Bitpanda Review
Summary
What stands out about Bitpanda is that it allows you to buy, sell, and hold a range of things – including cryptocurrencies, crypto indices, stocks, ETFs, precious metals, and commodities.
But one downside is that Bitpanda is only available in a few places (UK, EU, and some select others). I also couldn’t access many of its features as a UK resident.
Bitpanda is a European-based investment platform that lets traders buy and sell crypto, precious metals, stocks, and ETFs.
But is Bitpanda a good choice for UK investors? How do its fees and features stack up to the competition?
In this Bitpanda review, I’ll investigate what the company has to offer. I’ll go through everything from the firm’s onboarding process to its many features so you can decide if it’s the right trading platform for your needs.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- Supports crypto, stocks, ETFs, and precious metals trades.
- Offers an advanced exchange with customizable charts and low fees (0.25% or less).
- Option to earn rewards and discounts when you hold BEST tokens.
- EU-regulated cryptoasset firm with positive Trustpilot reviews (4.1-star, 8000+ reviews).
- Lets you directly swap any two supported assets (e.g., BTC for gold).
Disadvantages
- Complicated fees and limits system.
- Many features are not available in the UK or when using British Pounds (GBP).
- Lacks transparency about some features and fees.
What is Bitpanda?
Bitpanda is an Austria-based crypto trading and investing platform. It was founded in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Christian Trummer, and Paul Klanschek, and it primarily serves investors in Europe.
Although Bitpanda is mostly designed for crypto trading, the firm now lets clients buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and precious metals. Bitpanda also offers a slew of additional features so that you can make the most of your crypto.
Bitpanda is a leading European crypto exchange. The company is registered with the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) as a financial services provider.
It is even registered with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and it is compliant with AML5, a European anti-money laundering law. Additionally, Bitpanda hasn’t had a successful hacking attempt since its founding in 2014.
However, Bitpanda is not registered with the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) in the UK. Since the company isn’t based in the UK, it may not be required to register with the FCA, but this is something for UK-based investors to consider before creating an account.
Bitpanda is a highly regulated crypto investing platform, but is it trustworthy?
Bitpanda currently has a 4.1-star rating on Trustpilot (8000+ reviews), which is high by cryptoasset firm standards. Plus, around 77% of reviewers give the company 5-stars.
Most of Bitpanda’s positive reviews mention that the platform is easy to use. Many reviewers also appreciate the different assets available on Bitpanda as well as the company’s quality customer support team.
Among investors who are unhappy with Bitpanda, the most common complaints have to do with the company’s sometimes tedious account verification process. Others mention that Bitpanda occasionally blocks or freezes accounts with little warning.
Does this mean that Bitpanda is untrustworthy?
Not really. Cryptoasset firms that comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations usually require identity verification. It’s unfortunate that Bitpanda’s verification process can be slow, but most people probably won’t have any issues.
AML-compliant firms also tend to freeze accounts whenever they detect, or are notified of, potential money laundering. When this happens, you often need to submit proof of funds documents for review. This is annoying and frustrating, but it’s common practice in many places. And a common complaint when it impacts someone.
Creating a Bitpanda account requires completing identity verification before you can deposit funds or start trading.
To create a Bitpanda account, do the following:
- Go to the Bitpanda website or mobile app (iOS and Android available).
- Click ‘Get Started’.
- Enter your email address, password name, and country of citizenship.
- Set up 2-factor authentication with an authenticator app.
- Verify your account by providing a phone number and government-issued identity document.
- Complete video verification to prove your identity.
- Make a verification deposit of between €25 and €2,500 via bank transfer to access all Bitpanda features.
Most accounts are verified within a few minutes.
However, it can take a few days to approve your account if manual verification is required. You also won’t be able to transfer additional funds to your account or withdraw funds until your verification deposit is complete.
Main Features
Instantly Buy Crypto
Bitpanda’s primary feature is its streamlined crypto purchasing terminal. This basic trading platform lets you instantly buy and sell supported cryptocurrencies for as little as €1 with the push of a button.
All trades placed on Bitpanda’s Instant Buy platform are processed as market orders. Once you place a trade, your funds should be instantly available in your Bitpanda wallet.
With Bitpanda Swap, you can also trade any two supported assets for each other. This means you could swap Bitcoin (BTC) directly for Apple stock (APPL) without the need to sell BTC for Euro (EUR) first. (This is identical to Uphold’s “Anything to Anything” feature.)
