Bitcoin broker fee

Bitcoin trading on etoro can be done through etoro's own cryptocurrency exchange (etorox), or through cfds.

Top forex bonus list

How to Buy Bitcoin UK: A Beginner’s Guide, bitcoin broker fee.

As of 2018, etorox is also available in the united states. Investors in the united kingdom on the etoro platform can buy and short-sell bitcoin with a leverage ratio of 2:1. On top of that etoro offers trading on 94 other cryptocurrencies if you choose to buy crypto through cfds. Founded in 2006, etoro is regulated by top tier regulators such as the financial conduct authority (FCA) in the united kingdom, cysec in europe, and ASIC in australia. Etoro stands out among other exchanges and bitcoin brokers by allowing you to buy and hold digital coins 'physically' or to trade cfds, meaning you speculate on bitcoin price movement without owning the currency.

How to buy bitcoin UK: A beginner’s guide

There are number of online platforms and methods to buy bitcoin in the UK and figuring out where to get started can be daunting. In this beginner’s guide, we explain the ins and outs of how you can buy bitcoin in the UK, as well as the best platforms for doing so. We also explain some the factors that you need to look out for prior to parting with your money – such as regulation, fees, spreads, and withdrawals.

Our recommended UK platform

Don’t have time to read through our guide and simply want to buy bitcoin right now?

If so, we would suggest the broker listed below. Our top-rated platform is regulated by the UK’s FCA, so your funds are safe at all times. You can also deposit funds with heaps of everyday payment methods, and you won’t pay any fees other than the spread.

Etoro: best UK platform for 2020

Buy physical bitcoins or trade bitcoin cfds

Copy trading available

Cysec, FCA and ASIC regulated

Bitcoin in the UK

Consumer demand in the UK for bitcoin took off in late 2017 when the cryptocurrency went on a parabolic run to $20,000. This amounts to an all-time high of around £16,000. To put this into perspective, bitcoin was worth less than 1p back in 2009. Those that were fortunate enough to jump on the band-waggon early are now looking at unprecedented profits.

In terms of availability, the UK is home to a number of popular cryptocurrency brokers. Moreover, a number of regulated CFD brokers now offer markets on bitcoin – including heavyweight firms like plus500, etoro, CMC markets, IG, and even city index. Some brokers even offer a dedicated bitcoin market against the pound sterling.

This is unusual, as the vast majority of the industry is marked-up against the US dollar. Outside of the traditional brokerage space, there are also a number of bitcoin atms scattered around the UK. This allows you to insert cash into the machine, and in return, bitcoin will be transferred to your digital wallet.

What is the best way to buy bitcoin in the UK?

There are heaps of way to invest in bitcoin – such as a bitcoin ATM or peer-to-peer exchange. With that said, the easiest way to get your hands on cryptocurrencies as a first-time buyer is to use an online broker.

The process works largely the same regardless of which platform you sign up with. You’ll need to open an account, deposit some funds, and then specify how much you wish to buy. After that, most brokers allow you to withdraw your newly purchased bitcoin out to a private wallet.

This operates much like a bank account, albeit, you retain full control over your private keys. When it comes to payments, most UK brokers allow you to fund your account with an everyday payment method. This includes the likes of a debit card, credit card, or an e-wallet such as paypal or skrill.

You can also deposit funds via a local UK bank transfer. Finally – and perhaps most importantly, UK brokers must hold a regulatory license. As noted above, this will usually be with the UK’s FCA. As such, client funds will be held in segregated bank accounts. This means that were the broker to collapse, your funds should be protected.

Where to buy bitcoin in the UK

Etoro is our top pick from the best trading platforms to buy bitcoin with a debit card in the united kingdom for several reasons. Firstly, etoro is the largest social trading platform in the world with more than 4.5 million users from more than 140 countries. Then, this broker offers a wide range of assets including stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, indices, etfs, and currency pairs. But after all, the greatest advantage you can see in our etoro review, is when you compare it to other platforms, is that investors can interact with other members and use the copytrade feature that enables users to copy trades of other successful traders.

Bitcoin trading on etoro can be done through etoro's own cryptocurrency exchange (etorox), or through cfds. As of 2018, etorox is also available in the united states. Investors in the united kingdom on the etoro platform can buy and short-sell bitcoin with a leverage ratio of 2:1. On top of that etoro offers trading on 94 other cryptocurrencies if you choose to buy crypto through cfds.

Founded in 2006, etoro is regulated by top tier regulators such as the financial conduct authority (FCA) in the united kingdom, cysec in europe, and ASIC in australia. Etoro stands out among other exchanges and bitcoin brokers by allowing you to buy and hold digital coins 'physically' or to trade cfds, meaning you speculate on bitcoin price movement without owning the currency.

Assets: cryptocurrencies (cfds and exchange), stocks, forex, etfs, commodities, and indices.

Demo account: yes

Educational material: daily blog & podcast, and video tutorials

Fees: BTC/USD spread - 0.75%, no deposit fee, $5 withdrawal fee, $5 inactivity fee.

Minimum deposit: $200

Special features: social trading platform, copytrade, copyportfolios. Etoro offers its own cryptocurrency exchange and a digital wallet.

Regulation: FCA, cysec, ASIC, mifid

Payment methods: credit/debit card, paypal, sofort, rapid transfer, skrill, wire transfer, neteller, webmoney, unionpay

Best bitcoin brokers – learn 2 trade full 2021 guide!

Bitcoin brokers, looking to join the cryptocurrency revolution by buying some bitcoin of your own? If so, the easiest and most-effective way of doing this is through a bitcoin broker.

In a nutshell, the best bitcoin brokers allow you to quickly open an account, deposit funds with a debit or credit card – and then buy as much or as little bitcoin as you like.

With that said, there are hundreds of platforms active in the market, so knowing which broker to sign up with is no easy feat. As such, we would suggest reading our guide on the best bitcoin brokers.

Not only do we unravel our top 5 bitcoin broker picks of 2021, but we also explain why opting for bitcoin cfds is the safest, cheapest, and most convenient way of making an investment.

Table of content

Etoro - buy and invest in assets commissions-free

Buy over 800 stocks, cryptocurrencies, and etfs without paying any commissions

Trade thousands of cfds

Deposit funds with a debit/credit card, e-wallet, or bank account and paypal

Perfect for newbie traders

What are bitcoin brokers?

A bitcoin broker is simply an online trading platform that allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Much like a traditional online stockbroker, the process requires you to open an account, deposit funds, and then decide how much bitcoin you wish to buy. Brokers typically allow you to use everyday payment methods like a debit/credit card, bank account, or e-wallet, which makes the buying process super-easy.

In return, bitcoin brokers will charge you a fee. This can come in a range of shapes and sizes, so your costs will depend on the broker that you use. For example, while popular bitcoin brokers like coinbase charge fees to deposit funds and make a purchase – platforms like crypto rocket and etoro do not. As such, you need to understand the broker’s fee structure prior to taking the plunge.

With that being said – there are two types of bitcoin brokers active in the online space – so the one that you opt for will depend on your long-term investment goals. Crucially, this will either be a broker that requires you to store your bitcoin in a private wallet, or a broker that facilitates your investment via a regulated CFD.

