and maintains around the clock access to live trading.

The P2P service also makes use of a pricing mechanism aimed to ensure a fair and transparent trading environment, and Bybit also integrates with TradingView, provides comprehensive API tools, and can be accessed via fully functional IOS and Android mobile apps.

Other key features include:

• 1 Click Coin Swaps – Users can easily swap between supported cryptocurrencies from within their accounts
• 100,000 TPS per contract – Which is 10x the industry average and results in no overloads
• Up to 100x leverage – Bybit’s generous leverage system allows for increased profit potential
• Cold Wallet Storage/Manual Withdrawals – Bybit employs cold storage and conducts three daily manual withdrawals to strengthen security
• Unlimited Withdrawals – Users of the platform are allowed to make virtually unlimited trades and withdrawals
• No KYC– Accounts can be opened and maintained with just an email address and username

ByBit currently specialises in leveraged trading and perpetual contracts, and allows traders to take up both long and short positions in a select number of cryptocurrencies.

Contracts have no set expiry date at which they will be automatically settled, and most importantly, it’s key to remember that as a derivatives trading platform, there are no physical transfers of Bitcoin taking place between buyers and sellers on ByBit.

Contracts are settled in each underlying asset, with prices/quantities quoted in a range of leading fiat currencies.

Bybit Account Types and Limits

Bybit users all gain access to the same range of features after opening accounts and can trade in perpetual crypto derivative contracts in Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, and Ripple in relation to USD.

All users conduct trades by entering into an agreement with the seller for the future price of a given asset in a P2P fashion.

Bybit supports the following leveraged trading pairs:

• BTC/USD: 1:100
• ETH/USD: 1:50
• EOS/USD: 1:50
• XRP/USD: 1:50

As a purely crypto to crypto exchange, Bybit is one of the easier platforms to get started with and you can create an account using only an email address.

There is an option to register with a mobile number and this requires you to fill in your country, and phone number, as well your password.

How to Open an Account on Bybit

You can get started by clicking on the “Register” tab at the top right of the page. From here you can select either Email or Mobile Registration and enter the necessary details.

When choosing to register with an email address, you will be sent a unique verification code number which will allow you to gain access to your new account.

Currently anyone signing up can earn a bonus of $5 for making a first deposit of ≥0.05BTC while a first deposit of 0.5BTC or more earns a $50 bonus.

From here you can navigate to your “Account & Security” settings in order to set up your account username in addition to two factor authentication (2FA).

When you have finished configuring your account settings you can begin to deposit one of the supported currencies by clicking on “Assets/My Assets”.

You already have full access to the platform and can begin to trade once you have deposited funds and converted them into the asset that you would like to trade.

Bybit Trading Arena

When we tested the trading arena out for ourselves, our initial impression was that the layout is extremely clean. The platform utilizes a dark background in a somewhat minimalistic look, with each segment of the trading screen organized clearly and neatly.

This includes the main chart area that displays green and pink candles, with the order book and recent trade segments listed just to the right. On the very right hand hand side you have the ability to set your trading parameters, which you can do across limit, market, and conditional orders.

Before your trade is executed, Bybit presents a full breakdown of your order. This is especially useful considering the complexities associated with derivative contracts.

In terms of chart analysis, Bybit allows you to fully customized your trading screen. Chart candle movements can be adjusted between 1, 3, 5, and 10 minutes, all the way up to 1 month.

You can also make changes to the scale of the chart. For example, you can include metrics such as left and right axis, percentages, indicator labels, and log scales. You can also customize the layout of the chart, including the colours and your preferred time zone.

All-in-all, while the trading arena offers a user-friendly platform to trade derivatives, Bybit have ensured that it is suitable for both novice and highly experienced traders.

So now that we’ve covered the main trading screen, in the next part of our Bybit review we are going to look at deposits and withdrawals.

Supported Currencies

Bybit currently only accepts a limited number of digital currencies including BTC, ETH, EOS, XRP, and USDT. Each currency can be both deposited and withdrawn but Bybit does not support any fiat currencies at this time.

However, funds are able to be displayed in the following currencies:

• GBP
• EUR
• USD
• AUD
• CAD
• CNY
• CHF
• HKD
• JPY
• KRW

Deposits/Withdrawals

There are no minimum deposit requirements; however, Bybit does enforce the following minimum withdrawal amounts.

Bybit processes withdrawals manually three times a day at 0800, 1600, and 2400 (UTC), and the cut-off time for withdrawals is 30 minutes before the scheduled withdrawal processing time. All withdrawals are credited to your wallet 1 to 2 hours after a review.

ByBit Fees and Charges

Bybit does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fees, although a miner’s fee applies to all transfers. You can adjust fees when making a deposit, however, with withdrawals; the following fixed miners’ fees are applied regardless of the withdrawal amount.

Every executed order on Bybit incurs a trading fee which is deducted from the account balance, although it does not affect the initial margin of the order. Furthermore, market makers who provide liquidity and increase the market depth of order book receive an incentive in the form of a negative trading fee, while market takers who do the opposite are charged a positive trading fee.

Trading Fee = Position Value x Trading Fee Rate

If for example, Trader A buys 10,000 BTC/USD contracts via market order and Trader B sells 10,000 BTC/USD contracts using limit order, if the execution price is 8,000 USD, then the following is true:

Taker fee for Trader A = 10,000/8,000 x 0.075% = 0.0009375 BTC
Maker rebate for Trader B = 10,000/8,000 x -0.025% = -0.0003125 BTC

Therefore, upon execution, Trader A will pay 0.0009375 BTC of the Taker fee and Trader B will receive 0.0003125 BTC of the Maker rebate.

Funding Fee

A position funding fee is also applied on the platform which is exchanged between the long positions and the short positions. The funding fee works to ensure that exchange prices stay anchored to the global spot price, and funding is exchanged directly between buyers and sellers every 8 hours.

A positive funding rate sees long positions pay short positions and when it becomes negative, the short position holders pay the long position holders. You are not charged when you close your position before the funding interval.

The funding fee is calculated as follows: funding fee = position value*funding rate. Position value = quantity of contract/mark price. If, for example, at 8:00 UTC you hold a long position of 10,000 BTC/USD contracts, and the mark price is 4,000 USD. Supposing that the funding rate is 0.02%, the position value will be 10,000/4,000=2.5 BTC, and the the funding fee is 2.5 BTC *0.02%=0.0005BTC.

Bybit Order Types

Bybit incorporates a number of order types including standard market orders which allow you to process trades as soon as you hit the button at the going market rate. Limit orders allow you select the price at which you want your order to execute at and give you more flexibility. You can “Buy /Long” or “Sell/Short” using either order type on Bybit.

Conditional Orders

Conditional orders are fulfilled once a pre-specified event occurs, which can include reaching a particular price level, and when configuring a conditional order, Bybit provides the following additional order options.

• Post-Only- You will only pay a maker fee here as even if your limit price takes liquidity from the books, it will still be processed as a maker order.
• Close On Trigger – This option ensures that your stop loss reduces your position regardless of any other open orders.

• GoodTillCancelled –Results in your order remaining open until it gets filled or you cancel it.
• ImmediateOrCancel – This option allows your order to go through immediately, and if not, get cancelled automatically.
• FillOrKill – Your order will be cancelled if it is not filled with one trade.

The conditional orders can all be set up from the Conditional Orders tab and selecting from the options at the bottom if the box.

Bybit Leverage

If you have a slightly higher appetite for risk, then you’ll be pleased to know that the Bybit platform supports leverage trading. The amount of leverage on offer will depend on the derivative contract you plan to trade.

For example, if trading BTC/USD or ETH/USD, then you’ll be permitted to trade at up to 100x. On the other hand, EOS/USD and XRP/USD is capped at 25x, albeit, this is still a considerable amount of leverage to be trading with. As such, make sure that you have a firm grasp of how leverage works before you use it, as the reality is – you could lose your entire balance.

Moreover, Bybit has also installed risk limit levels on each of its four derivative contracts. However, this shouldn’t really have an impact on you unless you are an institutional grade investor, as you can trade up to 100 BTC or 300 ETH at the 100x level before your limits are reduced.

In terms of financing costs, this is charged on two main fronts. Notably, this includes the interest rate and any respective premium/discount factors. Funding takes place every eight hours.

Supported Countries

Bybit currently accepts users from the following countries:

• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Australia
• Canada
• Italy
• Spain
• Brazil
• China
• Japan
• India
• Portugal
• Norway
• Sweden
• Netherlands
• Austria
• Switzerland
• Peru
• Argentina
• Ukraine
• Ireland
• Romania
• Poland
• Belgium

At this moment in time, the platform is not available to inhabitants of the following locations:

• United States of America
• Québec
• Singapore
• Cuba
• Crimea
• Sevastopol
• Iran
• Syria
• North Korea
• Sudan

How Suitable is Bybit for Beginners?

Right off the bat it’s important to note that Bybit isn’t suited to beginners. The practice of leveraged trading can result in higher losses than first expected, and the volatile nature of futures markets makes them a part of the crypto sector best left to more experienced traders to navigate.

Having said that, Bybit provides a number of resources that allow experienced traders to continue to brush up their skills and improve their trading knowledge. These include the Bybit testnet and demo trading feature, and a Support Center which includes an extensive FAQ section which covers common questions that users may have.

Quite importantly, ByBit also offers live chat functionality and dedicated emails for customer/IT support. The team also make sure to maintain a wide range of social media channels including a Telegram group and Facebook page which helps to keep them easily accessible.

Other handy features include comprehensive trading charts via integration with TradingView, the mobile app available for both IOS and Android devices, and the API tools which allow you connect trading bots or any other apps which require data from Bybit.

In addition, the lack of trading limits, high liquidity levels, and the incorporation of a wide range of order types suit more experienced practitioners and the platform has been designed to be able to service the requirements of high frequency traders.

More active traders may also be interested in the Bybit Referral Program which sees a $10 bonus payment being given to anyone who refers a friend to the platform who goes on to deposit at least 0.02 BTC.

Bybit’s Referral Program

As a final note, it is also worth mentioning that Bybit offers users the chance to earn referral bonuses. For every new member that you are able to refer, you will receive the Bitcoin equilievent of 10 USD.

The user that you refer does need to deposit at least 0.02 BTC. At the time of writing, the referral bonus is only available for those funding their account with BTC, meaning that ETH, XRP and EOS deposits will not allow you to claim the bonus.

How Secure is Bybit?

The exchange has managed to remain resilient with regards to any potential hacks, but this is to be expected given its relative youth. The team behind Bybit make use of a range of security protocols which include full SSL encryption on the website to protect all your personal information.

User accounts are also protected via two-factor authentication (2FA), which can take the form of email, SMS, or external app verification.

Bybit also maintains that 100% of clients’ funds are stored using a Deterministic Cold Wallet System, and only small amounts of funds are kept in hot wallets to allow for immediate withdrawals.

Using a multi-signature cold wallet system enhances the platform’s security and the team also process withdrawals manually three times a day in order to limit the possibility of hackers gaining access to funds.

The team have also developed their Grey release update system which sees platform maintenance conducted “on the go” which results in minimum downtime, and provides traders which continuous access to live trading, thus limiting the possibility of “lost” trades. In order to ensure smooth and efficient trading Bybit derives its index prices by taking data from three exchanges, namely Coinbase Pro, Bitstamp, and Kraken (33.3% each) and also makes use of an insurance fund that keeps users’ funds protected even if a number of adverse situations were to occur.

Insurance Fund

The fund is designed to decrease the possibility of Auto-Deleveraging, and when a liquidated order is closed at a price worse than bankrupt price, Bybit uses the balance of the Insurance Fund to cover the gap. Here, Auto-Deleveraging is only triggered when the Insurance Fund is insufficient.

During liquidations the balance of the Insurance Fund increases and decreases depending on the price difference between the final Liquidation Price and the Bankruptcy Price of each liquidated position. As a result:

• When liquidations can be executed in the market at a price better than the Bankruptcy Price, the remaining margin will be added to the Insurance Fund.
• Conversely, when the final execution price is worse than the Bankruptcy Price, the contract loss will be covered by the Insurance Fund.

As an example, a trader having a long position on BTC/USD with the liquidation price at 7,000 USD and Bankruptcy price at 6,950 USD will have this position liquidated once the Mark Price hits 7,000 USD. If this position can be liquidated at any price higher than 6,950 USD, then the remaining margin in BTC will be donated to the Insurance Fund. Also, if the final execution price is lower than 6,950 USD, then the Insurance Fund will be used to cover the contract loss.

In the event that the Insurance Fund is insufficient to cover the gap between the final execution price and Bankruptcy Price, the entire liquidation gets taken over by an Auto-Deleveraging System. Bybit users can keep a track of the current balance of the Insurance Fund by checking the Daily Insurance Fund Balance.

Conclusion

Having been founded in March 2018, Bybit is still a relatively new operator in terms of cryptocurrency derivatives trading but has emerged as serious alternative to more established platforms such as BitMEX.

While it’s suitable for a wide range of traders and provides valuable resources such as the testnet which allows extensive demo trading to take place, Bybit shines with regards to catering for more experienced high volume/frequency traders.

The lack of KYC requirements in addition to no real trading or deposit/withdrawal limits being implemented on the platform suit anyone looking to trade in large amounts anonymously, and the consistently high liquidity levels also suit anyone looking to take advantage of sudden market swings by making swift deposits onto the platform.

Despite still developing as a platform, Bybit incorporates a solid range of technical, security, and trading features that will enable it to establish itself in the midst of a growing amount of competition as an increasing number of crypto exchanges throw their hats into the futures trading ring.

All in all, Bybit suits anyone engaged in crypto margin trading, and provides a viable alternative to the services already being offered by exchanges such as BitMEX, PrimeXBT, Huobi, and Deribit.

Once again, as margin trading isn’t really suited to less experienced traders or anyone near the beginning their trading journey, it’s probably a good idea to create a testnet account and spend a considerable amount of time conducting demo trades with testnet funds in order to determine if margin trading and/or Bybit is the solution that you are looking for.

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The post Bybit Review: Cryptocurrency Derivatives Trading Platform appeared first on Blockonomi.

3Commas is a comprehensive cryptocurrency trading platform that allows its users to make use of automated trading bots as well as follow and copy the actions of successful traders and to create and track top portfolios.

In addition, users are able to engage in smart trading and customize their own trading strategies, and set up stop loss and take profit commands.

