Bittylicious Review
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Beginner Friendly
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Payment Options
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Speed
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Fees
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Functionality
Summary
Bittylicious is easy to use, convenient, and usually has reasonable Bitcoin (BTC) rates (2-3% above the mid-market rate). They’re well established and well-recommended across the crypto-community too.
However, alternatives with better rates are available – especially if you’re looking to buy Bitcoin (BTC) with a credit or debit card in the UK.
Bittylicious is a well-known cryptocurrency broker which has been a familiar name in the UK crypto space since 2013.
But what is Bittylicious? Who are the people behind it? How does it work? Are they legit?
In this Bittylicious review, I’ll start with an overview of the pros and cons then move onto how it works, payment methods, and fees.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- Fast and convenient to get started (usually less than 1 hour).
- Based in the Isle of Man.
- 4.8* Trustpilot Review (over 1200 reviews).
- Competitive markup (usually 2-3%) for Bitcoin (BTC).
Disadvantages
- Only Bitcoin (BTC) & 6 other cryptocurrencies available (see below for list).
- Low liquidity for some cryptocurrencies.
- Some payment methods have quite high fees.
- Alternatives with lower fees available.
What is Bittylicious?
Bittylicious is a cryptocurrency platform that’s been around since 2013. They were previously registered in the UK, but they moved their offices over to the Isle of Man at the start of 2021. The listed directors are Nicole Gera and Marc Warne.
They have a 4.8-star Trustpilot rating, with more than 1200 reviews. This makes them the highest rated company in the ‘Cryptocurrency Service’ category on Trustpilot.
On top of this, you’ll find them frequently recommended across the UK crypto-community.
Their mission is to: “make the bitcoin buying experience as easy as possible”.
Bittylicious reported in 2017/2018 that they had:
- 67,000 new users register on their website.
- Verified 150,000 pieces of documentation.
- Facilitated 220,000 unique trades.
- More than £99 million had traded hands.
How Does Bittylicious Work?
When you buy or sell any supported cryptocurrency on Bittylicious, you’re not buying or selling to them.
Bittylicious acts like a marketplace that connects everyday people (looking to buy or sell cryptocurrency) with registered brokers (who will sell to, or buy from, these customers). While alternatives like Localbitcoins allow you to complete a trade with anyone in a truly P2P manner, you’re restricted to trading with registered brokers on Bittylicious.
Bittylicious matches trades, but you’re not sending any funds to them. Instead, you’ll deal directly with a broker who Bittylicious have verified.
Not just anyone can become a broker on Bittylicious though, as it requires an application process to establish legitimacy. This is all handled by Bittylicious. As an everyday customer, this means you don’t have to worry about vetting the broker yourself or handing over your ID to multiple different people.
Even though you’re dealing directly with a registered broker, Bittylicious do hold the cryptocurrency in escrow when you’re buying cryptocurrency via their website. Once the broker confirms that they’ve received the payment, this is released to your chosen wallet.
How To Use Bittylicious
The interface isn’t fancy. However, I think it’s simple, intuitive, and easy-to-use.
Your purchase is usually confirmed in less than 5 minutes, with Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies credited to your wallet in less than 1 hour.
As Bittylicious doesn’t host online wallets, you’ll need to already have a Bitcoin (BTC) wallet setup to buy Bitcoin (BTC) through their website. If you don’t have one already, then check out my list of the best hardware wallets that are available.
Expand the section below to see what the buying process looks like on Bittylicious.
Once you’ve registered and verified yourself, buying Bitcoin (BTC) goes something like this:
- Go to the Bittylicious homepage and login to your account.
- Input your Bitcoin (BTC) address.
- Select the payment type you want to use.
- Input how much Bitcoin (BTC) you’d like to buy. As you do this, the ‘total cost’ shown at the bottom will change. Refresh the total cost (press the green icon) and select ‘Get some coins’ when you’re happy.
- A new screen pops up with payment information. Use all that information to make the bank transfer. It’s VERY important that you check that the reference is correct, otherwise your purchase will be delayed.
- Once you’ve made the payment, select ‘Click here only when you have sent payment’.
- You’ll be sent to a new page. You’ll then need to wait for Bittylicious to verify that the funds have landed in the broker’s account. My experience is that this takes less than 2-3minutes (but it can take longer).
- Shortly after, you’ll receive a transaction ID so that you can track the transfer to your Bitcoin address. This could take up to 1hour (but usually less).
Supported Countries
In addition to the UK (GBP), Bittylicious supports:
- European Union (EUR)
- Worldwide (Credit/debit card purchases can be made in EUR, GBP, or USD)
Supported Cryptocurrencies
You can currently purchase 7 cryptocurrencies on Bittylicious:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Dash (DASH)
- DigiByte (DGB)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Groestlcoin (GRS)
- Litecoin (LTC)
Bittylicious has recently removed support for a few cryptocurrencies. This includes:
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Feathercoin (FTC)
- Stratis (STRAT)
- Vertcoin (VTC)
Here’s what they tweeted regarding the removal of Bitcoin Cash (BCH):
Payment Methods
The following payment options are available:
- UK Bank Transfer (Faster Payments)
- SEPA Bank Transfer
- Credit & Debit Card
You’ll get the best rates when buying with a UK bank transfer. You’ll need to make sure that your bank:
- Supports Faster Payments (most high street banks do).
