Want to start trading Bitcoin on the Bittrex exchange? Our full Bittrex review will cover everything you need to know about the world’s most advanced cryptocurrency exchange.
- Bittrex Exchange Pros and Cons
- Bittrex Review of Main Components
- About Bittrex
- Which Kind of Exchange is Bittrex?
- Bittrex Features
- How to Use Bittrex Step by Step
- 3. Verify Your Email
- How to Get Verified on Bittrex
- How to Deposit on the Bittrex Platform
- How to Trade Crypto on Bittrex
- 1. Locate Your Crypto Pair
- 2. Choose the Amount You Wish to Trade
- Factors in Our Bittrex Reviews
- Positive Review Factors
- Negative Review Factors
- Bittrex Alternatives
- Comparisson Review: Bittrex vs. Poloniex
- Verdict of Review: Bittrex vs Poloniex
- Bittrex Platform FAQ
- Bittrex Review Final Verdict
Bittrex — the next-generation digital currency exchange is a Seattle-based crypto trading platform. It provides businesses and individuals one of the most cutting-edge crypto trading experiences on the market. And with a 24-hour trading volume of over 250,000 BTC-worth of digital assets, it is also one of the most liquid.
This US exchange has quickly become the go-to platform for professional traders. Mostly because Its security, low fees, lightning-fast trade execution, and wallet stability are market-leading. The clean security track record, high liquidity, and 190 + supported currencies are also major perks.
Bittrex is routinely at the forefront of the constantly changing crypto landscape. It was one of the first companies to apply for the controversial New York State Bitlicense. All of these positives easily make up for the fact that it doesn’t allow trading in fiat currency (USD, EUR, etc.).
For seasoned traders looking for a stable, secure, and comprehensive digital currency exchange, Bittrex is the clear leader.
Bittrex Exchange Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Bittrex based on our review.
Pros:
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Cons:
* Trading pairs is the term for when you trade one digital currency for another. For example, trading Bitcoin for Litecoin.
** Users can deposit fiat via wire transfer if the amount exceeds $10,000 USD AND you jump through more verification hurdles.
Bittrex sports a wide range of mainstream and alternative digital currencies
Bittrex Review of Main Components
Security
Bittrex’s tight security features (2FA, SSL) are backed by the 50 + years of experience of the founders. Its strict regulation, clean track record, and dedication to support are unmatched.
Privacy
Basic trading is available with minimal information, but KYC and AML regulation are strictly enforced. You must verify information to access more features. Also, some have accused the company of sharing private data.
Ease of Use
The dashboard is straightforward and easy on the eyes. Overall the site is easy to navigate and intuitive, but I wouldn’t consider it “easy” or beginner-friendly. The fact that you have to have crypto before trading (and you can’t buy from them) is the only major strike here.
Support
Bittrex is a breath of fresh air in the crypto world. Their support is very active on social media and are generally very responsive. Check the support page here. Warning: as of writing, Bittrex is overloaded and experiencing issues.
Reputation
Unlike competitors who are routinely badmouthed around the web, Bittrex is well regarded and highly respected. Some have claimed of pump-and-dump schemes, but other than that, the community sentiment is great.
Overall
Bittrex isn’t beginner friendly and certainly not the most accessible, but for professional traders, it is exceptional. Tight security, fast trades, every currency imaginable, and low fees are everything a trader could want. The only major downsides are no fiat and frequent verification problems.
The dashboard is relatively straightforward and has seamless design.
About Bittrex
Bittrex was founded by Bill Shihara, a former engineer at Amazon. Alarmed by security breaches and frustrated by the lack of reliability and stability, he started Bittrex in 2014 along with co-founders. The founding team has over 50 years of combined experience working for giants of the industry including Microsoft, Amazon, and BlackBerry.
Based in the United States, Bittrex prides itself on letting users trade confidently. It was also one of the first companies to successfully apply for a Bitlicense from the State of New York. Although strict compliance (tax, verification, etc.) is a burden to many users, professional traders enjoy stability and peace of mind.
