Best Exchange: Part 4: Changelly

An exchange facility is considered good not just on the basis of net effective exchange fees, but also "how it connects to the legacy financial ecosystem". That is the easiest way we can connect to the new users and make crypto mainstream.

Therefore crypto-fiat swap should also be available along with crypto-crypto swap. The newcomers joining this ecosystem should be able to buy crypto using the card and/or wire transfer. And should also be able to convert their crypto to fiat in the easiest possible way.

There are very few exchanges that offer all the three facilities: buying crypto with card, crypto-crypto exchange, and selling crypto for fiat.

Most of the time users have to rely upon two to three exchanges to avail all these three facilities. As competition has gone up in the exchange domain(obviously for the good), more and more cost-effective solutions are available today.

Most of the users, in general, rely on Global exchange facilities for crypto-crypto swap(for a better net effective exchange value) and then they connect to the regional exchange to trade the crypto for fiat.

The next best iteration of the crypto exchange facility will be to create an exchange facility where both local and global requirements of the traders are facilitated in one place. If any exchange is working towards this objective, it is none other than Binance.

However today I am going to introduce you to an instant exchange facility, Changelly, where one can buy crypto with a card, one can swap crypto for another crypto and one can also sell crypto for fiat. The crypto to fiat exchange fees might be higher, but imagine such a solution does exist in this ecosystem in one place where all the three requirements are being fulfilled.

_{Note- Changelly may not be the only solution in this regard, but definitely one of the solutions.}

Changelly

Changelly is an instant exchange facility in service since 2015. They have really done a lot of improvements in regard to the user interface, to make it simple, intuitive. The live support service of Changelly is simply excellent.

This is one of the very few instant exchange facility which charges as low as 0.25% trading fees. However, an additional network fee applies on the top of the exchange fees, so the net effective exchange fees vary from one network to the other. Put simply, in some of the coins the net effective exchange fees may be high, while for some others it may be most competitive.

With Changelly you can perform the following:-

• Crypto-crypto swap
• Buy crypto with fiat (Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Bank Transfer)
• Sell crypto for fiat (EUR, USD, RUB)

In order to perform a crypto-crypto swap either you can go with the iOS/Android app of Changelly or simply use the desktop version, get registered first, and then perform a swap. To sign up, you just need an email address only. For the iOS/Android version you don't need to sign up to make a crypto-crypto swap.

For crypto-crypto swap it does not need to pass the KYC, however, if you are buying crypto with fiat or selling crypto for fiat, it is mandatory to pass the KYC.

The different payment partners to buy crypto with fiat are Banxa, Moonpay, Simplex, Coinify, Indacoin, Wyre, Iatamex, etc. The minimum amount to buy crypto with fiat is 50 USD. You can buy crypto with USD, GBP, EUR, and many other supported fiat.

The payment partner to sell crypto for fiat is Mercuryo. For selling crypto, only BTC is supported by the payment partner at the moment. The minimum amount to sell BTC is 0.002 BTC

Interestingly if you happen to buy up to 150 USD worth crypto through Simplex or up to 150 EUR worth crypto through Moonpay, you don't need to pass the KYC, for any amount beyond this limit, it is mandatory to pass the KYC.

The different payment partners charge different fees(which also includes the fees of Changelly and the network fees). You can check this fee schedule if you want to buy crypto with fiat.

You can always check the buy page to get the best deal which is placed on the top of the offers that are available.

Changelly has partnered with major exchange platforms like Binance, Bittrex, Poloniex to give you the best offer for crypto to crypto swap. So when you initiate an exchange in Changelly it will search the available rates from the market, select the best one, and then it will include the fees and will show you the fee that is charged, the network fees, and the amount that you will get.

For crypto-crypto swap there are two options:-

• Floating Rate
• Fixed Rate

Floating Rate is basically dynamic in nature. As the price of crypto changes every second, at the time of the actual exchange(when you finally receive the crypto in your wallet) it could vary slightly(positive or negative) than what is displayed on the screen at the time of initiating the exchange. The window of a floating rate exchange remains valid for 36 hours if you have initiated a floating rate swap in Changelly.

Fixed Rate is fixed for a set window(15 mins in Changelly), as you will get the exact amount that is displayed at the time of initiating the exchange. And you need to send the desired input amount within a set window(15 mins), to make the exchange and the exchange rate valid.

In Changelly, the fixed-rate exchange is relatively costly as compared to floating rate exchange, not cost-effective, so it is better to go with a floating rate exchange. However, during high volatility, the fixed-rate exchange may be a cost-effective exchange option.

The minimum amount of crypto that you can swap will be displayed when you choose a particular pair. At the moment it is 29 USD worth crypto. However, it is very dynamic in nature.

The number of listed coins in Changelly is more than 150 and this list is updated from time to time, based on the market demand.

How it works

When you chose crypto-crypto swap, the trading algorithm of Changelly will track the major exchange platform rates(Binance, Bittrex, Poloniex), then it will suggest the best available rate in the swap. The platform will then apply the exchange fees, network fees, and show you the estimated exchange value.

