Bitpanda Review 2023
Vienna, Austria-based Bitpanda dubs itself ‘Europe’s most popular digital asset trading platform’. Previously known as Coinimal, Bitpanda made a European push in 2018, including expanding into the London market and raising the cap on bank transfers, much to the joy of traders.
Bitpanda, which supports two-factor authentication (2FA), earns high marks for security, as there haven’t been any public security breaches to speak of. But while they boast multiple payment methods, trading tools such as charting are basic, and fees are less than transparent.
Table of Contents
How to Get Started with Bitpanda
Register
Click on the button below and fill in the online form with your email address, name, and choose a secure password.
Deposit Funds
You can either deposit funds in fiat money or directly in cryptocurrencies. To do so, click the icon on the top right corner, select "Deposit" and follow the instructions.
Start Trading
Navigate to the different trading platforms available to start buying and selling crypto coins of your preference.
About Bitpanda
It appears to be more of a payments platform for cryptocurrency versus a trading platform. If you may be looking to gain exposure to bitcoin or major altcoins and possibly hold for a while, this platform, which is fully automated, could be the one for you. Bitpandas management team includes co-founder Eric Demuth, co-CEO Paul Klanschek and CTO Christian Trummer. They were inspired to launch Bitpanda after realizing the challenges associated with purchasing bitcoin in the EU, and as a result, they have a focus on simplicity. The exchange, whose parent company is Bitpanda Gmph, was founded in 2014 and launched in cooperation with local authorities.
Advantages of Bitpanda
- Operates throughout much of Europe
- Automated exchange so trades are completed within seconds, according to the exchange.
- Supports BTC and several altcoins, including ETH, DASH, LTC, BCH and XRP
- Accepts multiple payment options including credit cards for accounts with the highest level of ID verification
- They implemented SegWit in November 2018, which makes them more competitive on fees with other exchanges. BitPanda runs 100% on SegWit.
- They offer transaction batching, which means they process transactions in batches. They say this leads to lower transaction fees. As a result of SegWit and batching, Bitpanda says users can save as much as 80% on transactions.
- Cold storage for added security of user accounts
- Speed the exchange says users can order coins in as fast as two minutes
Disadvantages of Bitpanda
- Users complain of non-transparent and slightly higher fees versus competitors
- Users want more coins, such as NEO
- Some users complain of trading fees that are too high, saying Bitpanda has lost a customer as a result.
- Some customers complain of support tickets that have been left unanswered for weeks
- No margin trading
- Users are begging for more coins, such as IOTA.
- Not open to US investors
Security at Bitpanda
For security, Bitpanda recommends the following: two-factor authentication (2FA), for which they recommend Google Authenticator or Authy, a strong and unique password and applying 2FA to email. The exchange boasts the following security features
- SSL Certificate
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Encrypted user data
- Trezor for cold storage
- Separate web and wallet servers
- SMS verification
The exchange has been around since 2014 and they haven't suffered any known security breaches, so if history is any teacher that is a positive sign. It's not that users haven't run into issues accessing their funds, such as in the case with BCH after the bitcoin fork, but the exchange explained that users didn't all follow the steps they had provided (more on this later.) There are no chargebacks if a transaction is inadvertently sent to an incorrect wallet address. Bitpanda execs want to see BTC regulated like gold, whose regulatory requirements are simpler versus securities. Bitpandas co-CEO Eric Demuth told Bloomberg: Regulation provides us with more legitimacy. We've wanted to be regulated, but so far have been told that we cannot be.
Fees
Bitpanda isn't very transparent on fees. The average commission is 1.5%, but they vary based on the payment method. The fee for credit card transactions is said to be as high as 5%, which surpasses that of rival exchanges. One user on Facebook complained of fees as high as EUR 8 per transaction. A Reddit poster complained of a 6.5% fee using Sofort as a payment method. Bitpanda outlines the following features as a function of implementing SegWit
- Lower transaction fees for Bitpanda wallet users (estimated 35% reduction in fees).