Types of bitcoin brokers

It’s super-important for you to understand how your choice of broker can have a major say on the make-up of your bitcoin purchase, so we explain this in more detail in the sections below.

✔️ buying ‘actual’ bitcoin

Bitcoin is a decentralized currency – meaning that it is not controlled by any single person or authority. As such, those holding bitcoin in a private wallet are 100% responsible for keeping it safe. In other words, if your bitcoin wallet was hacked – or you transferred funds to an invalid address, your bitcoin would be lost forever.

Unlike a traditional investment, you would not be able to pick up the telephone and ask the broker to investigate the loss. On the contrary, this is the risk of buying ‘actual’ bitcoin, as you need to ensure that you keep it safe at all times.

Now, this isn’t necessarily an issuer per-say if you know how cryptocurrency wallets work. However, if you’re a complete newbie entering the bitcoin space for the first time, the thoughts of having to store your own coins is nothing short of petrifying – especially if large amounts of capital are involved.

Nevertheless, if you do want to own ‘actual’ bitcoin, the broker in question will facilitate your order via an everyday payment method. Once the coins have been purchased, you will then need to withdraw them to a private wallet. Some platforms allow you to store the coins within the broker’s ‘web wallet’ – albeit, this is extremely risky.

✔️ buying bitcoin cfds

So that leaves us with option 2 – buying bitcoin cfds. For those unaware, a CFD (contract-for-difference) is a financial instrument that allows you to invest in an asset without you taking ownership. Instead, you are simply speculating on whether the price of the asset will go up or down.

Not only does this include assets like bitcoin, but literally any financial instrument that is traded in the traditional markets. Think along the lines of gold, oil, stocks, indices, gas, wheat, and etfs. On the one hand, buying a bitcoin CFD will mean that you do not actually own the underlying asset.

However, does that really matter? Essentially, if you are looking to buy bitcoin because you think its value will increase in the future, then cfds can facilitate this. For example, if you buy a bitcoin CFD when it is valued at $6,000 – and sell it two years later at a price of $10,000 – you still make the very same profit that you would have done by owning ‘actual’ bitcoin’.

In fact, the benefits of using bitcoin brokers that specialize in cfds are four-fold – as we explain below.

1. Fees are much lower

One of the most popular bitcoin brokers in the online space is that of coinbase. The overarching reason for this is that the platform makes it super-easy to buy bitcoin with an everyday debit or credit card. However, coinbase charges handsomely for its services.

For example, you need to pay 3.99% to deposit with a debit/credit card, and then a further 1.5% every time you buy or sell bitcoin. These fees are huge in comparison to bitcoin brokers that specialize in cfds.

In fact, most of the bitcoin brokers that we recommend on this page not only allow you to deposit funds for free – but you can trade bitcoin without paying any commissions.

2. CFD brokers are heavily regulated

Much of the wider cryptocurrency broker space operates in an unregulated manner. This is mainly due to the fact that very few countries have yet to install crypto-specific legislation – meaning that platforms are able to trade without holding a license.

On the contrary, the CFD broker space is heavily regulated – which means that your funds remain safe at all times. For example, all of the top-rated bitcoin brokers listed on this page hold a tier-one regulatory license. This includes bodies such as the UK’s FCA, australia’s ASIC, or cyprus’s cysec.

3. Storage and selling is seamless

As we briefly noted earlier, buying ‘actual’ bitocin is a logistical nightmare. For example, you are required to withdraw the coins out of your chosen broker, and then keep them safe in a private wallet. When it comes to offloading your bitcoin investment, you then need to transfer the coins back into an online broker, and exchange them for cash. This is a highly cumbersome process that is fraught with risk.

With that said, by using a bitcoin broker that specializes in cfds, you do not need to worry about storage at all. This is because cfds merely track the underlying asset – meaning the financial instrument does not exist. As such, there is no fear of your bitcoin being lost or stolen!

Furthermore, this also makes it a breeze when it comes to cashing your investment out. As your bitcoin is stored at the broker via a CFD instrument, you simply need to place a sell order to exit your trade. As soon as you do, you can then withdraw the funds back to your debit/credit card, bank account, or e-wallet.

4. Ability to apply leverage and short-sell

Unlike a conventional bitcoin broker, those offering cryptocurrencies in the form of cfds allow you to apply leverage. For those unaware, this means that you will have the option of trading more than you have in your account.

In the UK, for example, investors are able to apply leverage of up to 2x when trading bitcoin, meaning that a £500 investment would allow you to buy £1,000 worth. In other regions, you can trade well up to 100x – meaning a £500 balance would allow you to trade with £50,000!

Similarly, CFD brokers hosting cryptocurrencies also allow you to short-sell bitcoin. This means that you can make gains in the event bitcoin goes down in value.

Payments at bitcoin brokers

So now that you know the two types of bitcoin brokers currently active in the market, we are now going to discuss payments. After all, you will be buying bitcoin with real-world money – so you need to think about how you intend getting funds in and out of the broker.

Payment methods

Most bitcoin brokers allow you to deposit and withdraw funds with a range of payment methods. This might include:

Debit cards

Credit cards

Local bank transfer

International bank wire

Paypal

Skrill

Neteller

Western union

It’s best to check whether or not your preferred payment method is supported prior to opening an account with the broker.

Deposit/withdrawl fees

In some cases, bitcoin brokers will charge you a fee to deposit and/or withdraw funds. As we discussed earlier, the likes of coinbase charge a whopping 3.99% on debit/credit card deposits.

This means that a £1,000 deposit would cost you £39.99 in fees. At the other end of the spectrum, the likes of etoro charge nothing on deposits, and a mere $5 on withdrawals.

Bitcoin broker fees

Bitcoin brokers are in the business of making money, so you need to have a firm grasp of the platform’s fee structure. This can include:

Trading commissions

This is a commission charged by the broker every time you place a trade. This includes a fee when you buy bitcoin, as well as when you sell it. If a trading commission is charged, then you will pay a percentage of the amount you wish to buy.

For example, let’s say that the broker charges a fee of 1.5%, and you wish to buy £2,000 worth of bitcoin. This would translate to an initial fee of £30. However, when it comes to selling your bitcoin you will also need to pay a commission.

For example, let’s say that your £2,000 bitcoin investment is now worth £3,000. This means that you will pay 1.5% on the current market value of £3,000 – which equates to £45. As noted earlier, most of the bitcoin brokers that we recommend on this page charge no trading commissions at all.

Spreads

All bitcoin brokers will charge a spread. Much like the traditional investment space, this is the difference between the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ price of the asset.

For example, let’s say that bitcoin has a ‘buy’ price of $6,000, and a ‘sell’ price of $6,060. By calculating the difference between the two prices, we get a spread of 1%. This means that you need your bitcoin investment to increase by at least 1% just to break even.

There is often a trade-off between the spreads and commissions charged by bitcoin brokers, so you need to check this before signing up. For example, while a broker might not charge any commissions, you might find that its spreads are somewhat uncompetitive.

How do bitcoin brokers work?

Still confused how the investment process works at a bitcoin broker? If so, you’ll find a simple step-by-step guide outlined below. This unravels the end-to-end process of opening an account, depositing funds, buying bitcoin, and crucially – cashing out your investment.

