London Block Exchange (LBX)
- Ease of Use
- Beginner Friendly
- Payment Options
- Speed
- Fees
Summary
London Block Exchange (LBX) is a UK-based service (established 2017) which supports bitcoin (BTC) and 12 other popular cryptocurrencies. Their rates are competitive (<1% above real BTC to GBP exchange rate), but quicker and cheaper alternatives are available to UK residents.
The notice currently being shown on LBX’s website.
London Block Exchange (LBX) was a UK-based company which allowed you to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and 12 other cryptocurrencies with GBP.
But how did London Block Exchange (LBX) work? Did they offer competitive rates? I’ll cover this and more in this London Block Exchange (LBX) review.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- UK-based (London Office).
- Bitcoin (BTC) & 12 other cryptocurrencies were available (full list).
- Accepted OTC orders over £100k.
- Competitive fees (about 1% above real BTC to GBP exchange rate).
Disadvantages
- Verification was required.
- Alternatives with lower fees available.
- High GBP withdrawal fees (2.45% for standard members)
What Is London Block Exchange (LBX)?
London Block Exchange (LBX) was founded in September 2017 by CEO Benjamin Dives. They received £2m in funding to kickstart this project.
This means you don’t have to faff around with wire transfers or SEPA. With London Block Exchange (LBX), you could just deposit funds with a simple GBP bank transfer. They utilised the Faster Payments Service (FPS) too, but regular users didn’t seem to get the full benefit.
Their mission was to: “open the doors for everyone to partake in the new and emerging economy”.
Echoing this, CEO Benjamin Dives had previously said that they’re “creating a service where all steps of the cryptocurrency investment journey are seamless and straightforward”.
According to their CEO, London Block Exchange (LBX) is “incredibly popular among UK crypto-enthusiasts”. I was never able to find any stats to back this claim up though.
How Did London Block Exchange (LBX) Work?
Although it’s called London Block Exchange, it didn’t seem like an exchange service. I asked for clarification on this when I originally wrote this review but never received any.
Cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase Pro or Kraken are online platforms which match buyers and sellers. They typically allow you to set market orders (where you just buy at the current best price) and limit orders (where you set a specific buy/sell price).
Instead, London Block Exchange (LBX) appear to be acting like a broker. There’s a set buy/sell price and trades execute immediately.
You’ll also have to conduct all your trades through their iOS or Android app. The desktop app is coming soon. Not a fan of buying/selling through mobile apps, so that’s good to hear.
Getting started on London Block Exchange (LBX) is a bit strange.
I went to lbx.com/register and provided some basic information (name, email address, how much I’m intending to buy).
I thought the process would continue, but it didn’t. It throws you out while they decide whether to approve your application. I imagine they’re doing this to ensure that their platform isn’t overwhelmed by new users. It would be nice if they explained their reasoning though.
About 24 hours later, my application was approved.
But instead of setting a password during the initial registration, it’ll prompt you to install the mobile app and select ‘Forgotten Password’. This isn’t just strange, but annoying too.
Along the way, you’ll have to submit proof of identity and address.
- Login to LBX’s app.
- Select ‘Deposit’.
- Select ‘Bank Transfer’
- Input the amount you’re intending to deposit.
- You’ll have different deposit limits depending on your account level. As a new user, you could deposit up to £1000 per day.
- Select ‘Get Transfer Details’
- This page shows LBX’s bank details, the amount you’re depositing, and the reference number.
- Send a bank transfer to LBX. Take care to enter these correctly.
- Sent the payment? Select ‘I Made The Transfer’
- You’ll see this confirmation page.
- Deposits can take up to 2 days to credit to your LBX balance. You’ll receive an email notification when it does. It took about 24 hours for my deposit to be credited.
This is the process for buying Bitcoin (BTC) with GBP, but the process is the same for other cryptocurrencies.
- Login to LBX’s app.
- Select ‘Trade’ at the bottom.
- Enter the amount of GBP you’d like to spend.
- It’ll quote you how much (of the cryptocurrencies available to trade) that you’d get for that amount.
- Happy with the quote? Select ‘Trade’.
- You’ll see a confirmation page like this.
- If you’re happy with all the details, select ‘Complete Transaction’.
- If you take too long, you’ll have to refresh the offer. If you’re purchasing your maximum balance, this can cause errors. This is because the price of what you’re buying has gone UP while you were checking the details. It’s a bit awkward.
