Bitstamp vs. Bittrex

Bitstamp Quick Overview

Bitstamp is one of the oldest and most well-respected cryptocurrency exchanges in operation today. It started its operations in 2011 and since then the exchange has built upon its largely European user base to become one of the most popular trading platforms for cryptocurrency traders around the world. While they offer few trading pairs, the exchange puts an emphasis on quality over quantity, supplying trading options for a limited number of cryptocurrencies yet maintaining a positive user experience overall. Read our full review here.

Bittrex Quick Overview

Bittrex is a cryptocurrency exchange oriented towards more experienced traders. Based in Seattle, U.S., and Lichtenstein (Bittrex Global), they offer over 250 digital assets via their powerful cryptocurrency trading engine with a sleek interface and numerous trading pairs. Bittrex also has a set of its own API keys which can be used for automated crypto trading with bots. Launched by former employees of Microsoft and Amazon, another one of its biggest draws is its robust security.

Bitstamp vs Bittrex Fees

When comparing fee structures of Bittrex vs Bitstamp there is an obvious winner.

For Bitstamp, maker fees and taker fees, meaning placing or accepting an existing order, start at 0.5% and go down from there, turning to 0% when you have $10 billion, yes, BILLION, in trading volume in the past 30 days.

For Bittrex, maker fees start at 0.2% and go down from there, turning to 0% when you have $60 million in trade volume for the past 30 days. Taker fees also start at 0.2% and go down from there, turning to 0.08% when you hit the $60 million volume mark.

Bittrex is the clear winner here, as their fees are less than half that of Bitstamp’s even at their highest. In order to even get to 0.2% fees on Bitstamp you need to have $400k in trading volume in the past 30 days, whereas if you have the same volume on Bittrex your fees would be 0.12% for maker and 0.18% for taker.

Features

Bitstamp and Bittrex essentially offer the same features, so we will take a look at one feature each exchange does better than the other.

For Bitstamp, they have an extremely popular, well reviewed, and easy to use mobile app. It allows users to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies from anywhere. Compared to Bittrex’s app, it has a 4.6-star rating, whereas Bittrex has only 3.2-star rating. In addition, Bitstamp has over 6000 reviews on the Play Store alone, whereas Bittrex has just over 500. Clearly Bitstamp has the edge when comparing mobile apps.

For Bittrex, they feature over 250+ cryptocurrencies for you to trade, compared to Bitstamp’s 10. Bittrex offers you a ton of altcoins so that you can diversify your portfolio without having to move assets from exchange to exchange.

Security

Bitstamp vs Bittrex in terms of security is a very close race. Both exchanges offer top class security, including Two Factor Authentication (2FA), and keep most of their assets in cold storage (Bitstamp keeps 98% offline, Bittrex 80-90%). The only real difference between the two exchanges is that Bitstamp has been hacked in the past, whereas Bittrex has not.

In 2015, Bitstamp was the victim of a phishing a malware attack, in which employees of the company unknowingly downloaded malware onto the system and this resulted in the loss of just under 19,000 Bitcoins. Since the incident they have improved all their security protocols but because Bittrex has never been hacked at all we will give them the edge here.

Available Currencies

Comparing available cryptocurrencies of Bittrex vs Bitstamp provides a clear winner. Bitstamp only offers 10 different crypto assets for you to buy and sell, along with fiat currencies. In contrast to this, Bittrex offers a whopping 250+ digital assets for you to trade. Clearly if you are looking to have a diverse portfolio with lesser known altcoins you will need to use Bittrex. However, Bitstamp has better liquidity if you are looking to trade the most well-known cryptos.

Trading Power

Both exchanges are considered to be in the top 20 on the market, however, Bittrex is typically in the 10-20 range, whereas Bitstamp is in the 1-10 range. While you are unlikely to have issues making fast trades on either platform, Bitstamp provides much more liquidity if you are trading bigger crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Chainlink. But because they do not offer much altcoin support you may be better suited to using Bittrex.

Essentially the winner here is Bitstamp if you are trading Bitcoin or Ethereum, but Bittrex if you are wanting to trade anything else.

Ease of Use

Bittrex and Bitstamp are both easy to navigate, with pleasant user interfaces and trading views. They offer the same trading features, and both require identity verification after registration. However, Bitstamp gets the edge here because they accept credit and debit cards of all types, meaning it is more accessible for beginners, as Bittrex only accepts Visa, thus limiting the users that are able to buy assets using credit cards.

Conclusion

It is hard to say that either Bitstamp or Bittrex are better than the other, each has its own niche. If you are interested in altcoins, then Bittrex is likely your best bet. But if you are simply looking to trade top crypto assets, then Bitstamp is the choice for you.