Step 1: find a bitcoin broker

To get the ball rolling, you’ll need to find a bitcoin broker that meets your needs. If you like the sound of investing in bitcoin via cfds, you’ll find our top-five picks listed towards the bottom of this page.

If you want to own ‘actual’ bitcoin, it might be worth using etoro. This is because the platform is regulated, it accepts heaps of payment methods, and ultimately – you don’t need to withdraw your coins out.

Etoro - buy and invest in assets commissions-free

Bitcoin investing: compare accounts for buying & selling bitcoin

Use our comparison table of bitcoin accounts to compare costs and the different ways to buy and sell bitcoin. Please note: investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is very high risk and not regulated by the FCA. There is a very high chance you may lose all your money.

How to choose an account for investing in bitcoin

Here are three tips and things to consider when deciding which provider to buy bitcoin through:

Look for a regulated provider who also offers bitcoin

Even though bitcoin is an unregulated digital currency, many providers that offer bitcoin investing are regulated by the FCA for other things such as stocks, bonds, bank accounts and trading. By choosing a bitcoin account that is attached to a regulated entity, you will be dealing with a provider who is responsible for treating clients fairly (although not directly for cryptocurrency investing).

Compare the costs of investing in bitcoin

The costs of investing in bitcoin can vary dramatically. The key things to consider are:

Bitcoin commission- some bitcoin accounts will charge a fee when you buy and sell bitcoin on their platform.

Bitcoin currency exchange fees- if you are buying bitcoin against the USD (BTCUSD) but depositing GBP into your bitcoin wallet, there will be a fee for converting the GBP into USD. It is possible with some exchanges to buy bitcoin against GBP where you do not need to convert fiat currencies.

Bitcoin price spread- this is the difference between the buy and sell prices. As with investing in stocks, there is always a spread between where people are prepared to buy and people are prepared to sell. The bitcoin spread varies, depending on how active the market is (liquidity) and how much the price is moving (volatility), as well as which bitcoin platform you are investing through.

Understand the risks involved in investing in bitcoin

Before you start investing in bitcoin, decide if you should be investing in bitcoin. The major risks of investing in bitcoin are:

Sudden price moves- the price of bitcoin can drop and rise quickly and for no apparent reason.

High investment costs- compared to investing in stocks, it is still expensive to buy and sell bitcoin.

Bitcoin scams- there are lots of scammers using fake bitcoin ads to scam potential bitcoin investors, so always research bitcoin accounts before investing.

How do you invest in bitcoin?

The world's most famous crypto-currency is an obvious target for investors and traders due to its history of rapid gains and falls in value. This volatility makes it both very risky and potentially very lucrative as an investment.

How to get started investing in bitcoin

If you are buying bitcoins, then you will require a bitcoin address. This is a code to which the bitcoins that you buy will be allocated. You can acquire an address by downloading a bitcoin client to your computer or setting up an online wallet.

What to avoid when you start investing in bitcoin

When using cfds or placing spread bets, it is possible to lose more than your initial stake. This will be amplified if you use leverage. Don't risk more money than you can afford to lose when you take a position. Placing stop loss orders, which automatically close down your position when bitcoin hits a particular value, are an essential way to limit the risk that you face.

What to look for when choosing an account to buy bitcoin in

The various bitcoin exchanges and CFD/spread-betting companies have different fee structures for their services. Make sure that you're not being overcharged and that the trading platform on offer is to your liking. As with any investment, the more you know about factors that will impact the price of bitcoin, the more likely you are to profit.

To invest in bitcoin, you need a bitcoin wallet or account. You can compare bitcoin accounts with our bitcoin account comparison table.

Bitcoin FAQ:

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions people ask before they invest in bitcoin:

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency. It was launched in 2009, can be mined, bought and sold against many fiat currencies, and is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.

How much is bitcoin worth?

The price of bitcoin moves all the time and is priced most commonly against the USD. See our bitcoin price chart for the current price.

How does bitcoin work?

Bitcoin works as a digital currency where a record of all transactions are kept on the block chain. Each bitcoin is stored in a digital wallet where it can be spent or sent.

How to get bitcoins

There are two ways to get bitcoin. You can either mine them or buy them through a bitcoin exchange platform.

Is bitcoin safe?

This is undermined yet and the safety of bitcoin is one of the major risks of investing in bitcoin.

Is bitcoin regulated by the FCA?

No, bitcoin is not regulated by the FCA. However, there are FCA-regulated providers that also offer options for buying and selling bitcoin.

Are bitcoin adverts real?

From peter jones to PSY, new scam adverts advertising get-rich-quick bitcoin schemes are flooding the internet. Despite a global ban from google on non-regulated brokers advertising derivatives products, they are still getting through. Amazingly, you see them in the header of the dailymail and other mainstream media websites. Martin lewis, the money-saving-guru from money saving expert, recently sued facebook because they failed to stop scammers using his image in scam ads for get-rich-quick bitcoin schemes. Martin lewis settled with facebook for a £3m charitable donation in the end.

Is bitcoin a scam?

If you see an advert for bitcoin investing, it may well be a scam as google and facebook have banned cryptocurrency advertising. If it looks like a scam, it's a scam. And always check the FCA register for any broker you deal with.

Keep in mind too though that the scammers make clone websites of real brokerages to scam you. So, double and triple-check any broker before sending money. A quick google search can save you from becoming a victim.

How to make money with bitcoin

It is possible to make money investing in bitcoin in the same respect that it is possible to make money investing in high-risk stocks. If you buy low, sell high, you will make money. But unlike investing in stocks where a company generates revenue and profits, bitcoin has no underlying value so it is also possible to lose money very quickly by investing in bitcoin.

Where to buy bitcoin

For more information on where to buy bitcoin, read our guide to choosing a bitcoin account.

Is bitcoin legal?

How to use bitcoin

Bitcoin is becoming more usable every day. Some online merchants accept it as payment and recently, paypal announced that it would accept bitcoin as a payment source.

Is bitcoin a good investment?

Whether or not bitcoin is a good investment is relative to your investment objectives. It is a very high-risk investment.

How to sell bitcoin

When you choose a bitcoin account, make sure there is also the option to sell the bitcoin on it as well.

Where can you get bitcoin investing ideas?

Never believe anyone who says they can make you rich or adopt trading as a career if you are a complete beginner. However, if you do want trading ideas, you can find news and analysis on bitcoin here:

Bloomberg

Reuters

Tradingview provides excellent crypto charts and lots of users post trading ideas.

ABOUT

The good money guide is a london based guide to trading and investment accounts for clients based in the UK, europe, asia, south africa and australia. For more information on how this site makes money please find out more about us.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The material does not contain (and should not be construed as containing) investment advice or an investment recommendation, or, an offer of or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument.

RISK WARNING

ALL INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. Investing, derivatives, spread betting and CFD trading carry a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit. They may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.
ESMA & FCA risk warning – “cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 68-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds. You should consider whether you understand how cfds work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Capital at risk”

Contact us

Phone: 0203 865 4698
address: 4 old park lane, london, england, W1K 1QW
send A message
press & media

Best cryptocurrency brokers for 2021

Daniel ‘harris’ major

I have tested 40+ crypto brokers. You can find the best cryptocurrency brokers below. This is by far the easiest way to get started with cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency trading has become really popular in the past years. It’s growing more ever year.