Hundreds of trading pairs, algorithmic trading options, tight security, and limitless trading all for a low fee are what draw users to trade with this Seattle company.
Which Kind of Exchange is Bittrex?
Bittrex is a traditional digital currency exchange. It serves as a matching platform between users to exchange digital assets such as coins or tokens. A buyer is matched with a seller, and the exchange takes a small commission fee for its troubles. This is the direct opposite of competitors like Coinbase, which serves as a broker. With a broker, users buy and sell their crypto directly with the broker at a set market price rather than trade with each other. Bittrex is like the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, only cooler.
Bittrex Features
Bittrex bills itself as the “next-generation digital currency exchange”. That means it has some of the best features on the web.
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Is Bittrex Safe?
Bittrex is one of the most regulated and compliant exchanges on the market. It was one of very few companies that applied for the controversial New York State Bitlicense. The company was founded by engineers and experts with decades of combined experience in the industry.
The company uses standard 2FA for operations, and constantly tests and upgrades its capabilities. It remains one of the few platforms that has never been hacked. It also vets each account carefully through a third-party document verification company. Even basic account information is checked against public records.
Its reputation in the community is nearly spotless. After scouring Reddit, reviews, and competitors, I found far more negative reviews for most other exchanges, and few if any for Bittrex.
Bittrex claims to let users trade with confidence. It delivers.
Verdict: Bittrex is about as safe as you can get.
Bittrex Fees
Compared to other platforms, Bittrex’s fees are extremely simple. They charge a .25% commission on every exchange. Since deposits and withdrawals are all in crypto, the minimum transfer fee* will apply to each withdrawal. This varies by coin. You can see the transfer fee by clicking the withdrawal ( – ) sign next to the coin.
Unlike competitors with “maker” and “taker” fees, steep withdrawal fees, and % fees for large bank transfers, Bittrex’s simplified model is just one flat fee for everything. This is a major draw for professional traders, since they can easily calculate what the final tally will be.
Of course, the fact that Bittrex only works on crypto is the reason it can be so simple.
* Built into each coin is a network transfer fee for moving that coin from one place to another. By nature of the coin, this fee is unavoidable. Bittrex does not make money on withdrawals.
Bittrex Limits
Since Bittrex is crypto-only, it doesn’t have nearly as strict limits on deposits, trades, and withdrawals as other platforms; however, as stated on their site, the company is extremely dedicated to regulatory compliance. It is one of their main sellings points.
Compliance is in accordance with AML (Anti Money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations.
There are two types of accounts:
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What We Like And Dislike About Bittrex
Bittrex is considered one of the best cryptocurrency exchange platforms on the web and is definitely one of the fastest, most comprehensive marketplaces. There’s not really much to dislike about it at all.
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Dislikes:
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How to Use Bittrex Step by Step
This part of our Bittrex review will teach you how to create your account on the Bittrex platform to start exchanging cryptocurrency.
1. Visit Bittrex.com & Click Login
Login is in the top right hand corner
2. Click Sign Up
All you’ll need is your email address and password to get started
3. Verify Your Email
Bittrex will send a verification email to the address you specified. Click it!
Good job! You’ve now got a Bittrex account. The next step is getting verified!
How to Get Verified on Bittrex
Bittrex requires all users to provide at least some personal details for verification. This is due to a strict KYC and AML compliance policy. All information will be checked against the public record and enhanced information will be scrutinized by Jumio ID verification services.
1. Enter Your Basic Personal Details
When you login, click Settings, and you will see Basic Verification on the tab to the left. Enter your name, address, and date of birth as requested.
Basic accounts are allowed to withdraw up to .4BTC per day of digital assets.
2. How to Get Enhanced Verification on Bittrex
Increasing your limits to 100BTC per day is a must for serious traders. You never know when an opportunity will present itself. Getting verified is a pain but well worth it.
