Bitstamp – Crypto broker: reviews
Bitstamp is one the leading global brokers in crypto market. It has a modest variety of currencies, as well as verification by national agencies. It means a lot, since Bitstamp is not just some small website – it’s a whole brokering corporation. Such status means both advantages and disadvantages. Mostly disadvantages, however – especially in support department.
They certainly won’t tell you about their flaws and technical issues, only a mass of users can be trusted to assess such things. The user reviews, however, are very diverse and not thorough. Still, you can see the main reoccurring issues and benefits by reading the feedback on the popular review aggregators.
Before plunging into them, let’s first see what there is to assess, exactly.
What is Bitstamp?
For exchange standards, Bitstamp has a very modest variety of features to offer, both in terms of practical trading and technological carcass.
For instance, while numerous other exchanges provide access to many markets with countless types of cryptocurrency, Bitstamp only has 5:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Ripple
- Litecoin
- Bitcoin Cash
It’s not necessary a disadvantage. Less possibilities usually means more focus on the existing offers. In short, if the small quantity is compensated with quality on Bitstamp, then it’s a fairly good deal. But you should also consider other factors, like pricing, comfort, security, and so on.
Bitstamp doesn’t provide too much information on these factors. There are several blocks of text on the front page, explaining that:
- The platform is easy to work with. Both withdrawals and deposits are said to be fairly quick and painless, and the interface allows users to interact with the trading mechanisms without much toil
- There’s high-level security. Security reportedly can boast government certification and high quality, including high encryption, secure funds storing and confirmation of all transactions
- Bitstamp is reliable. It can offer you quality 24/7 support. Given that they’re in industry since 2011, they must have experience and competence. Additionally, the uptime is said to be very comfortable
These are fine qualities. However, you should always be wary of security promises. On other platforms they frequently lead to delays in trading and money transfers, sometimes even to freezing of funds and blocking of accounts.
The rating
Bitstamp generally doesn’t receive much love from the users on review aggregators. It’s not a pleasant sight – the website has the rating of 2.2/5 on Trustpilot. It’s a very poor result, especially since over half of these reviews gave it the minimal amount of stars.
There are several reasons as to why so many people decided to drop the rating on this platform. Let’s see the most common benefits and flaws.
The advantages
Let’s start first with this broker’s good sides. There are several very prominent benefits, albeit they seem to be completely overshadowed by all the bad and uncomfortable qualities.
The service is very fast and helpful. Useful support is a right that should be provided by every exchange, it’s obvious. Some exchanges didn’t get the memo or just couldn’t handle the level of helpfulness demanded of them. The support is quite responsive, given how they answer to virtually any review left for them, positive or not.
It’s essential for the brokers to have rapid and responsive support team. Some issues require fast resolving, like in the cases of fraud. You’re likely to receive help from them, and you can also ask question about trading. It’s good since Bitstamp doesn’t have any adequate learning information, like many of its counterparts.
The transactions are fast and reliable. Most transfers you make into, from or within the platform are conducted very quickly and generally without technical issues. You may experience problems on this front if they restrict your account from such activities for breaking the rules and conditions of trading.
Unfortunately, you can do so even without knowing you did it, as did countless other distraught customers. But it’s actually the subject of the following paragraph.
The disadvantages
There aren’t many flaws on this platform, believe it or not. Most negative reviews complain the same one thing. Here it is.
The security is severe. Like its counterparts all over the world, this exchange has got a strict and severe security policy. There are many penalties for users who technically broke the rules or lack verification, most include financial restrictions, but sometimes you can receive an account termination.
In this case, your money will most likely be confiscated by the owners. This happens frequently, and thus leads to regular fraud accusations. It’s unknown, however, if Bitstamp is scamming you or not. It might be that they simply cover this dirty activity with niceness.
It’s also possible they simply can’t deal with all the rule-breaking and verification processes. They demand you verify your account with extensive documentation when you decide to use different features, like account registering, withdrawing, trading, etc. Verification can take a while. But at the very least you can contact the support to ask about the progress. And they almost always respond
Still, if you need to comply with such unjustifiably strict conditions, it’s likely you won’t enjoy the experience at all.
The conclusion
Bitstamp is a fairly decent platform if you ignore its security measures. If you learn all the rules and conditions and make absolutely sure to comply with them at all times, you’ll probably be fine. However, it makes for a very uncomfortable experience. If you know any platform where you’ll get the same good service but without the security obsession, it’ll be a better choice.