Fees

Where to Buy Bitcoin in India: Cryptocurrency Exchanges Lower Their Fees

05/04/2020 by Idelto Editor

Where to Buy Bitcoin in India: Cryptocurrency Exchanges Just Lowered Their Fees

Since the supreme court lifted the RBI ban, more people have been looking to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in India. Responding to community feedback, a number of cryptocurrency exchanges have lowered their fees as the Indian crypto sector continues to grow.

Also read: IMF Declares Global Recession, 80 Countries Request Help, Trillions of Dollars Needed

Indian Crypto Exchanges Cutting Fees

The Indian crypto sector has been growing ever since the Supreme Court of India lifted the banking ban imposed by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). More people are now interested in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and local crypto exchanges are seeing increased trade volumes and signups, even during the nationwide lockdown.

One of the main factors why a user chooses one cryptocurrency exchange over another is the fee structure. Due to popular demand on social media, a number of crypto trading platforms have lowered their fees. Below are some popular bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges in India, as well as the fees they are charging.

Wazirx, a popular crypto exchange in the country, charges 0.1% when paid through WRX, CEO Nischal Shetty told news.Bitcoin.com. “We lowered our USDT fees to make it zero fees for transfer to Binance,” he detailed. “So effectively maximum users in India now enjoy 0 fee USDT transfer from Wazirx to Binance and for other withdrawals, the fee has been lowered to 1.5 USDT.” The CEO further shared, “We’re planning to lower withdrawal fees for other tokens as well over time.” Wazirx’s fees can be found here.

Zebpay, formerly one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, recently relaunched in the country. The exchange announced that starting Friday it is waiving “the normal 1.5% netbanking fee through April 10.” Furthermore, “users can trade BTC-USDT, ETH-USDT, XRP-USDT, ETH-BTC & TUSD-USDT with no trading fees this month.” The exchange currently charges a withdrawal fee of 0.00049 BTC. Zebpay’s fees can be found here.

Other Indian Exchanges With Competitive Fees

Some cryptocurrency trading platforms have already been focusing on offering competitive fees to their users. Popular Indian crypto exchange Coindcx charges 0.0005 BTC for withdrawals. CEO Sumit Gupta shared with news.Bitcoin.com: “We have been competitive since [the] start as a policy as we believe in crypto adoption. As we have been maintaining the best price, compared to some competitors, we didn’t have to bring the fees down.” Coindcx’s fees can be found here.

Unocoin, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, charges a fee of 0.7% to buy or sell bitcoin. Users can upgrade to a gold membership and the fee will drop to 0.5%. Unocoin’s fees can be found here.

Other well known cryptocurrency exchanges in India include Cashaa, Pocketbits, Giottus, and Bitbns. London-based banking platform Cashaa launched its Indian operations in October last year; its fees can be found here. Pocketbits advertises 0% trading fees and a BTC withdrawal fee of 0.0003 BTC; its fees can be found here. Giottus offers a BTC withdrawal fee of 0.0001 BTC, and the platform’s fee schedule can be found here. Bitbns charges a BTC withdrawal fee of 0.0005 BTC; its fees can be found here.

Furthermore, Indians can also use peer-to-peer marketplaces such as Localbitcoins and Paxful to buy and sell bitcoins directly from sellers in INR. They can also use local.Bitcoin.com to buy and sell BCH. India currently has no direct cryptocurrency regulation but the government is reportedly discussing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies with the central bank.

Which Indian crypto exchange do you like the most? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Where to Buy Bitcoin in India: Cryptocurrency Exchanges Lower Their Fees appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Crypto Mining Crunch Time – Bitcoin Halving Less Than 50 Days Away While Global Economy Shudders

24/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

On or around May 13, the BTC network will see a block reward reduction as miners will go from getting 12.5 coins per block to 6.25 coins following the halving. The last time the protocol’s block reward halved was on July 9, 2016, and the global economy looked a whole lot different back then. This time around, while BTC miners see reward reductions the world’s financial system has been crumbling and the digital asset’s value is much lower than it was four weeks ago.