Many big trading brokers have already added some of these cryptocurrencies. Everybody can sign up and start trading bitcoin or other crypto coins. This is the easiest and probably the simplest way to invest in cryptocurrency.

After trying out most brokers, here are the best cryptocurrency brokers:

Best cryptocurrency brokers (non-US traders only)

Plus500 – top rated trading platform

Plus500 is a big name in the trading industry. They have a really low minimum deposit requirement and a great trading site.

Buy/sell cfds on bitcoin in addition to buying stocks, commodities, forex etc (traded only through cfds). Plus500 is the most complete trading platform.

Trade cfds on bitcoin & many other cryptos

Minimum deposit is only $100

Regulated and trusted platform

Very fast signup process

Live chat

Many payment methods (even paypal)

You cannot withdraw any cryptocurrency

You have to complete a questionnaire, upon sign up

Plus500 disclaimer: 76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

IQ option – lowest minimum deposit ($10)

If you don’t want to make a huge initial investment, then IQ option is the best broker for you. The minimum deposit requirement is only $10. This is by far the lowest in the industry.

You can trade many cryptocurrencies

Minimum deposit is only $10

Best trading platform

Multiple account currencies

Free demo account

Regulated by CYSEC (#247/14)

Etoro – top crypto broker

Etoro is a really popular trading site. They have been around since 2006. Etoro is regulated by CYSEC, FCA and ASIC.

Buy/sell bitcoin on etoro in addition to buying stocks, commodities, forex etc. Etoro is the most complete trading platform.

Trade bitcoin & many other cryptos

Minimum deposit is $200

Regulated and trusted platform

Australian traders are also accepted

Great support team

Many payment methods (even paypal)

You cannot withdraw any cryptocurrency

You have to complete a questionnaire, upon sign up

Etoro disclaimer: 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Highlow – best all-round crypto broker

Due to regulation highlow stopped accepting traders from the EU and UK.

Highlow is an australian trading broker (AFSL no.364264). What I like most about this broker is the intuitive platform. It is so easy to use. Especially new traders will like the clean layout.

I’ve been using highlow for a few years now and I never had a problem. Highlow publishes their number of trades on the homepage. There are millions of trades on this broker each month.

I use the main platform which is web based. This means, that you don’t have to download any software. This platform is stable and safe (they use SSL).

I have also tried the ios app and the android app. They are great, but I just don’t like trading on smartphones in general.

The payouts on highlow are amazing (up to 200%, which is more than on other brokers).

Highlow is a great broker for cryptocurrencies (but only if you are not from EU,UK, US). They have a good reputation, great support team and awesome promotions for new traders.

Trade bitcoin & other cryptos

Minimum deposit is only $50

Regulated and trusted platform

Fastest signup process (no questionnaires)

Multiple account currencies

Free demo account (no registration needed)

Nadex – US traders welcome

Nadex is a CFTC regulated broker. In fact, this is probably the only US broker that has this regulation.

Only US traders are allowed on nadex. Non-US traders check out the next broker.

Update OCTOBER 2019: looks like nadex removed crypto trading. After contacting them I found out that they will add it back soon. Register on nadex now and get updated when they add it.

Recently, nadex started offering bitcoin trading.

Trade bitcoin, forex or binary options

Minimum deposit is $250

CFTC regulated broker

Great support team

Many payment methods (even paypal)

Crypto brokers with most cryptocurrencies

Here are the most popular cryptocurrencies offered by cryptocurrency brokers:

Etoro – bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, dash, ethereum classic, NEO and ripple.

Plus500 – bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, ripple, IOTA.

Avatrade – bitcoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, ripple, dash, bitcoin cash litecoin, monero and NEO.

Lowest minimum deposit brokers

These are the best brokers with low minimum deposit requirements:

Etoro – $200

Plus500 – $100

Avatrade – $100

This is really important because the crypto market itself is unregulated. Depositing on a regulated broker means that your money is safe.

We’ve also looked at the support team and the payment methods. You can deposit easily using multiple payment methods on the brokers below.

Top rated brokers that have cryptocurrencies

While we are all familiar with the broad definition of a broker, is there something more to it when it comes to cryptocurrencies?

Simply put, a cryptocurrency broker refers to a website that traders will visit to trade cryptocurrencies at a set price. In many ways, they are similar to forex brokers whose services are a lot more familiar to the general public.

Etoro disclaimer: 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

You still can’t decide which broker is best for you?

How to choose your cryptocurrency broker

Is leverage really necessary? Cryptocurrency markets are volatile in nature with prices fluctuating immensely thereby generating high profits even in the absence of leverage. But for some traders, the desire for more earnings justifies the use of leverage.

Before choosing your broker, settle yourself on whether the already immense profits that come from a cryptocurrency market are enough for you or you would like to use leverage to enhance them even further, bearing in mind, of course, that will also significantly increase the risk factor to your funds.

Negative balance protection: it is always advisable to trade with a broker that affords the negative balance protection facility. That way, you will never be at risk of losing more than what you invested in case you sustain very heavy losses.

How suitable is the required capital for you? This is another subjective part to your decision. Do you prefer trading with a small capital or bigger one to help you zero in on bigger returns? Find out what size trades your broker is offering before you open an account.

Narrow spreads for the win: let us be honest, it is only fair that your broker gets a cut from the money you generated having provided you with the essential facilities for it and all. But let us be honest, you definitely want every last dime for yourself.

A spread refers to the difference between the buying price and selling price of a trade and it varies with each broker. The spread is what counts as fees for your broker so the smaller it is, the lower the cost will be on your part.

Lets go into what aspects you as a trader must consider when choosing a broker to trade cryptocurrencies.

Which cryptocurrencies are you interested in trading?

Make sure you have decided on which cryptocurrencies you want to trade in before signing up with your broker.

If your choice is a prominent cryptocurrency like bitcoin (official site), litecoin (official site), or ethereum(official site), there will be a relatively broad availability of brokers that have trading options for those. However, less prevalent examples like monero, IOTA, or zcash may be a little harder to come by.

So study the cryptocurrencies being offered by a broker before you sign up for an account.

Pros and cons of cryptocurrency brokers

Here are some features that these broker have or don’t:
pros

Signup up with a crypto broker is probably the fastest way to get started with cryptocurrency trading

If you are less tech-savvy then a broker is safer for you

You can start buying cryptocurrency while traditional exchanges don’t always accept this payment method

Most of the time you can’t withdraw cryptocurrencies from a broker. You have to exchange it back to fiat money (USD/EUR etc.)

Cryptocurrency brokers – what to look for

Here are some of the more understated details about your cryptocurrency broker that could make your trading experiences so much more efficient and successful.

1. What are the weekend hours like?

This is a key detail that distinguishes cryptocurrencies from other prominent trading markets like forex, futures, and equity. Cryptocurrency brokers operate during the weekends as well.

There is virtually no difference in purchasing bitcoin at the end of the week as opposed to the middle of the week during peak hours.

