Coinmate Review
In this Coinmate exchange review, we would look at one of Europe’s most enviable crypto trading platforms. This is in terms of the number of Coinmate users, daily volume, profitability, and competitive advantage.
To begin, let us look at some history and lay down a few contexts that underscore the significance of a crypto exchange, like Coinmate, in Europe.
Regulation has not only derailed the growth of the blockchain industry; it has also created a sort of geographical marginalization. What does this mean?
Before now, several European countries had refused to accept cryptocurrencies as a new asset class; yet the majority of the populace had become (and continue to be) enthusiastic crypto investors, albeit at their detriments.
Regulations were not in place to ensure the space remained clean of scams and misguided projects, leaving those groups of investors exposed to devastating but also tenable risks. All that has changed now. European constitutions now contain clear guidelines and policies which must be followed by crypto exchanges.
For a platform like Coinmate, it means having the regulatory certainty to plan ambitiously for the long-term, while reaping the benefits offered by the European crypto markets.
In this review, we would see what strategies Coinmate is putting in place to become the European crypto giants. We would also help you understand why you may want to switch over to this exchange.
Here we go!
| Exchange name | Coinmate |
| Registered? | Yes |
| Forms of trade | Peer-to-peer and a Limit order market type |
| Assets | Bitcoins, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dai and more. |
| Learning materials | Provides free educational content. |
| Trading tools | Daily price chart, news and an advanced trading view for viewing market trends. |
| Fiat currency | 26+ (as of writing time) |
| Trading platform | Available on Mobile, Desktop, and Web. |
| Extra fees? | No |
| Customer support | Email, on-site and social media. Typically responds within a few hours. |
| Website | https://coinmate.io/home |
| Headquarter location | Slovakia (initially, United Kingdom) |
| Interface | Sophisticated, intuitive and beginner-friendly. |
Introduction to Coinmate exchange
Coinmate was founded in 2013 by investors Dan Houska and Roman Valihrach. Leveraging their decade-old experience in the traditional investment sector and cryptocurrencies, the two started the project as a joint venture with PROFINIT, a software development company in the banking sector.
Initially, the first version was announced on the 20th of October 2014, while the launch of the complete alpha version took place on the 15th of April 2014 starting with two cryptocurrency pairs – BTC/CZK and BTC/EUR.
At launch, the exchange operated in London, where it was first registered. Soon after, the platform moved base and is still situated in Slovakia. The move is understandable considering the political turmoil birthed by the Brexit agitation.
Before the relocation, which kicked off on the 7th of January 2020, the platform published a public advisory assuring users that the change will not hinder its operation, and users’ funds will not be affected.
On our first interaction with the Coinmate website, the tram seemed to lay extra emphasis on speed, accessibility, and affordability which are key factors investors look out for when selecting a crypto platform.
Although Coinmate provides crypto trading services to both institutional and retail clients, it identifies itself chiefly as a decentralized P2P platform, holding onto the ethos of the early days of Bitcoin trading.
Some quick facts on Coinmate exchange
Here are some notable information about the crypto broker:
- Before launching Coinmate, both co-founders of the exchange had credible stints in the cryptocurrency investment sector. Bitcoinpay.com, a crypto payment site also known as Confirmo, is one of the successful projects they have both worked on.
- In an industry facing constant threats of cyberattacks, Coinmate has carved a special reputation of being one of the few crypto brokers that have never been compromised.
- Last year (2020), when a financial services provider (FIO Bank) closed Coinmate’s bank account domiciled with it, inciting an unprecedented withdrawal of capital on the exchange, the platform was still able to process all of its clients’ transactions. In our view, this demonstrates the exchange’s ability to remain stable when faced with setbacks.
- In the summer of 2020, Coinmate struck a partnership agreement with Gopay. According to the deal, Gopay will assist Coinmate in processing CZK payments (the native currency of Slovakia). Shortly after that announcement, the exchange was able to open a new bank account for saving EUR currency.
- As at August 2020, there were 20 trading pairs on the exchange.
- At the time this review was written, the Bitcoin trade volume counter on the exchange homepage put the total value of transacted BTC at € 529,875,663.71 (dating back to 2014).
Coinmate exchange visions
As stated on its website, Coinmate’s major goals are to achieve the following three key objectives:
- To provide a simple, protected, and significantly discounted trading fee platform.
- To define new industry standards in the manner by which Bitcoin is exchanged and invested.
- To build the most reputable customer support unit on an online platform.