Also read: Countdown to Block Reward Reduction – 18 Days Until Bitcoin Cash Halving

Bitcoin Halving Countdown – 50 Days Until the Block Reward Reduction

It’s kind of hard to believe that last month BTC was trading for much higher than it is today at $10,371 per coin on February 14. Then again it’s getting easier to believe anything is possible nowadays as the entire world is fractured by economic hardships from the covid-19 pandemic. Bitcoin is now trading for $6,600 and the network is set to see a block reward reduction from 12.5 BTC per block to only 6.25 BTC in 50 days. Give or take a week or so, the protocol has halved every four years starting in 2012. The last halving was in 2016 and the one expected after April is scheduled for May 13.

Besides the price lows right now, the ongoing economic uncertainty worldwide has cast a shadow on crypto markets in general and no one’s quite sure what will happen next. For the first time since Bitcoin’s birth, the cryptocurrency is caught amidst a financial meltdown worldwide and many people believe the technology was made for this event. In the midst of the economic calamity, and no matter what the price is come May 13th, miners will get their revenues chopped in half instantly.

#Bitcoin leveraged longs are liquidated, system cleared. Traditional system did not clear because of circuit breakers, bail outs, non 24/7: who knows how many blow ups are out there?! Markets show current $5trillionUSD promised QE is not enough. Bitcoin halving in May. #DoTheMath pic.twitter.com/tdtvLBtwNV

— PlanB (@100trillionUSD) March 19, 2020

BTC miners will face other obstacles as well because Satoshi Nakamoto probably never accounted for two other SHA256 networks. In 2020 there are three high-profile blockchains that share the same SHA256 algorithm and some mining operations process blocks on all three networks. An even larger number of mining pools can be seen switching hashrate from chain to chain in hopes of gathering better profits. Roughly a month before BTC’s halving, bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoinsv (BSV) will see block reward reductions as well. Bitcoin miners have been doing this for quite some time and there have been various occasions where it’s more profitable to mine BCH than BTC or vice versa. Because miners follow these windows of opportunity to bounce around chain to chain, speculators believe profit fluctuations will be more drastic as each network halves.

2020 Halving Produces Uncertainty and Possible Diminished Security

Further, while a good number of BTC supporters are optimistic about the bitcoin halving, there are those who think it might not be a big deal. Longtime analyst and trader Peter Brandt who has 334K followers on Twitter recently said that the halving might be overemphasized. Brandt tweeted that the bitcoin halving was “grossly overrated.” “The daily trading volume of BTC = the REAL supply of BTC,” Brandt stressed. “The daily reduction of mined bitcoins (NEW supply) equals approx 2/100th of 1% of REAL supply.”

Bitcoin halving & bull market are approaching as the fundamentals are very much in place

Bitcoin is a ticking time-bomb 💣

— Crypto Capital Venture ⚡ (@cryptorecruitr) March 24, 2020

When people told crypto pundit and trader Tone Vays that economic conditions would probably bolster BTC, Vays seemed to think the opposite. “Actually the halving being so close is a bad thing, if this Zombie Apocalypse continues into the summer,” Vays replied. “BTC might still be crashing as the halving just crushes the miners.” The popular crypto trader Donalt’s view of the situation seemed grim as well. “So miners get half the amount of Bitcoin and can only sell it for half the price in a few week’s time,” the trader tweeted. “Halving sounds like a sh** deal for them, not gonna lie.”

I gotta say, not many better ways to make the point as #Bitcoin going through its halving right as the world’s fiat currencies go through a doubling.

— Nathaniel Whittemore (@nlw) March 19, 2020

The first two halvings were followed by increased BTC values and security increased a great deal as well. Since the 2016 halving, BTC miners’ combined hashrate processed at the time was just above one exahash per second (EH/s). In the four years since, miners have captured an all-time hashrate high of around 136 EH/s on February 20, 2020, although since the price slid during the last two weeks, the overall hashrate has lost 26%, dropping to 100 EH/s.

While many BTC supporters believe that the chain is secure, a few skeptics think security will drop after May 13. The CEO of AVA Labs and Cornell Professor Emin Gün Sirer thinks that the next few reward reductions will diminish BTC’s overall security. “As the amount of awards given to the miners dwindles down, the security of the network will drop,” Gün Sirer said. “If the security drops sufficiently, we may even see massive double-spend attacks targeting exchanges. This would, in turn, trigger exchanges to extend their confirmation times.” The professor added:

At some point, the attackers might have access to so much hashpower that no reasonable number of confirmations may be sufficient to guarantee security.