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3Commas at Glance

Price	Free Trial / $29 / $49 / $99 Per Month
Payment Options	PayPal / Apple Pay / Credit or Debit Card / Crypto
Exchange Support	Binance / Binance Jersey / Binance US / BitMex Bittrex / Bybit / Coinbase Pro / Huobi / OKEX
Cloud Based	Yes
Signals	Marketplace of Free & Paid Signals
Strategies	30+ Indicators / 90+ Candle Patterns

3Commas Overview

The 3Commas cryptocurrency management platform provides access to a number of tools designed to improve overall trading efficiency and effectiveness. The team behind the project aim to help minimize investors’ risks, and limit their exposure to losses, while also maximizing their profits.

Central to the service provided is the 3Commas trading bot which operates as a web-based service and works in conjunction with a number of devices and exchanges. The trading bots are pieces of computer software that continuously execute trades based on pre-determined parameters set by the trader.

There are currently over 33,000 traders using the service, and the platform handles over $10m of daily trading volume and the trading bot currently works with approximately 12 exchanges including Coinbase, GDAX, Binance, Bitfinex, and Huobi.

As a result, by using 3Commas traders can keep up with various orders on different exchanges, develop more informed trading behaviour, and make use of effective stop losses or take profit trading strategies.

Key Features

• Functionality – 3Commas utilises a web-based platform, and features an easy to use and intuitive user interface that includes a wide range of functions and detailed analytics. Users can make use of short, simple, composite, and composite short bots, and set stop loss and take profit targets, as well as customise their own trading strategies.
• Technology – Automated trading takes place via API integration with cryptocurrency exchanges and the bot works around the clock with any device and users can access their trading dashboard on desktop and laptop computers. The team have also developed mobile apps for both Android and iOS
• Range of Tools – The platform provides a good range of trading tools and in addition to the automated bots and performance analytics, users are able to create, analyze and back-test crypto portfolios and monitor the best performing portfolios created by other users. In addition, users can engage in social trading and follow and copy the actions of other successful traders.
• Exchange Integration – The 3Commmas team provide automatic trading bots for 12 exchanges including Bittrex, Bitfinex, Binance, Bitstamp, KuCoin, Poloniex, HitBTC, Cex, GDAX (Coinbase Pro), OKEx, Huobi and Yobit.
• Customer Support – The platform is available in English, and Russian, and a support team is available to deal with any issues 24/7. Users can contact the team by submitting a request in the Help Centre, and the team can also be contacted via their Twitter account, Telegram group, and Facebook There is also an FAQ page in the Help Centre that addresses the most common issues, as well as a number of clearly written Guides that help users to navigate the platform.

How to Get Started on 3Commas

Creating an account is a straight forward process, and the main page has a green “Create an Account” tab at the top of the page.

1) Create an Account

Visit the 3Commas website and enter an email address and password in order to register. After confirming your account via clicking the link in the email sent, you will gain access to the dashboard.

2) Choose the bot type

There are four types of trading bots, short, simple, composite, and composite short bots, and a simple trading bot only involves one trading pair and is the most straight forward to set up.

3) Connect an exchange

The simple trading bot feature only works with Binance exchange when you start out, and you can connect a Binance account here.  Make sure your account is connected via API and holds BNB and has BNB fee payment feature turned on. After this, you can move on to naming your bot.

4) Choose trading pair and set base trade size

You can select the trading pair you want your bot to trade from the drop-down menu, and you can then tell your bot just how much of your preferred currency you will be use during your initial trade.

5) Set target profit

Before doing this, it’s a good idea to set a safety trade size, as you can make purchases after any dips in a more controlled way. If a trading pair of ETH/BTC is chosen, and if after buying ETH the price drops below the original purchase price, then safety trades allow you to buy more ETH with the amount of BTC that set in the safety trade size.

Afterwards, you can set that target profit which informs the trading bot when to sell according to percentages. If a target profit is set for 3%, then the trading bot will automatically execute a sell order once this profit has been realised.

6) Choose take profit type

There are two take profit options, which are a percentage from base trade or a percentage from the total volume.

7) Set max safety trades count

This informs the trading bot how many safety trades it can make before stopping, and the max active safety trades count tells the trading bot the quantity of active safety trades it can conduct at any given time.

8) Set price deviation to open safety trades

This tells the trading bot when it can begin executing safety trades, and is set as a percentage. If set to 3, when the price of the chosen currency drops by 3% below the initial trade price, then the trading bot will start to execute safety trades.

9) Set trade start conditions

This informs the bot of when to make the initial trade, and there is a choice of TradingView Signal Buy or Strong Buy, TradingView Signal Strong Buy, Manually, or Open New Trade ASAP.

By following these steps, a trading bot can be configured in just a few minutes, and the entire process is simple enough for more novice traders to follow successfully. The platform is still detailed enough to also attract more experienced traders.

How to Profit from Using the Automated Bots

After a bot is set up, users can begin to carry out long and short trades, for short trades, a price rise in the currency selected will result in the execution of the sale of the underlying cryptocurrency once the designated profit level is reached. In the event of a price reversal safety orders can be placed to ensure that the bot also makes purchases at a given percentage increase.

The 3Commas team have outlined both long and short algorithms that enable the contrary strategies of selling higher and buying lower to be used to generate profits.

Long – buy lower, sell higher

The bot opens a new deal according to one of the conditions that are available for selection during the creation. After that, it immediately puts a coin for sale. If the price rises and the order gets filled, the profit goal is achieved. In case of a price fall, the bot places safety orders below the purchase price every x%. Every filled safety order is averaging the buy price, and it makes possible to move the TakeProfit target lower and close the deal without losing profits on the first price bounce. Buy one coin at $10 then sell it at $11. It makes a profit from the difference in prices as you get more after the sell. $11 got against $10 spent.

Simplified algorithm:

1. Buy initial part of coins.
2. Place a sell order.
3. Place safety buy orders.
4. In case of safety orders get filled update sell order.
5. Cancel safety orders and calculate profits after the sell if finished.

Short – sell higher, buy lower

It’s a reversed version of “Long” algorithm. Sell one coin at $10 then repurchase it at $9. It makes a profit from the difference in prices as you spend less to repurchase. $9 spent against $10 got.

Simplified algorithm:

1. Sell initial part of coins.
2. Place a buy order.
3. Place safety sell orders.
4. In case of safety orders get filled update buy order.
5. Cancel safety orders and calculate profits after the buy if finished.

How Smart Trading Works

3Commas incorporates a Smart Trading feature that uses TakeProfit and StopLoss commands to help users maximize their trading profits. Traders can customize their portfolios with commands to buy or sell at a given price point. The commands work as follows:

Trailing Take Profit – The Trailing Take Profit feature has been designed to help traders realise the most gains. If a user purchases multiples of ETH at $500 each and sets a standard take profit order at $550, then they would make a profit of $50 per ETH.

However, if the price of ETH continues to rise above $550 then the Trailing Take Profit allows you to sell at the highest part of a trend by selling at a percentage of the highest value. As a result, if you set a Trailing Take Profit order of 10% and ETH hits $600 before falling, then the sell order is activated when the price falls by 10%, or below $540.

Trailing Stop Loss – This works in the same way as a standard Stop Loss order as they both allow you to minimize your exposure to losses when prices decline. A Trailing Stop Loss order differs slightly as it is percentage-based and automatically adjusts to price fluctuations, whereas a Stop Loss order is set manually at a fixed price threshold.

As a result, if multiples of ETH are purchased at $500, with a Stop Loss order set at 10%, the stop loss order will execute automatically, if the price of ETH falls below $450, and sell your ETH at that price. If the price of ETH increases over the day, a Trailing Stop Loss order automatically adjusts to the price change, and if ETH increases in price by 15%, the Trailing Stop Loss order triggers when the adjusted price drops by 10%, resulting in a 5% gain. This differs from a standard Stop Loss order which will only execute when the price falls below 10% of the original buy-in price.

Is 3Commas Safe?

The team don’t go into too many details regarding the security protocols that they choose to employ, however, it’s worth remembering that you don’t actually hold any funds on the platform and your trading bots are not able to make withdrawals from your linked accounts.

Similar to other trading bot platforms, your trading bots connect with your exchange accounts via API and then proceed to carry out automated trades on your linked exchanges. While this process takes place, users aren’t required to make any cash/crypto transfers to external accounts and simply need to provide their API keys which are generated by their exchanges.

These keys provide the trading bots with restricted access to user accounts strictly to conducts trades, and do not grant the bots with any withdrawal rights.

This also means that if your account becomes compromised, and nefarious actors were able to gain control of your trading activity, they still wouldn’t be able to directly access your exchange accounts in order to make withdrawals.

However, the standard personal security rules of crypto still apply, as they could still have a detrimental effect on the funds held in your exchange accounts. Hackers have been known to obtain API access to exchange accounts, and commander the bots to purchase high quantities of low value coins that the hacker’s have already previously purchased.

After artificially inflating both the demand and price of said coins, the hackers then sell off their personal holdings for a profit, leaving the compromised account owners holding funds in the low value coins.

As a result, in order to mitigate these risks, users are advised to enable the available security options such as two factor authentication (2FA) and notification alerts. Notifications can be enabled which alert users of every log in on their account, and the platform also makes use of new IP detection, with verification emails being sent out when a user logs in from a new destination.

In order to gain access to their account, the user will be required to enter a one off code number or click the link provided in the verification email.

The 3Commas team do state that they are committed to data security and the protection of their users’ personal data and all data is protected by security integrated safeguards. These vary in approach and include the use of secure areas, and technical measures such as encryption and secure servers.

The team also outline that in the event of a security breach, they would implement their Incident and Breach Response Plan, which includes sending notifications to individuals as soon as possible.

Is 3Commas for beginners?

The platform is generally quite easy to navigate, even for new traders, and the trading bots are easy to set up. Various features are easy to access from inside your account, and connecting to an exchange, and setting up smart trades and bots can be done at the click of a button. The Dashboard is also well laid out, and the side panel allows users to quickly select their preferred tabs and features.

In addition, features such as bot analytics which details the best performing bots and trade pairs, and the marketplace are well executed and simple to understand. While the portfolio creation, tracking, and social trading features suit both new and more experienced traders.

You can search through and analyze a variety of portfolios from inside your account while also monitoring their performance and keeping an eye on them by following any portfolios of interest. You can also copy a portfolio if desired; although you will need to have the same exchanges linked in order to fully utilize this feature.

The trader’s diary is another feature that benefits traders of various levels as it provides a concise report of all the trades made on your linked exchanges, and allows you to easily identify any profits or losses incurred on a particular trade within a set period of time.

This helps you to gauge the performance of your trading bots, and works in tandem with the ability to set up a range of notifications whether in browser, for mobile, or by email and notifications can be configured from the Settings tab in your account.

Another major plus is the wealth of resources made available on the platform, and the Support Section contains a number of guides, and FAQs that help people get to grips with the most important issues.

Furthermore, the team maintain a blog that details a number of key concepts for newer traders, and also provide further assistance via their Telegram group, YouTube Channel, and other social media channels, and members can gain access to the 3Commas Discord from inside their accounts.

Most importantly, on top of being easy to navigate, and incorporating a range of trading tools, 3Commas is also free to try, and anyone can make use of the free trial to test out the platform and play around with its various features.

3Commas Pricing

While 3Commas is free to try, there are a number of monthly membership packages that incorporate various features.

The Beginner package costs $4 a month*, and includes:

• Smart Trading terminal
• No limits for trading
• Errors and cancellations notifications

The Pro package costs $37 a month*, and includes:

• Smart Trading terminal
• No limits for trading
• Simple bots
• Personal signals TradingView

The Expert package costs $59 a month*, and includes:

• Smart Trading terminal
• Simple, Composite bots and Bitmex bots
• Personal signals TradingView
• Full portfolio management

* It’s important to note that users who commit to longer subscription periods receive reductions on their monthly fees, and a 6 month subscription receives a 15% discount, while a year’s subscription receives a 25% discount.

There is also an enterprise package available which includes priority support and custom features, and the price of this service is available upon request.

The team are also quite flexible with regards to payment options and subscriptions can be paid in either cryptos or fiat, with credit card payments and transfers via PayPal and advcash also possible.

Conclusion

The majority of trading bots are either difficult to use, especially for new traders, or don’t operate in the way expected. 3Commas appears to have solved these problems by producing a trading bot that is both easy to set up and use and also performs reliably when compared to many of its competitors.

The system is well integrated and works on number of leading exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, and Huobi. The 3Commas trading bot allows both novice and more experienced traders to maximize their trading potential by taking part in a twenty-four hour market without fear of any potential areas of inefficiency.

The Dashboard is easy to navigate and users are able to select a number of options with regards to configuring their trading bots, in addition there is a good amount of instructional information available, as well as detailed analytics on the bots’ performance.

Furthermore, the incorporation of features such as portfolio creation and tracking, and social trading make 3Commas a solid option for anyone interested in adding automated trading to their cryptocurrency trading protocols.

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The post 3Commas Review: Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Trading Bot Platform appeared first on Blockonomi.

While there are a number of cryptocurrency trading bots currently available such as 3commas, Cryptohopper aims to empower traders by providing an easy to use and fully featured service that allows its users to easily trade multiple cryptocurrencies while removing human frailties from their trading process.

The semi automated bot doesn’t guarantee profits and simply allows traders to make more intelligent trades based on algorithmically programmed trading approaches and external signals.

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Cryptohopper at a Glance

? Price	Free Trial / $19 / $49 / $99 Per Month
? Payment Options	PayPal / Bank Transfer / Crypto
? Exchange Support	OKEX / KuCoin / Bitvavo / Binance / Binance US / Coinbase Pro Bittrex / Poloniex / Kraken / Bitfinex / Huobi
Cloud Based	Yes
? Signals	Marketplace of Free & Paid Signals
? Strategies	30+ Indicators / 90+ Candle Patterns

Cryptohopper Overview

The Cryptohopper website states that the project was started by two brothers: Ruud Feltkamp & Pim Feltkamp one a soap opera actor turned successful day trader, and the other, a brilliant web developer.

The two merged their ideas, skills, and experiences to create a bot that trades automatically for the user, works 24/7, and trades a variety of coins, while also being compatible with a number of cryptocurrency exchanges via an Application Programming Interface (API).

The platform is owned and operated by Cryptohopper BV which is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the cryptohopper.com domain was registered in July 2017.

The official site houses the semi-automated trading bot that allows traders to remove human tendencies and emotions from the trading process and instead rely on technical based trading algorithms and programmed trading approaches.

Users can also subscribe to external signals and the manipulatable trading solution is aimed at cryptocurrency traders of all experience levels and the team have announced that they have over 75,000 users.

Cryptohopper is compatible with up to 75 cryptocurrencies and nine major exchanges including Binance, Bitfinex, Bittrex, Coinbase Pro, Cryptopia, Huobi, Kraken, Kucoin, and Poloniex.