Click on the Enhanced Verification tab to the left or click the Upgrade to Enhanced green button from the Basic Settings tab.
In order to get verified, you must provide a valid document (for US customers, that is usually a passport or driver’s license) as well as a fresh selfie. Please be sure that:
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For a full list of supported documents by country, see Jumio’s identity documents page.
Please be aware that wait times were becoming increasingly longer even before Bittrex stopped accepting new accounts. Hopefully, when the system is upgraded, verification will be back to normal.
How to Deposit on the Bittrex Platform
Depositing crypto on Bittrex is simple and very beginner-friendly.
1. Click on Wallets
From the dashboard, click Wallets in the top right.
2. Locate Your Currency
Use the search bar provided to locate the currency you wish to deposit.
Wondering how to choose which currency is best to deposit in 2018? Check out this article.
3. Send Money From Your Wallet to the Deposit Address
A deposit box will pop up that allows you to generate a deposit address. Use this address to send crypto from your wallet to Bittrex. You must already have crypto in your wallet, because Bittrex does not allow you to purchase from them. If you’re just getting started and need a wallet recommendation, usethebitcoin.com has an awesome article on the 9 best crypto wallets. It will help get you the best Bitcoin wallet for you.
You can now start trading!
How to Trade Crypto on Bittrex
After you make your deposit, you will notice that your deposit is now pending. Bittrex pending is normally very fast. Once it is ready for use, you can start trading.
1. Locate Your Crypto Pair
Cryptos are traded in pairs. For example, Bitcoin for Dash, Ark, Neo, etc. Once your deposit is confirmed, locate the pair that you want to trade by using the search function.
2. Choose the Amount You Wish to Trade
The Order Book will be full of bids and asks. For a full explanation of those terms, read this article explaining bids, asks, and offers. Basically, bids and asks are the equivalents of buys and sells. You choose the number of units and the price and the market decides whether or not it is filled.
That’s it. It’s that easy. Be sure to confirm everything on your trade before executing. I read plenty of horror stories about trading mistakes during my research. You don’t want to end up worse than Trump’s opinion on NAFTA….
Factors in Our Bittrex Reviews
As expected by a company founded by a team of “security freaks”, Bittrex has a solid reputation around the community. Bittrex is rich in mainstream and altcoins, strong in security, and has high liquidity (meaning it’s very active and easy to change digital assets to cash or other assets). Its fees are reasonable and simple.
Reviews for the site all hinge on the same factors: fees, support, security, and coins.
Of course, there is a downside as well. Many of the negative reviews around the web have centered on their support issues and how coins have not showed up when deposited; however, Bittrex has not made it a secret that they’ve been struggling to keep up with demand. Support is working to fix these problems.
The only real negative that I feel is warranted is the verification issue. Users across the web have vented their frustrations about verification not working or taking too long.
Any negative review with spelling like this needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Positive Review Factors
Speed was an interesting factor in many reviews. Users rarely reported lag issues, unlike many other exchanges. One review posted by a respected Reddit Bitcoin user summed it up well: “Both Gemini and Bittrex earn the top spot in this category (server lag), rarely if ever experiencing technical issues.”
Negative Review Factors
Bittrex Alternatives
If the lack of fiat, verification process, and recent support issues turn you off of Bittrex, there are plenty of Bittrex alternatives gaining steam in 2018. In my opinion, the top 3 are:
1. Binance
The chinese rival to Bittrex is another crypto-only exchange with laughably low fees (.05-.1%). Aside from the lower fees and perceived better support, users love Binance for its fun games and giveaways. Want to trade every pair imaginable AND win a Porsche? This is the place to do it.
2. Poloniex
Poloniex and Bittrex are often grouped together. In general, the community agrees that Poloniex is more feature-rich (with margin trading) and Bittrex is more stable and secure. Bittrex’s customer support is also superior. Poloniex has a more complicated maker-taker fee schedule, but their fees often come out lower than that of Bittrex.
