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A beginner’s guide to Bitstamp exchange

In 2011, just a few years after Bitcoin was released, two college dropouts from Slovenia, Nejc Kodric and Damijan Merlak decided to develop an exchange that would rival Mt. Gox, the biggest exchange for digital assets at the time.

However, Mt. Gox suffered from security issues, which ultimately led to its bankruptcy in 2014. Because of this, Kodric and Merlak saw the importance of transparency and safety for exchanges and decided to make their exchange even safer and more secure for their users.

Bitstamp and its early beginnings

Bitstamp is an exchange established in 2011 that is considered as one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the crypto sphere. 

For its initial launch, its creators Nejc Kodric and Damijan Meriak decided to introduce it in Slovenia. However, the duo realized that at the time, there were no proper legal frameworks that can guide exchanges in the region and wanted to look for a country that properly licenced exchanges. 

They saw this as a good selling point since customers trust businesses that have clear operating guidelines. They looked for a place that had regulations and moved their business to the UK but found that it didn’t have the regulations they were looking for. 

Upon the advice of PayPal’s former president David Marcus, the two went to Luxembourg and met with the government in 2016 to discuss their proposal. 

By April of the same year, Bitstamp became the world’s first licenced crypto exchange. Under the operating guidelines of the country, Bitstamp would function according to the financial and economic laws of Luxembourg. Soon enough, it earned its licence in at least 28 countries included in the European Union. 

Afterwards, Bitstamp collaborated with other financial institutions across the world such as Swissquote, Credit Agricole and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 

What makes Bitstamp a unique exchange?

Aside from its clear trading guidelines in many countries, Bitstamp also has several features that catapulted its name in the industry. Here are some of them: 

It accepts fiat trading 

Bitstamp doesn’t cater only to cryptocurrencies but also fiat assets. Users are given the chance to trade currencies such as the Chinese Yuan (CNY), US Dollar (USD) and Russian Ruble (RUB). This is useful because, at the time, the exchanges available in the market didn’t accommodate many legal tenders other than the US dollar. 

Right now, Bitstamp accepts a lot of fiat currencies including the Euro, Swiss Francs and British Pound in their platform. However, you can’t directly trade using these currencies unless they are converted into USD or EUR on the platform. 

Has a diverse range of payment methods

Another notable feature of Bitstamp is that it allows users to trade and settle their transactions using bank transfers and credit/debit cards. Some exchanges don’t accept credit and debit cards, which makes it a hassle for traders who want to settle their transactions right away. 

Secure 

Another feature of Bitstamp is its unparalleled security. Despite its controversial hacking on January 15 where at least 19,000 BTC tokens were stolen, the exchange rebuilt its security system to make sure that no more similar incidents would happen. 

Since then, they placed all their customer funds in cold storage which greatly reduced the risk of hacking. Additionally, they added more security features such as setting up 2FA and sending text messages to users who want to access their assets. 

Another unique feature of the site is its PGP or Pretty Good Privacy, which makes sure that the site keeps any information uploaded by its users anonymous. 

Has low transaction fees 

Compared to other centralized exchanges in the market, Bitstamp has lower fees. The site is perfect for multiple transactions as it doesn’t take out a huge chunk of money for users. 

It’s user friendly 

Another remarkable feature of Bitstamp is that it’s user-friendly. It’s perfect for both beginners and seasoned users because they won’t have a hard time navigating the site to find what they’re looking for. 

Aside from the navigable interface, the site also provides helpful trading analysis in the form of graphs and parameters that give real-time projections of the highs and lows in the market. 

It has a great customer service 

Bitstamp provides good customer service for users. If you have issues with their service or you want something to get checked, you can send them an email and they will respond to you within three working days. For UK-based users, they have a helpline that will instantly reply during emergencies. They also have a detailed guide on their FAQ page, which greatly helps users. 

It’s useful across devices 

Bitstamp can be seamlessly accessed across devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones. 

It features a thorough verification process 

Another thing to note about Bitstamp is that it features a thorough verification process for its users. They have a good KYC, which can be used by the exchange for customers who are encountering issues with their accounts. Before anyone can purchase crypto, they have to upload their ID and proof of address in the verification portal. 

Create your Bitstamp account now 

Here are a few easy steps to help you get started with Bitstamp:

Register your account 

Located at the bottom of the page, click the ‘register’ button and provide your email address, name and create a secure password for your account. 

Deposit your funds 

Once your account is settled, you can now choose a payment method that you will use to trade your assets. Just click the icon located on the right corner of the page. 

Star trading

Once your payment method is settled, you can now start trading your cryptos! 

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