- The increased scale of the blockchain network as there will now be fewer data per transaction
- Automatically using the latest Bitcoin technology
Using Bitpanda
Considering that Bitpanda is not a global exchange, not everyone can use it. Investors must live in the EU to purchase coins, including Sweden, Norway and Croatia. And as previously mentioned, the exchange recently expanded into London, giving trading platforms such as UK-based Bitstamp more competition. If a user's phone number is rejected during the registration process, they won't be able to proceed. Bitpanda has several layers of verification that determine the limits associated with an account. These categories include Starter, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Transaction limits including daily, monthly and total limits increase along with the level of the account. Gold is the highest verification level. It requires a webcam interview performed via a third-party firm. Fellow traders recommend that you consider the quality of your webcam, and if it isn't great, use something better such as the camera on your mobile phone. Quality matters. There's a passport or photo ID involved, one that has already been approved by Bitpanda, and the webcam process is complete within a matter of minutes. Gold has the following account features
- Daily deposit limit of EUR 10,000 and sell limit of EUR 100,000
- Monthly deposit limit of EUR 300,000 and sell limit of EUR 2 million
- Total deposit limit of EUR 10 million and sell limit of the same.
- Credit card limits of the following: daily/EUR 2,500; monthly/EUR 300,000; total/EUR 5 million.
- Bank Transfer (SEPA) deposit limits of the following: daily/EUR 500; monthly/EUR 5 million; total EUR 10 million
- Bank Transfer (SEPA) withdrawal limits of the following: daily/EUR 500; monthly/EUR 5 million; total EUR 100 million
- Payment options: Sofort transfer, Visa/Mastercard, Neteller, Skrill, Giropay/EPS, Bank transfer, Redeem Voucher and Euro Wallet.
- To verify your identity, you need IDNow and a webcam.
Silver, a category whose status appears to be pending, requires a mobile-number fuelled verification process. Bronze has a mobile-number fuelled verification process. The starter account has an email-driven verification process.
Here's a look at the features for Bronze and Starter:
Credit card transactions only appear to be available to Gold-status customers, but as previously noted these transactions can fetch fees as high as 5%. In conjunction with expanding into London, the European exchange lifted its trading ceiling to attract bitcoin whales. Then went from a EUR 2,500 limit to EUR 10,000 for purchases and withdrawals. Bank transfer maximums were also increased from EUR 10,000 to EUR 500,000. Bitpanda also launched an over-the-counter (OTC) service designed for investors who are performing transactions worth at least EUR 1 million, which provides further evidence of the exchange looking to cater to big investors. Other bitcoin exchanges have similar features, such as WIXs VIP Premium Plan. To use Bitpandas OTC service, users must complete a form and meet certain requirements. Other users who are looking to bolster their limits should contact support. Bitpanda outlines its payment options, including the following
- Mastercard
- Visa
- Sofort
- EPS
- Giropay
- Neteller
- Skrill
- SEPA transfer
- Euro-wallet
- Bitpanda vouchers/gift certificates
For customers who use credit card payments, the card issuer may attach additional fees that are out of the exchanges control.
Bitpanda Support
They launched a new help centre including a support ticketing system at the beginning of 2018 to improve the customer experience. To contact support, email [email protected].
Pantos.io
Bitpanda is also behind Pantos.io, which is an open-source research project for which they performed an ICO in Q1 2018. Pantos is a multi-blockchain token system, and it's designed to streamline what the exchange characterizes as a fragmented blockchain space. Bitpanda plans to direct the funds raised from the token sale toward R&D of open source technologies, as per a company blog post. The ICO also extended to an airdrop event for users on the Bitpanda platform in which 10 million PAN tokens were earmarked for distribution. The registration process for Pantos is fueled by the Bitpanda website, where participants either log in or create an account. They can then proceed to acquire tokens either by purchasing cryptocurrencies supported by the exchange or investing via a separate digital wallet. The Pantos tokens were scheduled to arrive in the wallets of deal participants when the ICO was over.
Bitpanda on Bitcoin Forks
When Bitcoin Cash launched, it caused confusion among the best of cryptocurrency exchanges, and Bitpanda was no exception. At first, they advised users who were interested in having BCH to withdraw their BTC from the exchange. But they said that many users did not follow that advice. Bitpanda had a change of heart and decided to support BCH. Though there were some delays with user accounts being credited with BCH. Bitpanda they also updated their policy on bitcoin forks, stating they won't blindly support any BTC fork.
Summary
Bitpanda is a simple platform, but it's one that hasn't been plagued with any security breaches. While the exchange seems appropriate for someone who is looking to buy and hold or convert from fiat money or another coin, their lofty transaction limits of EUR 1 million or more suggest they're catering to even the most sophisticated investors. Certainly, if you're based in Austria or just about anywhere in the European Union, not to mention London most recently, this platform is a good and secure option for simple buy and sell transactions. But fees are higher than average.
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