3. Localbitcoins.com
Localbitcoins is often called the eBay of Bitcoins. It is a peer-to-peer network (P2P), meaning that you send cryptocurrencies directly to each other. The exchange is merely an escrow between the buyer and seller. It’s a great alternative if the verification and fees for Bittrex start to get annoying. Everything is 100% anonymous. Of course, security is a major issue.
Comparisson Review: Bittrex vs. Poloniex
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Bittrex and rival Poloniex are two of the largest currency exchanges. Both sport a wide range of currency pairs, easy deposit and withdrawal options, and low fees. While Bittrex bills itself as the “next-generation” exchange, Poloniex calls itself “the most active” exchange. Both are great options for traders, but one is firmly ahead of the other in the community.
I’ll take you through Poloniex’s basics first:
Poloniex Features
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About Poloniex
Poloniex is one of the largest and most active exchanges. Based out of Wilmington, Delaware, it offers one of the most comprehensive trading experiences on the web. Its fully immersive trading experience is backed by advanced charts and tools, a deep order book, and margin trading and lending options. Its security is fine, but not the most reputable on the web.
That being said, it has a ways to go in the customer service department. The web is awash with angry users. This one Reddit user showed proof that his ticket was in processing for 90 days!
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Dislikes:
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Verdict of Review: Bittrex vs Poloniex
Since these two sites are so similar and popular within the same niche, it’s only fair to compare the two. Both are great for making money trading crypto. However, the security, stability, and superior support of Bittrex give it the edge.
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WINNER: Bittrex!
Bittrex Platform FAQ
Between forums, review sites, blogs, and the Bittrex support section itself, I noticed crypto users of all levels asking the same questions. I’ve put them here so you can easily read the answers and start trading with confidence.
Q: Is Bittrex Safe?
A: Yes. Bittrex is backed by security psychopaths with 5 decades of experience. With experts from Microsoft and Amazon at the helm, your money is as safe as possible. Still, it’s never recommended to leave large sums of money online.
Q: Is Bittrex a Scam?
A: No. There are certainly some issues with Bittrex because of its slow support. But that’s only because it is overloaded at the moment. You will get your money and it is safe.
Q: Why Does Bittrex Have So Much Verification?
A: Bittrex is a fully regulated and compliant US company. It must comply with bank regulations, US economic sanctions, and KYC rules. All compliance is for your security and platform stability (Bittrex is at far less risk of being shut down due to regulations).
Q: What Are My Withdrawal and Trading Limits?
A: Bittrex is constantly changing its limits. As of right now, you can withdraw up to .4BTC with a Basic account and 100BTC with an Enhanced account.
Q: How Do I Get Higher Limits?
A: You must verify your account. Send Bittrex a selfie and your identification document.
Q: How Do I Enable Two-Factor Authentication?
A: Click Settings -> Two-Factor and follow the instructions. You must then use a mobile app to complete the 2FA setup process.
Q: Bittrex Pending? What Does This Mean?
A: Bittrex is currently overloaded and has suspended new registrations. This could mean your deposits or withdrawals are pending. Please give them more time.
Bittrex Review Final Verdict
As one of the largest, most comprehensive, and secure trading platforms, Bittrex is a great exchange for professional traders. Aside from its support issues and lack of fiat trading options, there really is nothing else you could possibly ask for. Full compliance brings stability, a deep order book ensures liquidity, and a range of currencies provides maximum flexibility. The downsides are no mobile app, their current backend issues, and lengthy verification.
There’s a reason that community sentiment sides with Bittrex and its trading volume is astronomical: it’s a great exchange. Once you get over the verification hurdles, you are in the clear.
Verdict: Bittrex is probably the best exchange on the market and our Bittrex review proves this. Once you get past the verification issues, you’ll have a profitable and secure trading experience.
