By: Cooper Haywood
CoinSwitch is a cryptocurrency exchange aggregator, unlike traditional exchanges that generate their own liquidity, CoinSwitch actually does not run their own exchange.
Instead, the creators of CoinSwitch noticed that traders need an easy way to find the best price across multiple exchanges.
Their platform connects to multiple cryptocurrency exchanges in order to find the best exchange rate for their clients and make it super easy to convert any token. Click here to see the rates available on CoinSwitch for over 300+ coins.
CoinFi readers get a free $5 USD worth of Bitcoin when they trade their first $100 worth of crypto through CoinSwitch. Click here to take advantage of this offer.
There are several advantages to this type of platform, which this CoinSwitch review will cover in-depth:
Get The Best Exchange Rate On CoinSwitch
First, since CoinSwitch automatically compares prices across multiple exchanges, they can get the very best exchange rate.
A 1 or 2% difference in price might not matter much when you're only trading $50 worth of crypto. However, the more you trade the more important it is to get a good rate.
Instead of going to one exchange and getting whatever price they quote, CoinSwitch will route your order to the exchange with the best price. You can check current prices on CoinSwitch here.
No Registration Required
Second, CoinSwitch does not require users to register before they use their service, though registering an account will get you access to a wider range of exchanges and a better price.
This makes CoinSwitch one of the fastest ways to trade crypto. That's especially true since some of the larger exchanges require KYC and sometimes completing that verification can take several days.
Visit here to trade crypto without any KYC.
A Brief History
CoinSwitch was founded in 2017 and according to CrunchBase they have between 10 and 50 employees.
The cryptocurrency exchange aggregator is headquartered in Bangalore, India and it primarily caters to an Asian clientele.
There are fewer cryptocurrencies regulations in Asia, making it a good market environment as opposed to some western countries like the UK and USA which are more strict on trading crypto.
Pros
- CoinSwitch offers a staggering number of trading pairs on their platform, they have more than 400 coins available to trade.
- No registration means it's easy to execute a quick trade. No need to sign up or go through any KYC verification process.
- An intuitive layout makes CoinSwitch very easy to use, even for new cryptocurrency traders.
- CoinSwitch supports credit card purchases.
- There is a potentially lucrative referral program which makes it easy to earn a bonus paid out in Bitcoin.
Cons
- CoinSwitch is unavailable in certain countries, most notably the United States.
- CoinSwitch is primarily a crypto-to-crypto exchange and it's not possible to deposit fiat via a bank transfer or wire transfer.
- Sometimes fees can be higher than first quoted as CoinSwitch requires traders to pay the exchange and network fee for each transaction. That's a different model than an exchange like Changelly where all of the costs are already included in the trading fee quote for a transaction.
- CoinSwitch doesn't offer tokenized stocks like many traditional exchanges, so you can't buy or sell stocks like Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, Netflix, Google etc.
If CoinSwitch seems like a good fit for you, if you visit through this link, CoinFi readers will get a bonus $5 in Bitcoin when they trade their first US$100 worth of crypto.
How CoinSwitch Works
First a trader goes to CoinSwitch and tells the platform what trade they want to execute, e.g. trade Bitcoin for Ethereum, and then they tell CoinSwitch how much they want to trade, e.g. 0.25 Bitcoin.
After the trader has entered this information, CoinSwitch will provide the trader with a list of exchanges to execute the trade on.
Notice how this model is different than other platforms like Changelly. When a trader uses Changelly, the platform automatically selects the exchange with the best rate and executes the trade there.
CoinSwitch shows users the exchange rates from all exchanges and lets the user choose which exchange they want to use.
Once a trader selects the exchange they want to use, CoinSwitch will provide a deposit address. The trader should send their coins to that address. They'll also need to provide another address where they want the exchanged coins to be sent to.
As already mentioned, executing a trade does not require the trader to create an account or to go through a KYC verification.
Trade through CoinSwitch here to get $5 worth of free BTC.
Payment Platform
One feature of CoinSwitch that's very unique and sets them apart from other crypto exchanges is that they enable individuals or businesses to accept cryptocurrency and then get paid in any other crypto.
For instance, because CoinSwitch accepts more than 400 currencies they make it possible for someone to pay an invoice in any one of those currencies.
Once the invoice is paid and CoinSwitch receives the coin they will exchange it into any other crypto and then send it directly to the business or person being paid.
This is an especially good feature for someone who is willing to accept crypto as payment but only a certain currency, say Bitcoin. This way CoinSwitch does all the work of exchanging the coins making the process of accepting crypto easy. Hopefully more exchanges take note and begin offering a transaction service like this one.
CoinSwitch has also created a calculator which lets people see how much they can save by accepting crypto versus more traditional payment methods.
Trade through CoinSwitch here to get $5 worth of free BTC.
Country Restrictions
Like almost every other exchange CoinSwitch places restrictions on who can use their platform. Citizens from the following countries cannot use CoinSwitch.
Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States of America (including all USA territories like Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Island, and the US Virgin Islands St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas).
Sometimes cryptocurrencies traders from restricted countries use a VPN to access an exchange like CoinSwitch. This can work, however, it's also risky. If the exchange figures out that a trader is accessing the platform from a blocked country using a VPN they may freeze all of their funds and the trader may not be able to recover their crypto.
Buying Crypto with a Credit Card
CoinSwitch makes it easy to buy crypto with a debit or credit card.