Bitpanda Pro Exchange
For more experienced investors, Bitpanda offers an advanced trading terminal called Bitpanda Pro that supports market, limit, and stop limit orders. Additionally, Bitpanda Pro gives you access to more advanced charting tools and lower trading fees.
However, trading pairs on Bitpanda Pro are limited, especially if you want to trade using British Pounds (GBP). Most trading pairs on the platform are crypto-to-Euro, so you’ll either need to deposit Euro (EUR) or convert to EUR from another supported cryptocurrency on Bitpanda Pro.
Crypto Index Trading
In addition to regular spot crypto investing, Bitpanda lets traders invest in crypto indexes. These crypto indexes offer exposure to the world’s leading cryptocurrencies without the need to buy individual coins.
Keep in mind that these indexes are not available or tradable off of the Bitpanda platform.
Stocks & ETFs Trading
Although Bitpanda is primarily a crypto trading platform, the company also lets you buy and sell stocks and ETFs for as little as €1.
The stocks and ETFs on Bitpanda are primarily US-listed securities, but they’re priced in Euro (EUR). You’re also able to trade stocks and ETFs at any time, even when the US stock markets are closed.
Precious Metals Trading
Bitpanda also supports precious metals trading. You can buy and sell gold, silver, palladium, and platinum 24/7 on the platform for as little as €1.
Each gram of metal that you buy on Bitpanda is backed by metal that’s stored in a Brinks vault in Switzerland. There are custody costs associated with this service, so check out the fees section of this article for more information.
Bitpanda Card
The Bitpanda Card is currently only available in countries in the EEA that have adopted EUR as their currency.
This is a Visa debit card that’s linked to your Bitpanda wallet. This card lets you spend any of the cryptocurrencies, precious metals, or Euro (EUR) in your account. The only fees to use the card are foreign transaction and ATM withdrawal fees.
In addition to a physical card, the Bitpanda card is available as a virtual card for Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
You can also earn crypto rewards when you pay with your card if you’re a BEST rewards VIP user.
Bitpanda Pay
Bitpanda Pay offers a simple way to send Euro (EUR) from your account to any EU bank. That way, you can use your Bitpanda Euro balance to pay your bills or to send money to friends and family.
You can send between €10 and €10,000 per transaction with Bitpanda Pay. Technically, there’s also a 0.95% fee for Bitpanda Pay, but the company is waiving the fee for now.
Bitpanda Savings
To help you build your portfolio, Bitpanda has a recurring purchase feature called Bitpanda Savings. With Bitpanda Savings, you can establish repeat purchases of any supported asset on the platform using a credit card or SEPA Direct Debit.
Bitpanda lets you set up as many recurring purchases (called “savings plans”) as you’d like. You can also cancel your purchases at any time.here’s no additional fee to set up a recurring buy.
Other Features
For investors that want higher limits than are normally available on Bitpanda, the company offers a programme called Bitpanda Plus. To qualify for Bitpanda Plus, you need to meet certain requirements, such as having a high annual salary.
If you qualify for the programme, you can get access to benefits such as:
- Support from Bitpanda Plus Key Account Managers
- Increased deposit and withdrawal limits
- Exclusive discounts and reduced trading fees
Note that you have to contact Bitpanda’s customer support directly to apply for Bitpanda Plus.
BEST Rewards is a rewards programme that’s based on the Bitpanda Ecosystem Token (BEST). To participate in the rewards programme, you need to buy and hold BEST in your Bitpanda account. In return, you can earn a small amount of monthly interest on your holdings, plus bonuses for high monthly trading volumes.
Additionally, holders of large quantities of BEST can qualify as BEST VIPs. Each BEST VIP rewards tier comes with unique benefits as well as discounts on transaction fees.
One of Bitpanda’s more unique features is Bitpanda To Go. This feature lets investors buy crypto on Bitpanda using cash by visiting any of more than 1,700 partner retailers in Austria. You simply need to go to an eligible location, buy a Bitpanda To Go voucher using cash, and then redeem the voucher in your wallet for crypto.
Sadly, this is only something you can do in Austria. It also charges a 2.99% fee, which is higher than many other transactions on the platform. But, it’s one of the few available options to buy crypto using cash from a major broker or exchange.
Supported Countries
Bitpanda only supports investors who reside in a select number of countries, including the UK, EU and EEA, Switzerland, and UAE.
