September 20, 2023

Crypto has been within the information for all of the mistaken causes currently because of the collapse of FTX and a handful of smaller exchanges. You’d be forgiven for questioning whether or not the entire sector resides on borrowed time.

That query is above my pay grade. What I do know is that not all crypto exchanges are created equal. For each apparently fraudulent entrance like FTX, there’s a seemingly official different like Coinmama.

I need to be clear right here: It is advisable to do your personal analysis earlier than selecting a house on your crypto transactions, and definitely earlier than buying any cash (when you’re not already a hodler). However all the pieces I’ve seen from Coinmama suggests it’s not an out-and-out rip-off like a few of its now-former opponents. And it’s way more beginner-friendly than your normal crypto change.


What Is Coinmama?

Coinmama is a spot to purchase and promote cryptocurrencies on-line. 

You should purchase greater than a dozen crypto cash on Coinmama, from super-popular ones like Bitcoin and lesser-known ones like Litecoin. You’ll be able to solely promote Bitcoin right here, so it’s not the perfect place to dump your cash.

Coinmama expenses commissions on each buy or sale it executes. Although these charges are greater than most opponents, Coinmama makes up for it with beginner-friendly options like instructional sources, hands-on assist, and helpful calculators. It’s additionally the counterparty in each transaction that happens on the platform, so that you’ll by no means take care of random folks right here.


What Units Coinmama Aside?

Coinmama stands out for 3 causes:

  • Tremendous Newbie-Pleasant. Coinmama is extremely beginner-friendly as crypto buying and selling platforms go. It has a ton of instructional sources for novices, makes it simple to purchase crypto with a credit score or debit card, and doesn’t overcomplicate issues with superior buying and selling or analysis instruments. Even when you’ve by no means held crypto earlier than, you gained’t really feel overwhelmed right here.
  • No Third Events. While you purchase or promote crypto on Coinmama, you all the time take care of Coinmama itself, slightly than nameless third-party consumers and sellers. It’s like shopping for a automobile from the dealership as an alternative of a random individual on Craigslist.
  • Robust Privateness and Information Protections. Coinmama encrypts all buyer data and abides by GDPR information safety laws, that are stricter than any U.S. information laws besides these in impact for California-based customers. Its respect for buyer privateness even extends to the looking expertise — that is what you see if you click on “Cookie Settings” within the footer immediate.

Key Options of Coinmama

Like what you see to date? Nice — time to dive into the main points. 

These are the core options that make Coinmama what it’s.

Shopping for Cryptocurrency on Coinmama

Coinmama presently provides 18 totally different cryptocurrencies on the market, although the precise quantity is topic to alter. The minimal buy quantity is $50 USD for all cash.

Choices vary from well-known stalwarts like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and stablecoins like USDC and USDT to lesser-known (and riskier) oddballs like OMG Community (OMG) and EOS. The complete lineup:

BTC ETH XRP DOGE
UNI AAVE ETC LINK
BCH WBTC LTC COMP
EOS OMG NMR LRC
USDC  USDT

How Can You Purchase Cash on Coinmama?

You should buy your cash with a credit score or debit card (Visa or Mastercard solely) — a pleasant comfort — or by way of financial institution switch. In case your cost card or checking account data lives in a Google Pay or Apple Pay account, you should utilize these.

Who Are You Shopping for From?

Coinmama all the time sells cash out of its personal stock. In different phrases, if you purchase BTC or XRP or COMP right here, you’re shopping for instantly from Coinmama, not a random individual with Coinmama appearing because the middleman. Although the entire level of crypto is you don’t must belief your counterparty and even know their id, the anonymity is off-putting for some novices. It’s good to know who you’re shopping for your cash from.

You Want an Exterior Pockets

Importantly, Coinmama doesn’t retailer its prospects’ cash. Not like some opponents, it doesn’t supply sizzling or chilly wallets. It is a modest inconvenience that’s actually a web profit as a result of it reduces the monetary penalties of a possible hack, however simply keep in mind that you could create a crypto pockets outdoors Coinmama earlier than buying cash right here. Should you’re a crypto beginner, see Coinmama’s assist article about organising a pockets here.

In any case, Coinmama processes buy transactions quick. It’s best to obtain your crypto inside minutes after Coinmama confirms your cost data and pockets handle.

Promoting Bitcoin on Coinmama

You’ll be able to solely promote Bitcoin on Coinmama. Or, extra precisely, to Coinmama. 

