5 Options For Fast Exchange Between Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies
Which is the best bitcoin exchange? In the following article we will show you some of the options available to exchange bitcoin fast, either for a fiat currency or for other cryptocurrencies.
Exchanging cryptocurrencies is not complicated at all. In the beginning, the first exchanges focused on direct person-to-person exchanges. But, obviously, this generated a clear security deficiency, and that is that direct exchanges, mostly done online, were a perfect niche for fraudsters.
To mitigate this, and thanks to the gradual adoption of cryptocurrencies, different platforms appeared in the market with different exchange models, which tried as far as possible to maintain security, and also to facilitate and speed up exchanges. These ranged from P2P exchange houses, where, although you bought or sold directly to another person, the platform acted as an intermediary in case of any dispute, to direct exchange platforms, where no third party was involved. However, first of all, it should be noted that the options for exchanging bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies vary greatly, depending on the country you are in. Either by the adoption policies of cryptoassets that exist in the nation, or by the restrictions on them.
Based on the above, we have made a compilation of 5 different platforms from where you can exchange cryptocurrencies no matter where you are -with some restrictions for U.S. residents- in a fast and secure way. For this purpose, we analyze a series of criteria that allow you to judge which is the best platform that suits your requirements for the exchange of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, taking as a priority the speed of exchange.
Among the criteria to take into account we have:
- Exchange speed
- Do you need an account?
- Available cryptocurrencies
- Available payment methods
- Commissions
- Countries available
- Liquidity offered
- Security when exchanging
- Exchange limits
Each platform shown below has been tested, and most of them have a tutorial on our site, teaching you how to use it step by step. We also recommend using a bitcoin trading bot, if you want to take your trading success to the next level.
ShapeShift
ShapeShift is a platform that specializes in wallet-to-wallet cryptocurrency exchanges, meaning there is no need for an intermediate deposit. The process basically consists of selecting the pair to exchange, specifying the wallet where you want to receive, and send the funds, being only waiting for the final deposit.
Features
- Exchange speed: fast, although it depends on the network saturation and the required confirmations set by the platform.
- Do you need an account: yes, and AML-KYC verification is required to trade. The verification process is automated so it’s pretty quick.
- Cryptocurrencies available: over 50 different ones, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and litecoin (LTC). Includes stablecoins such as tether (ERC20), USD Coin and TrueUSD.
- Payment methods: exchanges between cryptocurrencies and direct to your wallet.
- Commissions: a mining commission and a platform commission, which varies depending on the exchange volume.
- Countries available: applies, with some restrictions, for US residents due to local legislation.
- Liquidity: average with not so high exchange caps, which depend on the overall trading volume. For example, at the time of writing, the maximum cap for BTC/USDT trades was 3.6 BTC. This may vary.
- Security: very reliable, due to the fact that you do not interact with third parties and trades are made directly to your wallet.
- Exchange limits: varies depending on the pair to be exchanged.
Changelly
Like ShapeShift, Changelly is a direct wallet to wallet trading platform.
The interesting thing with Changelly is that, thanks to the implementation of Simplex, it offers you the possibility to directly buy BTC with your Visa or Mastercard.
Features
- Exchange speed: fast, although it depends on network saturation and the required confirmations set by the platform.
- Do you need an account: yes, and requires AML-KYC verification in order to exchange. The verification process is automated so it’s pretty quick.
- Cryptocurrencies available: more than 50 different ones. The list includes the main ones, such as BTC, ETH, and LTC, among others. It has stablecoins such as tether (ERC20 and OMNI), USD Coin and TrueUSD, as well as binance USD and EURS.
- Payment methods: exchanges between cryptocurrencies and direct to your wallet.
- Commissions: mining commission plus 0.25% commission on the total exchanged.
- Countries available: no limitations.
- Liquidity: Medium, with not so high ceilings that depend on the general trading volume within it. When consulting, the maximum cap for BTC/USDT exchanges is 5 BTC. This may vary.
