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Changelly Review (2020) | Is This Crypto Exchange Platform Safe?
In this Changelly review, we are going to go over how their fee structure works, what kind of altcoins they support, and whether or not they can be trusted to trade your crypto!
Changelly is similar to Shapeshift, in that you can instantly swap altcoins to be traded instantly to the wallet of your choice. It’s quick, secure, and very very cheap at only 0.5% exchanges fees, which you can’t get any other mainstream exchange.
This is a great option for people that want to get an instant conversion from any of your favorite coins and don’t want to sign up for anything or provide personal information. They also allow you to buy cryptocurrency with a credit card or debit card, but that is a little more extensive process that will require some personal information (much like any other OTC exchange).
Let’s jump in and see if this is any different than buying or trading crypto on CoinMama. Let’s go!
What is Changelly?
Changelly is a platform that allows your trade cryptocurrency instantly without any personal verification or identity details, similar to Shapeshift. This platform uses a combination of the some of the top leading cryptocurrency exchanges to provide you with the best price on crypto-trading pairs that are not typically offered on other exchanges.
This is one of the ONLY remaining anonymous crypto trading platforms that allow you exchange different trading pairs without providing any identifying information and can be done in less than a minute.
Additionally, they integrate with many leading hardware wallets and software wallets directly to ensure your private keys are protected. These wallets include but are not limited to: Trezor, Ledger, Exodus, and Jaxx.
Is It Legit? Can I Trust It?
This is one of the most important questions you can ask when dealing with a cryptocurrency exchange. Changelly has been in existence since 2015 and has a very high TrustPilot customer satisfaction score for this type of service and has been widely trusted within an industry that doesn’t really rely on trust.
I have personally used this service (granted it was for a relatively small amount) but I did not run into any issues or delays when using the platform.
Simply put, this is a trusted resource to trade or convert your favorite crypto into another in a quick and efficient way and I will use them again myself if I ever need to.
What Kind Of Altcoins And Fiat Exchanges Can I Make?
So with this exchange, you can buy bitcoin with a credit card if needed. They do use an integration with Indacoin and Simplex for processing, so the rates are very high. I recommend if your goal is to buy crypto with a debit or credit card to use CoinMama, as it will be cheaper for you.
However, when exchanging between cryptocurrencies, the 0.5% fee is extremely low and is really a very good price. This is primarily what I have used this exchange for, if I need access to a particular coin and do not want to pay the exchange fees via an exchange like Binance or Coinbase.
Here is a list of all the support currencies, so you can verify if your particular coin is available on the platform.
If you do decide to buy any cryptocurrency with a credit or debit card, it will take about 24-48 hours depending on how much verification you have completed. If you do a crypto-to-crypto exchange or conversion, it can take as little as 5 minutes, up to 30 minutes, depending on how large the amount is.
What Makes It Different Than Shapeshift?
It really comes down to the fees, mostly. This has a lower crypto-to-crypto exchange rate than Shapeshift, however both options have a direct hardware wallet connection option. Additionally, Changelly does support a wider array of coins than Shapeshift does currently, but that can change in the future.
I enjoy using both platforms for different reasons, but if you want a quick and seamless process without using a hardware wallet, then you can use Changelly in a much easier way.
If you do want to see what Shapeshift offers, you can check out my full review of their new platform HERE.
Changelly – Conclusion
Overall, this is a good crypto-to-crypto conversion exchange with very high quality customer support and a no hassle, easy to use platform. If I need to swap altcoins in a pinch, this is the service I use. Period.
In my personal experience, I was able to exchange over $300 worth of crypto in under 10 minutes and I never ran into any issues or needed to use the customer chat or submit any tickets for support, which is good.
Bottomline: If you want to convert fiat-to-crypto, don’t use Changelly, use Coinmama. If you want to convert crypto-to-crypto, then I would STRONGLY recommend using this service, as I know firsthand it works, and I can convert my coins directly into whatever altcoin I need without having to do a “Double Conversion”, like I would on a standard crypto exchange.
What do you think? Have you used this service before? If so, let us know your experience below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
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Paxful Review (2020) | Can I Trust It To Buy Bitcoin?
In this Paxful review, I am going to go over this unique marketplace that allows your to trade gift cards, use Paypal, use Zelle pay, and so much more for buying bitcoin! Paxful is one of the most dynamic marketplaces where buyers and sellers meet to sell and buy bitcoin, however, they have a myriad of different payment methods that are accepted to make this happen that cannot be found elsewhere. Additionally, you can simply just buy bitcoin with a credit card and choose not to deal with the hassle of multiple options. But how is this different than CoinMama?
