A few weeks ago, my main fiat-cryptocurrency service provider was closed. So I had to find alternatives. At that time, the users from my country were not eligible to make an account with Coinbase, so I was looking for other options. Meanwhile, Coinbase opened its door for Romania and I took advantage of that, writing a review while studying the platform.
But I could see the world of digital assets is changing in terms of services. Despite the fact that Coinbase is a leader exchange, I do believe we should take into consideration alternatives for fiat-crypto exchange. Besides Cobinhood, I have analyzed 6 other options (2 more were just added to the list):
- Changelly
- Revolut
- Covesting
- Kraken
- Binance
- CoinCorner
Let me share with you the pros and cons of each of them, especially regarding currencies (fiat and crypto), eligibility (so you know if you can buy from these sites) and downsides. This article is not an in-depth analysis of each platform. It is about the main features, my experience, and opinion.
1// Changelly
Changelly is probably one of the best converting platforms that we have on the crypto market. During the last months, they have added the possibility to buy digital assets with fiat. They are using 2 third-party services, Simplex and Indacoin. Simplex is probably the widest used service for fiat payments at the writing moment of this article.
Currencies
On Changelly, you can pay with either USD or EUR to buy one of the following 5 digital assets:
Eligibility
You can use the fiat-crypto exchange service from Changelly as long as you have a 3D-secure card. It doesn't matter where are you from and what currency you have on the bank account you use. If you have a (fiat) currency other then euro or US dollar, that currency will be converted in one of these two.
Two downside
First, you have to know there is no wallet on Changelly. So you have to configure a wallet for any cryptocurrency you want to buy.
Second, on Changelly you can only buy cryptocurrencies, you don't have the possibility to sell them in exchange for fiat.
More details. If you want to read more details about Changelly platform, as well as a full guide for buying cryptocurrency with fiat, please check this article.
2// Revolut
Although it is not dedicated to cryptocurrencies, in my opinion, Revolut is a great financial tool. Features like fast and simple transactions, everywhere in the world, with one account only, makes it is a great product. And the fees are low.
Currencies
A Revolut account is suitable for 24 different fiat currency in the world. In terms of cryptocurrencies, by using this service you can buy and sell 5 cryptocurrencies, the same as with Changelly: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, xrp, and litecoin.
Two downsides
First, you need a premium account with Revolut in order to access the cryptocurrencies features. If the basic account is free, a premium account is around 8$/month.
Second, as far as I know, you cannot transfer your cryptocurrencies from Revolut to your own wallet. I haven't actually bought digital assets using this service, so I cannot tell for sure that. But if you cannot move your digital assets from a certain account, I believe this is not cool.
3// Covesting
Covesting is another platform that I really enjoy. It is a social trading and crypto investing platform, very similar to eToro.
Buying and selling cryptocurrency with fiat is done as any other trade on this platform. The deposit of fiat currency is extremely easy. Once you select the deposit button associated with a fiat currency, you receive all the data in order to make a bank transfer. This is very similar to my old fiat-cryptocurrency service provider. All you have to do is connect to your bank account and make the transfer.
Currencies
On Covesting, you have 3 fiat currencies available: USD, EUR, and GBP. In terms of cryptocurrencies, there are many digital assets that you can trade on this platform, even in exchange for fiat currencies.
Eligibility
In terms of eligibility, I could not find any restrictions.
As a matter of fact, this is a regulated digital currency services provider. Not all exchanges that you might use have this status. For example, Revolut is not regulated in terms of cryptocurrencies.
One downside
First, on my account, I can only deposit and withdrawal euro in terms of fiat money. As mentioned above, on the platform the have as supported fiat currencies USD and GBP also. But I don't have access to them.
I made a supposition: depending on your region, you have access to certain fiat deposits and withdrawal. Again, this is my supposition only, I have no idea how to test it.
4// Kraken
Kraken is one of the safest exchanges from the market, according to a recent top I could find. The platform is user-friendly and has the aim to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Currencies
On Kraken, there is a wide variety of both fiat and cryptocurrencies that you can trade. You can find the entire list in this article about how to buy Bitcoin in 4 simple steps. By the way, I have just discovered they have really low fees for both fiat deposit and withdrawal.
Eligibility
Kraken is available in many countries, but for some regions, they might have restrictions. Because those are very specific, I will tell you the countries where they don't have (at all) the services available:
- Afghanistan;
- Cuba;
- Iran;
- Iraq;
- Japan;
- North Korea;
- Tajikistan.
