Digax Exchange (2019)
- Ease of Use
- Beginner Friendly
- Payment Options
- Speed
- Fees
Summary
Digax is a UK-based (London) exchange platform which allows you to buy and sell bitcoin (BTC). You can transfer GBP to Digax’s platform via the UK Faster Payments Scheme (FPS).
As of February 2019, Digax’s exchange is in beta and has little volume on the GBP/BTC market.
Fees are competitive (0.2% for makers and takers), but you’ll need to pay £5 to deposit and withdraw GBP (which isn’t competitive with Coinbase Pro).
Digax.com is a UK-based digital asset company established in 2017. Alongside other services they’re currently developing, you can use their exchange to buy and sell bitcoin (BTC) with GBP (via UK bank transfers).
But who are Digax? Can you trust them? Do they offer competitive rates?
Find out in this Digax Review.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- UK-based (London).
- Supports deposits & withdrawals via UK Faster Payments.
- Competitive fees (<1% if you deposit more than £1000).
Disadvantages
- Alternatives with lower fees and more liquidity available.
- You’ll have to verify your identity (KYC & AML compliant).
- No Trustpilot presence yet.
- Low volume on GBP/BTC pairing.
What is Digax?
Digax is a UK limited company (based in London) which was established in June 2017. The listed directors (and co-founders) are Benjamin Morley (cryptocurrency investor, trader, and broker) and Elliot Whiting (economics graduate and operations manager). Find out more about them here.
Digax’s exchange is their first product (currently in beta). This allows you to buy and sell bitcoin (and other supported cryptocurrencies) through a typical trading interface.
When I spoke to Benjamin Morley (CEO), he told me that their mission “was not to reinvent the wheel, but improve on it” by offering superior service, reliability, transparency, efficiency, and compliance.
Digax is a member of the Multichain Asset Managers Association (MAMA) and an associate member of UK Finance.
In addition to their exchange, Digax is also developing Digax Invest. This is a pre-alpha service which is using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to make investing “more efficient, transparent, and reliable”.
At first, this’ll be similar to Crowdcube or Seedrs.
Small companies will be able to raise money through Digax Invest by issuing tokens to investors which represent shares in their companies. Investors will then be able to trade these tokens peer-to-peer (P2P).
Benjamin Morley (CEO) told me that they have “…considered a lot of different aspects whilst planning [Digax Invest], including liabilities, contract law, ethics, company law, regulation…”.
This is still pre-alpha, but I’m looking forward to finding out more about this.
How’s Digax Exchange Work?
Digax’s exchange works just like other cryptocurrency exchanges (e.g., Coinbase Pro).
Here’s what it looks like.
The UI includes the order entry panel, order book information, trade history, open orders, and a candlestick chart. I think the interface looks pretty good.
Here’s how it would work:
- Example: You’re looking to buy BTC with GBP.
- Submit a buy or sell order using the order entry panel on the left side of the interface. You can setup a limit or market order.
- If you submit a market buy order, you’ll input into the order entry panel how much (in £) you’d like to buy. When you submit a market buy order, you’ll immediately buy at the best available price.
- If you submit a limit buy order, you’ll need to specify a price (in £) which the order will be executed at. Limit orders aren’t guaranteed to execute.
Registration
Initial registration takes less than a minute.
After that, you’ll need to confirm your email address, setup 2-factor authentication, and verify your identity (to comply with KYC and AML regulations).
You’ll need to verify your identity using Yoti. Once setup, you can use this smartphone app to easily and quickly prove your identity. This app does request a creepy-level of information and access.
After you’ve setup Yoti, just scan the QR code provided by Digax in the Yoti app and grant them permission to access this information.
It took about 15 minutes to get to this point. Digax then fully confirmed my account about an hour later (on a weekend).
Payment Methods
As of February 2019, Digax supports UK bank transfers via the UK Faster Payments network.
This means that deposits by UK residents from the vast majority of banks will be processed within seconds. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait up to 60 minutes for Digax to process GBP deposits and withdrawals (during working hours).
Supported Cryptocurrencies
Current
Digax currently supports these cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
Digax currently only supports BTC/GBP and BTC/LTC pairs.
Future
The current cryptocurrencies under review (i.e., not currently listed) include:
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Cryptocurrencies under review aren’t guaranteed to be listed on Digax, as they have to undergo a “rigorous review process”.
Fees
Deposit & Withdrawal
Here’s what you’ll be charged to deposit and withdraw GBP, Bitcoin (BTC), and Litecoin (LTC) on Digax.
| Deposit Fee | Withdrawal Fee | |
|---|---|---|
| GBP (via Faster Payments) | £5.00 | £5.00 |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Free | 0.1% + 0.0005 BTC |
| Litecoin (LTC) | Free | 0.1% + 0.01 LTC |
The percentage-based withdrawal fees for BTC and LTC suck, but they don’t add that much to the cost of using Digax (an extra £1 per £1000 worth of BTC withdrawn). Still, that’s not something you’ll see on Coinbase Pro or London Block Exchange (LBX).
Trading Fees
Trading fees on their exchange start at 0.2% for makers and takers. If you’re a high-volume trader, then you’ll be eligible for lower fees. Find out more here.
Limits
The minimum deposit and withdrawal for GBP is £25.00
| GBP | BTC | LTC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £25.00 | None | None |
| Minimum Withdrawal | £25.00 | None | None |
| Default Deposit Limit | £2500 | None | None |
| Default Withdrawal Limit | None | None | None |
If you want to increase your limits, you’ll need to file a support ticket.
Supported Countries
Digax currently supports the following countries:
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Slovakia
Customer Support
Their support team is available from 09:00 to 17:00 GMT Monday to Friday.
They’re only available through support tickets and email (support@digax.com) right now. In the future, Benjamin said they’d like to add phone support.
Digax Alternatives
The closest alternatives to Digax’s Exchange are Coinbase Pro and London Block Exchange (LBX).
They’re both cryptocurrency exchanges which:
- Offer competitive rates.
- Offer GBP deposits/withdrawals via UK Faster Payments network.
- Have decent volume.
You can find out more about them in my other reviews:
Summary
Like XCH4NGE, I’m excited to see how Digax’s platform evolves.
Digax’s exchange doesn’t have any volume on the GBP/BTC market right. GBP Faster Payments support has only just introduced though, so I imagine this will improve over time.
GBP deposit and withdrawal fees also seem a little high (£5). From what Benjamin Morley has said in the /r/BitcoinUK discord, they are looking to (eventually) get them reduced.
Looking to buy bitcoin (BTC)? Check out some of my other reviews:
Useful Links
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