Bitso Exchange Review

Bitso – Is It Good?

Established in Mexico during 2014, Bitso became a pioneering Mexican cryptocurrency exchange. It also became the first exchange to trade crypto against the Mexican peso (MXN).

Bitso’s main goal was to target Mexico’s unbanked population and give them the ability to trade in cryptocurrencies through a simple website. It currently has over one million users and 14 million trading transactions to back the platform up.

So, how good is Bitso?

Is Bitso a scam?

What do you need to use it? And, most importantly, how does Bitso stack up against other platforms?

What Does Bitso provide?

Bitso provides simplicity through an intuitive and minimal design for Mexicans.

Here are its main features:

Wallet and Currencies

At the time of writing, Bitso supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, TrueUSD, BAT, Decentraland, Golem and DAI, with more coins gradually being added.

Bitso also offers you a wallet to keep track of your crypto and your purchases. We always suggest having a wallet that’s separate from your exchange, but it’s a nice addition that helps you keep track of your transactions.

Converting fiat and crypto in the platform is surprisingly easy and intuitive. All you need to do is to choose how much fiat you want to exchange for the cryptocurrency of your choice. The platform automatically purchases it for you using the latest exchange rate.

You can also set up a limit order to control your purchases by setting up a specific price range to buy them. That way, you’ll prevent buying a coin when it’s too expensive.

Deposit and Withdrawal Options

Bitso allows you to link your cards to your account to purchase coins and top up your balance. You can also deposit money directly at the bank, or using the SPEI Network to transfer it.

Finally, Bitso also offers Mexicans the ability to top up their account at their local OXXO convenience store, as well as Walmarts and 7-11s across the country.

All of these options are very convenient for any Mexican, whether they already have a bank account or not.

Supported Countries

Bitso only operates in Mexico and Argentina. However, you can make unlimited deposits in cryptocurrencies and withdrawals of up to approximately $1,200 (MXN) per month without verification.

Bitso Rates and Buying Limits

Bitso charges a variable exchange fee. This fee can vary from 0.1% to a full 1%, and it’s based on the number of transactions a user has made over a 30-day period. The more transactions, the lower the fee.

Bitso fee: 0.1-1%

There are no fees for bank transfers or deposits, and funds are usually available within the hour.

Bitso does charge dynamic withdrawal fees of approximately 0.0003 BTC when withdrawing BTC, which is below average.

Security and Verification

Bitso follows the KYC and AML protocols that are obligatory in Mexico. It has three levels of verification:
Level 1: Verification through phone number via SMS.
Level 2: Verification through a passport or ID and proof of residence. Recommended for users with a minimum of $5,000 MXN online trading history (around $245 USD).
Level 3: Personalized advance verification for top traders. Details may vary.

Bitso also offers multisig wallets and 2-factor authentication. In February 2018, there was a hacking attempt against Bitso, but no funds or loss of data was reported.

Bitso Cons

• Limited choices of cryptocurrencies: Their repertoire, although decent, is definitely not for any alt-coin enthusiast.
• Limited fiat options: It only supports Mexican peso.
• Expensive for occasional users: Sporadic users will have to pay a full 1% trading fee.
• Limited support: Only works in Mexico and Argentina.

Go to Bitso

Is Bitso Good For Bitcoin?

Bitso is a safe and secure cryptocurrency exchange platform. It’s very well established and definitely not a scam. It offers low fees and the ability of trading without a bank account, which is very important for the unbanked population.

We did notice a small dissonance in their services: too simplistic and restrictive for serious traders, yet somewhat expensive to sporadic users. This means Bitso is particularly good only for users that trade crypto often, but aren’t serious or experienced traders.