But there is a catch. While digital currency exchanges are available during the weekend, your broker may not (why is the stock market closed on the weekend?). So in effect, if there is considerable movement within your relevant cryptocurrency market during a weekend when your broker is not operating, you may not have the ability to respond in any way.

2. How is it hedging?

Your broker is probably not keen on revealing if it is hedging cryptocurrency traders but it is important information for you to know.

Why is it so important for you to know?

Because, as a trader, you want to be absolutely in the clear regarding the policies for risk management being followed by your broker. Let us not forget that cryptocurrency markets are extremely volatile and an unhedged broker is more easily prone to major losses incurred by its clients. Naturally, those costs will warrant compensation via fatter spreads and additional costs for traders. It will be best to sign up with a broker that will not withhold the relevant information from you.

More great features you could be interested in

Commissions and trading on margin – an important thing to note while trading cryptocurrencies is that their prices tend to be more similar to equities than they are to real currencies. So your broker could be charging you commissions in addition to a wide spread on each trade. That, of course, raises the cost probably a bit much for your liking.

Another similarity with equities is that the margin conditions with cryptocurrencies are significantly more than they are with forex or cfds. Consequently, leverage is usually up to 10x. How considerable the margin rate will be for traders is down to what trading strategies and risk management they subscribe to.

Authenticity of market data – aside from merely evaluating how it influences spreads, market data for cryptocurrency CFD prices can be a good indicator of how the quality of the product will be in the future.

One of the more recent examples of this is BTC-e which was an immensely popular platform for trading bitcoin before it was shut down by feds. BTC-e was the first bitcoin exchange to incorporate forex trades and so made their exchange accessible via MT4 and supplied cryptocurrency liquidity for brokers.

But once it was shut down, every broker that depended squarely upon BTC-e was left with no hedging options or market data to put a price on its crypto cfds.

Are short sales available? For many traders, shorting is a crucial strategy option, the lack of which can be a deal breaker with a potential broker. Many brokers tend to offer ‘long’ only since there are only a few hedging solutions when opening short trades.

As you see, investing in cryptocurrencies can be a truly lucrative venture for you but only if you get it right.

And a lot of that is down to which broker you decide to trade with.

Ready to start trading?

Trade with the cryptocurrency brokers listed above to make sure that your money is safe, you pick a broker with a stellar reputation and you keep the fees low. Excel at trading bitcoin by creating your own trading strategy.

These cryptocurrency brokers make it really easy to trade bitcoin and other coins. You don’t have to be a trading expert. It helps if you know what a blockchain is or how the ledger and transactions work, but this is all optional.

Bitcoin broker fee

Top 10 best forex brokers accepting bitcoin 2021

Cryptocurrencies have been grown during recent years rapidly and more people are now using them either as a way of transactions or trading them. That’s why I decided to find the best top 10 forex brokers accepting bitcoin for deposit and withdrawal.

Although there are some forex brokers apply bitcoin as a way of transactions, most brokers in the industry haven’t adopted that yet.

You'll see in this article:

Why traders use bitcoin for deposit and withdrawal?

There are a few reasons that a trader may want to use bitcoin for deposit and withdrawal. Let’s take a look at them.

Bitcoin is the only available option

One of the reasons that traders might choose bitcoin in particular or any other cryptocurrencies in general as the way of transactions to their brokers is that they are living in a country that there are some limitations for forex trading.

For example, if you live in the US, there are some rules and regulations that prevent or limit you from using some features or strategies.

For instance, you can’t use more than 1:50 as leverage if you go with a broker that is under the watch of CFTC, the commodity futures trading commission.

That’s not a bad rule in general because prevents retail traders from losing their money, however, if you are a professional trader who is fully aware of money management, trading on leverage, and the risk involved in such a trading; low leverage can be a pain in the neck.

Since offshore brokers offer higher leverage, the traders seeking that kind of leverage are willing to pick them, however, they can’t deposit and withdraw using common methods such as credit cards or bank wires, and the only available option for them is cryptocurrencies.

That’s why they need forex brokers accepting bitcoin or other cryptos as payment options.

There are some other examples from other countries where forex is somehow illegal but the rules are gray and there isn’t a solid tax system so people tend to use cryptocurrencies.

Avoidance of document submission

Another reason is that some people don’t want to share their documents with forex brokers or they want to be anonymous.

Forex brokers have a good reason for asking documents such as proof of ID or proof of address because their regulatory bodies request such documents because of preventing money laundry or anti-terrorism purposes.

On the other hand, there might be reasonable arguments for traders reluctant to give such documents to brokers. One reason could be they don’t want their information to be exposed because of identity theft.

Although it might be the case when we are talking about new unregulated brokers, that barley happens in an unregulated broker that has been around for years and has a good reputation and almost impossible to happen in a well-regulated forex broker.

Another reason that some people don’t want to submit their documents is that they don’t have them. For instance, they can’t provide documents such as utility bills or bank statements which either of them is necessary for the proof of their address.

For whatever reason that you don’t want to or can’t provide the necessary documents for the verification of your account, you need to know all the regulated brokers ask for those documents and there isn’t a single one that does the opposite.

They ask you because the financial authorities that have regulated them request such documents so basically the brokers don’t have any other choices but to ask for the documents.

Even almost all unregulated forex brokers ask such documents, however, there are a few of them that don’t — one of the brokers in our top 10 is one of the few ones.

Transaction fee

The next reason that some people are willing to use bitcoin for deposits and withdrawals is that they want to pay less for their transactions.

As you know, payment options such as online payments, wire banks, or credit cards each charge a fee when you deposit or withdraw money.

Bitcoin is not an exception and when you deposit and withdraw, fees are charged. This is the explanation of blockchain about the fees that are charged:

However, there are some forex brokers that reimburse the fees of deposits and withdrawals. They do that as the bonus they provide to their clients — none in the table means that.

Best forex brokers accepting bitcoin for deposit and withdrawal

Here’s a list of top 10 forex brokers that accept bitcoin for deposit and withdrawal.

Hotforex

FXTM

FX choice

Justforex

Coinexx

Paxforex

IFC markets

Liteforex

Grand capital

Trader’s way

Cryptorocket

Eaglefx

It’s actually 12 brokers but for the sake of the title of this article, let’s called it top 10

Brokers	general info	regulation	platform	deposit fee&time / withdrawal fee&time	documents verification	banned countries

Min withdrawal: 0.003 BTC

Min withdrawal: 0.001 BTC

Min withdrawal: 0.002 BTC

Min withdrawal: 0.001 BTC

*POI stands for proof of identity such as ID cards, passport, driver’s license, and etc

**POA stands for proof of address such as utility bills, bank statements, and etc

The brokers that have no in their deposit/withdraw fees cover the fees as a bonus

Best online brokers for bitcoin trading

The best crypto exchanges for US bitcoin trading offer three essential benefits. The first, and most important, is robust security with two-factor authentication, cold storage, and integrated safe wallets. Second is a user-friendly website and platform. Third, they provide access to trading a variety of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.

In our assessment and ranking of cryptocurrency exchanges, we focused on traditional exchanges headquartered and regulated in the united states, as well as the incumbent online brokers in the US, which are expanding to offer bitcoin trading on top of regular stock trading (e.G. Buying shares of apple or google).

