Bitstamp is an exchange based in London that enables people to buy and sell bitcoin between themselves at a price set by the exchange. It's the second largest exchange by volume.
SpecsUpdate
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free SEPA deposits
Bitstamp is very economical if you live in Europe as they have free SEPA deposits.
Pro Very low transfer fees
For small transactions (< $500 USD) you're only charged 0.5%. This incrementally decreases to 0.2% for transfers over $150,000 USD.
Pro Lets you limit orders
On Bitstamp users can enter limit orders that stay open until they are either cancelled by the client or executed in the market.
Pro Supports multiple currencies
Bitstamp supports US dollars, British pounds, and Swiss francs.
Pro Offers prepaid debit cards
You can purchase physical or virtual prepaid debit cards through Bitstamp and load money into them directly from your Bitstamp account. There are currently three supported currencies: USD, EUR, and GBP. Note: this is currently unavailable to US citizens.
Pro Great support
Multiple threads on the Bitcoin sub-reddit praise Bitstamp for fast and helpful support.
Pro Great user interface
The interface and overall user experience of Bitstamp is fantastic. The design is clean, easy to use while also providing great features like the order book.
Pro Order book
The order book is a great feature because it’s where the exchange shows all the open orders it has from its clients.
The first part of the order book is a chart that represents all the orders organized by type (bid or offer), price, and volume. This is a very efficient way of looking at the market depth and also analyzing the open interest so you can decide how to set and manage your orders.
Cons
Con High fees for credit/debit card purchases
Bitstamp charges a flat 5% for all credit/debit card purchases, regardless of purchase amount.
Con Not so great for cryptocurrency beginners
Bitstamp is not the best platform for those unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies in general — the live trading platform and UI can get too overwhelming for beginners due to information overload.
Commonly Compared