Cryptohopper Features

• Functionality – Cryptohopper operates as a web-based solution, and features an easy to use and intuitive user interface that includes a wide range of functions. Users can configure the bot to trade automatically 24/7 and make use of both algorithmic and social trading. Trading strategies can be derived via various technical indicators or by following the actions of third party trading experts.
• Technology – The semi-automated trading takes place via API integration with a range of cryptocurrency exchanges and the service can be utilized on any device connected to the internet such as a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.
• Range of Tools – The platform provides a good range of trading tools and incorporates features such as a bot backtesting tool, configurable and saveable templates, trailing stops, and customizable technical indicators. Users can also rely on indicators such as Stoch, RSI, Bollinger Bands and MACD.
• Exchange Integration – Cryptohopper is currently compatible with nine exchanges including Binance, Bitfinex, Bittrex, Coinbase Pro, Cryptopia, Huobi, Kraken, Kucoin, and Poloniex. Support for BitFlyer, Bitstamp, CEX.IO, Cobinhood, and HitBTC is scheduled to arrive soon.
• Customer Support – The platform incorporates a support team that is available to deal with any issues. Users can contact the team by submitting a support ticket in the Support Section, and they can also be contacted via their Twitter account, Telegram group, and Facebook The website also contains a number of FAQs in the Support Section, as well as a number of Tutorials that help users to navigate the platform. In addition, the team have also produced the Cryptohopper Academy video library.

Cryptohopper Account Signup

Creating an account is a simple process, and the main page has a green “Signup” tab at the top of the page.

1) Create an Account

Visit the Cryptohopper website and enter a name, email address, username, and password in order to register.

You can then confirm your email account by clicking the activation link in the email sent, and gain access to the dashboard.

2) Setup your Account

From here you can simply follow the wizard as it will help you to quickly configure your hopper. You just need to select an exchange and configure the bot via your preferred exchange’s API keys and also set up basic hopper configurations. The process is very straightforward and there are links to tutorials and additional useful information on each step.

From here you can immediately start using your hopper, and once you have used the wizard and set up your account, you will be able to access a host of features from the dashboard. You can subscribe to signals, configure templates, and begin backtesting your bot, as well as set up two factor authentication on your account.

3) Signup to Signallers on the Marketplace

Cryptohopper allows users to sign up to integrated professional external signals, and the signaller service is provided by experienced traders who look for positive signs of an upward move. There are both free and paid subscriptions available and bots can be configured to follow signallers in just a few clicks.

Signallers have easily accessible performance reports and their profitability can be tracked, they also make use of cloud computing and machine learning algorithms to consistently monitor numerous technical indicators across a range of digital currencies.

It’s possible to combine both buy signals and technical analysis indicators at the same time, in addition to setting up stop limits and trailing stops.

Cryptohopper Pricing

There are three main pricing plans available; however, Cryptohopper also allows members to make use of a free trial for 7 days, known as the “Pioneer Plan”

Users can simply sign up and begin using the service without having to submit any payment details. When the trial month ends, the hopper is automatically disabled, and users can then opt to purchase a full subscription.

The plans for anyone who chooses to sign up are as follows:

Pioneer Plan: Free Trial for 7 Days

• 80 positions
• Max 15 selected coins
• Max 2 triggers
• TA with 10 min interval
• 1 Simulated Trading Bot

Explorer: Starter package ($19 Per Month)

• 80 positions
• Max 15 selected coins
• Max 2 triggers
• TA with 10 min interval
• 1 Simulated Trading Bot

Adventure: Trader Plus Package ($49 Per Month)

• 200 positions
• Max 50 selected coins
• Max 5 triggers
• TA with 5 min interval
• 1 Simulated Trading Bot
• Exchange arbitrage

Hero: Pro Trader Package ($99 Per Month)

• 500 positions
• Max 75 selected coins
• Max 10 triggers
• TA with 2 min interval
• All coins for signals
• Market Arbitrage
• Market-Making
• 1 Simulated Trading Bot

It’s possible to pay per month or to purchase the service for a whole year, it’s also important to note that Cryptohopper doesn’t provide any refunds and users should make the most of the free trial before committing to a subscription.

How Beginner Friendly is Cryptohopper?

While many trading bots are best reserved for more experienced traders, Cryptohopper includes a number of features aimed at newbies. These include the Hopper Academy which is available to all members and allows everyone to access a video library that explains just how Cryptohopper works and the best ways to use the service.

Cryptohopper has also developed an active community, and for new entrants to cryptocurrency trading this should prove to be immensely useful. There are active Discord and Telegram groups, in addition to a special forum for members that is available in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese.

As a result, new users are able to converse with and learn from more experienced users from around the world, and continue to learn around the clock.

The platform has also been designed to be easy to use, and doesn’t require any professional programming experience or advanced technical knowledge or skills.

In addition, Cryptohopper also allows for comprehensive backtesting, and beginners can easily check if their configurations are working accurately by playing around with and testing their setup.

Users can see how much they would have earned in the past and adjust their bots to gain a greater understanding of just how everything works while still learning the ropes.

Cryptohopper Marketplace

Your Cryptohopper dashboard will give you access to their marketplace, this is a feature that a lot of trading platforms are including these days. The marketplace allows you obtain trading strategies for your bots – some of these are free and others are paid. This is great for beginners as it essentially allows you to “plug & play” your chosen strategy created by more experience traders and test it out on your account.

If you an expert in creating trading bots, this could also be a source of income for you by creating and selling your own templates on the marketplace.

Is Cryptohopper Safe?

The project is very active on social media and boasts a large number of users, and new members can also browse Reddit posts in order to interact with past users and gauge the general sentiment regarding the project.

However, there is limited information available about who’s behind the project, although the company has made its Dutch company information public and is registered as Cryptohopper BV, Johan van Hasseltweg 18A 1022 WV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

As with all trading bots, users aren’t required to transfer any money to an account controlled by the bot developers, as the bots usually work via an API that allows them to execute trades on linked exchanges. It is necessary to provide your API keys which are generated on your preferred exchanges, and these keys give the bot restricted access to your account for trading purposes.

Furthermore, the bots do not obtain withdrawal rights, and in the event of a hack or data breach, nefarious actors would not be able to directly access your funds. The team at Cryptohopper have also developed working relationships with some of the industry’s leading exchanges and users can also set up two factor authentication (2FA) in order to further secure their accounts.

Cryptohopper Summary

Cryptohopper is an automated trading bot that trades on your behalf using trading algorithms. Once you connect a hopper to a cryptocurrency exchange, you can select a number of strategies that the bot will implement in order to try and make a profit.

The online dashboard allows users to easily monitor their performance as well as the reports of signallers and to subscribe to the best signals.

Users can also keep a track of their stats and trading history, as well as the price movements of around 75 cryptocurrencies. Although the service is simple to set up and easy to use it also incorporates a comprehensive range of trading features including:

• Trailing stop-loss
• Trailing stop-buy
• Dollar Cost Averaging
• Shorting
• Trailing stop-short
• Config pools
• Triggers
• Backtesting
• Walletscrubber
• Auto synchronize
• Reserve funds
• Manual buy and sell

Conclusion

Cryptohopper has been engineered to provide the general cryptocurrency community with a viable solution that helps traders to generate profits on a more consistent basis. The mix of technical indicators and third party trading experts or signallers provides traders with increased options as do the template and backtesting features.

While Cryptohopper is essentially an algorithmic trading bot it is easy to configure and use and suits newer traders as well as more experienced practitioners. The team have put considerable effort into developing a platform that is beginner friendly and new users are also able to access an extensive education and community led resource sections.

The inclusion of the Cryptohopper Academy video series and multi-lingual Hopper forum are extremely beneficial to anyone still getting to grips with either trading cryptocurrencies or learning just how to use trading bots.

With its comprehensive list of features, general user-friendliness, and support for 75 different cryptocurrencies and nine leading exchanges, Cryptohopper has a lot going for it and does well to stand out it a market full of competing trading bots and cryptocurrency management platforms.

To remain safe, it’s best to set up 2FA on your account, and to make full use of the free trial run, as well as make a modest financial commitment to start off. It may also be a good idea to connect the bot with a live account that contains a moderate amount of funds as there is less to risk if the bot underperforms or the signals do not generate the expected results.

It’s also important to note that while trading bots do not have withdrawal access, if they become compromised malicious actors can take advantage of a bot’s API access to purchase extremely low value coins that are then “pumped and dumped”. This has happened in the past, and it’s a security concern that needs to be addressed by both trading bot developers and cryptocurrency exchanges.

Furthermore, users have reported that the free third party signals are of a low quality, especially in sideways or bearish markets as the notifications arrive too late, and expose the trading bot to sudden downturns. As a result, users should devote some time to researching signallers and look into subscribing to the more reliable paid signal services.

With that being said, with the market starting to pick up, newer traders may look at the Cryptohopper platform as a simple way to get acquainted with the markets and learn how to trade cryptocurrencies before we experience a new bull run.

The platform is well positioned to serve both new and more experienced traders and incorporates a number of features that all its members can look to benefit from. It is well designed, easy to use and has developed an excellent reputation over the years and as such we recommend you check them out.

Visit Cryptohopper

The post Cryptohopper Review: Cryptocurrency Trading Bot Guide appeared first on Blockonomi.

Koinly can be used to automatically import transactions, and monitors all market prices, wallet transfers, calculates your crypto gains/losses, and generates tax reports.

The platform is available in over 20 countries and integrates over 6,000 blockchains, 350 exchanges, and 75 wallets and provides a comprehensive crypto tax reporting service. The platform can be used for free with paid plans ranging from $49 to $279 per tax year.

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Quick Verdict: Koinly is an online crypto tax platform that integrates with thousands of exchanges, blockchains and wallets to automatically track crypto transactions, calculate capital gains losses, and generate tax reports for over 20 supported countries.

Quick Facts

Overview

Koinly was founded in 2018 by Robin Singh and the company retains business locations in the UK, US, Sweden, and Germany. The company operates out of retains a presence in Palo Alto, California 95124, and adheres to the laws of the State of California.

You can find out further information about the company by checking out their LinkedIn profile.

The platform is available in over 20 countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and allows you to import data via API, CSV files, or x/y/zpub keys and generate reports that can be downloaded as pdf files.

These include First In First Out (FIFO), and Last In First Out (LIFO) reports, Form 8949, Schedule D reports, and International tax reports, and Koinly provides a comprehensive online crypto tax auditing service that also allows users to connect with qualified tax accountants in their region.

Koinly Key Features

Some of the platform’s key features include:

• Multi Country Support – The platform is available to people in over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Koinly also allows users to generate localized Form 8949 and Schedule D, K4, Rf1159, and Sheet 9A tax reports.

• Extensive Service Integration – Koinly integrates with over 6,000 blockchains and supports automatic imports for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and NEO. It also integrates with 350 exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, portfolio apps such as Blockfolio and Delta, and 75 wallets and allows you to easily keep track of mining, staking, and various DeFi activities.
• Easy Data Import – Koinly allows you to connect with a variety of services via API and import key data. Manual CSV file imports are also supported, as are xPub/yPub/zPub imports, and data migrations from Nexo, BlockFi, Bitmex, Deribit, and CoinTracking.

• Free Account Option – The platform can be used for free to track up to 10,000 transactions and generate capital gains tax previews. The free account can be used indefinitely to track all of your crypto trades and activities.
• Comprehensive Resources – Koinly provides a handy list of resources such as a Crypto Tax Calculator, Regional Tax Guides, a Tax Accountant list, and a Blog to keep its users up to date.
• Customer Support – The team provide a Support section, and an FAQ page that aims to address the most common queries. They can also be reached by email and live chat and run a Facebook page and Twitter account.

Which Countries Does Koinly Calculate Taxes For?

Koinly supports tax tracking and reporting for most countries, with the following nations all being supported.

• The Americas – USA, Canada
• Europe – UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Lichtenstein, Ireland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Malta
• Asia – Japan, South Korea, Singapore
• Oceania – Australia, New Zealand

The team also state that a much wider range of countries that make use of a range of accountancy methods are supported, and these include countries which use:

• First In First Out (FIFO)
• Last In First Out (LIFO)
• Highest Cost
• Lowest Cost
• Average Cost Basis
• Shared Pool

In order to make sure that your country is supported by Koinly it’s best to contact the team and let them know of your specific requirements.

Tax Reports

In addition, Koinly also generates a range of localized tax reports for different countries including:

• Form 8949 and Schedule D
• Capital gains summary for UK
• K4
• Rf1159
• Swiss Valuation Report
• Sheet 9A

These localized reports are provided in addition to more standard reports such as:

• Complete Tax Reports – This contains includes your capital gains summary, margin gains, capital gain transactions, end of year balances, asset summary and income and can be downloaded as a PDF.
• Transaction Reports – This includes all your transactions and can be downloaded as a CSV.
• Capital Gains Reports – This is a CSV which contains all your disposals.
• Income Report – This is a CSV which contains all your income transactions including airdrops, forks, interest, and staking rewards.
• Gifts, Donations & Lost Asset Reports – This is a CSV which contains any transactions tagged as a Gift, Donation or Lost.
• Expense Reports – This CSV contains all transactions tagged as a Cost. However, this doesn’t include your trading fees which have already been accounted for in the capital gains report.
• End of Year Holdings Reports – This CSV contains your holdings at the end of the tax year.
• Turbotax Reports – This is a CSV that contains your transactions in a format that can be imported into the Turbotax tax software.

How to Get Started on Koinly

Signing up is pretty straightforward, and the main website displays a”Sign up” button at the top right of the page.

• You can sign up by using a Coinbase or Google account of by entering an email address and password combination.
• You can also choose to set your location for tax tracking or just opt to track your portfolio.

• From here you can access the main dashboard and add your exchange accounts and wallets.
• You can adjust your account as you like to include the correct tax reporting information for your jurisdiction from the “Settings” tab.

Koinly Exchange, Wallet, and Service Support   

Koinly integrates with a wide range of popular crypto services and allows you to keep track of your activities on over 6,000 different blockchains, 350 exchanges, and 75 wallets.

As a result, the vast majority of leading crypto service providers are supported and Koinly also integrates with crypto lenders such as Nexo, BlockFi, and Compound.

You can also use the platform to keep track of you portfolios by linking your Blockfolio, Delta, and CoinTracking accounts.

Koinly also supports automatic import for 14 blockchains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, NEO, and EOS with over 6000 cryptocurrencies being supported via CSV import and manual entry.

Koinly Price Plans    

The platform provides a range of plans designed to cater for crypto traders of differing activity levels.

