Bitpanda Review: Scam & Fake or not?

BitpandaBitpanda is a well known crypto exchanges from Austria with a lot of different products. They offer their own crypto card with cashback, savings plans, a learning section, their own token BEST, and much more.

But is Bitpanda a scam?

No, it is not: According to our experience and review, Bitpanda is a safe crypto exchange.

Tell us about your experience with Bitpanda and share your comment below this review.

Key Takeaways

  • Bitpanda is a safe cryptocurrency exchange because it offers a licensed service in different countries. Additionally, the exchange uses quality encryption and features like 2FA, KYC and Cold Storage for maximum protection
  • Other than crypto trading, Bitpanda offers a diverse service by allowing you to trade with precious metals, commodities and securities. Multiple other products like staking, leverage and payment cards are also available for optimal fund management
  • In this full Bitpanda review, we will analyze every pro and con of the exchange. We will also address common issues, such as the lack of a clear transaction fee structure or late replies in customer support

About the Company

In the vibrant heart of Vienna, Bitpanda GmbH, a distinguished Austrian entity, is on a mission to redefine the exchange landscape.

Picture the scene in 2014 when visionaries Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek, and Christian Trummer laid the foundation stones. Back then, under the moniker Coinimal, it was the genesis of something extraordinary.

Fast forward to 2016, and the metamorphosis was complete – Bitpanda emerged, a force to be reckoned with.

Overview of Bitpanda
NameBitpanda
Websitewww.bitpanda.com
CompanyBitpanda GmbH
AddressStella-Klein-Löw-Weg 17, 1020 Wien, Austria
CEOPaul Klanschek, Eric Demuth
FounderPaul Klanschek, Eric Demuth, Christian Trummer
Founded2014
ContactTicket System
Cryptocurrencies125+
MarketsSpot, Stocks, ETFs
ServicesCrypto Index, Savings Plans, Instant Swaps, Bitpanda Pay, Card, Bitpanda Pro, API
PromotionsCard with Cashback, Discounts and Rewards for BEST Holders
FIATUSD, EUR, CHF, GBP, TRY
Payment MethodsCredit Cards, Wire Transfer, giropay, Sofort, Skrill
Fees1.49% for buying or selling bitcoin, several discount options (like Bitpanda Pro with 0.05% to 0.10% maker fees and 0.065% to 0.15% taker fees), other fees might apply for different services
AppBitpanda, available for iOS and Android
KYC$2.500 to $500.000 per day (depending on the payment methods) and $300.000 to $5.000.000 per month for verified users
LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish

As the Bitpanda saga unfolded, global expansion became the next chapter, with offices sprouting across various countries. London, an influential character in this narrative, joined the cast in 2016.

The evolution continued beyond the boundaries of cryptocurrency, embracing the trade in precious metals in 2019 and delving into the intricacies of securities trading in 2021.

A pivotal moment arrived that year when a strategic alliance with VISA materialized, birthing the exclusive Bitpanda-branded debit card.

Bitpanda’s impact resonates across 80 countries, with Europe and the Middle East serving as the backdrop to its prominence.

Now, in the year of 2023, where the user community swells to a staggering 3.5 million – a testament to Bitpanda’s magnetic appeal.

Safety and Regulation

Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency exchange operating under 12 European licenses and registrations, including VASP, MiFID II, E-Money and PSD II.

Some of the latest licenses granted to the company are Spain and Norway, two countries that embraced the exchange, expanding more and more through Europe and beyond.

Likewise, the Bitpanda platform employs many other features dedicated to secure users.

For example, the company protects your funds in Cold Storage facilities to prevent online risks. With modern encryption technology and dedicated security teams, both your account and assets are safe.

Two-factor authentication and KYC are two other safety features you can use, increasing the protection account by ensuring only you can use the credentials.

Bitpanda doesn’t have regulation from the most reputable financial institutions in the world.

However, the safety measures used by the platform effectively prevent hacking, theft and fraud. For these reasons, we consider Bitpanda a reliable and safe cryptocurrency exchange to use.

Countries Accepted

Using Bitpanda is possible for millions of people around the world, but there are some limitations for specific countries based on their crypto regulations.

  • Australia — Sign-up is available
  • Canada — Sign-up is available
  • Ghana — Sign-up is not available
  • Hong Kong — Sign-up is not available
  • India — Sign-up is not available
  • Ireland — Sign-up is available
  • Kenya — Sign-up is not available
  • New Zealand — Sign-up is not available
  • Nigeria — Sign-up is not available
  • Pakistan — Sign-up is not available
  • Philippines — Sign-up is not available
  • Singapore — Sign-up is not available
  • South Africa — Sign-up is not available
  • United Kingdom — Sign-up is available
  • United States — Sign-up is not available

Using Bitpanda from a non-restricted country is essential. Otherwise, you won’t be able to complete the verification process and will face issues with the platform.

