I’m in a position where I’m going to fund a forex trading account again. I’ve been dealing with forex for some 13 years but haven’t been live in some time, so I’m trying to wrap my head around the new process of funding an account with crypto. Researching the crypto scene has really been dreadfully confusing and honestly swamp-like, and from everything I have seen so far, ridiculously expensive. It feels like the “wild west” mentality that plagued forex years ago. All I really want to do is buy some Bitcoin (or whatever coin) send it to my broker who will use it to fund my trading account in my base USD currency.
I have an air gapped cold wallet for my personal storage of any crypto I may keep on hand. The issue is I have visited at least 8 or 10 exchanges trying to figure out the most reasonable way to purchase the bitcoin, move it to my personal wallet, and then send it to my broker. It seems the spread prices these exchanges are showing are just insane, like it’s going to cost me $150 to $200+ in spread fees to purchase $4k in bitcoin, to me that’s ridiculous. I have bitcoin on a demo chart so I see the current price, yet the bid and ask prices on these exchanges are way out of line. I have opened accounts with bitFlyer and Uphold so far, to try and get a look at the inner workings, though I have not funded either account yet. I’ve also looked at all the major players. There’s a growing dislike for Coinbase even though they are by far the most commonly used, with most explanations or tutorials using them as the example. I’m not really interested in a “trading” platform, if I decide to actually trade crypto I’ll do it with my broker, I just need a simple exchange where I can buy bitcoin from my bank account with USD.
This is really frustrating, for a concept whose purpose, I thought, was suppose to be to avoid the fees and restraints imposed by the banks. Apart from interest on a loan, I have never seen fees or costs at this level when dealing with a bank, so I’m left wondering what I’m doing wrong.
If you folks could steer me in the right direction, or either confirm that this is what it costs to buy and move crypto, I would surely appreciate it, I’m really at a roadblock trying to choose an exchange that’s not going to beat me over the head with fees, time delays, and other costs that erase 20 to 40% of your money.
There are many ways to purchase cryptocurrency. A simple google search can help with this. Spreads should not be an issue for most, reputable exchanges. You do not even need to use an exchange, actually. Some options allow you to buy directly with a credit/debit card, ACH transfer, wire transfer and/or even cash. You may incur fees, depending on which route you choose, some being higher than others. Your choice will likely depend on your needs and/or what is important for you (e.g. amount of crypto needed, turnaround times, fees, customer service, anonymity, security et al.).
Here are some relevant posts…some of which may be outdated by now:
Generally speaking, the autonomous nature of cryptocurrency /does/ allow for anonymity, speedy and cost-effective transfer. However, there are many factors that contribute to the excessive fees, regulation, lack of privacy and overall, inconvenient hurdles that are currently in place for procuring and transferring it. As cryptocurrency becomes more mainstream, some of these issues may become faded memories, but that will likely take some time. Meanwhile, excessive regulation will ultimately deter progress in that regard.
As an example, you can purchase cryptocurrency via peer-to-peer transactions using sites like localbitcoins, where you may even be able to pay someone with cash. Unfortunately, however, you may pay a much higher fee for that privacy and convenience because crypto is not widely used yet, and people know that options are still, currently limited. Sites like Coinbase and others are operating a business, and like banks, they will slap you with fees for anything that they can think of.
Thank you for the reply, I really have been doing the legwork on youtube and in all the forums and such for months. It seems most available information is merely a vailed attempt to get you to click an affiliate link, in other words their business model is talk up whatever they are affiliated with, I’m no stranger to that, especially coming from a forex background, and don’t begrudge anybody’s decision to market in those tactics, but it still just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The problem I think is that the arena is just so saturated with sales people, affiliates, and opinion, that it makes it hard to find the facts and truth of the matter. In the words of a wise man, This is like deja’ vu all over again… Thank again.
Looks like you are already know how to go about it and for the fees
4k with fees…
Coinbase 58.72
Coinbase pro 20
Cash app. 40.34
Coinbase for new account , they will probably withhold your fund for sometimes at first. When you do a lot of translations later, they will decrease the holding period. For me personally, at first I got hold for more than 2 weeks, as time goes on as I have done a lot of transactions now they don’t place holding period on me. You probably know this already, Coinbase and Coinbase pro are linked so you can move funds in between for free and instant. Make sure 200 transactions and 20k are under in a calendar year to avoid any triggers in their system for all the register exchanges . It’s basically up to you though just thought you should know for down the road
Cash app as I can tell, they have no holding period if you linked with debit card.
If you have gotten over the fees, next one would be crypto price fluctuation and volatility and we can’t escape it. We can avoid it by doing stable coins transactions if possible, but unfortunately not all brokers have that option. Coinexx has that option while eaglefx, cryptorocket… do not
We were all in your shoe when we started out. For me I just get over the anxious and did a small transaction at first and increase it from there, and that after 20+ year trading forex out of college.
Also check my last post included few links to exchanges for beginner, kyc, no kyc , fee comparison, for offshore use vpn , crypto debit cards over bitcointalk forum. Those are for down the road. Like you I am not allowed to post links
I can only get to check out to see fees for 4k bitcoin transaction.
cash app, Coinbase pro, Coinbase in the order
Hey! I am very happy to read that more and more people are showing a desire to trade cryptocurrency. I think this is very good, because progress does not stand still. As I understand it, you used to trade Forex. In fact, trading currencies and cryptocurrencies is almost no different from each other. You just need to study the news and invest your finances on time. Read a couple of tutorials, study the information as best you can, and you’ll be ready. I recently found a site where you can find advanced cryptocurrency information - 7 Best Crypto Trading Bots for Money, Happiness & Love!. Good luck!