• Koinly also has a Free plan that can be used extensively and allows anyone to track their trades/transactions, exchange and wallet accounts, and to also obtain a capital gains tax preview. The Free account also provides access to FIFO and LIFO tax reports and allows you to import data from a wide range of sources and contact the team via live chat and email.
• The Hodler account costs $49 per tax year and allows you to generate FIFO and LIFO tax reports as well as international tax reports, comprehensive audit reports, and Form 8949 and Schedule D reports. You can also export to TurboTax, and TaxACT, however, you are limited to 100 transactions.
• The Trader account costs $99 per tax year and provides access to a similar range of features and increases your transaction limit to 1000. When committing to this plan you also gain access to priority support.
• The Oracle account costs $179 per tax year for 3000 transactions and $279 for 10,000 transactions. The Oracle plan provides access to the full range of features available on Koinly. This includes access to priority support, and the ability to generate custom reports. This plan also gains extra assistance from the support team who will perform bulk actions and process custom files without manual charges.

The platform provides access to a comprehensive range of features and all plans currently include tax reports for the last five years of your crypto activity.

To get a better idea of all the options available, you can check out the team’s full price list here.

Is Koinly Safe? 

The team prioritize customer trust and the safety of user data and employ a number of security protocols designed to guard against any exploits or breaches.

Most importantly, Koinly does not require your private keys or gain access to any funds held on your exchange accounts. However, as it connects with your accounts via API, it’s always a good idea to disable the ability to withdraw and trade when configuring your API connections.

All API/blockchain keys are encrypted using aes-256-gcm before being stored, and the website is completely served over https with all data sent to or from Koinly also being encrypted using 256 bit encryption.

Koinly also makes use of Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Heroku for data storage and hosting.  AWS is an industry leader in providing secure hosting, and Heroku is a secure cloud application platform that isolates customer applications and data.

The platform applies security controls at every layer from physical to application, and applies security updates without any customer interaction or service interruption. This helps Koinly to have an uptime of 99.9% with any planned downtime being announced in advance.

Koinly allows user to sign up and authenticate via Google/Coinbase which does away with some of the need to store passwords, and anyone signing up via email has their passwords stored using bcrypt. The team also continuously scan for vulnerabilities and make sure to limit data access to only authorized employees.

In short, the platform incorporates a good number of industry standard security protocols and the team also elaborate on their security here. As ever, keeping your own personal data safe and remaining sensible with your info will also go a long way to protecting you from any data breaches.

Is Koinly Suitable for Beginners?

The platform is primarily aimed at people already actively engaged in various crypto related activities including trading, investing, mining, staking, and lending. As a result, Koinly may not be directed at people just starting their crypto journey.

However, the platform is useful for crypto enthusiasts of all experience levels and allows anyone entering the sector now to keep track of their activities from day one. It’s also worth noting that Koinly allows you to track your trades and transactions from the last five years which allows more experienced traders to go back and easily report what they have done.

The platform is quite comprehensive in its scope and links with all the leading exchanges, wallet providers, and blockchains. It also allows you to easily generate a range of reports including capital gains reports, income/transaction reports, end of year reports, and complete tax reports that many people are interested in creating.

The resource section helps to educate users, and the crypto tax guides are a handy way of keeping up to date with what’s happening in your jurisdiction. The localized tax reports also come in handy and error reconciliation features such as auto balance verification, and negative balance warnings help anyone not too familiar with doing their taxes.

More active crypto enthusiasts may have to look into the benefits of the Oracle plan which allows for custom reports, live chat support, and a high level of transactions to be tracked. These features combine to provide a more bespoke service that would suit high frequency traders while the free plan lets less active enthusiasts to easily keep track of all their accounts.

Conclusion

Koinly is a viable option for anyone in a supported region looking for a way to keep track of their crypto activities in order to file tax reports. The web based platform is relatively easy to use, and allows you to quickly link up your exchange accounts and wallet addresses and monitor your activities.

The platform integrates with a wide range of crypto service providers, and covers its core activities well. The service provided helps to streamline keeping track of all your transactions and take away the headache of staying on top of all your operations.

The service is quite well priced, although there is no option to pay in crypto, and the company is still developing having only been around since 2018.

However, the free account option allows anyone to sign up and test out the platform and gauge how accurately it helps you to monitor all your transactions.

All in all, Koinly provides a service aimed at an emerging crypto sector, and the ability to keep track of all your crypto activities will appeal to anyone looking to remain financially compliant and make sure that they can “cash out” or move between crypto and fiat with the minimum of headaches.

Visit Koinly

Koinly FAQs

What is Koinly?

Koinly is an online cryptocurrency tax calculation and reporting platform. It integrates with crypto exchanges, wallets, blockchains, and lenders to automatically track transactions. Koinly calculates capital gains, income, and losses across supported crypto assets to generate regulatory compliant tax reports.

What cryptos does Koinly support?

Koinly supports over 6000 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and NEO. It has automatic integration for 14 major blockchains and can import CSV data for thousands of other cryptos.

Which countries does Koinly cover for crypto taxes?

Koinly covers individuals and businesses based in over 20 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. This includes the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden and many more. It produces localized tax reports like IRS Form 8949 as well as international reports.

What exchanges and wallets work with Koinly?

Koinly connects with over 350 top exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com, KuCoin and Binance. It also integrates with 75 wallets including MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet and hardware wallets. Koinly supports tracking for all major crypto lending platforms as well.

What tax calculation methods does Koinly offer?

Koinly supports FIFO, LIFO, HIFO and LOFO cost basis calculations. It also offers more advanced average cost basis and share pooling methods. These can be adjusted in your account settings.

What crypto tax reports does Koinly generate?

In addition to capital gains and full transaction reports, Koinly produces ready-to-file tax forms like IRS Schedule D 8949, UK Capital Gains, German Anlage KAP/SO, Australian ATO ITR12, and many more. Reports can be downloaded as PDFs or CSVs.

How much does Koinly cost?

Koinly offers a free plan for up to 10,000 transactions. Paid plans start from $49 to $279 per tax year. Higher tier plans include priority support, custom reports, no transfer limits, and other benefits.

Is Koinly safe and secure?

Yes, Koinly employs bank-grade AES-256 data encryption, uses secure AWS cloud servers, and has well-vetted internal access controls. The platform does not require private keys and has read-only API access for more security.

The post Koinly Review: Cryptocurrency Tax Software for Automatic Tax Reports appeared first on Blockonomi.

The team behind the project combined the first letters from the words Derivates and Bitcoin in order to create the name of their website, and members can use Bitcoin in order to make deposits, withdrawals, and to collateralize trades.

The platform also allows traders to take advantage of up to 100x leverage when trading Bitcoin futures. While not as well known as other cryptocurrency futures exchanges, Deribit is growing in popularity and proving to be an attractive alternative for crypto enthusiasts actively involved in futures trading.

Visit Deribit

Deribit Overview

Deribit is a derivatives exchange based in the Netherlands with the team conducting their day to day operations from an office in Amsterdam. The project launched in 2016, and is registered as Deribit B.V., and retains an address at Stationsstraat 2 B, 3851 NH, Ermelo, The Netherlands.

The company was founded by current CEO John Jansen, and CTO Sebastian Smyczýnski and the Bitcoin and trading enthusiasts have set about creating a platform that caters to their passions. The Deribit team is one of the more transparent in the space and includes CMO Marius Jansen and Lead developer Andrew Yanovsky.

Despite this transparency, all transactions on the platform are processed solely in BTC, and Deribit is currently acting as an unregulated broker as European regulators haven’t classified cryptocurrencies as financial instruments and are still in the process of drawing up a unified framework.

However, the platform is also open to the residents of over 100 countries, and allows traders to take advantage of fee free deposits and withdrawals, up to 100x leverage, and competitive trading fees.

Deribit Features

• Functionality – Deribit utilizes a web-based trading platform, and incorporates an intuitive and relatively easy to use interface that also includes a wide range of functions. Common features such as the order book, trading history, and recent trades are well laid out. The platform also includes futures, index, and volatility charts and a range of statistics, technical analysis indicators, and key data related to futures and options trading.
• Technology – The exchange strives to be technologically advanced and allows users to trade via their trade matching engine with less than 1MS latency. Users can also trade via web interface, mobile (iOS/android), or API and Deribit also integrates with trading bot software such as HaasOnline, BotVS, and Actant. In addition, the platform makes use of cold storage in order to secure approximately 95% of user funds.
• Trading Options – Deribit provides an extensive range of trading options and users have access to both an Options and a Futures exchange. The platform specializes in offering leveraged trading at up to 10x leverage, while BTC futures are available at up to 100x leverage. Users can also take part in margin trading and practise their trading strategies on the Deribit testnet after receiving 10 BTC worth of demo funds.
• Customer Support – The site is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Turkish. In addition, a support team is available to deal with any issues, and the team provide a list of email addresses in the members section. The Deribit team can also be contacted via their Twitter account or Telegram group, and provide a Blog, a Docs page, and an FAQ page in the members section that explain a number of key issues They also run a YouTube channel which contains a number of explanatory videos.

How to Get Started on Deribit

The Deribit website displays login and register panel in the center of the page and you can begin by clicking “Create Account”.

1) Create an Account

You can sign up by entering your email address, username, password and county of residence.

After confirming your email address by clicking the link in the confirmation email, you will gain access to your account.

2) Make a Deposit

You can fund your account by clicking the “Deposit” button at the top right of the page. You can then generate a deposit address that will allow you to transfer Bitcoin onto your Deribit account. When you have processed the transfer, Deribit will only require one confirmation before allowing you to begin trading.

The withdrawal process is very much the same, and you can access the “Withdrawal” tab via “My Account”. Once on the withdrawal page, you’ll need to enter your BTC wallet address, and the desired withdrawal amount. There are a number of priority level options and the choices are linked to the fee you are willing to pay, and the higher the priority, the higher the withdrawal fee.

3) Select BTC Futures or Options Trading

You can navigate your account in order to select your preferred type of trade. The main options are laid out on the left side of the dashboard, while other key features are located centrally.

The futures contracts are quite standard and have monthly expirations; Deribit’s price index is derived from a number of leading exchanges including Bitfinex, Bitstamp, GDAX, Gemini, and Kraken.

Deribit sells future contracts for $10 each, and by using the order panel on the left-hand side, it is possible to choose the order type from Limit, Market, Stop Market, and Stop Limit.

The Stop Limit option allows the user to limit risk by changing the Trigger and Stop price depending on the desired Buy and Sell option. After reviewing the prospective order, it can be confirmed by clicking on BUY or SELL, and a confirmed order will appear at the bottom of the page among all open orders and positions.

Options on the platform are European style and can’t be executed before expiration as opposed to US style options. The Options section can be accessed by clicking on BTC Options on the upper left-hand side of the screen.

From here, order forms can be accessed by clicking on any order that has been posted on the back of the order panel.

The platform also provides a live testnet for its users, and it’s necessary to create another account on test.deribit.com. After signing up, users receive 10 BTC in demo funds, and these funds can be used in order to practice various strategies and get to know the platform and the world of derivatives trading in general.

The testnet can also be used to fine-tune bots that may later be used on live accounts via the Deribit API.

Supported Currencies & Fees

Deribit specializes in BTC futures and options trading and users of the platform are required to deposit BTC into their accounts. There is currently no support for fiat deposits and more experienced users often make fiat purchases of BTC on exchanges such as Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken before transferring them over to Deribit.

The team do not charge fees for deposits; however, withdrawals incur a fee dependent on the Bitcoin network’s mining fees.

The exchange also operates a maker-taker fee model, and futures orders which improve liquidity receive a rebate of 0.02%, and orders that take liquidity are charged a fee of 0.05%. Perpetual contracts orders that provide liquidity receive a rebate of 0.025%, while orders that take liquidity incur a fee of 0.075%. Selected fees are as follows:

Perpetual Contracts

• Maker Rebate: 0.025%
• Taker Fee: 0.075%

Futures

• Maker Rebate: 0.02%
• Taker Fee: 0.05%

Options

• 0.04% of underlying or 0.0004 BTC/option contract
• Fees can also never rise higher than 12.5% of the price of the option.

Futures liquidations fees  

• 0.35%

Perpetual contracts liquidations fees

• 0.375%

Options liquidations trades

• 0.19% of underlying or 0.0019BTC/options contract,

With both futures and perpetual contract liquidations, 0.30% of the fee goes to the insurance fund, while 0.15% of underlying or 0.0015BTC per contract goes to the insurance fund for options liquidations.

Deliveries

Deliveries incur half the fees of taker orders, therefore:

• Futures: 0.025%
• Perpetual Futures: 0.025%
• Options: 0.02%  

Is Deribit Safe?

The team makes use of cold storage in order to secure their users’ funds with approximately 95% of all BTC being held in this way. This helps the platform to remain resilient to hacking attempts but can also lead to slower customer withdrawals.

In addition, in order to further secure user accounts, Deribit incorporates two factor authentications (2FA), although this function is not enabled by default and must be set up after you login.

Furthermore, IP pinning provides additional security by identifying a change of IP address during a session, and terminating it as a result. The platform also allows users to adjust their session timeouts, and the default timeout period for inactivity on an account of one week can be shifted to just one hour.

Despite this, it’s always best practice to only keep funds on an exchange when they are being used for trading. Lastly, Deribit has an insurance fund that is set up to cover the losses of bankrupt traders.

The majority of trader positions should be reduced or closed by the platform’s real time incremental liquidation system, however bankruptcies still occur.

The insurance fund allows the withdrawals of profits from unexpired futures to be available immediately after settlement. The fund is maintained by liquidation order fees and if it gets depleted, bankruptcies become socialized among the winning traders. A list of bankruptcies is maintained on the “Insurance” page.

Is Deribit Suitable for Beginners?

Newer entrants to the world of cryptocurrency trading may be used to logging into an exchange, and trading cryptos for either digital or fiat currencies. However, Deribit deals in the more complicated world of derivatives and as a result, may not be suitable for newcomers.

In addition, the ability to margin trade and enter into leveraged trades adds a further level of risk and this makes the world of futures and options trading best suited to more experienced traders.

Having said that, the team have developed their live testnet which allows users to practice trading 10 BTC in demo funds, and learn various strategies as well as get to know the slightly complicated interface and different analytical tools.

The team have also made a number of resources available aimed at helping traders to improve their skill sets and these include a Blog, a Docs page, an FAQ page in the members section, and a YouTube channel which contains a number of explanatory videos.

Therefore, while it may not be the best place to start live trading, it may still be a good place to learn how to engage in derivatives trading.