Well, CoinMama is the leader in simply buying bitcoin with a debit or credit card and offers only bitcoin and a few altcoins. This provides a lot of different methods for people that may have some gift cards or other form of monetary value, but wants to dabble their way into obtaining bitcoin without buying it directly with their bank card. Stay tuned for this article as we will dive into the most relevant questions and answering how this can be done and why you want to.
What is Paxful?
Paxful is a peer-to-peer marketplace that allows buyers and sellers to meet online and exchange multiple different payment methods for bitcoin purchases. It uniquely accepts up to 300 different payment methods to utilize in your purchase of bitcoin, including: MoneyGram, Amazon Gift Cards, iTunes Gift Cards, Paypal. Western Union, and more! It allows you to use virtually any payment method you can think of to buy bitcoin instantly!
Similar to LocalBitcoins, in the sense that it’s a peer-to-peer marketplace, it allows multiple people to exchange value without requiring idenification or other traditional KYC methods needed to transact in bitcoin and engage in a mutually agreeable exchange of value between two people with the peace of mind of using an escrow service of Paxful, using only minimal <1% Paxful Fees.
Is It A Trading Platform Or An Exchange?
It’s technically both, but it’s best to call it a peer-to-peer marketplace, similar to eBay. As mentioned above, unlike traditional exchanges, it doesn’t necessarily require any KYC (in some cases) pr any personally identifiable information to transact. Additionally, it allows you exchange other cryptocurrencies, gift cards, bank transfers, or even cash to obtain bitcoin, in most cases instantly.
A trading platform is typically described as a direct exchange for fiat or other cryptocurrencies where the exchange serves as the middle man taking a cut for each total transaction. Paxful only takes less than a 1% fee for the total transaction (which is much less than other exchanges, like Kucoin or Coinbase). Additionally, there are no custodial services used here, so you always possess your private keys, leading up to executing the transaction, where it goes into an escrow account for protection until the transaction is verified by Paxful.
Supported Currencies (Fiat And Crypto)
Paxful deals with the buying and selling of Bitcoin only.
Since the money is sent directly to the sellers, the site itself doesn’t hold fiat currencies for users. Sellers on Paxful accept over 300 payment methods, with the most the most popular ones being credit cards, PayPal, Amazon gift cards, wire transfers and Western Union. Keep in mind that different payment methods will result in different exchange rates.
For example, non refundable payment methods (bank transfers, cash) will usually have lower exchange rates while payment methods that allow for chargebacks (i.e. credit cards, PayPal) will cost more.
For a list of the full 300 different payment methods that are accepted on the site, click HERE.
Paxful Fees
What makes this different than other exchanges or platforms is that Paxful does not charge a direct fee to use the platform. Sellers can charge a premium (if they choose) over fair market value to factor is risk or other potential fees that they might incur, however, it ultimately depends on the payment method the buyer chooses to use and what the buyer and seller agree upon.
Sellers ultimately pay Paxful a 1% fee when a transaction is confirmed, but this is not passed on to the buyer.
This does not include the bitcoin network fees that are standard with with ant bitcoin transaction on the blockchain and that is paid to the miners directly.
Paxful Review – Conclusion
Overall, Paxful is a unique and resourceful way to get bitcoin with non-traditional methods. As being essentially the eBay of bitcoin purchasing, this is one of the most effective ways to get your bitcoin with other monetary sources that are not accepted by traditional exchanges. For instance, if you have an amazon gift card and you want to use that trade it for bitcoin, you simply just need to match with a verified seller who is wiling to make that trade.
As with any service, there is always a potential for fraudulent players, so you’ll want to be careful with the sellers you match with and ensure they have a good seller rating. My experience with selling an Amazon Gift Card, was pretty seamless, and I didn’t end up having to use any arbitration or moderators in the process. I have heard of some users that did not have such a good experience, but again, that mainly falls within the due diligence of who you match up with and trusting that Paxful will do the right thing is they need to get involved.
Bottom Line: I would use this service again and I would recommend it to my friends and family since my experience was pleasant and with offering over 300 different payment methods you can use, it opens up a lot of doors to people that otherwise would not be able to obtain bitcoin via their bank or credit card.
What do you think? Is there a better way for people to obtain bitcoin with non-traditional payment methods? Let me know in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
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Bitcoin Fees: How To Check When You’re Sending A Transaction (2020)
In this article, I’m going to address how to check what the bitcoin fees are for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Not many people think about the “fees” when sending their first bitcoin transaction, as it’s just so exhilarating that you can transact value without permission from a bank or other institution.