- Correctly sends the account name and reference (here’s a list of banks you can’t use).
Buying Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies with a credit or debit card tends to be more expensive. You’ll typically be charged rates (and/or incur hidden fees) which means you’ll paying 4%+ in fees. That’s completely unnecessary.
If this is the payment method you’re dead-set on using, then check out my post about buying Bitcoin (BTC) with a debit card in the UK for a look at some of the cheapest options in the UK.
It seems that Bittylicious has recently removed support for a few payment methods in the UK. This includes:
- PAYM
- Barclays PingIt
- RBS/Natwest PYC
If you want to use these payment methods, then check out Localbitcoins or Paxful.
Limits
You’ll need to verify your identity before you can buy more than approx. £50 worth of cryptocurrency.
Verifying your identity requires you to provide a mobile phone number, proof of name, and proof of address. The more documents you submit for verification, the higher your limits will be. I’m fully verified and can purchase a maximum of 2.6 BTC at once.
You’ll be forced to upload identification after you’ve bought about £900 (or €1000) worth of cryptocurrency on Bittylicious (in line with KYC regulations).
Fees
As a buyer, you’re not charged an explicit fee to use Bittylicious.
However, you will be quoted prices above the actual market rate for Bitcoin (BTC). The brokers that are using Bittylicious set the rates that are shown, with the cheapest offer provided to you.
Bittylicious’ brokers tend to be competitive. Although the markup charged varies depending on market volatility, it usually hovers between 2-3% above the mid-market rate for Bitcoin (BTC).
For other cryptocurrencies available to buy on their platform, the markup is likely going to be a little higher.
When I checked:
- Ethereum (ETH) had a 2.4% markup.
- Litecoin (LTC) had a 2.9% markup.
- Dogecoin (DOGE) had a 2.7% markup.
Bittylicious always chooses the network fee which is recommended by the Bitcoin Core wallet.
This means it’ll usually get in the next block or two. Unfortunately, this does mean that their Bitcoin (BTC) prices can be less competitive when the average network fees are high (as they’ll be added to the exchange rate you’re quoted).
However, this isn’t the case for some alternatives like Localbitcoins, where your purchases are deposited into a web wallet instead. With these alternatives, you’ll get stung by these network fees when you eventually decide to withdraw from this web wallet.
Network fees do sometimes spike a little, so this is something you should keep in mind when conducting price comparisons.
- Go to Coinbase Pro (you don’t need to signup/login) and look for the ‘Last trade price’ at the top of the page. Copy that (1).
- On Bittylicious (or elsewhere), copy the quoted price (2).
- Plug numbers (1) and (2) into something like this. It’ll tell you the % difference.
Bittylicious Alternatives
Bittylicious’ closest competitor is Solidi.
Solidi are based in Cambridge UK, accept UK bank transfers, and have similar advertised prices. They operate slightly differently than they used to, but it’s still a comparable user experience.
Three main differences:
- Purchases on Solidi are initially deposited into their online wallet.
- Solidi allow you to buy and sell fewer cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Chainlink, Litecoin, and Ripple).
- From my observations, Solidi seems to consistently offer better cryptocurrency rates than Bittylicious.
Check out my Solidi review to learn more about them.
Summary
If you’re looking to buy Bitcoin (BTC) as quickly as possible, then it’s worth considering Bittylicious.
With Bittylicious, you can usually buy Bitcoin (BTC) and have it in your private wallet in less than 1 hour. You could use Bittylicious to purchase any of the other cryptocurrencies they support directly with GBP too.
Although you can use other methods to get better Bitcoin (BTC) rates, Bittylicious is a simple, quick, and reputable option.
If you haven’t already, give them a shot and decide for yourself.
Thanks for Reading!
Thanks for checking out this Bittylicious review!
Have a question you want to ask?
Leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you ASAP!
Not looking to buy. Wish to sell all or part of BTC holdings (held in a physical wallet). Is it worth trying a small amount to check the process?
At what stage do personal passwords come into play – completely ignorant of this process.
Thanks
Thanks for commenting, Colin!
If you’ve never used it before, then there’s nothing wrong with giving it a trial run on Bittylicious with a smaller amount! Sending BTC also doesn’t cost that much right now either (less than £1).
With Bittylicious, you’ll need to set up an account and verify your identity before you can buy or sell anything. You might need to complete further verification if you’re buying or selling large chunks.
Keep in mind that there are alternatives out there where you can sell BTC at a better price (i.e., closer to the exchange rate, and/or with lower fees). But on the flip side, platforms like Bittylicious have much better customer service than some of its low-cost alternatives – which can be better if you’re making large buy/sells.