Miners Must Rise Above the Tide to Remain Profitable

No one quite knows what will happen during the next BTC halving but we do know there’s a lot of different factors in 2020 such as the price after the halving, the global economy, hashrate and difficulty, and the number of transactions and fees as well. James Todaro, head of research at Tradeblock, has tweeted that miner costs need to surge from $7K per BTC to between $12,000 and $15,000 following the halving event. “Following the Bitcoin halving, miners’ estimated breakeven costs will rise from ~$7,000 today to ~$12,000–15,000 per BTC after. I would not be surprised if we see Bitcoin prices rise above these levels so that miners remain profitable,” Todaro wrote.

What do you think about BTC’s upcoming block reward reduction? Let us know in the comments section.

The post Crypto Mining Crunch Time – Bitcoin Halving Less Than 50 Days Away While Global Economy Shudders appeared first on Bitcoin News.

How to Find Your Nearest Bitcoin ATM

21/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

How to Find the Nearest Bitcoin ATM to Your Location and Learn About Its Features

Cryptocurrency markets have experienced a few intensive weeks since the start of the year that took prices to 2020 highs in mid-February. The overall bullish sentiment is attracting more interest towards the crypto space. There are many ways to get started with Bitcoin but one the most accessible options is to find an ATM supporting coin purchases with local fiat.

Also read: Bitcoin.com Partners With Mecon Cash, Enabling Withdrawal at ATMs Across South Korea

Using a Crypto ATM Is an Easy Way to Get Into Bitcoin

Bitcoin teller machines (BATMs) are a great gateway to the world of cryptocurrencies as they don’t require extensive expertise and you can use them without complicated access procedures. While there are differences in how various devices function, in most cases all you need is to have a crypto wallet installed on your smartphone and a wallet with cash and cards in your pocket. But even that is not always necessary.

In order to “withdraw” cryptocurrency from a BATM, you’ll have to set an amount you’d like to buy, enter a destination crypto address – you can let the machine scan the QR code on the receiving screen of your mobile wallet – and then insert the banknotes that you want to convert into digital money. Once you complete the purchase, you can print out a receipt for the transaction. In case you don’t have a software wallet, many teller machines can also generate a paper wallet for you.

Some Bitcoin ATMs are two-way devices that allow you to also sell crypto for cash. One common way to do so is to enter a sum of fiat currency you want to withdraw from the teller machine, which will print out a ticket with a QR code of a public address you need to send the coins to within a certain timeframe. You can scan the code with your mobile wallet and transfer the preset crypto amount. Then by scanning the same printed QR code later at the ATM you can redeem the cash equivalent.

How to Find BATM Locations Near You and Around the World

The easiest way to locate the closest bitcoin ATM is to use a tracking website. Coinatmradar is the most popular option as its database now lists almost 7,000 crypto teller machines worldwide. The platform has many useful features. For example, you can narrow down your search by supported cryptocurrencies, availability of buy and sell options, and focus on a particular destination including country, city and location.

The most intuitive way to do that is by using Coinatmradar’s interactive map but there’s also a dedicated “Find a bitcoin ATM near me” feature that provides even more options. It allows you to choose between eight popular cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin core (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH), and to select the ATM locations according to their buy or sell features. You can also use the page to search for ATMs by address or allow the tracker to use your current location to ask for suggestions in your area.

Coinatmradar supports searching by countries and by manufacturers. The website provides details about each listed ATM like the exact address of the device, directions how to get there, working hours and its operator’s contact information. Because of their accessibility and running costs, Bitcoin ATMs usually charge relatively high fees per transaction. With Coinatmradar you can obtain that information as well if it has been reported by the company. Supported fiat currencies and exchange pairs are also listed.