Deribit Pros & Cons

Pros 

• Transparent team
• Futures and options trading available
• Competitive trading fees
• No deposit or withdrawal fees
• High leverage offered

Cons

• Not regulated
• All account activity in BTC
• No fiat support
• Not beginner friendly

Conclusion

Deribit specializes in the trading of Bitcoin derivatives and provides access to the world of futures and options trading. The platform incorporates a number of features that may help it to gain a competitive advantage over exchanges such as BitMEX and Digitex and these include low fees, up to 100x leverage, test trading, and an insurance fund. Despite this, Bitcoin derivative trading is still relatively new and only accounts for small volumes being traded.

In addition, a lack of clarity regarding EU regulations means that Deribit isn’t regulated even though it offers derivatives and the complicated nature of the service may be difficult to overcome for newer traders.

The platform doesn’t support fiat payments and accounts are held in Bitcoin, which leaves users exposed to the volatility of BTC at all times. The exchange also chooses to block the inhabitants of certain jurisdictions, and is currently unavailable to residents of the United States, Canada, or the Netherlands.

Despite this, Deribit provides a viable alternative to other Bitcoin futures trading exchanges and incorporates a comprehensive range of features that appeal to more experienced traders.

The platform gives experienced futures and options traders exactly what they want and the wide range of analytics, high leverage, and insurance fund should prove enticing.

Less experienced traders may be better off with a platform such as IQ Option which allows its customers to trade Contracts for Difference (CFDs) on cryptocurrencies and is a much more straightforward platform to use.

Anyone who lacks experience but is determined to get into Bitcoin futures trading would be best served by going through the written resources and videos before spending time using a test account.

Due to its range of features, Deribit is a solid option for Bitcoin derivative traders but not recommended for beginners.

Visit Deribit

The post Deribit Review: Cryptocurrency Futures & Options Trading appeared first on Blockonomi.

The exchange caters to more intermediate and advanced traders as well as institutions and offers a wide selection of coins, trading pairings and trading options. Bitfinex aims to be the premiere destination for seasoned cryptocurrency traders across the globe.

Visit Bitfinex

Bitfinex is a Hong Kong based trading platform that was founded in 2012 by Raphael Nicolle. The exchange is both owned and operated by iFinex, Inc. and has managed to work its way to the top of the charts in terms of trading volumes and user activity on the platform.

Bitfinex is one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, and is generally popular with traders across the globe, however, the team behind the exchange recently decided to discontinue providing their services to U.S. customers and focus on their users based in other parts of the world.

The exchange currently handles approximately $2B worth of trades a day, and records 24 hour trading volumes worth around $600m for its BTC/USD pairing, and this represents around 6.27% of the total market.

These high trading volumes are a result of the team behind the exchange focusing on providing a high level of service for traders by utilizing a wide coin selection, low fees, and a comprehensive interface.

The exchange also allows fiat deposits and houses a variety of cryptocurrencies with approximately 72 market pairs active on the platform.

Bitfinex also attracts institutional investors and operates an OTC desk for high value over the counter trades. Despite its success, Bitfinex has also attracted a fair amount of controversy as a result of suffering a number of hacks, and being closely linked to the Tether stablecoin.

Bitfinex Key Features

• Functionality – Bitfinex operates a robust, comprehensive, and highly customizable platform interface that is both modern and well designed but generally suited to more experienced users. The main dashboard presents users with a number or tabs and different options whilst a selection of advanced charting tools are also made available. The platform also incorporates Trading View charts and provides a mobile app that is available to both Android and iOS users.
• Security – Due to its past experience with hacks, Bitfinex place a priority on security and employs many of the security techniques employed by today’s leading exchanges. The vast majority of funds are placed in cold storage with approximately only 0.5% of crypto assets being accessible in hot wallets. The site also utilises database encryption and duplication in addition to DDoS protection to ensure that trading cannot be halted by an external influence. Customer accounts are also reinforced via the use of 2FA, PGP encryption and a host of advanced verification tools designed to monitor changes in account activity.
• Customer Support – Users are currently served by a support team that is available via email 24/7. The team aims to answer queries within 12 hours, but responses can take much longer. In addition to this, there’s a knowledge base section that covers the most pressing issues alongside other question and answer pages available on the site.
• Trading Options – A host of trading options are available on the platform including margin trading as Bitfinex allows its users to trade with a leverage of up to 3.3x by using their peer to peer margin funding facility. On top of this, traders have access to a number of different order types such as limit, market, and stop orders. Whilst trailing stop, fill or kill, iceberg, OCO, and post only orders are also available.
• High Liquidity – Bitfinex continues to rank at the top of BTC/USD trading markets and it currently accounts for approximately 6% of all daily trades with 24 hour trading volumes worth around $600m. Combined trading activity on the platform amounts to approximately $2B worth of trades a day and this high level of liquidity helps its users to trade with confidence in the price stability of coins on the platform.

Supported Currencies

Approximately 72 market pairs linked to the four base currencies of USD, EUR, BTC, and ETH are currently available on the site.

In addition to allowing fiat purchases of the two major cryptocurrencies, a number of other currencies are also available to be traded and these include Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dash (DASH), Ripple (XRP), Monero (XMR), EOS (EOS), OmiseGO (OMG), NEO (NEO), Zcash (ZEC), and 0x (ZRX).

USDT Tether is also available on the platform, while Bitfinex is one of a few exchanges that allow their users to purchase IOTA (MIOTA).

The Bitfinex team are constantly looking to increase the number of coins available on the site and new additions often make their way onto the platform.

As a result, an overview of each coin that’s available on the exchange is readily available and it’s a good idea to regularly check the site to see what has been added.

Bitfinex Signup and Login

Before you create an account, the team behind Bitfinex like to remind new users that their service is aimed at more professional traders and comes with certain specifications.

As a result it’s necessary to read the pop up box that appears and agree to the terms and conditions. These currently include a temporary minimum account equity of 10,000 USD and new accounts are not able to trade or perform any platform function until they reach this amount.

Also, in order to gain access to fiat deposits and withdrawals, users must agree to undergo a verification process that may take up to 6-8 weeks to complete.

Once you have ticked all the necessary boxes, you can move onto creating an account.

Creating Your Account

You can open an account by following the signup process and entering your username, email address, and password. It’s also necessary to enter your time zone and a unique captcha text.

Making a Deposit

Once this is done, you can begin to fund your account by firstly locating the “Deposit” button in the upper right-hand corner.

Clicking this button takes you to the deposit page and here you can choose Us Dollar, Tether or from a list of cryptocurrencies in order to deposit.

Making a Trade

Once your account has been funded, it’s possible to click on the ‘Trading’ button and select the pairing that you prefer.

From here you can determine the quantity, price and type of order that you would like to execute.

Bitfinex Security

As one of the older exchanges in operation today, Bitfinex has experienced a number of hacks with the first major hack taking place in May, 2015.

On this occasion a hacker was able to obtain 1500 Bitcoin from a hot wallet controlled by the exchange, the lost funds were quickly reimbursed by the exchange. However, a later attack proved to be more problematic as a hacker was able to circumvent security on the platform and access up to 119,756 Bitcoin, which were worth an approximate $72m at the time.

The hacker was able exploit a vulnerability in the multi signature system Bitfinex employed alongside Bitcoin wallet provider Bitgo and in response to the theft, the exchange chose to issue BFX tokens which were to be redeemed by its customers at a later date.

Each BFX token was worth $1 and was awarded in the same amount lost by each investor. Since issuing the tokens, Bitfinex has purchased them all back and completed their purchases in April, 2017.

As a result of these hacks, Bitfinex has stepped up its security and currently, 99.5% of client funds are stored offline in a cold storage system that employs a multisignature function that is geographically distributed across multiple secure locations.

Client accounts are secured by using 2FA and U2F, in addition to PGP email encryption. Accounts are also monitored and strengthened by using a number of advanced verification tools that cover account activity. These include:

• The analysis of saved login data to root out unusual activity.
• The use of an intelligent system that detects IP address changes and prevents session hijacking.
• Email notifications that report logins and include a link to instantly freeze your account if you suspect malicious activity.
• Limiting access to your account based on IP address.

Bitfinex also chooses to closely monitor withdrawals in order to help stave off attacks; the platform’s security system currently monitors withdrawals by IP address and other behavioural patterns that trigger manual inspection on withdrawals that appear to be unusual.

Customers can also whitelist an address to ensure that withdrawals can only be sent to that particular location. Bitfinex also claims that it uses a withdrawal confirmation step that is immune to malicious browser malware.

Tether Cryptocurrency

Bitfinex utilizes the Tether (USDT) stablecoin and verified users on the site have the “Tether” funding option, in addition to “Crypto-Currencies” and “Wire Transfer” on the Deposit and Withdraw pages.

Tether is a cryptocurrency asset issued on the Bitcoin blockchain and each USDT unit is backed by a U.S Dollar held in the reserves of the Tether Limited.

Tether tokens can be deposited and traded for other tokens on Bitfinex and any other exchange that supports Tether. Funds held in Tether can also be transferred and held in any Bitcoin wallet where you control the private key.

Most importantly, USDT is linked or “tethered” to the price of the US Dollar and acts as a stable digital currency that allows traders to jump to a more stable cryptocurrency during times of extreme volatility.

While Tether has proved to be beneficial to traders everywhere since its introduction, the stablecoin is also beginning to attract an increasing amount of attention.

Each Tether is supposedly backed 1-to-1 by a US Dollar and there is currently around $1.65B worth of USDT in circulation. Doubts concerning the validity of this large amount have caused people to scrutinize the relationship between Bitfinex and Tether as they share certain key members of staff.

Bitfinex employs Phil Potter as its chief strategy officer and he also acts as a director at Tether, while Giancarlo Devasini is employed as a director by both companies. Bitfinex has promised to undergo an external audit to prove that its accounts are fully in order and to help clear up the controversy but this has yet to take place.

Bitfinex Fees

Fees on Bitfinex are outlined by their fee schedule and are determined by trading volume over the last 30 days as well as maker or taker status.

• Maker fees are paid when you add liquidity to the order book by placing a limit order below the ticker price when buying and above the ticker price for sales.
• Taker fees are paid when customers do the opposite and remove liquidity from the order book by filling an order that’s already in the order book.
• Maker fees range from 0.1% to 0.0% while the taker fees range from 0.2% to 0.1%.
• The higher rates cover trading volumes of up to $500k a month whilst customers will have to accumulate trades worth more than $30m a month in order to qualify for the lowest fee rates.

All cryptocurrency deposits are free, however withdrawals are not and there are a variety of different charges depending on the particular cryptocurrency you would like to withdraw. Deposits made via bank wire are charged a 0.1% fee.

Trading Options

The trading platform suits both intermediate and advanced users and offers a variety of trading options. In addition to leveraged margin trading, Bitfinex also offers the following types of orders:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Trailing stop
• Fill or kill
• One cancels other (OCO)
• Post-only limit order
• Hidden order

As the exchange attracts a high volume of trades and has a high level of liquidity, bid/ask and order count is resolved in real time, which gives members more flexibility with regards to choosing the best time to place an order.

Conclusion

Bitfinex is one of the most established exchanges in operation today and provides a service tailored to experienced traders and institutional investors.

As a result of this, the exchange enjoys high USD liquidity, while offering extensive orders and trading options, and is the largest BTC exchange by volumes traded.

However, Bitfinex has courted controversy on a number of occasions and isn’t a very transparent company, after learning of its history some potential users may be put off by any security concerns they might have even though the exchange paid back all the losses from its 2016 hack.

With this in mind, we would recommend that anyone using Bitfinex to only keep a small balance on the exchange at any time, making sure to withdraw your currencies to your own wallet and make sure to use all the security features available to you on the site.

Overall, We wouldn’t recommend Bitfinex to beginners but intermediate to advanced traders will be fine using it.

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The post Beginner’s Guide to Bitfinex: Complete Review appeared first on Blockonomi.

Bitcoin debit cards allow both cryptos and fiat currencies to integrate in a usable way and cards holders can transfer funds onto their cards and make payments and purchases at restaurants, cinemas, retail outlets, and a host of other places.

The cards make it much more straightforward to spend cryptos, and often do not require much of the specialized knowledge that comes with obtaining and storing digital assets.

This makes it much easier for the majority of people to get involved with cryptocurrencies and over the past few years a number of companies have ventured into the space in order to provide the public with a range of prepaid debit card spending options.

However, as card providers rely on the services provided by VISA and MasterCard, any issues with the credit card giants can lead to serious hold ups, and an issue between VISA and the Gibraltar-based WaveCrest Bank last year led to VISA announcing that WaveCrest Holdings would no longer be authorized to operate Visa® prepaid cards both inside and outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).

As WaveCrest dealt with the majority of crypto debit card companies, this was a significant setback to the sector, however, a number of projects are up and running, and allow people to spend their funds via physical and/or virtual debit cards, and here are some of the best choices.

What to Look for in a Crypto Debit Card

While the final choice of Bitcoin debit card depends on the individual and their particular set of circumstances, there are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing a card and/or service provider and these include:

• Jurisdiction: Due to how the cryptocurrency industry is currently being regulated, each debit card solution will only be available in certain areas. Users need to double check that their region is supported by a debit card provider who also remains regulatory compliant and aims to stay up to date with any changes in legislation.
• Ease of Use: Bitcoin debit cards should be easy to use; however, funding options, fees, and spending limits can complicate the experience. Also, as the cards are often attached to online exchange accounts, the ability to easily access your account and/or get in contact with a member of the support team will greatly influence your overall experience. Virtual cards can also help to greatly simplify the spending process.
• Security: As ever, with increased security comes greater peace of mind and protocols such as site encryption, two factor authentication, and email/SMS notifications can help to further secure users accounts. Also integration with the major credit card providers enables users to make use of verification protocols such as MasterCard’s 3D Secure.
• Reliability: With Bitcoin still only ten years old, the sector is still youthful and it makes sense to try and choose the most established and respected service providers. Cards that are supplied by projects that are fully compliant, transparent, and integrated with the traditional banking system as well as with Visa and MasterCard stand the best chance of surviving in the long run, and to not suddenly disappear or halt their services.
• Fees: While the world of digital assets is inherently volatile in nature, Bitcoin debit card users are still motivated to seek the best price rates, and spending on the card shouldn’t be hindered by an overly restrictive fee structure. Projects that maintain transparent and simple fees structures are also well positioned to retain their user base.
• Features: Bitcoin debit cards all provide the same core functions of facilitating online/offline spending and allowing card holders to make ATM withdrawals. However, additional features such as altcoin support, banking services, payments/remittance services, and foreign exchange functionality also come in handy.
• Incentives: Certain projects focus more on providing a secure and reliable debit card service, while newer projects sometimes aim to attract new users by offering discounts, cashback programs, and referral programs that make their service more attractive.

Top Crypto Debit Cards

Here are our picks of the best crypto cards currently on the market.