Check out the full list of supported countries for more information.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
Bitpanda currently supports more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Some of the most popular coins and tokens on Bitpanda include:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Stellar Lumens (XLM)
- Texos (XTZ)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Chainlink (LINK)
However, there are some coins and tokens that you can only buy on Bitpanda – not sell. For example, you can buy Shiba Inu (SHIB) on Bitpanda but you need to transfer your tokens to a different exchange in order to sell them.
See the firm’s list of supported cryptocurrencies for more information.
Payment Methods
Investors with Bitpanda can use multiple payment methods for funding their accounts depending on their chosen fiat currency.
Fiat payment methods include:
| British Pound (GBP) | Euro (EUR) | Swiss Franc (CHF) | US Dollars (USD) | Turkish Lira (TRY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Transfer Credit card Debit card Skrill Neteller Rapid Transfer | SEPA transfer Credit card Debit card Skrill Neteller SOFORT Bitpanda to Go EPS GiroPay | SEPA transfer Credit card Debit card Skrill Neteller SOFORT | Credit card Debit card Skrill | EFT/Havale |
Bitpanda Fees
Bitpanda has a complex fee structure that varies based on what you’re trading and how you trade it.
Bitpanda Instant Buy Fees
All crypto purchases made through Bitpanda’s instant buy platform (e.g., the normal Bitpanda trading terminal) are charged a 1.49% fee.
Bitpanda Pro Exchange Fees
The Bitpanda Pro exchange uses a maker-taker fee schedule based on your 30-day trading volume, which is as follows:
| 30-Day Trading Volume | Maker Fee | Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|
| < €1,000 | 0.25% | 0.25% |
| < €100,000 | 0.15% | 0.25% |
| < €500,000 | 0.10% | 0.20% |
| < €1,000,000 | 0.06% | 0.12% |
| < €5,000,000 | 0.05% | 0.10% |
| < €10,000,000 | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| < €25,000,000 | 0.01% | 0.04% |
| < €100,000,000 | 0.00% | 0.03% |
| < €250,000,000 | 0.00% | 0.03% |
| < €500,000,000 | 0.00% | 0.02% |
| > €500,000,000 | 0.00% | 0.01% |
You can also get discounts on your Bitpanda Pro fees by holding BEST tokens in your account and using them for fee payments.
Precious Metals Fees
Trading precious metals on Bitpanda incurs both a trading fee and a storage fee. The fees are:
| Gold | Silver | Platinum | Palladium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buying Fee | 0.50% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.2% |
| Selling Fee | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1.8% |
| Storage Fee (Paid Weekly) | 20g or less: Free 20g or more: 0.0125% | 200g or less: Free 200g or more: 0.025% | 20g or less: Free 20g or more: 0.025% | 20g or less: Free 20g or more: 0.025% |
Bitpanda Alternatives
The closest alternative to Bitpanda is Uphold.
Uphold is a US-based trading platform that’s available in more than 180+ countries. Like Bitpanda, Uphold lets you trade cryptocurrencies and precious metals. Uphold also bills itself as an “anything to anything” platform, so you can swap your Bitcoin (BTC) for any other supported cryptocurrency you want.
When compared to Bitpanda, Uphold provides more functionality for UK-based investors. For example, it provides free bank transfers via FPS for UK investors and lower crypto instant buy fees.
You can find out more in my Uphold review.
If you’re solely interested in trading crypto, check out CoinJar instead.
CoinJar is an Australian-based crypto broker and exchange that’s fully registered with the FCA as a cryptoasset firm. They only allow UK and Australian investors, but they have a great selection of supported cryptocurrencies, competitive fees on crypto trades, and free deposits and withdrawals from UK banks.
You can find out more about them in my CoinJar review.
The Bottom Line
Bitpanda is a unique trading platform that offers a lot to love for investors in Europe. Highlights of Bitpanda include:
- Lots of Supported Assets: In addition to 100+ cryptocurrencies, Bitpanda lets you trade precious metals, commodities, and stocks.
- EU-Regulated Cryptoasset Firm: Bitpanda is regulated by authorities in multiple EU countries and it’s compliant with AML5 requirements.
- Convenient Swapping Tools: Bitpanda lets you swap any two supported assets for each other (e.g., BTC for silver) without the need to first convert to a fiat currency.
However, there are a few aspects of Bitpanda that didn’t quite impress.
In particular, the company has a confusing system of account fees and limits. Many Bitpanda features also aren’t available in the UK or when you use British Pounds (GBP). It also lacks transparency about some of its fees and features, which can be frustrating as an investor.
But I’ll let you be the judge. Check out the Bitpanda website to learn more!
Bitpanda WebsiteAny Questions?
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