Cryptopia is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges within New Zealand and Australia, but it’s also known for being one of the platforms with the highest number of cryptocurrencies listed. As opposed to some other platforms such as Poloniex or Bittrex, which deal mostly in Bitcoin and Ethereum trading pairs, Cryptopia offers its users over 400 different crypto-coins to trade with. Besides having a wide variety of coins available for exchange, this website has another advantage – low fees.
The maker-taker fee schedule charges 0% when you are adding liquidity to the order book (for example by placing limit orders that gets filled), while charging only 0.2% on all executed trades your behalf when taking away any liquidity (for example by placing market orders that gets filled). Cryptopia has its headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand. However, the exchange is currently registered on the cryptocurrency island of Vanuatu.
In this article I will share all the things about the cryptopia exchange. Those you should know before start with this exchange.
Reputation in Market:
Cryptopia is a New Zealand based cryptocurrency exchange, which supports BTC markets as well as over 400 various crypto coins , which you can buy and sell with each other. The website was first launched in December 2014 by Adam Clark and Rob Dawson . It’s the world’s “most advanced” altcoin exchange, according to its founders.
Company structure:
The company filed as Cryptopia Limited. The company number is: 942902 and the registered address is: 7 Clyde Road, Level 1 , Queensgate, Christchurch 8052 , Canterbury, New Zealand. It has Adam Clark as a managing director and his business partner named as Rob Dawson
Low liquidity:
In my point of view this is the main reason that there are many limitations when you trade altcoins on cryptopia. The website has been designed from the scratch to become a cryptocurrency only marketplace. Most of people who registered on cryptopia started with BTC markets, but they were soon disappointed because of the lack of liquidity and the high volatility .
Many Cryptocurrencies
As already mentioned in this article, Cryptopia is a multi-currency exchange, the website lists over 400 cryptocurrencies . It is a very big advantage for all traders who can choose from a wide variety of altcoins. You can easily find many new interesting coins on Cryptopia since it has been listing new coins every day !
Trading platform:
The trading page is relatively easy to use and it is open right now. The trading interface is clean and we can easily see all the available information: current price, 24 hours high and low prices, order book, recent trades and depth chart. We could change the time frame (from 1 minute to 1 week). However you can not choose your own custom time frames like on Bittrex.
Fees:
Cryptopia charges a flat fee of 0.20% on all trades that is taken from the bid/ask value. The deposit fees are free and withdrawals usually cost 0.0005 BTC, but may vary depending on the coin network transaction fees (you can check them here ). This platform offers deposits and withdrawals in over 400 various cryptocurrencies ! However you should be careful if you want to make altcoin deposits because most of them have very long confirmation times . I think it is better to send only Bitcoins and Ethereums because they confirm faster than other coins and then trade them for your desired currency.
Security:
You do not need to enter any API key or Secret Key, just type username and password like you do with other websites. You can login to Cryptopia using Google or Facebook account, no registration is necessary . In fact, the login process on Cryptopia is remarkably simple and straightforward.
Types of Accounts:
The main page of the website has a message board, which is the right place to find support and communicate with other users. The members can also create their profile pages and follow others. You can set your own avatar and make comments on your trading history and past trades (I really like this feature because it allows me to see if I am dealing with an experienced trader or not). It’s worth noting that there is no two-factor authentication, but you could use SMS authentication for all login attempts or IP white listing .
Customer Support:
I found their support team to be prompt and helpful . I asked them many questions during the past week (they usually reply within one day) and they always gave me useful answers. However, this is not a 24/7 customer service like Bittrex or Poloniex because they are sleeping now (it is 4:00 AM here in New Zealand). If you need help, I recommend to contact them only after noon (UTC+12).
Mobile Trading:
The website of Cryptopia is mobile friendly and you can easily use it from your mobile phone. However I found some bugs when I was testing mobile trading: the chart did not load and then after a few seconds, the app crashed .
Demo Account:
The trading platform of Cryptopia is still in beta phase, but you can use it with a demo account to test your strategies . However I really think that the website should add a lot more altcoins before allowing people to trade with a demo account. You can not fully explore all the website functionalities without signing up an account and start trading for real, so register there if you want to learn how to trade cryptocurrencies successfully.
Exchange API:
There is no API for exchange data , which makes Cryptopia less attractive for programmers who want to build third party apps using their market data. In fact this web-based cryptocurrency exchange does not offer any API to withdraw funds, deposit funds or place buy/sell orders . It’s obviously risky to rely on a third party service without any API and I prefer exchanges that offer such an option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which coins are traded on Cryptopia?
Currently Cryptopia offers only 139 different coins, which is very low compared to other exchanges. If you are looking for a web-based exchange , I recommend to check out CoinExchange . That website has 116 cryptocurrencies listed and it does not charge deposit fees. However, if you want something more advanced than just a web-based interface, you can try Bittrex or Poloniex because they offer many advanced features (supporting automation using APIs or third party apps). Another popular exchange is Bitfinex , but they do not allow US citizens so I won’t include them in the comparison chart below.
How long does it takes until my funds?
Cryptopia confirms all new deposits in four hours . It’s a lot faster than Bittrex (they take around 30 minutes to 2 hours), but it is still slower than Bitfinex and Poloniex (they confirm your deposit almost instantly).
What is Cryptopia fee?
The fee for trading cryptocurrencies on Cryptopia is 0.1% , which includes both the buyer and the seller fees. This is the lowest fee you can find among all exchanges, even lower than Shapeshift that charges 1%. Note that some altcoins have different fees when you withdraw them from your wallet so make sure to check this detail when sending coins from one address to another. In fact, coinmarketcap offers a complete list of all cryptocurrencies fees (you can sort the coins by fee, volume or price).
Is there any Cryptopia Reviews?
I found one good Cryptopia review on Reddit . The user did some testing and he concluded that trading is free on that platform. However, I think it’s better to read several reviews before you dive into trading on any cryptocurrency exchange (there are many fake pages out there). If you want to learn more about this website I would recommend reading their FAQ section , which offers basic information for new traders. Another option is to go through their Wiki page , which also contains some useful tips for traders. You could also check various resources online like CryptoCoinTalk or CoinCodex .
Conclusion:
After reading this article you probably know if Cryptopia is the right cryptocurrency exchange for you or not. I personally prefer to use Bittrex because it offers over 50 cryptocurrencies, advanced trading orders and quick deposits/withdrawals. However, if you are just looking for a web-based exchange with low fees Cryptopia might be your best option.