Coinbase Card

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The Coinbase Card allows Coinbase customers to instantly spend the funds they have on their accounts and is available for Coinbase customers based in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, and The Netherlands.

The Visa debit card is linked to a user’s crypto account balances on Coinbase, and when using the card, Coinbase instantly converts the crypto to fiat currency which is then used to complete a purchase.

As expected, the card can be used anywhere that accepts Visa payments and customers can use the card to make purchases via contactless, Chip and PIN technology, and also make ATM cash withdrawals. Users are able to spend from any of the cryptocurrency balances they hold on their accounts such as BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC, and the card also supports GBP and EUR fiat currencies.

The mobile app is available in both i0S and Android versions and also provides instant receipts, transaction summaries, and spending categories.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

In keeping with the exchange’s general business model, Coinbase operates a transparent fee structure and there is a card issuance fee of £4.95, however, domestic purchase transactions are fee free, while intra-EEA purchase transactions accrue a fee of 0.20% of the POS transaction value, and international purchases accrue a transaction fee: of 3.00% of the POS transaction value.

Domestic cash withdrawals (both ATM and Over the Counter “OTC” withdrawals) of up to £200 per month are free, and there is a 1% fee on the value of the withdrawal for any amount over £200 per month. International cash withdrawals are also free up to £200 a month, and come with a 2% fee on the value of the withdrawal thereafter.

It’s also worth noting that Coinbase charges a crypto liquidation fee of 2.49% per transaction as spending triggers the sale or “liquidation” of digital assets held on a customer’s account in order to fund the fiat transaction. This makes the card slightly more expensive than other options, and the card also comes with a daily ATM withdrawal limit of £500, and a daily spending limit of £10,000. There is also a monthly purchase limit of £20,000 and a yearly purchase limit of £50,000.

The Coinbase card doesn’t include any major incentives, however, when the card was launched, the exchange waived the £4.95 card issuance fee for the first 1,000 people who signed up to join the waitlist.

As expected, the Coinbase card is a great option for anyone who already uses the exchange, and acts as a straightforward method for turning funds held on Coinbase into spendable assets. Coinbase is an established operator, and one of the more respected, and transparent projects in the industry, however, in order to use the card you must have a Coinbase account, and the fees are somewhat higher than other cards that are available.

Read Our Full Coinbase Review

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Wirex

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While based in London, Wirex provides a comprehensive cryptocurrency-oriented range of personal and business solutions and the company also has offices in Kiev, Ukraine and Tokyo, Japan.

The project is one of the most established in the space, and has a transaction volume of $2.0 billion and close to 2 million users. Wirex provides a contactless Visa card, and allows you to connect your credit and debit cards, store cryptocurrencies, and purchase Bitcoin and selected altcoins with competitive exchange rates and high limits.

You can also exchange between cryptos and fiat, and make low fee direct money transfers. Supported cryptocurrencies include BTC, LTC, ETH, XRP, XLM, DAI, NANO, and WAVES while GBP, EUR, and USD are the supported fiat currencies.

It is also possible to make instant exchanges between these supported currencies using transparent live prices and exchange rates. In order to use the service you will need to create a Wirex account, fund it, and then add funds to your Wirex Visa card. You can fund your account by performing a bank transfer, using a credit or debit card, or by depositing cryptocurrency.

Wirex provides different wallets for each cryptocurrency, and allows you to order a card in GBP, EUR, or USD. When selecting a GBP card, you will get to use a Visa debit card with a bank account number and sort code attached; however, when opting to use USD and EUR, you get a prepaid card.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

Wirex operates a generally low fee service, with a number of functions remaining fee free. There are no commissions or transactional fees, and top-ups, regardless of the method are also fee free. The majority of transactions are also free, and this includes online card purchases and in-store card purchases and cashback, as well as cryptocurrency or fiat exchanges, and Wirex crypto /fiat transfers.

In addition, card issuance and delivery are also free of charge and there are no fees attached to using the mobile application, however, a small fee is charged for card management, which is currently at around £1.00/€1.20/$1.50 each month.

When using the card, you generally just pay the price you see for each service, product or type of exchange, although, there is a fee attached to ATM use, and this is around £1.75/€2.25/$2.50 inside Europe, and £2.25/€2.75/$3.50 outside of Europe, and there is also  a 1% monthly maintenance fee.

Wirex also imposes a purchase limit of £7500/ €8000/$10,000 for online and in-store purchases, and the limit for cashback in-store is £50 per day. ATM withdrawals are limited to £250/€250/$250 per day, while there is also a transfer limit of 10 BTC per day, while credit and debit card top-ups are limited to £5,000/€5,000/$5,000 per day. Users must also stick to a maximum card balance of £15k/€16k/$20k.

Wirex also operates a Cryptoback Reward Program, and allows you to earn crypto rewards when you use the Visa debit card. You are able to can earn 0.5% of your spending back in Bitcoin whenever you make payments and/or purchases.

The Bitcoin you earn via the program is automatically awarded whenever you spend by using the card, and instantly redeemable, and can be spent and/or converted as you wish. The team have also recently launched their WXT Token which enables further fee discounts and a Cryptoback rate of 1.5%.

Wirex is a good option for anyone who wants to spend their funds at any outlets that accept VISA cards, and the range of currencies available, and competitive exchange rates make the Wirex card a good option for travellers. However, the service is currently unavailable in the US, and the company is focused on the European market, and plans to expand into the US and Asia in the future.

Read our full Wirex Review here.

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Revolut

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Revolut has been a Fintech success story and has set about disrupting the finance industry through its mobile banking app. Revolut’s services are available in the EEA, Switzerland and Australia, and on top of providing mobile banking services, the UK based company also allows its customers to purchase cryptocurrencies.

In order to do this, it’s necessary to sign up for one of the paid monthly subscription plans and the Premium Subscription costs £6.99/€7.99 a month while the Metal Subscription costs £12.99/€13.99 a month.

The paid plans allow users to access the digital assets integrated into the platform, and purchase Bitcoin as well as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ripple. Revolut maintains a standard rate and adds a 1.5% mark-up to the final purchase price.

The process of buying or selling cryptos is relatively quick and straightforward and everything can be done at the touch of a button. Any cryptos held in your account can be sent to your Revolut contacts instantly, and you can spend your cryptocurrencies via a Revolut MasterCard or Visa debit card, as your holdings are automatically converted into your local currency when you make a purchase.

However, while being a quick and easy option, Revolut might not be for everyone as you are not in possession of your private keys, and are not able to transfer your crypto holdings outside of the Revolut system, and the mobile bank effectively retains custody of your digital assets. As a result, some cryptocurrency advocates may not view this as a “true” method of purchasing Bitcoin.

Despite this, Revolut incorporates a range of features that make it a solid choice and these include UK and Euro IBAN accounts, free virtual cards, free overseas medical insurance, free unlimited FX volumes, and delayed flight and delayed baggage insurance. The team are also operating referral and discount programs which should see the app continuing to grow in popularity which should make the apps closed system more useful for anyone also looking to transfer cryptos to friends and family.

Read Our Full Revolut Review

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BitPay

BitPay is another established operator, and the US based cryptocurrency payments provider has been around since 2011 and has onboarded over 10,000 merchants. BitPay offers a prepaid Visa card to US citizens which can be loaded with funds via a Bitpay account.

The debit card is fully operational in 50 United States territories, available nationwide, and is also globally accepted. BitPay users can make payments and purchases via their debit card at a range of outlets that accept Visa cards.

Users can fund their accounts by depositing cryptos or by making direct debit deposits and ACH bank transfers, and BitPay currently supports both BTC and BCH, and account/card balances are held in US dollars.

As the service is only available to US citizens, in order to use BitPay it is necessary to submit a government ID, a proof of home address document, and a valid Social Security number. In addition, the company also provides a range of business services that allow the easy integration of Bitcoin into everyday business activities.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

BitPay also maintains a general low fee structure, although the card costs $9.95 and takes around a week to arrive. The card is free of transaction and maintenance fees, and users need to pay a $2 fee for ATM and over the counter withdrawals which rises to $3 when these activities are conducted outside of the US. Similar to Wirex the majority of transactions are free, although anyone choosing to deposit funds by ACH will be required to pay a $5 fee.

Bitpay also charges 3% fee for any purchases or payments made outside of the US, as a result of currency conversion costs, and anyone not planning to use the card regularly should note that there is a dormancy fee of $5 a month for each month following a 90 day period of inactivity until the card is used again.

The account/card comes with a load and purchase limit of $10,000 a day, and a cash withdrawal limit of $3000 a day, and $750 per transaction. There is also a card to card transfer limit of $500 per day and a maximum card balance of $25,000.

At the moment, BitPay isn’t running any incentive programs and users will have to look elsewhere for cashback and discount schemes, however the service is a solid option for anyone based in the US.

Bitpay is a well established and widely acclaimed company for processing Bitcoin transactions, and their cards are widely accepted around the world. However, the service is only for US citizens and the company currently don’t incorporate discounts or any special incentives to use the card, therefore it’s best suited to anyone looking for a reliable, straightforward Bitcoin payment solution.

MCO Visa

The MCO Visa debit card provides a service best suited to serious cryptocurrency enthusiasts and incorporates an extensive range of card options, digital currencies, rewards, and incentives.

The company behind the card has rebranded from Monaco to Crypto.com, and the Asia based project also incorporates a mobile wallet that allows users to buy, exchange, and transfer fiat and cryptocurrencies, as well as a crypto credit service that allows customers to deposit their cryptos to receive credit to spend with their MCO Visa Card.

The service is specifically aimed at people based in Singapore and is also currently being rolled out for US citizens and is available in 37 states. Supported currencies include BTC, BNB, ETH, LTC, XRP, and MCO as well as EUR, USD, AUD, HKD, JPY, GBP, and SGD and users are prompted to fund their accounts by making ACH or IBAN deposits via the MCO mobile app. Also, when registering via the mobile app it’s necessary to provide your full legal name, a picture of a government-issued ID and a “selfie” picture.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

There are five MCO cards available and the exact type of service received depends on the card you hold. The differences in the fees and limits range across the card tiers from the lowest level for Midnight Blue to the highest for the Obsidian Black card, and the free Midnight Blue card offers a $200 monthly limit for free ATM withdrawals, and this increases to $1,000 for the Obsidian Black card, once the monthly limit has been exceeded, further withdrawals are charged a 2% fee.

The interbank exchange rate monthly limit ranged from $2,000 to an unlimited amount depending on the card and a 0.5% fee is charged on the amount over the limit, and anyone looking for a full list of details can find all the cards limits and fees in the Settings, in the Fees & Limits section of the app.

The MCO card sets itself apart with its range of incentives and rewards and users can benefit from no shipping, setup, monthly, or annual fees for holding MCO tokens. By locking up or “staking” MCO tokens, users gain access to premium features which include from 1% to 5% cash back on general purchases, and a possible 10% cashback on Airbnb and Expedia, and a 100% cashback on Spotify and Netflix.

Depending on the card and services desired, the lockup amount ranges from zero to 50,000 MCO, and users must commit to purchasing MCO tokens and staking them for 6 months.

MCO is a great option for anyone with a deep interest in using a wide range of currencies and taking part in staking, it is also best suited to people looking to travel frequently and make use of the cashback programs.

The card offers some of the best rewards available; however, it is not yet freely available with the service starting in Singapore, and then moving to the United States, with the European Union, and Canada planned to be covered at some point in the future.

Cryptopay Card

Cryptopay allows users to purchase Bitcoin via their bank cards and store BTC on the supplied mobile wallet. The payments solutions provider started in 2013, and currently has over 90 employees with offices in London, Lisbon, and St. Petersburg. Cryptopay also operates the C.Pay card which links to users’ Bitcoin wallets and allows them to spend their funds wherever credit cards are accepted.

The card is primarily aimed at customers in Europe, and customers can order EUR, USD/GBP, and RUB virtual and physical cards. Via Cryptopay users can convert the funds held in their Bitcoin Wallet to a supported fiat currency and then load their C.Pay Prepaid Card.

Users are also required to pay for a prepaid card by funding their Cryptopay account with Pounds, Dollars, Euros, or Bitcoin and then going through the order process.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

The plastic card can be ordered for €15/$15/£15, while the virtual card costs €2.50/£2.50/$2.50. Both cards also come with a foreign transaction fee of 3%, a loading fee of 1%, and a third party loading fee of 1.99%.

Depending on the card type, there is also a monthly service fee of €1/$1/£1. Cryptopay also uses a two tier system based on verification and unverified virtual card users are basically restricted to making $1,000/€1000/£800 worth of purchases.

Verified users can make single top ups of up to $10,000/€10,000/£8000 and the maximum daily load is set at the double the amount. The number of loads per day, lifetime loads, and value of online transactions are also all unlimited.

Plastic cards accrue a domestic ATM transaction fee of €2.25/£1.75/$2.50, and an international ATM transaction fee of €2.75/£2.25/$3.50. Unverified physical cards face the same restrictions as virtual cards alongside a single ATM transaction limit of €200/£160/$200, and a daily ATM withdrawal limit of €400/£320/$400, however, these figures rise to €1000/£800/$1000, and €2000/£1600/$2000 for verified users.

The limits for verified users with regards to single top ups, maximum daily loads, number of loads per day, lifetime loads, and value of online transactions are the same as the for verified virtual card users. The number of ATM transactions allowed per day rises from two to five when users become verified.

While there are no special incentives, Cryptopay is another option for anyone based in Europe, and their unverified card option may prove handy for some while verified accounts can send unlimited amounts online, and have no maximum load value.

However, fees are slightly higher than other options, and the USA card’s fees are denoted in Pound Sterling. Also the service isn’t available in the USA or Asia, although the team are aiming to bring the service to Singapore in the near future.

SpectroCoin Prepaid Card

SpectroCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange and payments processing provider that enables its users to purchase a range of cryptocurrencies and store and transfer them via the project’s mobile wallet. Based in Lithuania, the project provides prepaid cards that are denominated in EUR or USD, and allows users to exchange BTC, and other digital assets such as ETH, NEM, DASH, and USDT in order to spend via the card.

The project is high on compliance and all users must pass KYC verification, there are standard and VIP card options and VIP card holders must provide a passport or ID card and a utility bill.

The SpectroCoin Prepaid Card Program is facilitated by CreditCard Solutions UK Ltd a company registered in England and the solution is primarily aimed at cryptocurrency users located in Europe.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

There are both physical and virtual Bitcoin debit cards available; however, shipping for a USD physical card costs $50.00 and takes around two to four days to arrive, while the EUR virtual card is supplied for a price of €9.00, and is instantly generated.