Then the user needs to send the input, wait for network confirmations, finally, the funds are delivered to the recipient wallet. The entire process takes 5-30 mins on average. For highly scalable Blockchain it happens quickly. The 24-hour statistics show that the average processing time is 10.9 minutes.

How do I make an "Exchange, Buy or Sell" in Changelly

Before getting started, it is always better to sign up. So click on "Sign up". Enter your Email address and then click on Continue to exchange. You can also sign up with your Gmail, Facebook, or Twitter account.

Crypto-crypto Exchange

• Click on Exchange.
• Select either Floating Rate or Fixed Rate. The default setting is always Floating rate.
• Select the currency pair.
• Enter the input amount to know the estimated output.
• Click on Exchange Now.
• Enter the Recipient Address(wallet Address of the output currency), then click on "Next Step".
• At this stage, you will get to know what is the estimated amount that you will get, what is the exchange fees and what is the network fees. Click on "Confirm & Make Payment".
• Now you need to send the input amount to the designated address that is displayed. This exchange is valid for 36 hrs(if floating rate exchange), if fixed-rate exchange then it is valid for 15 mins only. You will also get to know the transaction ID at this stage to trace a transaction.

For example, https://changelly.com/transaction/bvc3f5rq39xuzcom. The transaction ID is- bvc3f5rq39xuzcom

Once you send the input, it will verify and confirm the transaction on-chain, then the output will be delivered to the recipient address. The status of the trade will be displayed on the page in real-time.

Buy crypto with fiat

• Go to Changelley.com, click on Buy. Alternatively, go to- https://changelly.com/buy
• Select what and how much you want to spend(e.g. 50 USD, 50 EUR, 50 GBP, etc).
• Select which coin you want to buy (from the drop-down menu of supported coins).
• Select the Country of Residence.
• Select the Payment Method(Visa, Master Card, Apple Pay, Bank Transfer)

• Then it will display the list of offers that are available, with the best one placed at the top. Select the one that you wish to go with(Click on Buy Now).
• Enter the wallet address, click on "Go to Payment".
• Then it will be redirected to the web page of the payment partner. You need to enter the Email address, Mobile Number, agree to the T&C, then click on Confirm.

The Payment Partner will send the OTP to your mobile number and will ask for additional personal information including ID details and you need to pass the KYC to be able to buy crypto with fiat.

Sell crypto for fiat

• Go to Changelley.com, click on Sell. Alternatively, go to- https://changelly.com/sell
• Select how much BTC you want to sell(minimum is 0.002 BTC), it will automatically display the fiat value.
• Enter the Phone Number, Agree to their Terms of Service.
• Click on Sell BTC.

Please note that it will verify your mobile number, ask for additional personal details including ID proof, and a selfie holding the ID proof to process your payment.

Pros & Cons of Changelly

Pros

• Intuitive User interface, an average internet user can find it very easy to trade with.
• Excellent customer service, 24x7 live chat support gives extra confidence to the new users and traders to get their issues addressed in real-time.
• The exchange fee is competitive, only 0.25%.
• Supports a wide selection of crypto assets, 150+ supported coins.
• It offers both floating rate & fixed-rate exchange.
• The average processing time is only 10.9 minutes.
• All the three facilities(crypto-crypto swap, buying crypto with fiat, selling crypto for fiat) are available in one place.
• It is transparent in its fees, everything is displayed(exchange fees, network fees, estimated exchange value) before you send your crypto.

Cons

• Even though the exchange rate is competitive(0.25%), they charge high network fees, not the actual network fees of a blockchain, therefore for the small amounts, the net exchange rate could go as high as 10% or so.
• Buying crypto with fiat and selling crypto for fiat is also quite high, more than 6%.
• Fixed-Rate exchange Rate is quite high as compared to the Floating Rate exchange.
• The minimum crypto worth to swap is 29 USD, which is not suitable for micro traders(10-20 USD range), moreover the net exchange rate would be taxing on the output value of a micro trade.

Conclusion

In the segment of instant exchange facility, Changelly definitely wins as a user-friendly interface and ease of use. However, a lot to be done in terms of the net effective exchange rate that is incurred on the trader, they should revisit their network fees schedule to remain competitive in this instant exchange domain.

That said, in the context of all the three requirements of general traders(buying crypto with card, crypto-crypto exchange, and selling crypto for fiat), it still caters to those seasoned players of the legacy financial ecosystem who happens to buy the things with cards. Even if the exchange rate(buying crypto with a card) sounds high, it is not that high in comparison to Paypal and other services.

In time, the evolution of the crypto domain is expected to bring more players(from the traditional centralized system) to this domain, and we will see a more effective and competitive exchange rate down the line.

Thank you.

Cc:-
@steemitblog
@steemcurator01
@steemcurator02

Unless otherwise stated, all the images, infographics, charts, tables, etc(if any) are my original works. Screenshots are taken from the Changelly official exchange site.

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