This is really a minute detail, however the fees for sending a bitcoin transaction back in 2017 was upwards of 75$ when it was at it’s peak. This means you need to be able to determine if the fees are a “fair” price at a moments notice and if it will significantly cost you to move your bitcoin.
Luckily, there are a few different resources you can use to check not only what the current bitcoin fees are, but also check out the fees for other cryptocurrencies and Ethereum as well. Additionally, you need to be able to determine what the cost structure is and if you can pay more for a priority transaction. Well, I’m here to break it all down for you. Let’s get started with the #1 resource I use on a regular basis to check the current fees for sending bitcoin in a transaction!
Before I jump down there, I wanted to provide you with a free resource for protecting your cryptocurrency and it’s a free e-book I recently wrote and you can obtain it for free on my website here at the top right corner in an orange button. “5 Best Ways To Secure Your Cryptocurrency” is available to download now! Go grab it!
HOW TO CHECK BITCOIN FEES ON BITCOINFEES.INFO
Bitcoinfees.info is one of the best resources to check real-time bitcoin fees and what amount of time you would need to wait for your transaction to be confirmed for that fee. For example, it will let you know what the estimated fee is if you want it confirmed in the next block (10 mins), within the next 3 blocks (30 mins), or next 6 blocks (60 mins).
As you wait longer the fees will go down, but not drastically. To provide a frame of reference, the current fees at the time of this writing is $2.17 USD fee for having my transaction in the next block and $0.78 cents in the next 6 blocks.
This varies and fluctuates and is determined by the demand in volume and what specific mining pools are charging and maintaining a competitive marketplace. Why are there fees if they receive a block reward already? Well, to put it frankly, because they can.
Bitcoin miners are the groups of people that use their hash power to ensure the transaction is not only confirmed, but that it’s also safe and secure. It is a necessary component for the network and ecosystem to flourish and maintain economic incentive.
This site also shows your daily, monthly, and yearly averages in the form of charts and graphs to show you how this progresses overtime. They also consider that the average bitcoin transaction is 250 satoshis per byte large for measuring these averages. This also includes the basis of the 1 MB blocks that the current block size represents and would not relate to the fees for the lightning network.
HOW TO CHECK BITCOIN FEES ON COINBASE
The fees charged by Coinbase are pretty low. But they can add up, especially if you use the service often. You will see the buying and selling fees we described above.
There may also be fixed and variable fees depending on the amount of the transaction. And when your purchases are smaller, there is a flat fee charged.
Here are the flat fees for the smaller transactions:
- If you are buying or selling in the amount of $10.99 or less, the fee is $0.99
- If you are buying or selling between $11 and 26.49, the fee is $1.49
- If you are buying or selling from $26.50 to $51.99, the fee is $1.99
- If you are buying or selling from $52 to $78.05, the fee is $2.99
This is a fairly low and tiered system, but as you can see, this fee is for Coinbase and does not include any miner fees or network fees. So please keep in mind that that you will need to add the two totals together in order to find out what you will actually be paying.
HOW TO CHECK ETHEREUM FEES
For ETH, I typically go to ETH Gas Station for this information as it’s the most real-time and accurate in my experience. When sending Ether in a transaction, it uses a component of fees known as “Gas”. What is gas? It’s essentially a fraction of Ethereum that is required to pay for the transaction and is typically much cheaper than bitcoin transaction fees. This also applies to ERC-20 tokens and security tokens as well as they are built on top of the Ethereum network.
This has several other tools to estimate transactions for a specific block and also if you want it applied to s specific smart contract on the network. It includes anything else you may need to know including what mining pools are currently verifying on the network, what the estimated wait time is to have your transaction included in a specific block, and also how full or empty these blocks are.
All in all, this is the only resource I need when trying to estimate how much I will be paying in fees and the only other resource I might use is the specific block explorer I would use in order to verify the status of my transaction. For those of you who do not know what a block explorer is, it is basically a way for you to check the status of your transaction and how many confirmations it’s received before it’s delivered to the recipient.
CONCLUSION
Overall, these are the most common resources you will use to check the transaction fees for bitcoin and Ethereum as these are the largest networks by volume and therefore, the most likely to be used when sending crypto. You can also check each individual blockchain if you want to determine what the fees are for, say “Monero” for example.
In the event I want to know what the estimated fees for that example would be to attempt a transaction when sending from my hot wallet, or I would simply use google and include the “coins name + transaction fees” to get the most accurate result. These examples hopefully clarify some of the questions that surround how much you will pay in fees at an given time on these popular coins and networks. Until next time…
What are your favorite resources to check crypto transaction fees? Sound off in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
