Bitstamp is one of the oldest and most reliable cryptocurrency trading platforms. Founded in 2011 by Nejc Kodrič (CEO) and Damijan Merlak, Bitstamp has grown to host over 3 million users.

It was established as a main competitor to the now defunct Mt. Gox exchange. The company first established its offices in Slovenia where it was founded before moving to the UK and then Luxembourg. Today, it has offices in the US, UK and Luxembourg.

Pantera Capital is a San Francisco based investment firm and also the main investor at Bitstamp. Currently, Bitstamp offers the lowest trading fees plus it supports the trading of Bitcoin, altcoins and fiat money.

Account Registration

To start trading, users are required to register for an account. The process is quite easy and can be completed in less than 5 steps. Furthermore, it’s free! New account holders are required to provide their name, email and country of residence. Once you have submitted the registration form, you will be required to verify your account.

To complete the process, submit your identification documents which include an image of your passport, driver’s license or national ID plus proof of residency. Without verifying your account, it will be impossible to make any deposits or withdrawals.

The process of verification usually takes 2 hours but its much shorter compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges that may take 24 hours or more.

If you pass the verification process, you can begin using Bitstamp.

Deposit & Withdrawal

To make your first deposit, log into your account. On the top menu bar, you should find the following links – deposit and withdrawal. At the moment, Bitstamp accepts two fiat currencies namely – USD and Euro. You can deposit funds into your account using your Bitcoin wallet. Open your Bitcoin wallet, add Bitstamp’s Bitcoin address, the amount and submit. After 3 network confirmations, the funds will be reflected in your account.

Deposits from Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash wallets are free of charge.

If you select bank wire transfer, the funds will be reflected after 2 to 5 days. For SEPA transfer, the funds will be reflected after 1 to 3 business days. If you select SEPA to deposit USD, you will be taken through an additional step of converting the funds.

When it comes to the withdrawal of funds, you can select to transfer to your debit card, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple (XRP), Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash wallets or via SEPA. Once you initiate the process, the withdrawal fee will be displayed and the amount deducted once you confirm the transaction. Sending funds to your debit card will incur a flat fee of $10 for amounts less than $1,000 and for amounts higher than $1,000 – a 2% fee will be charged.

SEPA withdrawals are charged at a fixed rate of 0.90€ when funds are converted to EURO. The minimum withdrawal amount for SEPA is $10. For international withdrawals, Bitstamp charges 0.09% fee or a minimum fee of $15. The minimum amount for International withdrawals is $50. For transfers made to corporate bank accounts, further KYC checking will be done.

Currently, Bitstamp does not process third party transfers especially when it comes to deposits and withdrawals.

Cryptocurrency Trading

Now that your account is funded, it’s time to trade. To get started, click on trade in the main menu. Two types of orders are available – limit and instant orders. Limit orders allow traders to set the price they wish to pay or trade Bitcoins while instant orders are designed to make immediate or quick trades. As a new user at Bitstamp, start with instant orders before proceeding to limit orders.

From the order book, view all open and sell orders. Using the information provided, decide at what price you want to buy or sell cryptocurrency pairs. Stop order allows you to set an entry or exit price point. When trading, if the price surpasses the entry or exit price point, the stop order is converted into a market order. To track the price of Bitcoin, use the trailing stop option.

Trading Fees

To begin trading at Bitstamp, your account should have a minimum amount of 5€ for Euro denominated trading pairs. For Bitcoin denominated trading pairs, the minimum amount allowed is 0.001. For other trading pairs, the system will denominate to the fiat currency available in the trading pair and limited to 5 whole units.

The highest trading fee charged by Bitstamp is 0.25% for amounts below $20,000. This value can drop to as low as 0.10% for a monthly volume of $20 million.

From the trading fees above, you can see that Bitstamp charges the lowest fees when compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges. Since supported cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash are not charged withdrawal fees, your account will be debited with the full amount.

Checkout Bitstamp full fee schedule.

Final Thoughts

Bitstamp is a well respected and reliable cryptocurrency exchange service best suited for intermediates and advanced traders. Thanks to its top tier security, not only does Bitstamp protect your digital assets and personal information from unauthorized users but it provides a secure trading platform to trade cryptocurrency pairs.

It does have a few drawbacks. For starters, it’s not suited for beginners thanks to its advanced trading interface. Bitstamp trading fees do not favor low volume trading and its verification process is considered to be lengthy by some of its users.

All in all, Bitstamp is a great cryptocurrency trading platform that is trustworthy and reputable.