Solidi.co
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Ease of Use
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Beginner Friendly
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Payment Options
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Speed
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Fees
Summary
Solidi is a UK-based service (established 2015) that allows you to buy Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP) with UK bank transfers at competitive rates (usually between 1 and 2% above mid-market rate).
As Solidi’s process is entirely automated, you can expect access to your cryptocurrency (in their web wallet) immediately after the payment clears (which is usually just a couple of minutes after you make the payment).
What is Solidi? How does this platform work? Can you trust them?
To clear up these questions (and more), check out this Solidi review to learn more about it.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- UK-based (Cambridge).
- 4.8-star Trustpilot rating (100+ reviews)
- Fully registered as a cryptoasset business by the FCA.
- Quoted prices are usually about 1 – 2% above the real BTC to GBP exchange rate.
- FREE Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals (when you make a £500 or more BTC purchase).
- Supports regular purchases with a simple standing order (daily, weekly, monthly).
- Can buy £30 worth of cryptocurrency per week with no identity or address verification.
Disadvantages
- Doesn’t support many cryptocurrencies (just Bitcoin & 3 others).
- The web interface is functioinal, but it’s not modern.
- Alternatives with lower fees are available in the UK.
What Is Solidi?
Solidi is a UK limited company which is based in Cambridge and was established in 2015. The sole listed director is Jamie McNaught. In August 2021, it announced that it was fully registered as a cryptoasset business with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Solidi’s aim is to “make buying, selling, spending and holding digital currencies as easy as using cash while retaining all the benefits of an unforgeable digital token.” They’ve currently got a 4.8-star Trustpilot rating (100+ reviews).
Solidi were previously members of ‘Accelerate Cambridge’ (run by the University of Cambridge) which aims to accelerate the growth of start-ups with advice, mentoring, and resources. They have also previously worked with the FCA (third cohort of its regulatory sandbox).
Why doesn’t Solidi have more Trustpilot reviews?
Solidi doesn’t prompt users for Trustpilot reviews once they’ve completed a purchase or sale. Without a prompt, most people won’t think about leaving a review.
The Trustpilot reviews which Solidi do have are from people who’ve gone out of their way to review them.
How Does Solidi Work?
Solidi is a cryptocurrency broker, which means that you’re directly buying from (or selling to) them.
You can access Solidi via a web browser, but there’s not a dedicated mobile app.
You’ll need to go through Solidi’s verification process before you buy more than £30 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) or other supported cryptocurrencies per week.
Background: Solidi used to work differently
Solidi used to work much like Bittylicious (where you weren’t buying or selling directly with Solidi). Instead, it matched customers (either buyers or sellers) with brokers who have registered and verified themselves with Solidi.
As an everyday customer, this meant that you didn’t need to worry about vetting the broker yourself (as you might do when using alternatives like Localbitcoins or Paxful). That all happened behind the scenes too. You also didn’t need to provide your ID to anyone other than Solidi.
It’s now more akin to CoinJar, Coinbase, or Gemini.
This means you are buying or selling directly with Solidi. They’re no longer connecting you with third-party brokers.
In an announcement on its blog, Solidi noted that this was because of “changing customer buying preferences and increased regulation”.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
Solidi currently allows you to buy, sell, and securely store:
Payment Methods
Only UK bank transfers are supported.
You’ll need to make sure that your bank supports Faster Payments (FPS).
Most high street banks do, but you can check here.
What banks are NOT supported by Solidi?
You can deposit GBP from most UK bank accounts in the UK.
The only bank that’s NOT currently supported by Solidi is Moneese (as apparently they don’t tansmit payer information correctly).
Limits
Without submitting any documents, you can purchase £30 worth of cryptocurrency every month. To increase that to £6,000 per month, you’ll need to provide proof of identity and address. Verification shouldn’t usually take too long.
| Tier | Limit | Verification Required |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Starter | £30 every week | Name, Address, & Date of Birth |
| (2) Intermediate | £6,000 per month | Proof of Identity & Proof of Address |
| (3) Pro | £100,000 per month | Advanced Identity Check |
If you want to increase your limits beyond £6,000 per month, then you’ll need to contact Solidi.
For more details, check out this page.
Fees
From what I’ve observed, Solidi’s Bitcoin (BTC) prices tend to be between 1 – 2% above the actual BTC to GBP exchange rate.
While this is competitive with a few alternatives (e.g., LocalBitcoins and Paxful), it’s not the lowest-cost option that I’ve looked at in the UK.