There is a monthly $1.00/€1.00 service charge fee, although this is waivered whenever the card has a zero balance. There is also a card load via wallet fee of 1%, and a POS/online transaction fee of $0.25/€0.25, as well as a 3% charge for currency exchanges. ATM withdrawals also accrue a charge of $2.50.

As stated, all SpectroCoin customers must pass KYC verification in order to use the card and the standard card option allows a maximum top-up amount per day of $250/€250, with a load limit for the same amount, and a maximum card balance of $2500/€2500.

ATM withdrawals are limited to $1,500, however, users are able to make an unlimited amount of POS/online transactions. By going through more detailed verification and opting for the VIP option, card limits improve to a maximum top-up amount per day of $5,000 / €4,000 with the same load limit restrictions. The maximum card balance is also unlimited as is the number of allowed POS/online transactions, however, the ATM withdrawal limit remains the same as the standard card at $1,500.

It is mandatory for SpectroCoin debit card users to be KYC verified, but you still will not be allowed to deposit more than $250 per day. Only those who obtain the VIP status after submitting their ID and utility bill will increase their withdrawal limits to $5,000.

The SpectroCoin prepaid card is another viable option for anyone based in Europe, however, the team are not currently engaged in offering any incentives or promotions to entice potential customers to choose it over the Coinbase card for example.

However, the project is transparent in nature and its high regulatory compliance levels will suit anyone looking to submit a passport, ID card and a utility bill in order to make use of a VIP card that comes with an unlimited maximum card balance and also allows unlimited POS/online transactions.

The instantly available virtual card may also come in handy for anyone looking for a solution that enables them to quickly use their funds to make online purchases.

Bitwala

Bitwala is another European cryptocurrency exchange and works in conjunction with German fintech operation Solaris Bank to allow its users to buy and sell Bitcoin, and make both crypto and fiat transfers, with SEPA transfers a significant feature. Bitwala also allows its customers to make POS and online payments via a MasterCard debit card.

While the company’s services are currently unavailable to US citizens, anyone based in the EEA can open a Bitwala account as long as they are over 18, and provide a valid proof of identification and a proof of address.

As expected, Bitwala also focused on remaining compliant and maintaining trust, and deposits up to €100,000 are protected by the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS).

The contactless Bitwala debit card allows users to instantly exchange their cryptocurrency account balance into Euros and make online or in store purchases, and withdraw funds at the nearest ATM.

Fees, Limits, and Incentives

Users are currently limited to one card per account, and the exchange generally operates a low fee structure with card orders, card transactions, and ATM withdrawals all fee free. However, reordering a card costs €9.50, and although Bitwala does not charge ATM withdrawal fees, some ATMs have their own fees attached, so users will need to confirm before making a withdrawal.

Also, Bitwala applies a 1% trading fee on its platform and as funds held in BTC are sold for Euros when using the card, each trading/spending action may incur the 1% fee, and the team elaborate on their pricing schedule in more detail here.

Spending limits are applied on a daily and monthly basis, and they currently stand at daily limits of €1,500 for online payments which can be changed to €5,000, and €1,500 for offline payments which can be changed to €3,000. ATM withdrawals are restricted to €3,000 a day and both online and offline payments and ATM withdrawals face a monthly limit of €10,000.

The Bitwala team are currently not engaging in any specific promotions or incentives, however, accounts are free and the debit card is quite a low cost option. The service isn’t available to people in the US, and the platform only supports EUR/BTC transfers, however, the Bitwala prepaid debit card is another viable option for anyone in the EEA.

Nexo

Nexo is a new platform which allows you to take out a loan using your crypto as collateral, this essentially means you deposit cryptocurrency to their platform and they send you cash. Your crypto is not sold, they hold it for you while you pay back the loan.

Its a great idea for a number of reasons – it means you don’t lose access to your cryptocurrencies, you will receive them back once the loan is paid off. Also because you are not selling, you can avoid paying taxes such as Capital gains tax.

The platform is super easy to use, you can get signed up in a couple of minutes and begin the depositing process.

For people looking to spend using a card, they offer you the free Nexo Mastercard which allows you to access your money worldwide with no monthly fees and no foreign exchange fees.

The card works alongside their mobile app so you can see all your transactions and even enjoy 5% cashback on your purchases.

Read our full Nexo Review here.

Highly recommended!

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Conclusion

Despite the sector being negatively affected by the fallout from the WaveCrest/Visa issue, there are still a number of companies providing prepaid debit card options. Unsurprisingly, the best Bitcoin debit card option very much depends on each person’s individual requirements, and cost, location, and supported currencies are important factors to consider.

Bitcoin users in the United States and Europe are currently well served and have a number of cards to choose from with Bitpay being a solid established option for anyone in the US. For people located in the EU, the Coinbase card is another reliable option although it requires users to sign up to the exchange in order to use the debit card, and as a result the Cryptopay card is also a viable option.

Additionally, Cryptopay doesn’t require full KYC verification and unverified EUR cards can load and spend a total of €1,000, and make ATM withdrawals of up to €400 per day.

More frequent spenders and anyone looking to take advantage of discounts, cashback payments, staking, and a wide range of altcoin support should try the MCO card from Crypto.com. The MCO card range is the most extensive currently on offer and provides more dedicated cryptocurrency users with a variety of incentive programs to keep them engaged.

The Wirex card is more simplified alternative, and allows people to spend their crypto holdings while also benefiting from cashback payments and further fee reductions for utilizing the WXT token.

All in all, due to the regulatory uncertainty surrounding Bitcoin debit cards, the best options combine a mix of availability, reliability, and security and allow customers to use their cards as desired without too much fuss. It makes sense to choose the debit card service which best suits your needs, and to keep an eye on news developments to make sure that you are always receiving the best service available.

The post Best Bitcoin Debit Cards: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Options appeared first on Blockonomi.

Coinrule is an emerging, easy to use automated trading solution aiming to be the “Lego tool-box” for both technical and non-technical traders.

The platform opens up a world of new trading possibilities for crypto traders used to dealing with more limited trading interfaces, and Coinrule allows anyone to choose from a number of set strategies which can be back-tested before being deployed.

More experienced traders can construct their own unique strategies, and as a result, traders of all levels can actively engage in the always open crypto market and trade 24/7.

The platform supports popular exchanges including Binance, BitMEX, Coinbase Pro, and Kraken and can be accessed for free by using a Starter account.

Paid subscriptions range from $29.99 to $249.99 per month with the differing account tiers designed to cater to traders of differing experience and activity levels.

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What is Coinrule? An Overview

Coinrule was founded in March 2018 by current CEO Gabriele Musella, and COO Oleg Giberstein. It was incorporated in the UK and holds the company number 11265766, Coinrule also retains an office at Level 32, 1 Ropemaker St, Citypoint, London EC2 9AW in addition to its registered office address at Fisher Close Flat 6, 2 Fisher Close, London, England, SE16 5AE.

As a result, Coinrule can still be considered as an emerging trading solution and is in the process of developing its community and growing as a cryptocurrency trading solution.

The platform allows anyone to automate their trading in order to maximise their profits or accumulate coins and incorporates standard trading options such as regular market buy and sell orders, as well as stop-loss/take-profit orders, and re-buying orders.

Coinrule can be used from any supported web browser and connects to over 10 leading cryptocurrency exchanges via API key connections with Binance, BitMEX, Bitstamp, Bittrex, Coinbase Pro, Kraken, and Poloniex all being supported.

Anyone signing up is able to take advantage of the free Starter account with a demo exchange feature before deciding whether to opt for one of the paid subscription plans which start from $29.99 per month.

Coinrule Key Features

• Functionality – Coinrule operates as a web-based solution and the team have opted for a clean, simplistic design that appeals to traders of all levels. The platform also allows anyone to deploy trading “rules” without needing to know or use any code.

• Technology – The platform works via API integrations with over 10 supported exchanges and the team highlight that all orders are sent to the market with minimum latency time. Orders normally take around 500 Milliseconds to reach the market, and Coinrule also makes use of SMS notifications, and data encryption to enhance its service.

• Range of Tools – The platform incorporates an easy to use, modular rule configuration system which works via simple If/Then prompts. Popular trading strategies such as stop-loss, take profit, and buy the dip/breakout can be used to make the most of contrarian, maximization, and accumulation methods.

• Range of Plans – The service can be used for free by signing up for a Starter account, while the Hobbyist plan costs $29.99 a month. The Pro plan costs $249.99 a month and provides access to 50 live/demo rules, and unlimited template strategies and integrated exchanges.

• Customer Support –The Help Center contains a number of useful guides and resources which are also supplemented by the official blog. The team also tackle common questions in their FAQ section, and can be contacted by live chat, email, or by connecting via Facebook or Twitter.  

How to Get Started on CoinRule

To create an account, just click the “Sign Up” tab at the top right of the home page.

1) Create an Account

To register an account, you just need to enter an email address and create a password before agreeing to the Terms of Use.  There is also the option to sign up using your Google or Facebook account.

After submitting your details, you will be sent a verification email which contains the code number you need to enter in order to complete the signup process.

2) Connect an Exchange

By clicking on the “Add Exchange” tab you can connect to your preferred exchanges via API keys.

When opting for Binance, you will be prompted to enter your API key details along with your secret key information.

From here you need to login to Binance in order to locate your API keys and this information can be found by clicking on “API Management” and then “Create API”.

You can then name the API key and click “Create New Key”, before confirming your 2FA code and completing the key creation process by following all the instructions in the confirmation email. You will then be able to see the API keys, and you should edit your API key restrictions in order to maximize your security settings.

You can now complete the API integration process by returning to the Coinrule Dashboard and entering the required information.

3) Create Your Rules

Creating strategies on Coinrule is pretty straightforward and you can get started by clicking on the “Create Rule” tab located at the top right of the Dashboard. You can then create easy to setup trading strategies based on “If/Then” parameters which allow you to quickly get going and take advantage of any market movements.

You first need to select an exchange, define the event (e.g. 15% BTC price decrease), and then enter in your buy/sell order. You can also click on the “Timer” tab to configure how you would like to schedule your trades.

Here, the Demo account displays a market buy order for $2500 worth of BTC to be deployed twice should the price of Bitcoin drop by 15%.

A tab at the top right of the page summarizes the rule’s key conditions, and you can double check everything is in order before clicking the “Launch” tab.

You can also opt for a ready-made strategy from the template library, and when you select your preferred strategy, all the details will be automatically entered into the correct sections, and you can simply adjust the settings in order to configure the strategy exactly as you like.

Here with the “Buy The Dips + Stop Loss/Take Profit” Template, the strategy is automatically setup to make purchases in the event that any coin on your integrated exchange account drops by 10%.

It will also then sell the same coin once it has increased by 5% to take profit, while the stop loss feature will also trigger a sale in the event that the price drops by 3%.

The template has also been configured to automatically start immediately, and execute once a day with a maximum total of 10 executions.

Once again, the tab at the top right of the page summarizes all the key conditions, and you can configure the template as you like, and even add further conditions before clicking the “Launch” tab.

Coinrule Pricing

The platform can be used free of charge for an undefined time period, although, the Starter account option is restricted to only 1 Connected Exchange, 2 Demo/Live Rules, and 7 Template Strategies.

The Hobbyist plan costs $29.99 per month (billed as $359 annually) and provides access to 2 Connected Exchanges, 7 Demo/Live Rules, and 30 Template Strategies. Each paid plan also includes access to Advanced Indicators and the Trader Community.

More active traders can also choose from either of the Trader or Pro packages which contain even more features and the Pro package provides access to Unlimited Connected Exchanges, 50 Demo/Live Rules, and Unlimited Template Strategies.

It also allows anyone signing up to take part in one-to-one training sessions, and benefit from an ultra-fast data socket and costs $249.99 a month, billed as $2,999 annually.

Payments are processed by Stripe and you will be required to enter your credit card details to make a one off purchase for one year’s worth of service.

Supported Exchanges

Coinrule currently supports over ten popular cryptocurrency exchanges which can be linked via API integration. These include:

• Bitfinex
• Binance
• Binance US
• BitMEX
• Bitpanda Pro
• Bitstamp
• Bittrex
• Coinbase Pro
• HitBTC
• Kraken
• Liquid
• Poloniex

Is Coinrule Safe?

The team declare that each user has their own dedicated private key which has been generated separately, and these private keys are in turn stored on detached data storage which is encrypted with AES-256. Coinrule also only stores encrypted forms of all API keys using 256bit AES encryption, and the team also use data encryption in transit so all communication between their website <-> application backend <-> database/cache nodes is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher.

Coinrule also uses Ukey1 as a secure authentication gateway partner, and as a result the team do not store passwords in their database. Ukey1 also encrypts all personal data and passwords are hashed using advanced algorithms, while the website is further secured by using Cloudflare CDN as to protect against DDoS types of attacks.

In addition, the Coinrule team are transparent in nature, and the key information about themselves and their corporate setup has been made publically available. This helps to develop trust, as users can easily identify exactly who is behind the project, which isn’t always the case with crypto projects. The trading platform was also incorporated in the UK, and operates in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom within the jurisdiction of England and Wales, meaning that users are protected by the extensive financial and commercial laws within the region.

With regards to payments, Coinrule processes your purchases by using Stripe, and transactions are marked as a Merchant-Initiated Transaction (MIT) by Stripe. As a result, all your payment details are confidentially secured, and neither Coinrule nor Stripe actually have access to your financial data. These factors help Coinrule quite a bit as the platform has only been operating since 2018, and if you run into any issues, you can contact the team directly or just speak to your credit card provider to rectify the situation.

As is always the case when using automated trading platforms and/or software, the most solid approaches always involve maximizing your own personal security in order to protect yourself from any attacks or serious issues. Simple measures such as keeping your login/personal information private will go some way to securing your account, while restricting your exchange account API and disabling withdrawals from within your account will protect you from the most serious security breaches.

When using Coinrule, you are not required to transfer any funds over, and the platform doesn’t have direct access to your crypto holdings. This is true for the the majority of trading bots or portfolio management tools as everything is done via an Application Programming Interface (API) which allows Coinrule to interface with its supported exchanges and collect price and account balance data as well as place buy and sell orders.

The team can improve their security by incorporating 2FA authentication and notifying users of account activity via email/SMS. A mobile app will also allow users to keep track of their accounts while on the go, however, the platform is generally quite solid although Coinrule is still developing its online presence as well as trading community.

How Beginner Friendly is Coinrule?

To be honest, Coinrule is one of the most easy to use automated crypto trading platforms out there. While all trading platforms require some learning and take some time to get used to, Coinrule has been designed with less technical traders in mind, and the clean and simple interface make it easy to keep on top of whatever you are doing.

Rules can be created using “If/Then” parameters which are simple to understand and allow you to quickly get going, while the modular setup allows you to easily make changes and adjustments in order to configure any rule you create or template strategy that you would like to tweak.

