- Crypto index fund
- Trades stocks and commodities
- Extremely user friendly
- Great educational resources
BitPanda Review 2023: Bitcoin Index Fund and Low Fee Trading on a Variety of Assets
A cryptocurrency broker based in Europe, Bitpanda deals in commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency. Sadly, the United States does not have access to it. The platform stands out for its affordable fees, cryptocurrency index fund, and user-friendly layout. Find out if Bitpanda is the perfect platform for you by reading our comprehensive evaluation.
Complete review of Bitpanda
Anyone want to handle all of their assets in one location in Europe might consider using this bitcoin broker.
Pros:
- Crypto index fund
- Trades stocks and commodities
- Extremely user friendly
- Great educational resources
- Bitpanda Visa card
- Low fees
Cons:
- Not available in the U.S.
- No interest-earning features
- Limited crypto range on Bitpanda Pro platform
- Crypto deposit fees
Key benefits
Because it makes it simple to trade a range of assets, Bitpanda has a lot to offer European investors. The following are a few of the platform’s key benefits:
Cryptocurrency index fund
Bitpanda offers three crypto index funds in addition to a respectable selection of cryptocurrencies. By containing the top five, ten, or twenty-five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, these make it simple for European investors to diversify their cryptocurrency holdings without having to purchase each coin or token separately. This is one of the features of the platform that I find most enticing because it makes it simple to hold popular cryptocurrencies.
Also deals in commodities and stocks
Together with cryptocurrency, Bitpanda also offers equities, ETFs, and commodities like gold and silver. For investors who want to manage all of their investments in one location and make sure that cryptocurrency is a part of a diverse portfolio, this makes it a suitable option. Moreover, customers can quickly switch from one asset to another.
Super user-friendly
The interface on Bitpanda is incredibly user-friendly. Every component of the platform, from the know-your-customer (KYC) authentication to the trading, feels well thought out and is simple to use. Fee details are transparent and easily understood. The similar strategy has been used by Bitpanda with its mobile apps.
There is a tonne of helpful information organised for all types of investors in the Bitpanda academy. For instance, new investors could be curious about how blockchain technology functions and what a cryptocurrency wallet is used for. Consensus models and smart contracts are two topics covered in intermediate publications. A 15-question exam is available at the end of each segment for investors to evaluate their understanding.
Bitpanda Visa card
Residents of nations that have embraced the euro are eligible to apply for the Bitpanda Visa card. This fee-free debit card offers rewards on purchases of 0.5% to 2%. Spending cryptocurrency is made simple by the users’ ability to select the assets they want to use for payments. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that long-term, buy-and-hold investors may not want to spend cryptocurrency.
Areas for Improvement in Bitpanda
Unavailable in the United States
Austria-based Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency exchange with a focus on Europe. Only users from a select group of European nations, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland, are now accepted. United Arab Emirates citizens may also apply. Americans are not permitted to utilise this platform.
Restricted selection of cryptocurrencies on the Bitpanda Pro platform
Bitpanda offers two trading platforms for novice and experienced traders. The Pro platform offers reduced fees but is more constrained due to the restricted number of coins it supports. The majority of these cannot be traded with each other and may only be traded with euros. Customers can trade cryptocurrencies for equities or commodities on the basic platform, but not vice versa.
Deposit fees for cryptocurrencies
The majority of platforms don’t charge a fee for crypto deposits, which is advantageous considering withdrawal fees are sometimes charged as well. For deposits over a specific amount, Bitpanda will waive the little fees (which varies per crypto). Therefore, it would be beneficial to have this cost completely dropped.
Alternative Options to consider:
- SoFi Invest offers many of the same features as Bitpanda, including stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, and cryptocurrencies, if you’re looking for a cryptocurrency broker that is accessible in the United States. If you wish to maintain a diversified portfolio in one location and it trades more than 30 different cryptocurrencies, it might be worth a look.
- Gemini is a well-known pure cryptocurrency exchange if you’re looking for a U.S.-based platform with free cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals. Although it doesn’t offer stocks or other investments, it lists a large variety of cryptocurrencies. It is one of the few exchanges that provides a certain number of monthly free crypto withdrawals.
How Bitpanda works
In addition to selling cryptocurrencies, Bitpanda is a stock, ETF, and commodity dealer. It offers a large variety of equities and ETFs. Additionally, it provides fractional share trading, which enables investors to purchase stocks for as little as one euro. Clients that use dollar cost averaging have the option of setting up regular purchases. I’ve set up a recurrent buy for one of the index funds so I can buy cryptocurrency automatically on a specified schedule. The Bitpanda Ecosystem Token is another native token that Bitpanda uses to reward investors (BEST).
Bitpanda doesn’t have a dedicated cryptocurrency wallet. On its network, users can send and receive cryptocurrency, though. This distinguishes it from other cryptocurrency brokers. The Bitpanda apps for iOS and Android have corresponding star ratings of 4.8 and 3.5.
Some users can also spend their cryptocurrency through Bitpanda; those who live in nations that have embraced the euro can apply for the Bitpanda Visa card. With this debit card, you may easily spend cryptocurrencies and other assets while earning cryptocurrency incentives when you make purchases. Be mindful that using cryptocurrency and other assets may have tax repercussions. Fiat currencies can be used to top up buy-and-hold investors’ investments if they don’t wish to use their money for daily expenses.