Supported Countries on Coinmate exchange
Cryptocurrencies can be accessed by anyone from any part of the world. However, regulatory variations tend to impose limitations on the level of accessibility centralized exchanges can offer.
But, with the growing number of DEX (decentralized exchanges) platforms (built using DeFi concepts), all that looks to change. A reliable internet connection and startup capital are all it takes to start buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
However, the DeFi phenomenon is still at a nascent stage and several issues still need fixing. This is why centralized exchanges will continue to get a bigger share of the crypto market.
Before you start trading with an exchange like Coinmate, the legislation of your country as regards crypto trading should be a serious source of concern for you. If you are a US citizen or you merely live in the US as a stranger, you may have to consider other exchanges, like Coinbase or Kraken, as Coinmate policies prohibit you from trading digital assets through the exchange.
Other unsupported countries are Nigeria, Libya and Iran, amongst others. For the full list, visit the site’s sign-up page and expand the drop-down button to view the names of supported countries.
Coinmate License and Certification
For safety reasons, you should know how crucial it is to avoid both trading with a crypto platform that is unregulated – no matter what they offer, and the competitive advantage they have over similar platforms.
That said, Coinmate is licensed in Slovakia as a regulation-compliant company with the number 52 902 617. According to information provided on the website, the office building can be found at Udernicka 10, Bratislava mestska cast Petrzalka 851 01.
In the UK (specifically England and Wales), Coinmate is registered as a company with the number 09130992, under the trade name CONFIRMO LTS.
One of the ways it is bound by these licenses is ensuring only crypto traders above 18 years of age get access to its trade services.
For more information on how the exchange applies the regulation of each jurisdiction, visit the Legal and Policy section on the website.
Deposit and Withdrawal on Coinmate exchange
Coinmate supports the deposits and withdrawals of Fiat currency (FC) and digital currency (DC).
Deposit and withdrawals of FC may be processed using one of the three channels listed on the “fees” page. They are:
- SEPA (for transferring EUR at a fee rate of 1EUR per transaction)
- SOFORT (for instant bank deposit at a fee of 1.5%)
- Bank wire in CZK (free for deposits but requires 1 EUR fee for Withdrawals).
Deposit and withdrawals of FC can be in any of the supported crypto tokens on Coinmate. The applicable fee for each transaction depends on the token type and changes continually according to fluctuations of the network. You can find the full details on the exchange’s site.
Funds can be withdrawn at any time. Though, the turn-around time for processing the transaction is subjected to a number of factors like the method selected.
Bank wire transfer might be delayed for up to 5 working days, depending on the currency and the user’s country of residence.
For a digital currency, the maximum lead time for withdrawals does not exceed 48 hours, except in the case of extreme network congestion.
What trading feels like on Coinmate exchange
Coinmate provides its users with an array of useful tools to ease the buying and selling processes.
They include a complex but highly informative Advanced Trading View, which is particularly useful for professional traders who wish to follow market trends in real-time, as a more meaningful way to monitor the performance of their portfolio.
Then, there is the Coinmate API feature which helps to sync the client’s trading software to achieve automated crypto ATMs, swaps, payouts, mass payments, and several other functions.
Trading fees on Coinmate exchange
The fee schedule is always getting adjusted. This is why you should always check the exchange website for the most updated version.
However, you must know that Coinmate uses the maker-taker model for evaluating trading fees. Like we explained in previous review articles, this approach helps an exchange to increase the liquidity available to traders.
That said, at the time of this writing, the trading fee for makers (the source of liquidity) is 0.05%, while for takers, the fee is 0.35%. Most brokers keep the gap somewhat very tight, and we cannot tell what rationality Coinmate applied to arrive at the decision.
Coinmate KYC processes (Account opening)
KYC, which stands for Know Your Customer, is a verification process by which businesses collect vital information on their customers. For a centralized crypto trading platform like Coinmate, that is obligated to juridical legislation. KYC verification can be essential in three ways:
- To confirm a client’s identity before linking him or her to a cryptocurrency wallet.
- To analyze and predict the customer’s present and future activities, while trying to ascertain if the activities will be legitimate or not.
- To probe into the possibility of a money laundering offense from a customer, or the overall risk exposure that comes with onboarding certain classes of people.
Like many other digital asset exchanges, Coinmate has its unique approach in verifying users’ identities. For one, the platform will try to confirm if the prospective customer intends to use its services as a company representative, or as a self-sponsored trader.
Hence it may require the following details: Full names, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Gender, Residential address, Nationality, Identification document type ( the number, country issued, expiration date), etc.