Trading Offer

Bitpanda has over 150 cryptocurrencies available, including the most popular coins and tokens. The exchange also offers BEST, which is the Bitpanda ecosystem token.

You can use the exchange to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, Ripple, Cardano, or Solana, to name a few. Additionally, the Bitpanda ecosystem supports multiple stablecoins, like Tether and USD Coin.

Interestingly enough, Bitpanda’s trading pairs are fewer compared to other websites. Furthermore, the most used are cryptocurrencies paired with euros instead of pairing with other crypto.

As a result, the most popular trading pairs that Bitpanda supports are ETH/EUR, XRP/EUR, BTC/EUR, LTC/EUR and BTC/EUR.

Trading Types

Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency broker that allows you to invest in crypto, precious metals, stocks and more assets. These are the Bitpanda trading opportunities you can use —

Crypto Trading

Buy or sell cryptocurrency using Bitpanda’s services, which allow you to connect with other investors and earn profit by trading under market prices.

Precious Metals

Bitpanda allows you to purchase, sell, or trade physically-backed precious metals to diversify your portfolio of assets. Each metal has proper certification and is safe in high-security vaults provided by Brink’s.

Leverage

With this type of trading, you can go Long or Short with trending cryptocurrencies while paying low trading fees on Bitpanda regardless of the condition of the market.

The service offers more than 10 leveraged positions and has a daily re-leverage to secure the target ratio.

Stocks

To increase the platform’s diversification, the Bitpanda exchange provides the opportunity to invest in company actions with investments starting at $1 and no commissions. This service is available even if the stock market closes.

Trading Software

Unfortunately, we found that Bitpanda doesn’t have trading software. Our thinking is that the platform prioritizes a user-friendly interface to buy or sell cryptocurrency without the challenges of trading software.

Of course, this can be a problem if you need charts and market data readings to create an advanced trading strategy.

Other Products

While testing the platform to create this Bitpanda review, we discovered plenty of products that enhance the experience of using this exchange.

These products are beneficial in many ways, such as reducing manual work, earning rewards, or managing funds.

Staking

By using the Staking feature, you get to hold your assets in your wallet to contribute with transaction validations and receive weekly rewards.

These rewards are available since week one and you can stake your rewards automatically to keep increasing your profit.

Bitpanda Savings

This product allows you to buy cryptocurrencies, digital assets and more automatically. Therefore, Bitpanda Savings allows you to select a date and time and let the platform perform the purchase.

Bitpanda Crypto Index

With this product, Bitpanda allows you to invest in crypto automatically. All you have to do is select the type of index you prefer and the exchange will take care of the rest.

It’s an easy and convenient method to invest in up-and-coming cryptocurrencies.

Fees

Next, we took a closer look at the fees to find out if Bitpanda is friendly in this regard. As a starting point, we have to highlight that the exchange doesn’t charge fees to create or maintain an active account.

However, we did find a problem while trying to sell or buy cryptocurrency because the fees are not visible. As a matter of fact, the platform includes the fees in the price itself.
Bitpanda Fees
One suggested method to determine the fees is comparing the platform’s rate with Bitstamp, with the difference resulting in the fees. Nonetheless, this is an inconvenience when other exchanges indicate the fee structure beforehand.

On the other hand, Bitpanda charges fees related to precious metals like Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium. Check it out here —

Precious MetalBuySellStorage and Insurance
Gold0.5%0.5%0.0125% Weekly

After First 20g Gold Bought

Silver2.5%2%0.025% Weekly

After First 200g Silver Bought

Platinum2.5%2%0.025% Weekly

After First 20g Platinum Bought

Palladium2.2%1.8%0.025% Weekly

After First 20g Palladium Bought

We also have to mention the deposit and withdrawal fees. A massive benefit of using Bitpanda is that you can use SEPA to fund your account with FIAT currencies without paying withdrawal or deposit fees.

For other methods, the Bitpanda deposit and withdrawal fee may vary and often depend on the currency.

Payment Methods for Deposits and Withdrawals

Bitpanda also offers a range of payment methods that suit different needs and circumstances. These are the options you can use to deposit money in FIAT currency into your account —

  • VISA
  • MasterCard
  • PayPal
  • Skrill
  • Neteller
  • GiroPay
  • Sofort
  • SEPA
  • EPS

The minimum deposit in FIAT is $10 and the platform usually processes deposits in a few minutes.

On the other hand, the FIAT withdrawal methods are fewer but equally diverse.

You can request withdrawals through Skrill, Neteller, Bitpanda Payment and SEPA, with a minimum amount of $10. Withdrawals take minutes unless you request a bank transfer outside the EU, which can take up to three business days.