If you wish to promote any of the opposite 17 cryptocurrencies out there for buy right here, you’ll want to take action on one other change or brokerage.

The minimal BTC sale quantity is $200. That’s a tiny fraction of a full Bitcoin (a couple of hundredths at late-2022 costs). 

Locking Your Value

Coinmama locks in your Bitcoin worth for half-hour after you provoke the sale transaction in your finish. You will have that lengthy for the cash to put up to the blockchain. It needs to be lots when you switch your cash as quickly as you hit “promote” — however don’t overlook to finish this step as a result of Coinmama can’t do it for you.

Getting Paid in Fiat Forex

Coinmama wants your SWIFT code or IBAN number to pay you. These are lengthy (in IBAN’s case, actually lengthy) alphanumeric codes which can be primarily your checking account’s handle on the earth of worldwide finance.  

Should you’re unsure of your SWIFT code or the way to discover it, WikiHow has detailed instructions. The SWIFT code construction picture beneath additionally comes from WikiHow.

Transaction Limits

Coinmama permits mixed buy and sale transactions totaling as much as $15,000 per day if you use the financial institution switch choices. 

Limits for credit score and debit card transactions could also be decrease and could possibly be affected by your financial institution or card issuer’s each day transaction limits. Some banks restrict debit card transactions to a couple thousand {dollars} per day, even you probably have more money in your account.

Coinmama Charges (Commissions)

There’s no free lunch at Coinmama. All transactions incur platform commissions starting from 0.99% to three.9% for purchases. Sale transactions value a flat 0.9%.

You’ll know your fee earlier than you finalize your transaction, however Coinmama doesn’t present a lot of a information earlier than that. It simply says that costs differ primarily based on order dimension, loyalty degree, and market circumstances. 

There’s no transparency at throughout how order dimension and market circumstances have an effect on pricing. Almost about loyalty degree, Coinmama provides respectable reductions to customers in its two greater spending tiers (of three whole):

Loyalty Stage Low cost to Full Fee Required Spend Over 90 Days
Crypto Curious None None
Crypto Fanatic 12.5% $5,000 USD
Crypto Believer 25% $18,000 USD or $50,000 lifetime

Different Potential Charges

Coinmama doesn’t cost some other charges, however crypto transactions made on Coinmama may incur third-party bank or card issuer fees. The commonest of those are:

  • Money advance charges (sometimes no more than 5% of the transaction quantity)
  • International change charges for purchases denominated in currencies apart from U.S. {dollars} or euros (variable)
  • Worldwide transaction charges (sometimes no more than 3% of the transaction quantity)

Safety & Information Safety

Coinmama relies in Eire, which is a part of the European Union. Accordingly, it should adjust to all GDPR data protection regulations, that are a lot stricter than information safety laws in pressure in a lot of the remainder of the world. Even when you’re not primarily based within the E.U., Coinmama affords you an identical rights as customers who’re. 

Coinmama takes different common sense steps to guard customers’ safety as effectively. It encrypts all private data and by no means shops cost data on its servers. And since it doesn’t retailer prospects’ cash in its personal wallets, you don’t have to fret about hackers making off together with your cryptocurrency right here. (Although that’s a threat when you retailer cash bought on Coinmama in a sizzling pockets someplace else.) 

Academic Assets, Instruments & Help

Coinmama is thought to be one of the vital beginner-friendly crypto exchanges as a result of it makes shopping for and promoting crypto very easy for novices.

It doesn’t cease there although. Coinmama has a ton of helpful instructional sources and instruments, my private favourite being its helpful crypto calculators that worth out cash and fiat forex in actual time.

Coinmama additionally has a pleasant library of in-depth articles on newbie and intermediate crypto matters. Should you’re a complete novice, I’d suggest spending a while with mentioned library earlier than making your first buy.

Lastly, Coinmama has an AI chat function that’s out there 24/7 and human assist brokers out there throughout prolonged enterprise hours. Person evaluate recommend that these brokers are pleasant, useful, and actually know their stuff, which is all you’ll be able to ask for.


Benefits of Coinmama

Coinmama has quite a lot of upside. It’s beginner-friendly, simple to make use of, and apparently safe, amongst different advantages.

