Changelly

When you want to exchange one crypto for another, Changelly offers two choices of exchange rates, floating and fixed:

• There’s a floating exchange rate offered for each transaction that could fluctuate at any moment due to high levels of volatility in crypto markets. This means the rate may change between the time you enter the transaction and the time when the exchange executes it. Depending on the market fluctuations, this could mean a higher or lower exchange rate that you expected.
• Users may also select a fixed exchange rate which will ensure the rate matches what you see when you initiate the transaction. The rate is fixed so you know the exact amount  of crypto you will get once the transaction is completed. If an exchange rate fluctuates lower, you will not be able to realize that rate difference, but you can also be assured it doesn’t go higher.

More than 20 cryptocurrencies are available for exchanging on Changelly, including:

• Mainstays like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Cardano
• Privacy coins XMR (Monero) and ZEC (Zcash)
• Multiple privacy coins including USDT and DAI

Many exchanges do not offer access to Monero and on Changelly users may only exchange and not buy or sell it.

• You can buy 160+ cryptocurrencies using USD, GBT, and EUR. 
• 8+ cryptocurrencies are available for selling, including: BTC, ETH, BAT, USDT, ALGO, TRX, OKB, BCH, DAI

Changelly utilizes the maker/taker model, with the fees varying depending on whether you are adding or taking liquidity from the orderbook. Maker fees are generally lower since these trades entail lower fees because the “make” liquidity while taker fees involve trades that get instantly matched and thus “take” liquidity and incur higher fees. 

• As with most exchanges, the more you trade the lower the fees. But at Changelly, they also offer a very competitive .5% flat fee on cryptocurrency exchanges. 
• Starter accounts have fixed trading fees at 0.1% for both maker and taker, and only require an email to begin trading. The fee schedule below applies to Trader and Pro level accounts, both of which require verification.
• Crypto to fiat transactions are charged 5% (allowable for BTC to EUR).

Changelly offers three types of funding methods: 

1. Crypto deposits, which take a few moments, incur zero fees and do not require verification.
2. Credit and Debit Card deposits are instant but require verification. Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay are accepted.
3. Bank Transfers may take up to 3 business days and also require verification.

For fiat deposits, the fee will vary from 1% to 7% depending on the payment method and fiat provider you choose at the Changelly Fiat-to-Crypto Marketplace. Bank transfers are charged the lowest deposit fees.

Crypto withdrawals

ChangellyPro offers minimal withdrawal amounts starting from zero and low withdrawal fees that depend on the cryptocurrency. Withdrawal fees are flat fees and charged per transaction and not per volume withdrawn. 

Withdrawal limits are as follows:

• Starter level: Withdrawal limit is <1 BTC per day
• Trader level: Withdrawal limit is <50 BTC per day
• Pro level: Withdrawal limit is <50 BTC per day
• Upon advance verification, which involves a face to face interaction and additional signed documents, traders may enjoy unlimited withdrawals. 

Crypto to fiat transactions

• For exchanging your crypto for fiat, 30+ countries are supported.
• At this time, the only fiat currency available is the EURO.
• The fee for crypto to fiat exchanges is a flat 5%.
• The minimum amount of Bitcoin per crypto to fiat transaction is 250 EUR
• Maximum exchange is 10,000 EUR.

Changelly has 3 different verification levels, Starter, Trader, and Pro:

• Starter level requires only an email address (Withdrawal limit: < 1 BTC equivalent per day)
• Trader level requires verification with National ID (Withdrawal limit: < 50 BTC equivalent per day) 
• Pro level requires verification through an individual assistance process. This includes a face-to-face video recognition call, an extra form of ID and additional documents. Features to Pro level include negotiable fees, higher API limits, dedicated account manager. (Withdrawal limit: > 50 BTC equivalent per day )

Once the advanced KYC procedure is passed during the Pro level, there are no limits for further transactions.

What are AML and KYC?

As part of a range of Anti Money Laundering regulations mandated nationally and internationally, KYC involves the requirement of companies to verify each customer’s identity during the onboarding process. Verification is achieved by submitted identification, proof of ownership, and personal information such as name, address, email address, phone number and tax I.D. number.

Changelly has several partners that provide crypto purchases for users wanting to buy crypto using a bank card through MoonPay, Indacoin, or Simplex. Photo ID verification is required before the first crypto buy can take place. Each crypto-buy provider has varying prices, terms and fees:

• MoonPay Limitations and Fee
• Indacoin Limitations and Fee
• Simplex Limitations and Fee

The FAQ, Blog, and HelpDesk are moderately well developed, but Changelly reserves their best educational content for a drip email system that sends different sections of ebooks consisting of a “Crash Course” in crypto. Resources in the crypto realm are often more readily available for people to digest wherever and whenever they want. But the email system with Changelly is likely also a way to help them better understand and serve their market and their other offerings are quite adequate.

Changelly Pro offers margin trading on 20+ cryptocurrencies ranging from 5x on DOGE/BTC to 12x on BTC/USDT.

Changelly published an announcement in 2019 that they were introducing OTC services. However, it is not clear whether or not they are offering these services now.

• The Changelly exchange has received 1000+ reviews averaging 4.8 stars in the App Store, which is quite high for crypto exchanges. On Google Play they average 3.4 stars on over 1600 ratings. For the android version, negative reviews centered on slow support, and “live support” that wasn’t live.
• They’ve developed an informative and simply worded “How it Works” interface on the website, teaching uses how to get going with their service.
• Changelly’s main site supports 11 languages.

Security features at Changelly become more advanced according to your level of verification. Yet they are not as much a focal point as most exchanges because Changelly is non-custodial.

Some of the security features they enable are:

• 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) using Google Authenticator.
• Email notifications on transactions.
• Wallet preselection – you can preselect the wallets that may receive withdrawals in the future.

Changelly has been operating in global crypto markets since 2015. They have a user base of over 2 million with largely positive reviews for its app (though the Android version seems buggier according to reviews). The company is led by CEO Eric Benz, a blockchain investor and founder dating back to 2012.

Changelly is partnered with many big name crypto platforms like Binance, Coinomi, MyEtherWallet, Ledger, Trezor and Huobi Wallet.

• While you can Google Changelly fees and find them, they is no easy way to find them from the website or app. Even when you search for “Changelly Fees” you are led to their FAQ where you must scroll and scroll to find the fees section (there’s no search feature in the FAQ).
• There is no mention of which countries are supported in their FAQ and it is not crystal clear from the Terms of Use whether or not they accept US users. There are many external reviews of Changelly, like here and here, that say the exchange is available in ‘all countries” or includes the US in its supported countries. Our research team was not able to confirm that with Changelly’s online documentation. The wording in the Terms of Use around the US are somewhat vague, but it would seem that US residents are not eligible to trade, even though one of our US researchers was easily able to open a Changelly Pro account.
• Changelly does not provide a status page to check on downages.

Changelly does not custody crypto assets and no data breaches have been reported. They have been known to work with hacked partner exchanges to place a hold on funds for the protection of Changelly users.

• • Dollar cost averaging (recurring buys)
  • Self custody
  • Automated trading
  • Automated tax reporting
  • Futures