For instance, both CoinJar and Bottlepay charge a fixed fee of 1% when buying Bitcoin (BTC) using funds deposited with a UK bank transfer.
You can also use a popular cryptocurrency exchange like Kraken (max 0.26%) to minimise the fees you’re paying.
How do I calculate the % markup?
- Go to Coindesk’s price calculator. Click ‘USD’ and change that to the GBP/EUR. Copy that value (1).
- On Solidi (or elsewhere), copy the quoted price (2).
- Plug numbers (1) and (2) into something like this. It’ll tell you the % difference.
Fast & Convenient
Buying Bitcoin (BTC) from Solidi with a UK bank transfer is quick and easy.
The whole process took about 5 minutes for me. When I tested it out, they confirmed the payment in less than 1 minute.
Once the payment was confirmed, the Bitcoin (BTC) was instantly credited to my Solidi wallet. You can then immediately transfer it to an external Bitcoin (BTC) wallet. If you make a purchase of more than £500 worth of Bitcoin (BTC), this withdrawal will be FREE.
If you want Bitcoin (BTC) ASAP, then Solidi is a solid choice (sorry, couldn’t help myself).
Expand the section below to see what the buying process looks like.
What’s the buying process?
Enlarge any screenshot by clicking on it.
- Login and select ‘Buy’ at the top of the page.
- You’ll see a screen that looks like shown below. It’ll also show you the BTC to GBP exchange rate (useful when comparing prices).
- Enter how much you’d like to buy (in GBP or BTC) and select “Buy Now”.
- You’ll see something like this. Send GBP to the account details you’re provided (within 30 minutes).
- Once you’ve transferred the money, click “I have paid” at the bottom.
- While Solidi checks for your payment, you’ll see something like this.
- Once Solidi has confirmed the payment, you’ll see a page like this. The Bitcoin (BTC) will now be in your Solidi wallet!
Wallet
When you buy Bitcoin (BTC) on Solidi, your purchases are initially deposited into a wallet hosted by them (on their website).
100% of the cryptocurrencies in these wallets is held offline in cold storage.
In an email conversation with Jamie, he noted that:
“[Our cold storage wallet] is something our customer greatly value. It enables new users to get up and running instantly without needing to worry about storing their own coins.”
If you buy more than £500 of Bitcoin (BTC) on Solidi, you’ll be able to make a withdrawal to an external wallet for FREE. This means you can send a transaction that enters the next block (which usually clears in less than 1 hour).
Even when Bitcoin’s (BTC) network fees have been higher than usual, Solidi has continued to allow free withdrawals from their wallet. Regardless of how much you buy, many alternative cryptocurrency brokers and exchanges will usually pass along these costs to you.
But what about if you’re not intending to buy more than £500 worth of Bitcoin (BTC)?
With Solidi, you can specify a ‘Low Cost’ withdrawal. This takes a while to be processed but means that you don’t have to pay exorbitant fees.
Two more things:
- If you are intending to leave funds in Solidi’s wallet, make sure you enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
- If you’d like to withdraw to an external wallet (but don’t have one already), then check out my roundup post about the best hardware wallets.
Alternatives
Solidi’s closest competitor is something like CoinBurp.
CoinBurp is a UK-based cryptocurrency broker that allows you to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and five other cryptocurrencies.
It charges no explicit fees when buying cryptocurrencies, but the prices you’re quoted will be above the real exchange rate. When I checked this recently, prices were around 1.5% above the exchange rate you’d see on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
The one giant edge that CoinBurp has though?
It has a much better interface (and a mobile app). This just makes the whole buying experience better.
Check out my CoinBurp review to learn more about them.
The Bottom Line
Here’s what I like about Solidi:
- You can buy up to £30 per week without providing proof of identity or address. You can’t do this in many other places.
- They’re a UK-based company that’s been around since 2015 and is registered with the FCA as a cryptoasset business.
- The prices you’re quoted on Solidi will vary day-to-day, but tend to be between 1 and 2%.
However: The cryptocurrency market has changed a lot since I first reviewed Solidi in 2018. It’s a lot more competitive.
There are alternatives out there that charge lower fees and have modern, beginner-friendly interfaces.
For instance: CoinJar supports more than 50 cryptocurrencies. You can deposit GBP with a UK bank transfer (via Faster Payments), and then you’ll be charged a fee of 1% to buy a supported cryptocurrency. It also supports debit card purchases (2% fee) and has a great mobile app.
Check out Solidi’s website to learn more.
Share Your Thoughts
Thanks for reading this Solidi review!
Have a question? Or want to share your experience?
Let us know in the comments section below!