Bitstamp Cryptocurrency Exchange is an excellent choice for people who are just starting to explore the crypto industry. It provides access to the leading cryptocurrencies and many well-known altcoins. Bitstamp is one of the oldest crypto exchanges, offering a user-friendly interface and very affordable trading fees. Bitstamp’s provided access to 70+ cryptocurrencies might be a lesser variety than other exchanges, it’s more than enough to fend for beginners.
What Makes Bitstamp a Good Option?
Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange does not support advanced investing strategies, such as margin trading, it provides basic services and affordable fees. It is an easy-to-use instant buy platform and offers several order types that may attract advanced traders looking to exploit short-term price fluctuations.
- Market orders. Buy or sell at market price.
- Instant order option. Buys instantly at the current market price.
- Stop orders. The user can set an entry or exit price point for trades to limit potential losses coming from sudden price fluctuations in the crypto market.
- Limit order. The user can set a limit price at which he prefers to buy or sell cryptocurrency.
- Trailing stop orders. More flexible than a stop order offers a “trigger price” to stop the order.
- Fill-or-kill orders. Buy or sell the amount of crypto at a specified price.
Bitstamp Cryptocurrency Exchange – Features
Here are some of its main features.
Fees
Bitstamp charges different maker and taker fees. Bitstamp doesn’t charge any fees for trades less than $1,000. The trade among trading pairs has to be at least $10. There are also withdrawal fees that apply. In addition to these fees, there are also other fees, like a person has to pay a 5% surcharge on any credit card or debit card purchases. This fee is separate from any fees charged by the bank or credit card provider.
Security
Bitstamp was hacked in 2015 when a phishing scheme led to the loss of nearly 19,000 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at around $5 million at the time. Bitstamp reimbursed users for any losses. It has improved its security now as it keeps most of its assets offline in cold storage, and all assets have insurance in case of any crime-related cases. Bitstamp still ranks on the lower side regarding security.
Customer Support
Bitstamp provides phone support for its users. If a user wants a platform where he can speak with a support agent on the phone, he should give Bitstamp a second look. It offers no live chat support, but you can send a ticket via email.
Bitstamp Cryptocurrency Exchange – Drawbacks
Bitstamp offers a wide variety of cryptocurrencies for most beginners. It also offers staking for some of these coins, like Ethereum (ETH) and Algorand (ALGO). It lacks many more advanced trading features. Bitstamp does not offer margin trading and rewards card. It is not very secure, according to the security ranking site CER.live.
Bitstamp Cryptocurrency Exchange – Improvements
Better Security
Security could be even stronger with Bitstamp, even though their website claims they have improved their security since 2015.
Advanced Trading
Bitstamp doesn’t offer traders much in the way of advanced trading options. The company only offers to stake for two coins: ETH and ALGO, and it doesn’t offer any lending or margin trading opportunities. In addition, the company doesn’t offer a rewards card, which allows customers at some other exchanges to use their existing cryptocurrency.