You can deposit and withdraw funds using cryptocurrency as well. In this case, the processing times are fast and require the following minimums —

  • Bitcoin: Deposit: 0.00050000 BTC / Min. Withdrawal: 0.00057000 BTC
  • Ethereum: Min. Deposit: 0.00397000 ETH / Min. Withdrawal: 0.01000000 ETH
  • Dogecoin: Deposit: 50.00000000 DOGE / Min. Withdrawal: 20.00000000 DOGE
  • XRP: Deposit: 0.10000000 XRP / Min. Withdrawal: 25.00000000 XRP

Mobile app

The Bitpanda mobile application is available for Android and iOS devices.

Once installed, the app is easy to use due to its friendly interface, allowing you to set up your account and use trading services easily. This mobile app also allows you to create and verify your account, meaning you don’t have to use the desktop version if you prefer on-the-go trading.

Registration and Verification

Creating an account on Bitpanda is possible through the desktop, iOS, or Android version. You must go to the website, click Sign-up and provide the details required. Bitpanda will demand the following information to create your account —

  • Your name
  • Password
  • Country of residence

You will receive a confirmation email as the last step to create an account.

Still, Bitpanda will only allow you to use your account after you complete verification. This procedure is necessary to comply with EU regulations.

You will need a webcam or smartphone camera and your government-issued ID document to verify your account. Follow these steps —

  • Log into your Bitpanda account and click on the User icon
  • Click on Verify now
  • Enter the information required, making sure it’s the same as the ID document
  • Submit the pin sent to your mobile phone
  • Select your citizenship, language and ID document
  • Click on Continue and follow the steps as indicated

Verifying your account can be time-consuming and requires patience. Also, Bitpanda doesn’t offer a demo account, which is an even bigger disadvantage.

The lack of a demo or virtual account negates the possibility of practicing for new traders.

Bonus for New Customers

At the moment of writing this article, Bitpanda doesn’t have a sign-up or welcome bonus. Nonetheless, the exchange has offered promotions to reward new users who create an account using a referral code.

Currently, the only way to enjoy a similar benefit is to have other people sign up for the exchange using your referral code instead.

Under the Tell-a-Friend program, you and the person you invite to the platform can earn up to €100 depending on the investments made.

Customer Support and Languages

In our experience using the service, Bitpanda customer support was quick to answer our inquiries. We were able to communicate with representatives through different mediums, like the support ticket system and email. Overall, it only took a couple of hours to receive a response.

Contact Options
Live Chatnot available
Emailnot available
Ticket Systemavailable at https://support.bitpanda.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
PhoneNot available
Help Sectionavailable at https://support.bitpanda.com/hc/en-us

We also appreciate the Help Center, which answers the most common questions you may have about the exchange. Here, you can find information like the account limitations, services or products offered, and the Bitpanda fees, among many other things.

Conclusion

We’re aware that Bitpanda isn’t one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Still, we found this exchange to be highly interesting because of its diversified service.

While crypto is our main area of interest, Bitpanda’s catalog offering commodities, precious metals, and more assets truly got us invested in the product.

So, is Bitpanda a scam and fake or not? Well, we can safely say that Bitpanda isn’t a scam. In fact, we recommend Bitpanda as a reliable alternative, especially if you live in Europe.

If you’ve used Bitpanda or have any doubts, we would love to read your opinion. Share your comments in the section down below and let us know what you think about this platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s address some of the most frequently asked questions about Bitpanda.

Is Bitpanda safe and secure?

Yes, Bitpanda is safe and secure. The exchange offers a licensed service protected by security features like KYC and Cold Storage. We explain more about the safety of this platform in the Safety and Regulation section.

How long does the verification take with Bitpanda?

Verifying your account on Bitpanda usually takes a couple of minutes. In some cases, the team can take within 72 hours to review your details and verify your account. Learn all about how to verify your account in the Registration and Verification section.

How can I deposit money at Bitpanda?

You can deposit money on Bitpanda by using payment methods like VISA, MasterCard, Paypal, Skrill, or Neteller, to name a few. Learn more about deposit conditions by checking out the Payment Methods for Deposits and Withdrawals section.

How long does it take to withdraw money at Bitpanda?

Withdrawing funds from Bitpanda is almost instantaneous unless you request bank withdrawals, which can take up to three business days. We cover this topic more in-depth in the Payment Methods for Deposits and Withdrawals section.

How does Bitpanda work?

Bitpanda works by offering exchange services, allowing you to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Plus, the platform’s catalog includes precious metals like gold and silver. Read more about the services and products offered by Bitpanda by reading the Trading Types and Other Products sections.

Allan Garland
Allan Garland

I'm part of the crypto space since 2013 and I strongly believe in it. But I also know how it feels to get scammed and to realize financial losses. With my website Cryptoscam.info I want to support you to stay safe and to give you a platform to share your experiences.

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