Bitstamp
Bitstamp is a bitcoin exchange based in Luxembourg. It allows trading between USD currency and bitcoin cryptocurrency. It allows USD, EUR, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple or Bitcoin Cash deposits and withdrawals.
Bitstamp review
The company was founded as a European-focused alternative to then-dominant bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. While the company trades in US dollars, it allows money to be deposited through the European Union’s Single Euro Payments Area, a convenient way of transferring money between European bank accounts. [1]
Contents
Is bitstamp safe? Bitstamp is one of the few exchanges on which you can make money using traditional payment methods such as Bank cards. Thus, you can use Bitstamp to buy bitcoins, which you can then dispose of at your discretion. The exchange is owned by Bitstamp Ltd. The firm has offices in Luxembourg, London and new York. It is important to note that Bitstamp is the first fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Europe. It is governed by the Luxembourg Supervisory Commission of the Finance sector (CSSF). This fact is what sets Bitstamp compared to other exchanges, most of which are not regulated, which entails certain risks. The CSSF license ensures that the company reports periodically to the responsible services. Bitstamp is registered as a “payment authority”, so you can always safely send and receive money from the exchange.
Bitstamp offers an API to allow clients to use custom software to access and control their accounts.
History
The company is headed by CEO Nejc Kodrič, a widely known member of the bitcoin community, who co-founded the company in August 2011 with Damijan Merlak in his native Slovenia, but later moved its registration to the UK in April 2013, then to Luxembourg in 2016. The company is registered in Reading in the UK, but this is in fact just the offices of UK PLC, a company specialising in company formation and which, amongst its services, allows companies to use its own address as their registered office, effectively acting as a forwarding address. There is no clear information available as to where Bitstamp’s operations are located or whether they actually have any presence at all in the UK, or are still run out of Slovenia.</ref> Bitstamp outsourced certain operations to the UK due to the lack of adequate financial and legal services in Slovenia.
When incorporating in the United Kingdom, the company approached the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority for guidance, but was told that bitcoin was not classed as a currency, so the exchange was not subject to regulation. Bitstamp says that it instead regulates itself, following a set of best practices to authenticate customers and deter money laundering. In September 2013, the company began requiring account holders to Know your customer|verify their identity with copies of their passports and official records of their home address. In April 2016, the Luxembourgish government granted a license to Bitstamp to be fully regulated in the EU as a payment institution, allowing it to do business in all 28 EU member states.[2]
In December 2016 Bitstamp started a public funding campaign on the BnkToTheFuture investment website.[3] In July 2017, Swissquote partnered with Bitstamp to launch bitcoin trading.
In July 2017, Bitstamp entered into an agreement with Swissquote. The Swiss Bank and the broker decided to trust the exchange to provide its clients the ability to trade nictoine. This says a lot about the reliability of Bitstamp. The Bank has not yet integrated the bitcoin trading system with the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. All trades are carried out on the Bank’s own platform with limited functionality. User reviews of Bitstamp are mixed. Many are satisfied with the service, but there are those who are not satisfied with the work of the support service. Like Poloniex, Bitstamp may not have been prepared for the influx of users.
Service disruptions
In February 2014, the company suspended withdrawals for several days in the face of a distributed denial-of-service. Bitcoin Magazine reported that people behind the attack sent a ransom demand of 75 bitcoins to Kodrič, who refused due to a company policy against negotiating with “terrorists”. Days after restoring service, Bitstamp temporarily suspended withdrawals for some users as a security precaution due to increased phishing attempts.[4]
In January 2015, Bitstamp suspended its service after a hack during which less than 19,000 bitcoins were stolen, reopening nearly a week later.[5]
Description
Trading
- Buying/selling
A buy/sell order is executed partially or in full when the price bid can be matched against a sell/buy order that is at or below the bid amount.
Adding funds
BTC
There are no fees incurred when when transferring bitcoins for deposit. Funds are available once confirmed (3 confirms), a process that can take roughly 30minutes.
EUR
Exchange accepts EUR deposits via SEPA transfers, then converts them to USD and credits them to online account. No deposit fees!
GBP
Exchange accepts wire transfers in GBP, then converts them to USD and credits them to online account. Charging 0.1% deposit fee(minimum fee = $15)
USD
Exchange accepts international wire transfers in USD, charging 0.1% deposit fee(minimum fee = $15)
CHF
Exchange accepts wire transfers in CHF, then converts them to USD and credits them to online account. Charging 0.1% deposit fee(minimum fee = $15)
Withdrawing funds
EUR
SEPA withdrawals are charged with fixed 0.90€ fee once your funds are converted to EUR. Minimum amount for SEPA withdrawal is $10,00.
GBP
GBP wire deposits and withdrawals in GBP are supported.
USD
International wire withdrawals in USD will be charged with 0.09% fee, minimum fee is $15,00. Minimum amount for international withdrawal is $50,00.
CHF
International wire withdrawals in CHF will be charged with 0.09% fee, minimum fee is $15,00. Minimum amount for international withdrawal is $50,00.
Fees
Bitstamp charges a trading fee from each party of successful trades made through the market. The amount of the Bitstamp fee will vary based on a 30 day trading history. The rate for new accounts and those with the lowest volume is 0.5%. Refer to the fee schedule to determine discount levels. The fee that was charged appears in the account history next to each trade.
Localization
Bitstamp is localizing website with online collaborative online translating tool. Feel free to join and help with translation to your native language.
Link: http://crowdin.net/project/bitstamp
Account security
Access to an account may be protected with the optional Google Authenticator utility.
Language Support
Exchange cryptocurrency Bitstamp boasts and the presence of an official license, and a large number of languages used:
- English
- Russian
- German
- Italian
- Polish
- Slovenian
- Finnish
- Czech
API
API is available https://www.bitstamp.net/api/
Data Services
Linux
- Dojima market client
See Also on BitcoinWiki
External links
Sources
References
- ↑ The Bitcoin Economy’s ‘Backbone’ Is Bitstamp, An Exchange Run By Two Young Slovenian
- ↑ A Bitcoin Exchange Just Got Approval to Operate Across the EU
- ↑ https://www.bitstamp.net/article/bitstamp-opens-online-investment/
- ↑ Bitstamp restores withdrawals following security scare
- ↑ Bitcoin Exchange Bitstamp Resumes Services