So, there are 7 countries in the whole world where Kraken is unavailable. Pretty awesome, isn't it? But, in order to have fiat-crypto services available, you have to pass some KYC (know your customer) levels. It took me precisely 4 minutes to have my account on tier 2, which allows me to deposit and withdrawal fiat. Cool!
One downside
The basic platform is pretty ugly and full of information everywhere. It is not precisely user-friendly. But, for trading, they have this Kraken Pro platform, which is better.
5// Binance
About Binance I believe you have already heard because everyone loves it. Or is it just my impression? It doesn't matter, Binance is the largest crypto exchange in terms of traded volume. And they have recently added the possibility of buying cryptocurrencies using a debit/credit card (Visa or MasterCard). It was about time to make this change.
They are using a third party for this service. There wasn't precisely a surprise to discover that Simplex is the third party service they use.
Currencies
You can buy 3 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin) using either UD dollar or euro.
Eligibility
Because they depend on Simplex for this service, the restrictions are related to this third party. Fiat-Cryptocurrency exchange services cannot be used in 15 countries from Asia and Africa:
- Afganistan;
- China (some banks only);
- Congo (both Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo);
- Cuba;
- Eritrea;
- Iran;
- Iraq;
- Ivory Coast;
- Kyrgyzstan;
- Lebanon;
- Libya;
- North Korea;
- Sudan and South Sudan.
Also, the services are unavailable for 6 states from the US: New York, Connecticut, Hawaii, Georgia, New Mexico, and Washington.
Downside
I couldn't find a specific downside until the moment for Binance.
Info. If you want to know a few insides about creating a new account on Binance, please check this article.
6// CoinCorner
CoinCorner is a leader crypto exchange in the UK and I found it pretty nice. Making an account is extremely simple. It takes just a few minutes to make a fully tradable account (which is great!).
Currencies
As fiat currencies, there are the British pound (GBP) and euro (EUR). As cryptocurrencies, there are 4 digital assets that you can buy or sell in exchange for fiat money: Bitcoin, Xrp, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
You can deposit fiat (EUR or GBP) using either your card (Visa or MasterCard), either through a bank transfer. The 100 EUR/GBP deposit using a card can be done as you create your account. Increasing this limit requires additional verification.
Eligible countries
There is also a big number of supported countries from outside Europe, covering all the continents. Below you can find the list of eligible countries from outside Europe, but you can also check if your country is on the list by checking this link. Things might have changed from my today (the time of writing this article) to your today (the day you read it).
- Argentina;
- Australia;
- Brasil;
- Canada;
- Cayman Islands;
- Faroe Islands;
- Greenland;
- Guernsey;
- Isle of Man;
- Jersey;
- Kenya;
- Malaysia;
- Mauritius;
- New Zealand;
- Philippines;
- Singapore;
- South Africa.
One downside
The only cryptocurrency that you can deposit and withdrawal is Bitcoin. All the others (Ethereum, Xrp, and Litecoin) are available for buy, sell, and trade only. But this exchange seems to have big future plans so we can hope to see additional features in the future.
Bonus: Bittrex
Bittrex has also introduced fiat trading, deposits, and withdrawal. Trading on the USD market is available for all users, but USD deposits and withdrawals are available for some US states only. If you want to see details about Bittrex as a Coinbase alternative, please check this article.
Final Thoughts
The factS that the crypto market is evolving and new services are opening show me that there is a huge potential for this area. In a short time, there will be more competition between exchanges and the services they provide.
The big exchanges make changes, less known exchanges become great competitors. Not long ago Bittrex made changes to introduce a USD market. Binance has just added the fiat trading feature. Both Shapeshift and Changelly moved to account-based trading and offered the possibility to buy bitcoin with fiat. Even a few mobile crypto wallets have the option of buying cryptocurrencies with USD. And there will be many more.
The crypto market is evolving and I love this evolution. Because this is a peaceful period (the market is down), I could try different providers for fiat-cryptocurrency exchange with no rush or issues. I always recommend making verified accounts in peaceful times. December 2017 (for example) was a sort of Black Friday for the crypto market. So, if you like any of the platforms from above, I highly encourage you to make an account as soon as possible. Creating a verified account is free. If you deposit fiat money or not is a decision you can take later.
Disclaimer. This article can also be found on Crypto Land website that I have a collaboration with.