Fees overview
Particularly on the sophisticated trading platform, Bitpanda’s trading fees are competitive with some of the best-value cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, it provides traders with discounts and additional benefits for holding its BEST utility token. The trading, deposit, and withdrawal fees are broken down as follows.
Trading fees
Bitpanda offers both pro and non-pro users trading platforms. The fundamental trading platform is more expensive to operate but easier for new traders to use. It includes a fee of 1.49% in the price that you see. The transaction charge for purchasing $220 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) on the basic platform is $3.29.
By using the Bitpanda Pro platform, seasoned traders can save trading costs. The maker/taker charge in this case ranges from 0.1% to 0.15%. On the Pro platform, purchasing 200 euros’ worth of bitcoin would cost a maximum of $0.33. Pro fees decrease as trading volume increases. Because Pro customers trade at market rates instead of the basic platform’s 60-second price guarantee, the fees are different.
Platform | Fees |
Bitpanda | 1.49% |
Bitpanda pro | 0.10% – 0.15% |
Fiat deposit and withdrawal fees
Depositing fiat money is simple with Bitpanda using a bank transfer, credit card, debit card, and other means. The user interface is straightforward to understand, and the fees are open and simple to comprehend. Depending on the currency, the minimal fiat deposit is about equal to $27.
Method | Fees |
Bank transfer | Free |
Credit / debit card (Visa and Mastercard) | 1.5% – 1.8% |
Other payment processors such as Skrill and Neteller | Set fee plus 3.6% |
Data source: Bitpanda. Fees vary depending on fiat currency.
Fees for cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals
It’s unusual for Bitpanda to charge fees for cryptocurrency deposits. Most exchanges give this service away without charge. The price is reasonable—typically $5. Yet, it is important to account for the additional cost because you typically have to pay to withdraw money from its original place.
If you deposit more cryptocurrency than a specified amount, the deposit charge is waived. The minimum varies from cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency, but the fee-free level is typically somewhere around $150. Avalanche (AVAX), with a minimum of around $10, and Bitcoin, with a minimum of around $2,000, are notable outliers.
The withdrawal fees charged by Bitpanda differ depending on the currency. This is due to the fact that transaction fees on various cryptocurrency networks vary. The fee to withdraw cryptocurrency from Bitpanda might range from less than a dollar to more than $50.
Selecting a cryptocurrency
Bitpanda offers a wide variety of coins and tokens thanks to the more than 150 cryptocurrencies it now supports. It includes the majority of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, such as Solana, Ripple, Binance Coin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin (SOL). Moreover, it trades a number of stablecoins, including USD Coin and Tether (USDT) (USDC).
It’s important to note that Bitpanda Pro has fewer trading pairs and a more constrained selection of cryptocurrencies. On the advanced platform, there are a lot fewer cryptocurrencies, and the majority of them can only be combined with euros rather than other cryptocurrencies.
Crypto Index on Bitpanda
The Bitpanda Crypto Index is one of the platform’s most intriguing features. Each of Bitpanda’s three cryptocurrency index funds is rebalanced once a month to reflect the state of the market.
- The top five cryptocurrencies by market cap make up BCI5. Almost 70% of the fund is made up of Ethereum and Bitcoin.
- BCI10: This fund, which consists of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, is largely comprised of Ethereum and Bitcoin.
- With 25 different cryptocurrencies, BCI25 is the most varied index fund. Over 35% of the total is made up of Ethereum and Bitcoin, with smaller cryptocurrencies like Sandbox (SAND), Fantom (FTM), and Chainlink (LINK) making up less than 2% of the total.
Investing in cryptocurrency index funds can be a wonderful strategy to diversify your portfolio. But, investors’ ability to influence specific assets is similarly limited.
Is your cryptocurrency safe with BitPanda?
A high-risk and volatile asset class is cryptocurrency. Additionally, because it is a newer sector of the economy with less investor protection than other asset classes, it is even more crucial to look for platforms that safeguard your interests.
According to Bitpanda, it takes security seriously and has put safeguards in place to keep its users safe. For instance, it puts assets in cold storage where they are not accessible, making them harder to hack. Last year, Bitpanda’s reserves were independently audited by the accounting firm KPMG. The site had more than enough money to cover user assets, it was discovered.
It also provides a number of user-level safeguards. They consist of two-factor authentication and sending withdrawal authorization emails with confirmation. But, it would be wonderful to see some more security features, including third-party insurance and anti-phishing safeguards. To protect user losses in the event of an exchange hack, a number of significant cryptocurrency exchanges have third-party insurance.
Bitpanda is Suitable for you if:
- You are a bitcoin investor at any level in Europe.
- You wish to access an index fund for cryptocurrencies.
- You want to keep your stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrency in one location.
Bitpanda is a European crypto broker that trades cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, and commodities.
- Crypto index fund
- Trades stocks and commodities
- Extremely user friendly
- Great educational resources
- Bitpanda Visa card
- Low fees
- Not available in the U.S.
- No interest-earning features
- Limited crypto range on Bitpanda Pro platform
- Crypto deposit fees