For a company, Coinmate requires the following: Business name, the Business identification number, Board members, articles of association, etc.
If Coinmate is not satisfied with your documentation, it may require you to provide additional information in the form of a scanned copy of your passport, utility bill (not later than 3 months), and even bank statements.
Your account might be suspended temporarily in scenarios where your daily trade volume seems unusual or is beyond the normal limits for deposits and withdrawals.
Furthermore, unverified accounts get terminated if Coinmate is unable to validate the submitted documents successfully.
Account Types on Coinmate exchange
Coinmate uses a three-level tiered system for categorizing users’ accounts. These are the basic account, the verified account, and the VIP account.
- For the basic account, only the customer’s name, DOB, and contact number will be required for KYC verification.
- For a verified account, scanned document ID and a utility bill or banking statement showing the customer’s address are all that’s necessary.
- There are no further requirements for a VIP account except that you may be asked to respond to a questionnaire.
Also worth noting is that Coinmate might mandate you to create a short video that captures the time and place when you were scanning the documents.
However, this is unusual and might be somewhat uncomfortable for some. Most exchanges will only ask you to forward the scanned documents in their original file format, and nothing else.
Here is how each account type differs in terms of daily withdrawal limits:
- For a basic account, the maximum withdrawable amount daily is £5,000. The least is £1,000.
- For a verified account, the minimum is £5,000, and there is a maximum limit of £20,000.
- For VIPs, the daily withdrawal threshold is £100,000, and the least permissible amount is £12,500.
Coinmate exchange security
Blockchain platforms are nothing but mere infrastructures built over the internet. That means a brokerage service provider like Coinmate bears the same risk exposure that exists in cyberspace due to hackers.
While exchanges promise to do their best in safeguarding users’ funds and identities, 50% of the responsibility lies with the clients themselves. Ensure you keep your details safe. Coinmate advices its customers to do the following:
- When as a client you suspect threats or fear the possibility of data compromise, inform the team immediately via mail.
- If you lose your login details, also contact the team quickly, along with documentation to authenticate your claim and get a fast response.
- If you fear there might be someone using any of Coinmate’s services inappropriately, with malicious intents, speedily reach out to the team through the contact form.
- Do not click on hyperlinks embedded in messages sent from a fake Coinmate email address. This is one of the common tricks used in phishing attacks.
- By default, all withdrawals and personal account reconfiguration must be confirmed by entering an OTP code typically sent to the registered email address. It is recommended to leave these settings unchanged.
- Especially in situations where you are using the same passwords for all your online accounts, it’s advisable to enable the use of the 2FA authentication method.
- If you feel inconvenienced doing the above, then be sure to use a long and hard-to-guess password for your Coinmate account.
- Do not use the same device to access your exchange account and email address.
- If necessary, install Anti-Malware programs to help protect your PC from viruses and spyware.
In addition to all the above, Coinmate has other additional measures designed to shore up any vulnerability or loopholes in the exchange build-up.
For example, 95% of funds are preserved in cold wallet facilities offline. Passwords are not saved in plain text form but are rather encrypted before they are added to the server database. In addition, Coinmate uses SSL, firewall, and Cloudware features to provide an extra layer of website security.
Coinmate Trading View
Coinmate Trading View comprises a pair of interfaces, one of which is named “Quick Buy/Sell” mode. The interface is simplified to make the trade process fast. In one click, a trade can be completed.
The Advanced Trading mode is a bit more complex as it is a blend of several trade-related features. It is more suitable for expert traders.
Conclusion
In addition to being a sophisticated, and yet simple crypto trading platform, we think Coinmate will be a good place to carry out one’s crypto trading activity.
Moreover, Coinmate has gone 7 years operating without recording any cyberattacks. This goes a long way to stress how well the exchange is shielded against situations of data theft and loss of funds.
Thus, if you are an European crypto trader, you should feel relaxed making Coinmate your home for all things crypto investment. The only setback would be that there are relatively very few coins listed on the platform.
Tokenhell produces content exposure for over 5,000 crypto companies and you can be one of them too! Contact at info@tokenhell.com if you have any questions. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Some of the posts on this website are guest posts or paid posts that are not written by Tokenhell authors (namely Crypto Cable , Sponsored Articles and Press Release content) and the views expressed in these types of posts do not reflect the views of this website. Tokenhell is not responsible for the content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or any other content or banners (ad space) posted on the site. Read full terms and conditions / disclaimer.