Best bitcoin trading platform

Tradestation - best trading platform

Coinbase - best crypto exchange

Etoro - low fees

Kraken - maker-taker fee schedule

Bittrex - most altcoins

Gemini - offers gemnini dollar

Robinhood - best mobile app

Here's a breakdown of some of the best online brokers for US crypto trading.

Best trading platform - open account
promo offer: commission-free trades on stocks, etfs & options trades

As a trading technology leader, tradestation supports casual traders through its web-based platform and active traders through its award-winning desktop platform, all with $0 stock and ETF trades. Tradestation crypto allows you to buy, sell, and trade bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash and XRP. Tradestation crypto caters to both institutional and recreational clients. Read full review

Best crypto exchange

Founded in june of 2012, coinbase is the largest US-based cryptocurrency exchange, housing over 20 million users. Coinbase is best known for its easy to use website and crypto trading platform, coinbase pro. Coinbase supports 14 different cryptocurrencies for trading, including bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and litecoin (LTC), among others.

Low fees - open account
promo offer: 0% commission stocks

Etoro is great for traders seeking zero-commission stock and ETF trades, an efficient platform, and access to copy trading. That said, there are hidden fees, education is sub-par, and etoro doesn't offer the same range of investments as traditional brokers. Etoro's crypto offering includes 16 different coins. Although crypto fees are cheap, you can only withdraw your crypto assets with a dedicated etoro wallet.

Maker-taker fee schedule

Kraken was founded in july of 2011 and offers trading on 18 different cryptocurrencies, including monero (XMR), ripple (XRP), and dash (DSH). Kraken currently offers a web platform but does not have a mobile app.

Most altcoins

Bittrex was founded in seattle, washington in 2014. Although bittrex doesn’t provide a mobile or desktop platform, it still offers over 100 tradeable coins, including bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and litecoin (LTC).

Offers gemini dollar

Founded in 2015 by the winklevoss twins, gemini is a licensed digital asset exchange and custodian built for both individuals and institutions. Gemini lets users buy, store, and sell bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), and zcash (ZEC), as well as the self-named gemini dollar (GUSD).

Best mobile app

Robinhood crypto allows users to trade bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), litecoin (LTC), dogecoin (DOGE), ethereum classic (ETC), and bitcoin SV (BSV). Ten additional coins can be added to a watch list. Robinhood crypto is best-fitted for users who trade multiple classes of assets. Read full review

Pricing details

Below is pricing information for each of the top online brokers for bitcoin trading. Each company uses a different structure.

Tradestation - open account
promo offer: commission-free trades on stocks, etfs & options trades

Headquartered in plantation, florida, tradestation is a wholly owned subsidiary of monex group, inc., one of japan’s largest online financial services providers. (1). Tradestation's roots date back to the 1982, when the company was formed under the name omega research. The company's flagship tradestation platform was launched in 1991, and tradestation group was a NASDAQ listed company from 1997 - 2011, until it was acquired by monex group (2).

Tradestation crypto features a simple pricing structure. Account balances below $100,000 pay a 0.50% maker fee and a 0.50% taker fee. Account balances over $100,000 don’t pay a maker fee, paying either a 0.25% or 0.125% fee based on account size. At this commission rate, it would cost $5.00 to buy $1,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC).

Coinbase - coinbase.Com

If buying bitcoin from a linked ACH account, the average commission is

1.49%. If buying bitcoin by selling another cryptocurrency you already hold in your coinbase wallet (or vice versa), then the average commission is

.50%. For example, buying $1,000 worth of bitcoin would cost

$15 from a linked bank account.

Etoro - open account
promo offer: 0% commission stocks

As an early pioneer in social copy trading, etoro was founded in israel in 2006 as a financial trading technology developer. After launching its first product, it has since grown to service over 9 million users with an innovative platform that continually evolves to be one of the largest social networks globally, with clients in over 170 countries.

Etoro charges no fees for sending or receiving transactions. Blockchain fees are applicable for sending and receiving. However, etoro does charge a conversion fee of 0.1%, set to market rates. Minimum withdrawal amounts and fees are also imposed for each type of cryptocurrency. The minimum bitcoin withdrawal amount is 0.0086 BTC and the withdrawal fee is 0.0005 units.

Kraken - kraken.Com

Kraken uses a maker-taker fee schedule with price incentives based on your trading volume over the last 30 days. For example, the average customer who trades less than $50,000 a month will pay $2.60 in fees for every $1,000 in trading volume. Fees for market makers range between 0% and 0.16%, while fees for takers range from 0.10% to 0.26%. This fee schedule, is more competitive than competitors like coinbase and gemini.

Bittrex - bittrex.Com

Bittrex has a simple pricing model, and charges a flat 0.25% on all trades. At this commission rate, it would cost $2.50 to buy $1,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC). Higher-volume traders, those trading more than $25,000 a month, should look at kraken for discounted pricing.

Gemini is much more expensive than other exchanges, charging between $0.99 - $2.99 on transactions under $200, and 1.49% on orders over $200. This means it would cost $14.90 to purchase $1,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC). Overall, gemini is the most expensive crypto exchange included in this guide, charging more than five times what other exchanges would charge for the same transaction.

Robinhood

Robinhood crypto does not charge a commission for placing crypto trades; however, it generates tiny profits from each order as it is routed. This routing practice, known as payment for order flow (PFOF), is also how robinhood makes money from stock trades. In their user agreement, robinhood crypto states that they may receive activity-based rebates from crypto exchanges, brokers, and market-makers, among other crypto intermediaries. Bottom line, since robinhood is not transparent with its pricing structure, there is a possibility the all-in costs per trade are actually much higher than some competitors. Unfortunately, there is no way to know for certain.

Pricing details per exchange

Final thoughts

Trading cryptocurrencies is becoming more widespread as investors around the globe become more comfortable with blockchain technology and the exchanges that offer online crypto trading. Security enhancements for digital wallets continue to improve as well, providing traders more confidence that buying bitcoin is safe.

Top 5 bitcoin OTC brokers: efficiently trade large volumes of bitcoin

What’s are bitcoin over-the-counter (OTC) brokers?

Over-the-counter (OTC) are entities that allow the buy and sell of large quantities of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Otcs offer more private and personalized services to institutions and high net-worth individuals who need a high degree of liquidity and privacy. The key advantage to an OTC is that they handle large trading volumes, such as trading $100,000+ USD without price slippage. OTC traders will normally quote a strike price for the entire order block with immediate execution. This is contrasted with trading on cryptocurrency exchanges where large orders will cause the price to decrease due to a lack of buy orders. OTC desks allows institutions and high net-worth individuals to buy bitcoin without a having dedicated trading desk.

OTC offices can be either regionally located, serving local clients or global. Often major cities such as hong kong, tokyo or new york have OTC brokers servicing local clients. These brokers can provide very personalized services and even in person meetups. In contrast, global otcs such as binance OTC handles transactions over the internet.

Traditionally in the stock market world, OTC desks facilitate trading of securities that are not listed on formal exchanges, e.G. The new york stock exchange.