- You’ll now see a summary of this transaction.
- This page will tell you if the trade was successful or unsuccessful.
- For specific details, select ‘Go to Transactions’
- You’ll now see the transactions page.
- This has specific details of the transaction you just made.
- Select ‘Portfolio’ in the bottom left.
- You’ll be back where you started.
- You’ll see that your account balance has changed to reflect the trade.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
London Block Exchange (LBX) supported the following cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- OmiseGo (OMG)
- Golem (GNT)
- 0x (ZRX)
- Basic Attention Token (BAT)
- Status (SNT)
- Nano (NANO)
- Dadi (DADI)
London Block Exchange (LBX) were looking to add additional cryptocurrencies as the marketplace developed.
Payment Methods
London Block Exchange (LBX) utilised the Faster Payments Service (FPS) through an on-shore UK bank account.
With the FPS, electronic sterling payments should arrive in the destination account on the same day that they’re sent. In my experience, GBP sent through the FPS usually arrives within a couple of minutes. Most UK banks participate in the scheme.
When I tested London Block Exchange (LBX), my deposit wasn’t credited until the next working day. That’s a little disappointing (as it negates the value of the FPS). GBP withdrawals look like they take about 24 hours too.
Fees
Deposits of GBP and cryptocurrency are free, but free users will pay 2.45% when withdrawing GBP. Ouch!
| GBP | Cryptocurrency | |
|---|---|---|
| Deposits | Free (0%) | Free (0%) |
| Withdrawals | 2.45% (free users) 0.95% (premium users) | Variable (avg. network transaction fee) |
Trading fees are 0.5%, with a minimum buy/sell value of £25.
When I tested their buying process, I found that I was charged about 2.7% above the real BTC to GBP exchange rate.
Subtracting the 0.5% trading fee, my £30 was transformed into £29.12 (a 3% reduction).
However…when I re-checked their rates later, they were much lower – about 0.5% above the real BTC to GBP exchange rate.
Accounting for the 0.5% trading fee, you’re be paying approximately 1% above the real BTC to GBP exchange rate. That’s competitive with some of the cheapest ways to buy Bitcoin (BTC) in the UK.
If you want to buy or sell more than £100k, then reach out to their OTC desk.
I’ve been told that:
- Their OTC prices are extremely close to the market rate (i.e. Bitcoin Price Index).
- Their OTC fees are less than 0.5% (i.e. the larger the trade, the lower the fees).
- When selling cryptocurrency for GBP, money was usually credited within 1 working day. For large trades (£250k+), it takes a little longer (2-3 working days).
- The process is much easier than Coinfloor or Coinbase, with little wasted time or slippage.
Limits
Everyone starts with level 1 limits.
These limits are quite low (£1000/day & £20,000/month), but good enough to purchase a little bit here and there.
You can increase your limits by contacting support.
Memberships
You’ll start off with a standard membership. This lets you deposit, withdraw, and execute trades.
If you pay £10/month, you can upgrade to a premium account. These are the additional benefits of it:
- Early access to Daily Market Reports.
- Invitations to exclusive LBX-Live events.
- Cheaper withdrawal fees (0.95% instead of 2.45%).
They also have corporate memberships, where they provide dedicated account managers and access to the over-the-counter desk.
Alternatives
Solidi and Bittylicious are two reputable alternatives.
There are numerous great alternatives to London Block Exchange (LBX) in the UK.
Check out this post for an overview.
Here are three great options which I’ve reviewed.
With any of these options, you can buy bitcoin easily and quickly with GBP through with a UK bank transfer.
Summary
At first, I was a bit underwhelmed by London Block Exchange (LBX).
Why?
- Despite supporting GBP deposits through the UK Faster Payments Scheme (FPS), my deposit wasn’t processed till the next working day.
- Apparently, GBP withdrawals take 24 hours to process too.
- GBP withdrawal fees are 2.45%.
Their Bitcoin (BTC) rates were competitive though. Including their 0.5% trading fee, it was about 1% above the real BTC to GBP exchange rate.
This makes London Block Exchange (LBX) an excellent way to buy Bitcoin (BTC) (+12 other cryptocurrencies) in the UK.
But because of their GBP withdrawal fees, London Block Exchange (LBX) is a terrible way to sell Bitcoin (BTC) in the UK. There are numerous alternatives which are cheaper and more convenient.
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