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With several exchanges competing to be the best in South Africa, it can be a nightmare to find the right one. In order to carefully traverse the danger zone in the new industry, you should look at the important information. Here, we show you what to consider while comparing the big three exchanges.
The recent explosion in the price of Bitcoin has made buying cryptocurrency a thrilling prospect, especially for a first-time buyer. South Africans have been showing a keen interest in Bitcoin over the past few months and as many look to put money into digital currency, it’s imperative to pick the right place to invest.
Finding the right exchange is more than just looking at how much the fees are for each company. While that’s a major factor, you should also consider what features and services you require (such as if you need a wallet or only a platform on which to trade), the values of the cryptocurrency tokens at any given time, and how the exchange might accept payments for cryptocurrency.
In South Africa, there are three cryptocurrency exchanges which are prominent in the industry.
Coindirect, Luno, and AltCointrader. Although fundamentally, they are similar in their business offerings, each of these three has differing features, fees, and prices.
Coindirect vs Luno vs AltCointrader
As new exchanges arise, you are offered more choice which means that the companies need to compete. This is good news because you have more options and benefit from competitive prices. It does, however, make it such that you need to research which exchange you’d like to use for your cryptocurrency needs.
| Coindirect | Luno | AltCointrader | |
| Fees | 0.25% | Either 0% or 1% | Either 0.5% or 0.8% |
| Bitcoin Price | 7 879.95 USD | 7 946.00 USD | 8 361.40 USD (translated from South African Rand) |
| Cryptocurrencies available | 40+ | 2 | 20 |
Transaction fees
Fees charged to traders and investors can break a business; too high fees and the competition wins out. On the other hand, if the fees and trading volumes are too low, the business will never be able to stay afloat.
What fees are charged will depend on where and how you’re transacting (for example fiat-to-crypto, crypto-to-crypto or crypto-to-fiat). If you are wanting to purchase crypto in South Africa, Luno will charge you 1% for buying Bitcoin, AltCointrader will charge 0.8% and Coindirect has a 0.75% fee on the transaction. If fees are what you base your decision on, then Coindirect is your best bet.
Bitcoin price
Similar to fees charged, how much Bitcoin is valued at is different at each exchange and can impact the purchase or sale of a cryptocurrency coin. Comparing Bitcoin prices at different crypto exchanges is important because it completely changes how much you pay for a crypto-token as well as how much you receive when you sell.
In this, we’ve got AltCointrader which offers Bitcoin at a high value which might be good for selling but makes buying it an expensive endeavour. Coindirect offers Bitcoin at the lowest, making it ideal to buy, especially for an initial purchase if you’re testing out the cryptocurrency waters.
Cryptocurrencies available
While Bitcoin might be the top moving cryptocurrency, the market is full of interesting projects which have gained attention – and profit – over the years. Being able to trade in different tokens is a feature worth considering when choosing your cryptocurrency exchange.
If you’re interested in only buying Bitcoin or Ethereum, then any of the three exchanges offer what you want. If you are interested in trading more cryptocurrencies, then you might want to consider AltCointrader for the top twenty tokens or Coindirect for the biggest range in tokens offered.
Verdict: The right exchange for you
Although every exchange has their own unique offering, if you’re after the lowest fees, best price to buy into Bitcoin and are interested in a wider range of tokens, then Coindirect emerges as the winner in this battle-of-Bitcoin-buying.
Get Started Today
Our friends at Coindirect have provided some of the reasons that they believe they’re industry leaders :
- Sign up is FREE, quick and easy
- You can make your first trade in under 5 minutes (Bitcoin can rise a lot in one day – why risk missing out?)
- You can pay with credit card
- You are offered industry-leading support and assistance
- It’s 100% safe and secure
Getting started doesn’t require much – all you need is a small deposit (minimum $15), and the more Bitcoin grows in the crypto market exchange, the more you’ll see your investment grow. You can also withdraw your funds at any time.
Your journey to financial freedom begins here.
*This is article is brought to you by Coindirect.