Swissquote offers trading in a small but diverse selection of cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, the coins that can be traded are the usual suspects: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash, along with seven recently added tokens: Chainlink, Ethereum Classic, EOS, Stellar, Tezos, Augur and 0x. Our Swissquote review found this to be an interesting selection, as it allows users to trade on coins that have large potential for growth, as well as those that offer comparative stability.
When it comes to transferring crypto in and out of your account, Swissquote supports only Bitcoin and Ethereum. This is somewhat restrictive when compared with many dedicated cryptocurrency brokers and is less than ideal for traders who prefer to fund their accounts with other coins. However, Swissquote recently expanded its trading service to include more cryptos, so there is some speculation the Swissquote will review its options for depositing and withdrawing in the near future and the firm itself has pledged to expand its support in future updates.
Our Swissquote review noted that the platform offers a relatively competitive fee structure, especially thanks to its three tier system, which accommodates accounts of different sizes. Of course, this structure and the amount of other commodities on offer means Swissquote’s fee structure is somewhat extensive, but for the purpose of this Swissquote review, we have focused exclusively on crypto trading fees for European accounts.
When it comes to depositing, bank transfers into Swissquote accounts are free. However, there are transaction fees of between 1.7 and 2% for credit card transactions, depending on the provider. There are no fees for cryptocurrency deposits over the value of $500, however there is a flat fee of $10 for deposits under such value, as well as for withdrawals.
For trading, fees are given according to their value in Swiss Francs. Cryptocurrency transactions equivalent to between 5 – 10,000CHF incur a 1% charge. From 10,001 – 50,000CHF the fee is 0.75% and it drops to 0.5% for anything over 50,000CHF.
The Swissquote trading platform is backed by an investment bank of the same name and has three different kinds of accounts available. Whilst this is great for traders looking for versatility, it does make the issue of jurisdictions and limits slightly more complex, as not every account type is available in every domain.
In general though, Swissquote is available in over 120 countries, including all European countries and several others, including Australia, and Hong Kong. This makes the platform ideally suited to those who travel a lot or have business interests overseas – especially as the platform supports a huge range of fiat currencies.
However, some Swissquote account types are not permitted in the following countries: United States, Canada, Belgium, Algeria, France, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Japan, North Korea, Nigeria, Luxembourg, Morocco, Malta, Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Zimbabwe. Therefore, if you are operating from one of these jurisdictions you should check with the provider directly to see what options you have.
For this part of our Swissquote review, we will look at how to actually open an account with the platform and start making trades.
Register
First thing’s first, you will need to register an account. This is a slightly more comprehensive procedure than with many platforms, due to Swissquote being subject to numerous regulatory bodies. Initially, you will fill out the usual personal details, including name, date of birth and nationality. You also have to provide your legal address, which is something not all platforms request. Once this stage has been completed, you will then need to complete a thorough verification process, which includes both proof of address and proof of ID. There are several options for completing this process, including video conferencing, document upload and traditional post.
Deposit funds
Once you have opened an account, you will then be able to make a deposit. This can be done via the deposit interface and is simply a case of choosing the deposit method – either bank transfer, credit card or via your crypto wallet – then following the instructions on screen. Deposit times will vary according to the method you use.
Start trading
When it comes to trading, the exact options and layout will depend on which trading platform you opt for. Given that the Metatrader platforms are used in numerous other exchanges, our Swissquote review looked at the in-house platform in more depth. The trading screen is comprehensive and very intuitive. Novice users can also remove several widgets and only display those which are relevant. Crypto trading options displayed on the screen have a “Trade” button next to them, which will take you to a form where you choose whether to buy or sell and place any stop orders. You can also right-click on an asset to open the order window.
Users will see options across the top of the screen which give them access to their account summary, open orders and order history, as well as Swissquote’s extensive range of information and education sources. This is another plus point for our Swissquote review, especially for those who are using Swissquote for crypto but require further information before making transactions.
Making withdrawals from the platform is also easily done via the account management page. Simply click on the withdraw button and follow the relevant instructions. Users should be aware that, at the time of writing, the only cryptocurrencies that can be withdrawn from Swissquote are bitcoin and Ethereum.
