Selection Criteria-brokerage sites
There are many cryptocurrency buying sites and it is not always easy to navigate. Some will offer to keep your money at home. Are they serious? Do they hide scams?
Shopping sites can be classified into 4 categories:
Brokerage sites: an intermediary takes care of finding you a seller if you are a buyer and a buyer in the opposite case. Some brokers buy crypto-currencies for their own account and resell it.
Purchase platforms in fiat currency: these are sites that allow exchange of fiat currency (traditional currencies, decreed by the State) against crypto-currencies
Cryptocurrency trading platforms. These platforms allow to exchange cryptocurrencies between them. Some cryptocurrencies can only be purchased on these sites and therefore require the possession of another cryptocurrency.
Decentralized platforms like Localbitcoin that works like Leboncoin.
Top 5 Brokerage Sites
The following 5 sites (BTC Direct, Coinbase, Coinhouse, Coinmama and Paymium) were selected and ranked according to the following criteria:
Selection criteria
The reputation.
Many shopping sites have turned out to be cyber-scams. To avoid them, we looked at the date of creation (plus a site is old, plus it proved its worth) and generated traffic. site older mean more proven it is and the more trustworthy it is. However, in this area, the age of the sites is not important, many have been online for a short time.
Confidentiality
Most sites practice the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure and ask for customer information before opening an account. This is a guarantee of seriousness. This procedure avoids the laundering of dirty money. We have excluded sites that agree to sell crypto-currencies to any stranger.
Fees
From an investment perspective, the fees charged for each cryptocurrency transaction are an important criterion to be taken into account. Some sites are not transparent and do not clearly indicate their pricing policy. Others change it often. These fees also depend on the method of payment used for the purchase: by credit card, the fees are around 4%, by transfer around 1 to 1.5%.
Payment methods
According to the sites, payment means offered are more or less numerous. It is possible to buy cryptocurrency by credit card, by transfer, prepaid neosurf card, by money order, by paypal, by cash .... Purchases of cryptocurrency by credit card are usually almost instantaneous while those made by transfer can take several days to take place. As for the purchases by species, it is necessary to present oneself physically to a shop such as the Bitcoin shop located in Paris.
The number of crypto-currencies proposed
Some sites offer the purchase of only one currency, usually Bitcoin. Others extend their offer to Litecoin and Ethereum.
The nationality
The French sites have of course an interface in French and some offer a hotline in French in case of problems. Other sites are of American, Austrian, Canadian and Swiss origin and require the command of the English language to open an account.
Shopping sites can be classified into 4 categories:
Brokerage sites: an intermediary takes care of finding you a seller if you are a buyer and a buyer in the opposite case. Some brokers buy crypto-currencies for their own account and resell it.
Purchase platforms in fiat currency: these are sites that allow exchange of fiat currency (traditional currencies, decreed by the State) against crypto-currencies
Cryptocurrency trading platforms. These platforms allow to exchange cryptocurrencies between them. Some cryptocurrencies can only be purchased on these sites and therefore require the possession of another cryptocurrency.
Decentralized platforms like Localbitcoin that works like Leboncoin.
Top 5 Brokerage Sites
The following 5 sites (BTC Direct, Coinbase, Coinhouse, Coinmama and Paymium) were selected and ranked according to the following criteria:
Selection criteria
The reputation.
Many shopping sites have turned out to be cyber-scams. To avoid them, we looked at the date of creation (plus a site is old, plus it proved its worth) and generated traffic. site older mean more proven it is and the more trustworthy it is. However, in this area, the age of the sites is not important, many have been online for a short time.
Confidentiality
Most sites practice the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure and ask for customer information before opening an account. This is a guarantee of seriousness. This procedure avoids the laundering of dirty money. We have excluded sites that agree to sell crypto-currencies to any stranger.
Fees
From an investment perspective, the fees charged for each cryptocurrency transaction are an important criterion to be taken into account. Some sites are not transparent and do not clearly indicate their pricing policy. Others change it often. These fees also depend on the method of payment used for the purchase: by credit card, the fees are around 4%, by transfer around 1 to 1.5%.
Payment methods
According to the sites, payment means offered are more or less numerous. It is possible to buy cryptocurrency by credit card, by transfer, prepaid neosurf card, by money order, by paypal, by cash .... Purchases of cryptocurrency by credit card are usually almost instantaneous while those made by transfer can take several days to take place. As for the purchases by species, it is necessary to present oneself physically to a shop such as the Bitcoin shop located in Paris.
The number of crypto-currencies proposed
Some sites offer the purchase of only one currency, usually Bitcoin. Others extend their offer to Litecoin and Ethereum.
The nationality
The French sites have of course an interface in French and some offer a hotline in French in case of problems. Other sites are of American, Austrian, Canadian and Swiss origin and require the command of the English language to open an account.
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