- Security: very reliable, because you do not interact with third parties and trades are made directly to your wallet.
- Exchange limits: varies depending on the pair to be exchanged.
Uniswap
Uniswap is a platform that works basically the same as Changelly or ShapeShift, but in a decentralized way. The main difference lies in that Uniswap is a decentralized application (dApp) that inhabits the Ethereum network, and from where logically it is only possible to exchange ETH or ERC-20 tokens belonging to this network.
Features
- Exchange speed: highly variable, as it depends on both the saturation of the Ethereum network and the supply of the pair chosen to exchange.
- Do you need an account: no, but you need to have a wallet that allows you to interact with the Ethereum network, such as Metamask.
- Available cryptocurrencies: ether and more than 150 ERC-20 tokens. Within the options you can find 0xBTC which is an ERC-20 token anchored 1:1 with BTC. You also have stablecoins (ERC-20 tokens) such as USD coin, TrueUSD, and stableUSD, among others.
- Payment methods: direct exchanges within your wallet.
- Commissions: mining commission plus a small percentage that varies depending on the pair to be exchanged.
- Countries available: no limitations.
- Liquidity: low, due both to the platform’s young age and to the fact that the exchange market is directed only to the Ethereum network.
- Security: very reliable, because they are exchanges managed directly from your Ethereum wallet.
- Exchange limits: varies depending on the pair to be exchanged and the offer that the chosen pair has.
LocalCryptos
Formerly known as LocalEthereum, LocalCryptos is a platform that manages to combine P2P exchanges with a system very similar to the one used by LocalBitcoins, but retaining the non-custodian format.
Within this platform you can exchange BTC or ETH for your local currency.
Features
- Exchange speed: it depends a lot on the waiting time it may take to deal with the user with whom you are exchanging.
- Do you need an account: yes. You can create it directly from your MetaMask wallet, which also does not require AML-KYC verification of any kind.
- Cryptocurrencies available: BTC and ETH.
- Payment methods: it has more than 40 payment methods, including transfers in national banks and payment processors.
- Commissions: 0.25% for each transaction made for an advertisement we publish and 0.75% for transactions made for an advertisement of another user.
- Available countries: more than 130.
- Liquidity: average, but may vary depending on the country where you trade.
- Security: the platform is reliable, in part, due to its non-custodian system, but precautions should be taken regarding the payment method used.
- Exchange limits: it has a minimum of USD 5 per trade and there is no maximum limit defined by the platform, since it is the users who establish them.
Hodl Hodl
Hodl Hodl is another P2P exchange option where, as in LocalCryptos, AML-KYC verification is not required to start exchanging. You can buy and sell directly in your local currency.
An interesting feature this platform has is that in early April this year they made an integration with the BlueWallet wallet, which allows you to track your listings directly from the wallet.
Features
- Exchange speed: depends a lot on the waiting time of the user with whom we are exchanging.
- Do you need an account: yes, but no AML-KYC verification of any kind is required.
- Cryptocurrencies available: BTC.
- Payment methods: it has more than 100 payment methods, which also includes the option of using another cryptocurrency.
- Commissions: 0.6% for new users and 0.55% for users registered as referrals.
- Available countries: more than 130.
- Liquidity: average, but may vary depending on the country where you trade.
- Security: the platform is reliable, but precautions should be taken regarding the payment method used, as some payment processors are very common in scams.
- Exchange limits: there is no maximum limit defined by the platform, since it is the users who define them.
Conclusions
As you may have noticed, network congestion and waiting for the other user in direct exchanges usually play a fundamental role in the total waiting time, depending on the platform you choose. These are factors that, moreover, are out of our hands. However, to avoid taking even longer, it is recommended that you create an account in advance and pass the KYC-AML verification successfully. This way, you won’t need to wait any longer than necessary.
Likewise, it is also important to know and know how to use the tools that we present in an intelligent way, to protect your savings against possible market downturns and even have the possibility to act quickly to earn more cryptocurrencies, even when the market is in the red.