Other bitcoin ATM locator sites often track crypto teller machines in a specific region. Findbitcoinatm.com.au was one such platform working in Australia but its website is currently offline. The Russian Cryptocoinmap.ru is similar in design, although much simpler than Coinatmradar. It lets you find BATMs on a Yandex map and lists them with their locations, pictures and other details, including working hours, supported transactions and available cryptocurrencies. Visiting an operator’s website is another option. For example, Coinflip, which is a leading provider in the U.S., allows you to explore its ATM locations online. Using Google Maps or business directory services such as Yelp can produce some results but Coinatmradar remains the best global source at the moment.

Do you know of other ways and platforms to locate bitcoin ATMs around the world? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Coinatmradar.

Are you looking for a secure way to buy bitcoin online? Start by downloading your free bitcoin wallet from us and then head over to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can easily buy BTC and BCH.

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Digital Remittances Reach Record High of $96 Billion, Fees Charged by Traditional Providers Open Door for Cryptocurrencies

14/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

In a globalized world where labor follows capital, the remittance industry has been growing constantly in both volume and users. Traditional providers like banks and money transfer companies have been charging high fees for their services which creates opportunities for alternative digital platforms and decentralized cryptocurrencies.

Also read: Russians Can Use Qiwi, Sberbank, Yandex Money and Now Binance P2P Exchange to Buy Bitcoin With Rubles

Digital Remittance Volume Projected to Touch $143 Billion by 2023

According to numbers gathered by market data provider Statista, the total transaction value of digital remittances, cross-border transfers made over the internet, has reached almost $95.96 billion in 2020, representing a year-over-year increase of more than 21%. At the same time, the number of users in this segment of the remittance market has been estimated at 8.5 million (+20.5% yoy). Both indicators are projected to increase by 2023, to over $143 billion in volume and 13.2 million users.

Last year, the largest share of users (32%) were between 25 and 34 years old, and another 25% were aged 35-44 years, a majority from labor-active age groups. The average annual transaction value per user in the digital remittances segment amounts to a little over $11,233 according to the data released this year. Five countries, United States, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and China, top the transaction value comparison chart. With a total transaction value of $21.297 billion, the U.S. is the pronounced global leader and Switzerland comes in second with $7.969 billion.

Total transaction value in the digital remittances segment, Source: Statista — Global comparison, transaction value. Source: Statista

The authors of the report note that remittances often occur on a regular basis and most of the user groups are not inclined to change their fund transfer provider very often. The sector is dominated by established service providers such as banks, post offices and money transfer processors like Western Union and Moneygram. The relatively high fees they charge has opened the way for alternative platforms such as Transferwise, Worldremit and Remitly, Statista points out, which have managed to cut costs by optimizing the use of digital infrastructures.

Ripple’s Latest Remittance Service Agreements Turn the Tide for XRP

While there have been various developments around XRP recently, some of them have influenced its market in a positive way. Two partnerships have been announced this month in which Ripple, the company associated with the cryptocurrency, will be providing remittance services. The price of XRP, the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, spiked over the past couple of days, from a low of $0.2678 on Feb. 11 to a high of $0.3288 early on Feb. 13. Although the crypto lost some of the gains later on Thursday, the price jump is remarkable as it comes after a difficult year for one of the top coins.

According to media reports this week, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the country’s largest financial institution by assets and branches, has signed a cooperation agreement with Ripple to open a new channel for receiving remittances from Egyptians that live and work abroad. The bank said it wanted to employ Ripple’s blockchain solutions to further develop its remittance business supporting transfers from around the world and particularly the Gulf region.

The Egyptian deal follows another similar agreement announced by Ripple earlier in February. The company revealed it’s going to work with International Money Express (Intermex), a leading remittance services provider focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean corridor, to address the challenges with slow and expensive cross-border payments. Intermex plans to leverage Ripplenet for faster remittances between the United States and Mexico. Ripple claims the network links over 300 banks and financial institutions globally.

According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks third among countries with the highest number of remittance recipients. Data published by Banco de México, the nation’s central bank, shows that Mexican emigrants have sent home a record $36 billion in 2019, a 7% increase over the previous year’s almost $33.7 billion. Most of the money, a large portion of which comes from the U.S., has been transferred electronically and in small transactions averaging around $300. Intermex is one of the largest money remitters between the two countries processing more than $30 million in transactions annually.

