For people living outside the US, Bitpanda is one of the best ways to trade crypto. For people living in the European Union and the UK this is a service that addresses all their needs in a simple manner. There are lots of payment options, simple verification process (at least for the first level of authentication) and fast delivery times. Still, no crypto exchange is perfect and we are here to showcase some of Bitpanda’s most notable features, as well as it’s not so good sides. Still, when people ask for a safe, easy to navigate through crypto exchange, Bitpanda is usually among the first sites that come to our mind. Let’s dive deeper into its details now.
Features That Make It Stand Out
It might not be as famous as eToro, nor as huge in terms of users but this exchange has its own little quirks and features which help it stand out ever since the moment it was created, which was more than 4 years ago, making it a crypto dinosaur. What’s important to mention is that Bitpanda itself isn’t that old but the parent company (Coinimal) is. They are overseeing everything that is going on at Bitpanda and are a team of people who are more than educated on the matter, hence the company’s success over the years.
The reputation among crypto users for Bitpanda is one of the best and different forum and Reddit topics are there to prove that. Even when faced with issues, customers usually end up having a pleasant customer support experience but more on that later. Now, let’s begin with the registration process here.
How Easy Is It To Register?
Let’s answer that straight away – very easy. The verification process is dead simple as well, as long as you would like to stay on the first level of verification which has its limitations. We will touch on that in a moment.
To register all you will need is an email address and a password, then a confirmation email is sent to you and you have to open it and follow the simple instructions there. Once logged in you will be asked to provide a phone number if you want to activate the two-factor authentication process which this site supports. If you agree you will be sent a 6-digit code on your phone which you will then have to enter in the site.
There are three account verification leves here, just like there are on other exchanges such as Coinmama. Each level requires more information from you to provide to obtain it. News is that there is a fourth level coming but that is just rumored for now. Now let’s check what those 3 levels require and what do they give you.
- Level 1 (Starter Level).
This level is the initial for everybody who have verified their email address. On it, you get a 0 euro buying limit, or in other words you can’t buy yet and a 1000 euro selling daily limit, which extends to 7500 euro per month and 30 000 euro in total.
- Level 2 (Bronze Level).
To acquire Bronze you need to provide a phone number and verify it with the 6-digit code we mentioned. Then, you get a 50 euro daily buying limit. The monthly buy limit is 60 as well, and the all-time one is 600 euro. Selling numbers are 1500 for the day, 10 000 monthly, and 50 000 all time.
- Level 3 (Gold Level).
This level requires an official document such as ID, passport or driver’s license. This document is confirmed via IDNow or Verify-U. The daily buy limit then gets bumped up to the whopping 10 000 euro, 300 000 for the month and a million and half all-time buy limit. Selling limits are the same with the slight difference that you get 5000 extra daily limit (making it 15 000 euro for the day).
The fourth level we spoke about is thought to be “Silver” and logically it will fall with its limits between the Gold and Bronze levels. Now, let’s get to the fun part – trading!
Buying, Storing, And Withdrawing Cryptocurrencies
Buying here is easy, as everything else is on this site. As a whole, the user experience at Bitpanda is really pleasant and the website interface is easy to navigate through. At the top of your screen there is a “Buy” button for every cryptocurrency you select. You can buy BTC, Dash, LTC, and ETH and then you will have to choose a payment method. Some of the accepted ones are Visa/MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, SEPA, vouchers, etc.
BTC can only be bought in euros where the minimum amount is 25 euro. There are a few fees every time you make a transaction but Bitpanda doesn’t show you which is which and how much they are which is a deal breaker for some people. Still, conveniently enough they are put in the final price you pay. SEPA and Giropay methods have less fees than the usual card methods.
Anything you acquire will be placed into your Bitpanda wallet after the payment is confirmed. Sometimes things you buy appear in that waller up to a few days later depending on the payment method you chose. Credit cards usually take the longest, unfortunately.
The wallet allows you to transfer coins in and out constantly and keeps your coins safe. Still, we would suggest keeping your coins on a desktop wallet such as Armory or even Bitcoin-QT.
Withdrawing coins is a process you can do at will. Everything you withdraw will be processed in the currency of the site – euro. There are four payout methods:
- Neteller
- Skrill
- SEPA
- Amazon.de voucher
Depending on the option you choose the payout times are slightly different. Neteller takes up to 30 minutes as well as Skrill and the amazon voucher code. SEPA might take a day or two depending on where you live.
Supported Countries
As we said, Bitpanda was created by people living in Europe who knew how hard it was to trade crypto from the old continent. Therefore, every EU country and the UK have a full license to trade here. USA, India, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, and other big countries cannot use this site as, once again, this exchange is designed for europeans. If you like it a lot, though, you can always use a VPN for it.
The Security
There is a 2FA level of protection deployed on Bitpanda. Although it is a standard security protocol and is enough to stop most attacks, more experienced hackers can have a field day with it, so this is definitely an area which has to be improved in the near future.
It is important to have in mind that crypto exchanges aren’t the safest place to begin with. This is a world full of hackers wanting to steal account information from you and tons of fake URLs that can mislead you. Always make sure you are in the right bitpanda link. You can assure that by making it a bookmark on your browser.
The Customer Support
Support tickets are usually answered within one business day but sometimes it can take a bit more depending on the gravity of your issue. The FAQ section is detailed enough and can solve most of your basic needs if you know how to look through it. Still, always send a support ticket, just in case. For now, there are no live chat or call options available.
To see what the other top 5 cryptocurrency exchanges are and learn more about exchanges in general, head over to our full Guide where we address all of the important questions.
Now let’s check some of the most notable pros and cons of Bitpanda.
Advantages
- Fast and easy registering process
- Simple verification steps (for level 1)
- Good daily buy and sell limits for Bronze and Gold levels
- Interface which is user-friendly and is simple to navigate through
- Fast transaction times
- Available in all European countries
Disadvantages
- Limited buying options in terms of cryptocurrencies
- Cannot sell cryptocurrencies here
- Security isn’t the best
- Customer support can sometimes take more than a day to respond
Want to earn bitcoins without mining? See if it’s possible on our article on the topic.
Having a reliable source for purchasing cryptocurrencies in Europe has been something people wanted for a long time. Bitpanda is the solution to all this. It has a simple interface and is easy to work with, even by outsiders using VPN. It has three levels of verification suitable for people with different buy and sell needs and is fast to work with in terms of withdrawal times. Still, support, security, and availability present a major downside for some people and therefore we cannot give it a perfect score. It gets a score of four and a half out of five stars.