In fact, unlike some other exchanges which only allow traders to buy Ethereum or Bitcoin with a credit card, CoinSwitch is a platform which allows their users to buy more than 100 different cryptocurrencies with a card. They support purchases denominated in USD, JPY, RUB and EUR.
A lot of people are asking how to buy on CoinSwitch and we'll go over that now. It's worth noting that the minimum transaction amount is $50 and the maximum amount is $10,000. There is also a $50,000 monthly limit.
The purchase itself is not cleared by CoinSwitch. Instead it's handled by Simplex, a European payments company. This is a fairly common setup and many other exchanges which let their users buy crypto with a credit card also use Simplex.
After selecting which cryptocurrency they'd like to buy and how much they want to purchase, a trader will need to go through a KYC procedure.
This is done to ensure that someone is not trying to buy crypto with a stolen credit card. Unlike KYC on a traditional platform, however, CoinSwitch claims that the verification process only takes a couple of minutes. Once a user's ID is verified their credit card will be charged and then the coins will be sent to the trader's wallet address.
Depending on which crypto a trader buys (XRP is fast, Bitcoin is slow), CoinSwitch claims that the purchase process can take anywhere between ten and thirty minutes.
The CoinSwitch Exchange Rate
The exchange rates on CoinSwitch can change depending on where the trader decides to exchange coins. CoinSwitch fees can be anywhere between 0% and 0.49% of the total trade value.
That rate doesn't tell the full story though. On top of the CoinSwitch network fees there may also be a fee charged by the exchange itself and as well as a network (miner) fee.
Because of this CoinSwitch has a more opaque pricing scheme than other cryptocurrency trade platforms like Changelly. On Changelly the fee is more clearly explained and known upfront.
Visit CoinSwitch here to find out the current rate on the coin you want to trade.
Maximum Trade Size
Besides asking for a review about the best rates and network fees, some traders want to know if there is a maximum trade size on CoinSwitch?
The answer is that there is no limit for crypto trades. Users can trade as much as they want to, so long as there is enough liquidity on the exchange. CoinSwitch does warn about small trades though. They advise traders to make sure that the trade size will be enough to cover all blockchain fees.
Normally this is not a problem, however, sometimes block fees can be high.
For instance, during the 2017 bull run Bitcoin block fees exceeded $50. Thus when trading cryptocurrencies the trader should always consider the block fees before creating a transaction.
Is CoinSwitch Legit?
Since it's a relatively new exchange many people want to know: is CoinSwitch safe?
The answer is a resounding yes. CoinSwitch is both safe and legit and it's one of the leading exchanges in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
What makes CoinSwitch so safe is that they're a non-custodial exchange. As opposed to other centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase Pro, CoinSwitch does not custody user funds. They do not have a wallet address and they do not store crypto on their platform.
Because of that there is nothing for a hacker to steal. A platform like Coinbase has billions of dollars' worth of crypto and that's a real target whereas there's no strong incentive to go after an exchange like CoinSwitch.
The company also takes safety seriously and they go out of there way to adopt the latest security practices. That being said, there is something that traders need to worry about more than a hack.
Incorrect Trades and Customer Support
CoinSwitch clearly warns that in a transaction where a user sends funds to a wrong address they cannot ever be recovered.
For instance, if a trader accidentally sends Bitcoin to a Bitcoin Cash address, the funds are lost forever. That's as opposed to other exchanges which can sometimes recover funds.
That's why CoinSwitch advises its users to be very careful about where they send their funds when they're doing their trading.
For all other problems CoinSwitch does have excellent customer support. They post their email address - [email protected] - right on their website and they encourage users to contact them. CoinSwitch claims to respond to most emails within 15 minutes.
The CoinSwitch Referral Program
One of the features that sets CoinSwitch apart from other exchanges for cryptocurrencies is that they have a referral program. The program pays out in Bitcoin making it very easy to take advantage of.
First a trader must enter their Bitcoin address and then CoinSwitch will provide them with a referral link. For every person who clinks the link, and then completes a transaction worth at least $100, the referrer will earn $5. In addition the friend will also earn $5, making this a good deal for everyone involved.
Even after the initial $5, the referrer will continue to receive a 25% revenue share for as long as the other person continues to use CoinSwitch.
One caveat is that the minimum payout for the referral program is 0.005 BTC, equal to about $40 as of publication.
In fact, if you sign up for CoinSwitch through this link here, you'll earn a free $5 when you trade at least $100 - that's you benefiting from our referral bonus.
Trading on CoinSwitch
In this review of CoinSwitch we've covered all of the basics of trading cryptocurrencies on CoinSwitch. That includes how CoinSwitch works and what makes them different than other cryptocurrency exchanges.
Most importantly, CoinSwitch does not require users to create an account to use their service. This makes them a great choice for instant trading as creating a new account can be time consuming.
It's important to remember that no single exchange for cryptocurrencies is going to have the best rate 100% of the time.
That's why it's important shop around. Changelly and ShapeShift offers a similar service to CoinSwitch and traders may want to check all three to make sure they're receiving the best quote.
Remember, trading cryptocurrencies is always risky as the technology is new and so much can go wrong. CoinSwitch, however, is a secure way to trade and they have an excellent track record of customer service.
This definitely makes them a good exchange to work with as it appears that they take every transaction seriously and value their clients.
Don't forget, if you make your first trade on CoinSwitch through this link, you'll earn a $5 bonus after you trade $100 worth of crypto.