The team behind the platform designed it to be a “Lego tool-box” for cryptocurrency trading strategies and automated trading, and rules can be created quickly and back-tested before being launched. As a result, Coinrule should definitely suit less technical traders while still incorporating features that appeal to more technical traders.

These include the ability to intricately create and configure strategies, and readymade templates can be configured to include additional conditions and triggers or to act in a much simpler manner if desired.

The platform also provides access to advanced TA tools and you can set up trading strategies based around RSI or moving averages approaches or follow much broader accumulation, contrarian, or take profit methods. However, the team can expand their service in the future to include more features such as trailing stop losses, additional technical indicators, and a mobile app.

Anyone signing up to a Trader or Pro plan can receive one to one trading lessons, and the team also provide resources which help to explain how to use the platform and how the various aspects of engaging in automated crypto trading.

Anyone interested in using the platform can always sign up for a free Starter account and test it out in order to figure out if opting for a  paid subscription will be beneficial.

Conclusion

Coinrule is a somewhat under the radar crypto trading platform which stands out due to its simplicity and ease of use.

The “Lego” tool kit ideology has been well implemented as the platform’s clean and simple user interface and modular strategy configuration features make creating, tweaking, and testing strategies a relatively straightforward process for even less experienced traders.

• The platform also offers good exchange support and integrates with a range of leading crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase Pro, Kraken, and BitMEX which should appeal to most traders as these exchanges provide good liquidity levels, and a wide range of coins to trade.
• However, as easy as it is to use, Coinrule still has room to improve as more advanced users may be interested in deploying a wider range of TA based strategies than the RSI and Moving Averages strategies currently on offer.
• Also anyone looking to manually configure their own bots to perform more complex actions may be better served by a more extensive platform, and experienced traders may also be looking to sell their successful strategies, and interact with other users via an internal marketplace, and Coinrule currently doesn’t provide these features.
• All in all, Coinrule is an interesting option for anyone looking to quickly get started in the world of automated crypto trading, and the platform is still emerging and developing in terms of it visibility, reputation, and online community.

Anyone who is already active on any of the supported exchanges can always give Coinrule a try in order to improve on the limited trading options many of those exchanges currently offer.

As ever, it’s a good idea to try out a free account and get a feel for the platform in order to see if one of the paid subscription plans will suit your particular needs and prove to be beneficial in the long run.

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The post CoinRule Review: Automated Crypto Trading Bots Platform appeared first on Blockonomi.

The platform incorporates a comprehensive range of features designed to streamline the process of trading and investing in cryptocurrencies. These include a variety of trading bots that come pre-configured or can be customized as desired, advanced charting, and portfolio analytics.

These features all combine to enhance the crypto trading experience, and Quadency supports automated trading on Binance, Bittrex, Coinbase Pro, Kucoin, Liquid, and OKEx.

The platform can be accessed for free by using a Hodler account; however, a paid subscription unlocks features including higher trading limits, multiple bot usage, and access to the platform’s Unified REST and Streaming API. Paid plans cost $49.99 per month when opting to be billed monthly or $39.99 per month when you commit to a yearly subscription and users can choose to pay by either credit card or in crypto.

Visit Quadency

Quadency Overview

Quadency is based in the US, and was founded in April 2018 under the name Quadency Inc. Its founders include current CEO Rosh Singh, CTO, Tony Tran, and COO Manish Kataria.

The company retains a correspondence address at 79 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016, United States and states that its Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware.

Quadency is led by an experienced team with extensive experience in finance, technology, and marketing. As a result, the platform offers a wide range of solutions and supports over ten exchanges. This provides access to over 3000 trading pairs and allows anyone to make use of automated trading strategies and trade cryptocurrencies around the clock.

The platform also integrates with TradingView and Messari and provides access to research, news, and portfolio management tools designed to allow traders to keep on top of all the latest developments. In addition, the Algorithmic Execution Framework, professional trading terminal, and unified APIs have been designed to cater to the needs of high frequency/institutional traders.

Key Features

• Functionality – Quadency operates as a web-based solution and incorporates a clean design and UI that appeals to traders of all levels. Despite this, the main dashboard contains a comprehensive range of features that allows anyone to make use of automated trading bots and monitor their portfolios from one account interface.
• Technology – The platform works via API integrations with over 10 supported exchanges and Quadency makes use of a Unified Crypto API which allows for standardized streaming and interactions via REST. This also allows anyone to access both the latest and historical market data such as OHLCV for plotting candlestick charts or backtesting strategies.
• Range of Tools – The platform incorporates a range of analytical tools, and advanced TradingView charting designed to enhance crypto trading for every level of user. Trading bots make use of popular market, limit, and stop order strategies, and readymade Grid Trading, Market Making, MACD, RSI, Bollinger Band, and Smart Order bots are also available.
• Range of Plans – The service can be used for free by signing up for a Hodler account, and can be used extensively without any payment. A Pro paid subscription costs $49.99 or 39.99 per month depending on how you opt to pay, and leads to higher trading limits, multiple bot usage, and more extensive backtesting.
• Customer Support –Quadency provides a good level of customer support, and the Support Center contains a range of guides and articles, as well as an FAQ section. The team also maintain an official blog, alongside an active Twitter account, and Telegram group. They can also be contacted by live chat, and email.

How to Get Started on Quadency

You can create a free account by clicking the “Sign Up” tab at the top right of the home page.

1) Create an Account

To register an account, you need to enter an email address, create, and confirm your password before agreeing to the Terms of Service.

After confirming your details, you will be sent a verification email which will allow you to verify your email address and access your account.

2) Setup Your Account

After gaining access to your account, you will see the option to begin the setup process. You can start this by clicking on the “Begin Setup” tab. You will then see a security message which reminds you of some best practices. After you click “I Understand” you will be able to connect to one of the supported exchanges.

If you select Binance, you will be required to enter your API key and secret key details.

If you’re not sure about your details, in order to locate your Binance API key information you will need to login to your Binance account, and click on “API Management” and then “Create API”.

You will need to name the API key and click “Create New Key”, before confirming your 2FA code. You can complete creating your keys by following all the instructions sent in the confirmation email. You will then be able to see the API keys, and it’s a good idea to edit your API key restrictions in order to maximize your security settings.

When you click on the Dashboard tab you will be given the option to monitor your wallet addresses or exchange accounts. If you opt for a wallet you will be asked to name the wallet before being able to configure its details. When you choose to add an exchange account, you will be directed to the page used for connecting exchange API keys.

3) Select a Bot   

You can select from a number of preconfigured bots which have been created to follow particular trading strategies. The Smart Order, Market Maker, Market Maker Plus, Accumulator, Bollinger Bands, MACD, Mean Reversion, and Multi Level RSI bots are available to all account holders.

The Trading View and Grid Trader bots are only available to Pro account holders, as is the ability to code your own bot using Python. The Quadency team are also open to requests and will code any strategy for you and make it available within your account for a special price.

When choosing the Accumulator trading bot, you can select your preferred exchange, and trading pair before setting up the total spend amount, amount per order, time period, and stop trigger.

This can be the time period or total spend amount and you also have the option to make sure the bot doesn’t make any purchases above a certain price.

You have the option to backtest the strategy as often as you like before deciding on whether to deploy the bot on a live trading account.

Supported Exchanges   

Quadency currently supports trading and chart integration with over ten popular cryptocurrency exchanges, and these include:

• Binance
• Binance US
• Bitfinex
• Bittrex
• Coinbase Pro
• Gemini
• HitBTC
• Kraken
• Kucoin
• Liquid
• OKEx
• Poloniex

Full automated trading is currently supported on Binance, Bittrex, Kucoin, Liquid, and OKEx with additional exchanges expected to be added in the near future.

Quadency Fees

There are a range of plans available to suit different types of traders and the platform can be used free of charge by signing up for a Hodler account.

There is no time limit attached to a free account, and the Hodler account allows you to monitor your exchange account and cold/hot storage wallet balances, and make use of the platform’s portfolio analytics.

The Hodler account is restricted to a monthly trading limit of $10,000, and only allows you to run one live bot at a time, and perform ten backtests a day.

There is also no access to the Unified REST & Streaming API or live support, and these features are unlocked by upgrading to a Pro paid subscription which costs $49.99 when paid monthly, or 39.99 per month when paid annually.

The Pro account also comes with a monthly trading limit of $100,000, and allows you to run ten live bots at a time, and perform 100 backtests a day.

The Institutional account allows for unlimited trading, and has no restrictions on the monthly trading limits or number of bots and backtests you can deploy.

You will need to contact the Quadency team directly in order to inform them of your needs and to receive a price quote.

Free Pro Upgrade

The Quadency team have announced a number of exchange partners, and are running a promotional offer which provides certain exchange users with free access to Quadency Pro for a set time period.

Currently, anyone signed up to Liquid exchange can use a Pro account for free for six months. Anyone creating a new account on Binance, Kucoin, and OKEx can also use a Pro account for free for six months, while anyone who already has an existing account on one of these exchanges gains free access to a Pro account for three months.

In order to activate the offer you just need to connect your existing exchange account(s) and/or open a new account with a partner exchange.

Your account should be upgraded to Pro automatically within around two hours, and you will also receive an email notification within 24 hours of the upgrade.

How Secure is Quadency?

As an automated trading platform, Quadency doesn’t require you to transfer over any funds, or gain direct access to the funds held on your crypto exchange accounts. Everything is done via an Application Programming Interface (API) which allows Quadency to connect and communicate with its supported exchanges and collect price data, account balances, and place buy and sell orders.

The Quadency team employ a number of sensible security protocols to ensure that their platform remains resilient to a range of security breaches. These include the use of strong passwords for every user account, and two factor authentication (2FA) on all user accounts.

Furthermore when you connect your exchange accounts with Quadency, information including balances, orders and transactions are automatically synced and securely stored on company databases. User Passwords are stored encrypted using Bcrypt, as are exchange API keys and these are only decrypted when syncing account information or when a user performs actions against their linked accounts.

The team also state that any personally identifiable information is securely encrypted and never shared with 3rd parties, and Quadency makes sure user data is always protected with multiple layers of encryption including 256-bit encryption over the network, and all website data is transmitted over encrypted Transport Layer Security (“TLS”) connections (i.e. HTTPS).

Quadency also makes use of Amazon Web Services to help mitigate potential distributed denial-of-service (“DDoS”) attacks and uses AWS WAF to further strengthen their resilience to any malicious attacks.

Payments are processed via Coinbase Commerce and Stripe for secure processing, and all information is submitted securely over SSL. The Quadency team are transparent in nature, and have made a significant amount of information about the company publically available. In addition, as Quadency Inc was also incorporated in the US, it operates in compliance with the country’s laws and this leads to a high level of commercial transparency and user protection.

It’s always best to optimize your own personal security methods when using automated trading platforms and, restricting your exchange account API and disabling withdrawals from within your account will strengthen your resilience to any serious security breaches.

How Beginner Friendly is Quadency? 

Getting started with Quadency is quite straightforward and the platform should be easy enough to navigate for anyone already using any of the most popular exchanges to buy and trade cryptos.

The process of selecting bots, backtesting them, and then deploying them on live accounts does take some practice in order to achieve the desired results, so complete beginners will need to invest some time in learning how to use the platform.

With that being said, the main dashboard has a clean and intuitive layout which makes it easy to locate whatever you are looking for, and most tasks are just a few clicks away. Quadency also integrates with Messari to provide market analysis and news, and the ability to monitor your exchange and wallet balances also helps you to stay on top of everything.

As expected, the team provide a range of resources aimed at helping traders of all levels through their trading journey and these include guides, video tutorials, a blog, and a Telegram group. Anyone signing up to a Pro account can also take advantage of the live chat feature, and while Quadency is simple to use it also packs a good amount of features for more experienced traders who opt for a paid subscription.

These include comprehensive TradingView charts, advanced analytics, and the ability to have the team configure execution algorithms, granular access control, and colocation to suit your particular needs.

In addition, the Strategy Coder bot can be configured from scratch using Python, and the team will also code a trading bot based upon your specific instructions. The TradingView bot allows you to trade based upon signals received from your TradingView account, and you simply need to define the alert conditions to set the particular strategy.

The Smart Order bot will also appeal to more advanced traders as it uses a special algorithm to keep track of your position, stop, and profit target internally without exposing your order to the exchange order book.

Quadency’s unique Smart Suggest feature makes use of a swarm of cloud servers to process thousands of backtests a day by trying different parameters combinations for each bot. When discovered, negative results are discarded and profitable ones are fine-tuned until a cache of diverse configurations is generated.

Smart Suggest is available for the Multi-Level RSI v2, Mean Reversion v2, MACD v2, and Bollinger Bands v2 bots, and can be found via the “Parameters” tab.

In order to apply the same configuration as a successful bot, you just need to click “Copy” when setting your bot’s exact strategy. As a result, Quadency has something for traders of all levels and the ability to use the platform for free and extensively backtest bots in order to see exactly how they will perform on a live account will prove beneficial to both new and experienced traders.

Conclusion

While there are a number of automated trading platforms aiming to help you maximize your crypto trading opportunities, Quadency may capture your attention due to its unique mix of features. The clean UI, and dashboard appeal to newer traders, and the incorporation of TradingView charts and resources from Messari enhance the user experience for everyone on the platform.

There is also a good range of bots available which follow straightforward rules, and anyone versed in Technical Analysis can use one of the bots preconfigured to trade off TA based strategies. In addition, you can configure your own bot from scratch or have the team do it for you, and the platform would also benefit from an internal marketplace which allows users to simply purchase the most successful “crowd-sourced” bot configurations.

Despite having been around since 2018, the platform is still developing and a mobile app would allow users to keep track of their accounts around the clock, however, the platform is easy to use as a web option, and has a number of info and security prompts that help you along the way.

Furthermore, the Pro subscription costs either $49.99 or 39.99 per month depending on your package and this may prove to be somewhat expensive for new users. However, you can use Quadency for free, and only upgrade to a paid account once you have extensively backtested your bots and are happy with the results.

The platform also offers good exchange support and integrates with a number of popular crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase Pro, Gemini, and Kraken with additional exchanges expected to be added in the near future. Crucially, as Quadency has established partnerships with Liquid, Binance, Kucoin, and OKEx anyone opening a new account on these exchanges gets a free Pro account for six months, while anyone with a pre-existing account can gain access to a free Pro account for three months.

This makes Quadency a good option for anyone looking to engage in automated trading by using one of these exchanges, as you can access all the platform’s features for a period of three to six months. Even without the promotional offer, you can still sign up for a free Hodler account and test out bots to see how automated trading works for you before deciding if you want to go for a paid subscription plan.

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