  • Quick Supply. While you purchase cash on Coinmama, you’ll be able to anticipate to obtain them inside minutes. This isn’t completely sudden or distinctive, but it surely’s actually reassuring.
  • Extraordinarily Newbie-Pleasant. Coinmama is among the most beginner-friendly crypto platforms I’ve ever encountered. Should you’re overwhelmed by crypto at a baseline, this can be a good place to begin.
  • Glorious Buyer Help. Coinmama’s buyer assist workforce really cares about its customers. Not less than, that’s the way it appears from the surface. Many crypto exchanges have a “you’re by yourself” mentality.
  • No Third Events Concerned. Coinmama is the counterparty for all buy and sale transactions on the platform. You don’t have to fret about encountering scammers right here, and even in any other case sincere folks you don’t know. You all the time know who you’re coping with.
  • Apparently Safe. Safety is all the time a problem within the crypto world, however Coinmama provides extra reassurance than most on that entrance. It doesn’t retailer cost card or checking account data and abides by strict GDPR information safety guidelines, the gold normal for digital privateness worldwide.
  • Coinmama Doesn’t Maintain Your Cash. I may spin this as an obstacle as a result of it’s much less handy than exchanges that supply sizzling pockets storage. However for my part, the professionals outweigh the cons, largely as a result of it means a hack concentrating on Coinmama most likely gained’t have an effect on your crypto holdings. 

Disadvantages of Coinmama

Coinmama has a couple of disadvantages that bear point out. Chief amongst them are its restricted coin choice (particularly on the promote facet) and its comparatively excessive charges.

  • Restricted Choice of Crypto Cash. You should purchase and promote solely about 20 cash on Coinmama, lower than many competing platforms. (Some supply 100 or extra.) That is effective if you’ll find the cash you need right here, however not nice when you’re a real crypto fanatic and need to broaden your publicity.
  • Can Solely Promote Bitcoin. Coinmama is a greater place to purchase than promote cryptocurrency. In truth, you’ll be able to solely promote Bitcoin right here. Certain, it’s the world’s hottest coin, however it could be good to have extra choices.
  • Larger Charges Than Many Opponents. Coinmama is just not the most cost effective place to purchase and promote crypto. Its commissions vary as excessive as 3.9%, relying in your loyalty degree (greater loyalty ranges imply decrease charges total). Within the screenshots beneath, you see how a lot Coinmama takes off the highest of each buy and sale transactions.

Is Coinmama Legit?

Sure, Coinmama seems to be official and aboveboard. It encrypts all private data supplied by its prospects and totally complies with GDPR information safety laws, that are stricter than comparable laws in a lot of the United States.

This doesn’t imply crypto you purchase on Coinmama gained’t lose worth, nor that the platform will probably be round without end. The previous 12 months has proven us that even the strongest-seeming crypto exchanges can fail.

However Coinmama doesn’t look like a rip-off. Its greatest downsides are comparatively excessive charges and restricted choices for promoting crypto. You should purchase greater than a dozen cryptocurrencies on Coinmama, however promote solely Bitcoin, so that you’ll want to search out one other place to dump the others.


How Coinmama Stacks Up

Unsure if Coinmama is the only option on your crypto shopping for and promoting wants? See the way it compares to Coinbase Professional, a extra superior crypto buying and selling platform constructed for critical crypto-heads. As you’ll be able to see, there’s not a lot overlap between the 2.

Coinmama Coinbase Professional
Crypto Rely ~15 160+
Charges 0.99% to three.9%, relying on loyalty degree As much as 0.6%, relying on quantity
Ease of Use Straightforward Troublesome
Buyer Help Intensive Minimal
Safety Robust Robust

Closing Phrase

I’m extra crypto-agnostic than crypto-skeptic, however the previous 12 months has shaken my religion a bit. A few of my previously gung-ho pals have sworn off Bitcoin and different cash completely, whereas others undertake a wait-and-see posture.

In opposition to this backdrop, it’s a aid to see apparently aboveboard crypto brokerages like Coinmama making their means. Whereas I’m not an insider and might solely go on publicly out there data, all the pieces I’ve seen suggests Coinmama is on the up and up. 

Is that sufficient for fellow crypto skeptics? Put it this manner: Should you’re interested by stepping into crypto after all the pieces that’s occurred currently, you’re most likely keen to go the additional mile and do your personal analysis. So do it — confirm the data I’ve supplied right here, attain out to Coinmama’s assist workforce with questions, and make your personal resolution as as to whether to open an account.