The status quo in the digital segment of the remittance market undoubtedly creates opportunities for decentralized cryptocurrencies as well. Transaction fees in the case of bitcoin cash (BCH), for example, are less than a cent per transfer. Certain regions can benefit significantly – a 2019 report by the World Bank revealed that the average cost to send the equivalent of $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa is 9.3% of the transferred value, as news.Bitcoin.com reported last year. In 2018, African expatriates sent $46 billion to their home countries.

What are your expectations about the future of the remittance industry? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Statista.

Do you need a reliable bitcoin mobile wallet to send, receive, and store your coins? Download one for free from us and then head to our Purchase Bitcoin page where you can quickly buy bitcoin with a credit card.

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UK Crypto Startups to Pay Discounted £2,000 Fee for Registration, FCA Revises Application Charges

05/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

Young and small cryptocurrency businesses will pay lower registration fees than big companies, the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog has decided after consultations with members of the industry. The revised fee scheme takes into account the firms’ income to determine the amount they’ll be charged to cover supervision costs.

Also read: Singapore Introduces Licensing for Crypto Platforms, New Payment Services Act Now in Force

Two-Tier Fee Scheme Replaces Proposed £5,000 Flat Charge

According to recently announced amendments to the registration regime, small crypto companies will pay £2,000 (around $2,600) for their applications while those with turnover from crypto-related activity exceeding £250,000 ($325,000) will face a higher fee of £10,000 ($13,000). The new two-tier system replaces the flat-rate charge of £5,000 that was proposed last year.

In October, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a consultation paper with its proposals for recovering the oversight costs from the crypto sector under the country’s updated regulations transposing EU’s AMLD5. Since Jan. 10, the agency has been the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing supervisor of businesses operating with digital assets. The changes were made by the FCA Board on the same date and came in force on Jan. 13. The handbook notice was published on Jan. 31.

The FCA, which is funded by the fees and levies from the firms it regulates, had estimated it would need to collect a total of £400,000 ($520,000) from 80 potential applicants for the costs of the regulatory gateway. The revision of the application fees comes after the authority received 29 consultation responses and held a meeting with crypto businesses. The authority details:

A strong message from a roundtable meeting with cryptoasset businesses on 18 October 2019, backed up by many of the written consultation responses, was that our proposed registration charge of £5,000 would be too high for small firms and startups.

The Financial Conduct Authority provides some examples from the feedback it received which influenced its decision. The chief executive of one of the companies shared that a registration fee of £5,000 would’ve been almost as much as his entity spent during the first two years of its launch. Representatives of another company noted that the initially proposed application charge equals the six-month profit from one bitcoin ATM.

Compliance Expenses Can Reach 20% of Revenues

The FCA acknowledges that some of these small businesses face losses in their early years and that a higher registration fee might push them to either cease operations or relocate to more favorable jurisdictions. The administration notes, however, that according to an earlier review conducted in 2014, direct regulatory fees represented around 3% to 4% of firms’ revenue. At the same time, indirect compliance costs were at 16% for applicants with revenue up to £250,000.

Some of the companies that provided feedback also noted that the fee proposed by the FCA was higher than a similar charge applied by the HM Revenue & Customs, Britain’s tax service, for anti-money laundering supervision. Others have expressed doubts regarding the cost of the regulatory gateway, noting that it’s unclear how the FCA came to the £400,000 figure.

Respondents also asserted that the FCA had underestimated the size of the sector that might have much more than 80 entities, given that even already registered financial services companies will be required to apply and pay the new fee if they want to conduct cryptoasset activities. To these concerns, the regulator replies with a promise to “keep these charges under review and may consult on amending them once we have greater experience of the industry and are registering new businesses only.”

The financial authority insists that late registrants won’t enjoy any advantages. “All cryptoasset businesses trading on 10 January 2020 are subject to 5MLD and are required to be registered with the FCA by 10 January 2021. We have warned that we cannot guarantee to give a decision by then if businesses apply after 30 June 2020,” Handbook Notice 73 reads. In other words, if a business files its application too late, there’s a risk that it might not be registered by Jan. 10 and would have to cease operations until its status is determined.

What’s your opinion about the U.K.’s registration process for crypto companies and the applicable fees? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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