Benefits of trading via an OTC broker

High liquidity – dedicated traders from OTC desks will help increase the liquidity of the overall market. This means they can handle large order blocks

Fixed price – OTC brokers will over a quotation for the entire order block. This means orders are not affected by price slippage.

Easy fiat options – brokers will have local bank accounts and can sometimes even accept cash.

Disadvantages of trading via an OTC broker

Limited range of cryptocurrencies – often OTC brokers specialize on a few cryptocurrencies. This means unlike exchanges, they will no offer 100+ trading pairs.

Manual trading process – traders are executed by a human counter-party. This trading times will often be limited to regular office hours.

Large order size required – brokers often have a minimum order size, such as $100,000 USD traded within a certain period of time.

How do OTC brokers work

OTC desks have a network of buyers and sellers. The trades themselves are facilitated by OTC broker-dealer who will locate and negotiate directly with prospective buyers and sellers over computer networks or by phone. This is contrasted from trading over exchanges where the prices and order books are publicly available. For OTC desks, their broker-dealers will negotiate the trade price for you. Trades are also not publicly listed giving the parties privacy.

Therefore, to fully understand what is going on in the cryptocurrency markets it is important to consider what is also happening at OTC desks. This is because large transactions happen on them on a daily basis.

Bitcoin OTC vs exchanges

The choice of whether to use a bitcoin OTC or exchange depends largely on the volume of orders. Big players looking to buy or sell large quantities of cryptocurrencies are better off using an OTC broker. This is because a single exchange (no matter how large) will not have the liquidity necessary to fill large order blocks. Research has shown that sell orders of $30 million can significantly suppress the price of a cryptocurrency, hence causing slippages of 5-10%. This amount is much larger than the fees charged by OTC brokers. The second advantage of using otcs is that they can offer to lock in a particular quotation with the option to settle at a later time. This gives people additional flexibility to move funds from banks or cold-storage (such as the ledger nano X).

However, depending on who you are, one upside or downside of otcs is that they are not transparent. So while you can try to gauge whether there is a lot of trade flow through an OTC desk by reading their reports (if any), there is no way you can verify if they are being truthful. On the other hand you can conduct trades privately compared to on exchanges.

How to trade bitcoin with OTC brokers

This guide outlines the general steps involved in trading with over-the-counter brokers. Generally speaking, brokers provide similar on-boarding and trading experiences. It is important to remember all brokers will require verification of your identity, known as know-your-customer (KYC) registration. On top of this, brokers will verify the source of funds to prevent money-laundering.

How to trade with bitcoin OTC brokers

Sign up to the broker via website, email, call or in-person meetup. They will usually ask about the type and quantity of cryptocurrencies you would like to sell.

Every broker will require you to fill in onboarding documents and legal disclaimers. They will also ask you to provide various types of documentation such as a government ID, proof of residence and proof of income.

Once on-boarded, they will give you a communications channel. Typically this involved a messaging platform where you can request quotations for orders such as:
you: “I would like to buy 100 bitcoin”
trader: “we can offer 100 BTC at a price of $8123 USD per BTC”

You can choose whether to accept the price quotation or not. If you agree, the trade is immediately confirmed and the trade will provide you with a deposit address.

Once the deposit is received, the order is no fully executed and you will receive your trade

Top OTC brokers around the world

When trading with OTC brokers, it’s important to only use trusted and regulated brokers. This is important because of the large transaction sizes involved – you don’t want to get delayed or even scammed out of a transactions. We compiled the list of the biggest OTC brokers around the world

Relayed bitcoin broker

At relayed we provide custom developed applications for the global bitcoin brokerage & FX services you need across your business or personal digital assets.

Simple, powerful & fast brokerage.

Developed by industry veterans to deliver the ultimate broker solutions

Online accounts

Activte your trades online, anywhere, anytime.

Realtime pricing

Real-time BTC/USD trading prices.

Industry low fees

Best deals in the market for approved clients.

Dedicated broker

Every user is assigned their own broker.

Fast and low fee crypto brokerage

Relayed offers one the most advanced finance solutions alongside regulated UK businesses to deliver industry leading bitcoin brokerage and FX services through your own online dashboard .

Send crypto to our secure wallets

Your relayed account is highly secure, enabling management of your own transactions, while your funds are stored in our insured wallet and handled by our bitcoin friendly bank.

Activate your sell order

The control is with you, allowing you to sell bitcoin when youвђ™re ready and when the price suits. Our fast processes will activate an immediate sale for the best wholesale prices.

Request your funds in USD, EUR or GBP

You can sell your bitcoin for USD, EUR or GBP and funds will be held in our regulated accounts until requested for withdrawal, allowing for the perfect process to suit your financial needs.

28 currencies & FX

Sell directly to USD, EUR and GBP through your relayed account to suit your needs, while we also choosing additional currency options as part of our broker FX services.

Trade with messaging

Relayed has been built to simplify and speed up your personal and business crypto brokerage, where messaging apps can control your sell orders.

Continuous live bitcoin pricing 24/7 via your dashboard

Relayed never sleeps. We provide live pricing - continuously - based on wholesale market rates. Gone are the days of needing to contact a broker, during working hours, to access a great price.

Clear, open and transparent broker fees

Our fees are among the lowest in the bticoin broker industry. No hidden extras. No hidden charges.

Our fee structure is clearly displayed pre-sale, always.

Rapid settlement to 28 currencies

Relayed make fiat payments every 30 minutes. The vast majority of our payments (EUR, GBP, USD) clear the same day (within 1 hour), with others T+1.В

We've worked 1 to 1 with relayed for some time, with the brokerage handling our agency fees. The new application has transformed the service for us and we're honored to be a part of relayed's future.

Bitcoin brokers: what you need to know

If you’ve decided that you want to make a substantial investment in bitcoin, you will most likely be better off using a bitcoin broker to execute your trade, as opposed to placing several buy orders at various digital currency exchanges yourself.

In this guide, you will be introduced to the leading bitcoin brokers as well as everything you need to know about what to look for when choosing a broker that is right for you and your bitcoin investment needs.

