Bitstamp is awell respected Exchange which is credited as one of themost reliable Exchange with some of the lowest transaction fees.

The exchange is best suited for intermediate to advanced level users who invest with larger amounts of capital and can be a little too complex for beginners. 

There are limited payment methods and Bitstamp charges rather high deposit fees on small sums of money.

Bitstamp Exchange: Information

Bitstamp Exchange is one of the oldest Bitcoin exchanges and has been around since 2011. This means that Bitstamp Exchange has seen a lot in the world of cryptocurrencies , and has been able to adapt as needed.

The only thing that prevents Bitstamp Exchange from being much more competitive in terms of popularity is that its user interface is not as intuitive as its competitors, as well as the lack of convenient payment methods.

If you are looking to trade with larger sums of money, Bitstamp Exchange is an excellent tool for you. Make sure you use a bank transfer so you don't consume most of the commissions you would make on other similar exchanges.

Bitstamp overview

Bitstamp Exchange was originally founded as a Europe-based exchange and an alternative to Mt. Gox, which was the most popular exchange at the time.

If you're not familiar with Mt. Gox, it was a huge Tokyo-based exchange that handled about 70% of all bitcoin transactions at some point. The Gox story ended infamously as more than 850,000 bitcoins (valued at $ 450 million at the moment) suddenly disappeared due to an attack.

In any case, it is useful to understand the whole situation of Mt. Gox because it helps us appreciate  Bitstamp Exchange .

Luxembourg-based Bitstamp Exchange allows trading between USD and EUR for a variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin , Litecoin , Ethereum and Ripple .

As a Europe-based exchange,  Bitstamp Exchange enjoys popularity among many European cryptocurrency traders . It is very convenient for European users to deposit euros.

Bitstamp Exchange also offers its API to allow users to create customized software to access and use their accounts.

Bitstamp Reviews

The reviews  Bitstamp Exchange  shine a positive light. Since it's been around for a while, we've looked at some of the more recent reviews to paint an image as real as possible.

Positive: people love low trading fees of 0.25% or less. Europeans prefer to use  Bitstamp Exchange because you can deposit euros with SEPA for free. In addition, there is no need to pay a transaction fee for the withdrawal of BTC. There are claims that Bitstamp Exchange customer support  is significantly better than many other platforms, but it can still be very slow. Once an exchange has been entered, it is extremely quick. The analyzes are compared with those of the typical trading floor analytic. In addition,  Bitstamp Exchange is licensed.

Downside:  depositing money by credit card can be obscenely expensive. This is fairly standard in most cryptocurrency exchanges . Avoid using your credit card in any exchange or eating some rather steep fees. The verification process may take some time, but this is mainly due to the massive influx of cryptocurrency traders. The amount of tokens is somewhat limited (BTC, LTC, XRP and ETH) compared to some more different exchanges out there. One thing that has to do with some people is that the transfer from  Bitstamp Exchange to European banks can be a problem, since many European banks do not allow transactions with Bitcoin-related companies. It is not the fault of Bitstamp Exchange , but still have some heat.

Is Bitstamp safe?

Bitstamp Exchange is one of the safest exchanges out there.

While  Bitstamp Exchange is considered extremely reliable and reliable, it has not been without its unfortunate events. It is important to note how  Bitstamp Exchange handled these events, as the cryptocurrency exchange industry has gone a rather bumpy road.

In February 2014,  Bitstamp Exchange had to suspend withdrawals for a few days due to threats from a DDOS attack by hackers. Hackers are believed to have sent a ransom to CEO Nejc Kodrič for 75 bitcoins.

Kodrič made a power move and refused the ransom on the grounds that his company does not negotiate with terrorists. After the service was restored,  Bitstamp Exchange suspended withdrawals as a security measure.

In January 2015,  Bitstamp Exchange decided to suspend the service for about a week after it had been hacked for 19,000 bitcoins. Not ideal, but certainly not close to the cataclysmic 850,000 bitcoins that have been attacked by the mountain. Gox.

You may watch these events and feel a little uncomfortable, but please understand that with every security threat, a new wave of security precautions comes to ensure the safety and security of users. Since the 2015 release, things have gone relatively well for  Bitstamp Exchange .

Bitstamp Exchange keeps around 98% of all its coins in cold wallets and keeps its clients' funds offline in secure deposits. The rest is held for live trading through the exchange.

Bitstamp Exchange sets the standard for best security practices with its fully insured cold storage, two-factor authentication (2FA) and mandatory confirmation emails. Bitstamp Exchange offers email and SMS alerts. It also uses PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) data encryption to authenticate all uploaded files.

Bitstamp trading fees

The Bitstamp Exchange deposit and trading fees  are suspended on the underside of what is being charged.

International wire transfers have a 0.05% commission with a minimum of 7.50 USD / EUR. These take between 2-5 days.

International cable withdrawals have a commission of 0.09% with a minimum of 15.00 USD / EUR. The minimum you can withdraw via international wire transfer is $ 50 USD / EUR, with approximately 2-5 business days to complete.

The minimum trading amount is $ 5. Bitcoin trading fees cost 0.25% for monthly volumes less than $ 20, with a percentage decreasing with an increase in volume up to 0.10% for a monthly volume of $ 20 million. Some of the fees are as follows:

0.24% for less than $ 100,000

0.22% for less than $ 200,000

0.20% for less than $ 400,000

0.15% for less than $ 600,000

0.14% for less than $ 1,000,000

As you can see,  Bitstamp Exchange is better for high volume traders, so take note of how much you intend to trade. To see the full breakdown of their trading fees,  check out this  .

A notable feature of  Bitstamp Exchange is that you don't have to pay transaction fees when you withdraw BTC. This is super useful if you want to trade alt coins for different trades because those small BTC withdrawal fees will eat in your margins. Bitstamp does this by aggregating the payment with a series of other payments, and therefore they cover the commission for you.

Bitstamp Customer Service

It seems that customer support is really a failure for many cryptocurrency exchanges . Some people claim that their problems were resolved in a few hours, while others claim that it took weeks only to receive an email.

The best solution is to make sure that 100% know what is being done when depositing funds and are aware of all fees and limits so that you don't get into a situation where you need to contact customer support.

Once you become a member, Bitstamp Exchange customer support  can be found  here  .

Final thoughts 

Bitstamp Exchange is a pretty good option for intermediate and advanced high-level traders, especially for those living in Europe.

If you have just started,  Bitstamp Exchange may not be the best option for you. The fees associated with transactions with smaller volumes make  Bitstamp Exchange a more expensive exchange, and for such high commissions you will be better off with an exchange that offers a simpler and easier to understand user interface.

Make sure you familiarize yourself with Bitstamp Exchange policies and fees  before creating an account and watch some tutorials on how to use it. This way you can avoid having to interact with their customer service, a major cause of pain for many of their uses.

In addition to their lack of customer support,  Bitstamp Exchange is a good exchange.