Top bitcoin brokers

name	description	incorporation year	fees	auxiliary services	twitter followers	regulated	score
circle trade	boston-based circle is one of the market leaders in the over-the-counter trade of digital assets. Aside from its OTC brokerage services, the company also offers retail investor solutions through its circle invest business and a payments service through its circle pay business.	2013	brokerage fee included in agreed price	advisory, research, retail investor offering, payments	46,700	yes	4.5
itbit	new york-based itbit is a digital currency exchange that launched in 2013. The exchange also offers OTC bitcoin trading service targeted at high net worth individuals and businesses that want to transact in a minimum of 100 bitcoin. Itbit charges a 0.1 percent flat fee on each OTC trade and offers same day settlement to its customers. Itbit’s OTC trading desk has clients in over 100 countries, and the company is a regulated bitcoin exchange in the state of new york.	2012	0.1 percent per transaction. No crypto withdrawal fees.	Full-service digital asset exchange, all USD funds held are insured	7,825	yes	4.5
genesis trading	new york-based genesis global trading provides two-sided liquidity for digital currencies on a daily basis. The company was formerly secondmarket’s trading division and is owned by leading bitcoin venture capital firm digital currency group. Genesis has been offering its bitcoin brokerage services since 2013, which makes it one of the longest-standing OTC bitcoin brokers in the market. Due to its ownership by the DCG, it is also considered one of the most reputable.	2013	spread above XBX bitcoin index	out of hours trading, access to grayscale investment trusts, digital asset lending	6,425	yes	4.5
cumberland mining	cumberland mining, a DRW holdings LLC subsidiary, is another US-based bitcoin broker that transacts in institutional-sized trades. The chicago-based company provides two-way liquidity in bitcoin and other digital currencies for high net worth individuals and enterprises.	1992	brokerage fee included in agreed price	advisory	6,112	yes	4
jump trading	chicago-based jump trading is one of the newer entrants in the growing bitcoin OTC brokerage market. The brokerage firm has developed a dashboard for its users that enables investors to traders to interact with jump trading’s OTC desk using a secured connection, which alleviates the reliance on third-party messaging platforms. Its OTC brokerage business executes over $2 billion worth of digital assets each month.	1999	brokerage fee included in agreed price	advisory	568	yes	3.5
kraken OTC	san francisco-based digital asset exchange kraken launched an OTC trading service in 2018 to enable its professional customers to engage in off-exchange transactions. Additionally, the exchange's OTC trading service includes market analysis, 1-to-1 service, full asset support, and 24/7 global coverage. Minimum transaction size is $100,000.	2011	brokerage fee included in agreed price	full-service digital asset exchange, market analysis, 24/7 global coverage	376,000	no	3.5
B2C2	london-based B2C2 has been trading since 2015, providing liquidity for large transactions to both individuals and institutions. The minimal settlement amount is $50,000. Clients are able to take advantage of post-trade settlement, allowing them to initiate a trade without depositing any cash. Clients are able to trade gold for bitcoin as well, with a minimum trade size of one ounce.	2015	brokerage fee included in agreed price	advisory	906	yes	3.5
XBTO	new york-based XBTO has been providing OTC liquidity since it was founded in 2015. It conducted the first-ever block trade of bakkt bitcoin futures contracts. XBTO is also involved in crypto mining, using renewable energy to power its operation. In addition to OTC trading, XBTO also provides clearinghouse services via stablehouse.Io for stablecoins.	2015	brokerage fee included in agreed price	asset management, venture capital, crypto-mining, consulting services	495	yes	3.5
bitstocks	london-based bitstocks was launched in 2016 to provide bitcoin liquidity to high net worth individuals as well as institutional investors. The company requires you to make a minimum deposit of £5,000 ($6,500) and offers both an OTC brokerage services and an advisory service. For OTC trades, the company’s commission is built into the execution price, similarly to the way genesis global trading handles it. If you want to also benefit from the brokerage’s advisory services, however, you will have to pay a 25 percent performance fee on the profit you make on your trades.	2014	brokerage fee included in agreed price, 25% of profit on "advisory" trades	advisory & research	1,867	no	3
octagon strategy	hong kong-based octagon strategy is an OTC broker, run by former head of electronic trading at morgan stanley and macquaire, wayne trench, that claims to be asia's largest digital asset broker. Minimum trade size is $100,000, and there is no maximum.	2016	"small" transaction fee upon execution	RFQ/API, market making, bespoke services	1,145	no	2.5

The over-the-counter (OTC) bitcoin trading market

Outspoken entrepreneur and bitcoin evangelist vinny lingham notes:

“the OTC market for bitcoin is bigger than the exchange market. Exchanges set the price but large trades don’t happen there.”

The big bitcoin investors, those trading from $500,000 to several millions worth of bitcoin, prefer to use OTC brokers instead of dealing simultaneously on different exchanges that have varying liquidity. This is largely due to bitcoin’s illiquidity compared to traditional asset classes such as blue-chip stocks and government bonds. In theory, the negotiated price with an OTC broker should always be better than the average price you would get by purchasing your bitcoin on exchanges yourself.

Therefore, if you intend to make a large investment in bitcoin or intend to trade in and out of the digital currency in high volumes to benefit from short-term price movements, you will most likely receive better entry and exit levels when using an OTC bitcoin broker.

The growth of the OTC market

In the past three years, the bitcoin OTC trading market has grown tremendously. Circle trade alone processes over $2 billion worth of digital asset trades every month, and they are only one out of over a dozen OTC trading desks that service digital asset investors.

As more and more institutional investors enter the digital asset markets, OTC trading volumes are increasing. Moreover, as centralized digital asset exchanges still regularly suffer from hacks, professional investors prefer to use bitcoin brokers to ensure their digital funds cannot be easily lost to cybercriminals.

This also means that bitcoin trading volumes are actually much higher than reported as OTC trades are not audited or reported and, hence, cannot be seen in daily trading volumes figures on market data platforms.

Binance CEO changpeng zhao agrees with this notion and told CNBC crypto trader: “what I’ve heard is the [bitcoin] OTC market is at least as large as the live recorded volumes,” suggesting that BTC trading volumes could be double of what we can witness on platforms such as coinmarketcap.Com.

The exact figure of monthly bitcoin OTC trading volumes is impossible to determine due to the confidential nature of these transactions. However, if they really are larger than on-exchange trading volumes than we can estimate that almost $250 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC) is being traded over-the-counter every month.

Which broker is right for you?

When choosing your bitcoin broker, consider:

Reputation: the reputation of your potential broker is the most important of the factors to consider. If you are going to trust someone to buy and sell bitcoin for you for several hundred thousand dollars or more, you need to be able to trust the intermediary. A good first step is to check whether the broker you intend to use is regulated. The next step is to assess the broker’s reputation, which can usually be determined by who owns and runs the operation and by reading unbiased reviews about their services. Not all bitcoin brokers are regulated financial services companies, because bitcoin itself is not regulated. Having said that, ensuring that the broker you intend to use has a good reputation among its existing customers and has a clear and public ownership structure is key.

Fees: almost equally as important are the fees the broker requires. Brokers always charge a commission, so you want to choose one that charges a reasonable fee. This is especially the case if you intend to trade actively because excessive commissions eat into your returns.

Time zone compatibility: finding a broker within your time zone enables you to execute trades during normal business hours. Hence, if you are in the U.S., you are probably better off trading with a US-based broker as opposed to a UK- or asia-based one. Having said that, if you intend to trade a lot and you also want to have access to european trading hours, for example, setting up an account at one of the london-based OTC brokers as well might not be such a bad idea.

Excellent customer service: finally, you also want your broker to provide excellent customer service. It is never a good sign if you call a broker and no one answers, or if it takes a long time to get a reply to important emails. To find out whether a bitcoin broker offers good customer service, you can either read unbiased reviews online or simply try them out and see whether their customer service standard is up to what you expect from your broker.

The bottom line

If you are considering heavily investing in bitcoin, an OTC broker may be your best choice. The five brokers mentioned above represent some of the best OTC brokers available. To choose among them, consider their reputation, their customer service offerings, and their fee structures for commissions.

For more information about bitcoin investing, subscribe to bitcoin market journal today!

So, let's see, what we have: how to buy bitcoin in the UK ✔️ UK regulated platforms ✔️low spreads ✔️high leverage ✔️advanced trading tools ✔️paypal, credit and debit card at bitcoin broker fee