February 8, 2022, 11:02 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Cryptocurrencies seem to be a bit like electric mobility: Slowly but surely, they are making their way into the mainstream. We show you which apps make it easier to get started.
When Bitcoin’s price fell to just under $43,000 at the end of last year, it was a dramatic loss compared to the cryptocurrency’s peak of nearly $69,000 just weeks earlier. However, this did not spell the end of all crypto dreams. On the contrary, none other than the experts at Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s leading U.S. investment banking firms, believe that Bitcoin could soon rival gold as an investment.
“Coin Update,” an online portal that has been dealing with everything related to cryptocurrencies for several years and provides useful guides for both beginners and advanced users, has tested seven apps for mobile purchasing of Bitcoin and others. All are available for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. The test winner is “eToro,” followed by “Plus+500” and “Capital.com” in second and third place, respectively. The other four apps are “Bison,” “bitpanda,” “Binance,” and “coinbase.”
Top App for Cryptocurrencies: “eToro”
“eToro” (etoro.com), founded in 2007 in Tel Aviv, is an international broker that has offered a crypto wallet for Android and iOS since 2018. In November 2018, it also established “Gooddollar,” a research institution aimed at exploring how blockchain technology can alleviate global wealth inequality through a universal basic income. “Coin Update” praises the “user-friendliness” of the “eToro” app, noting that “all important deposit options are available, and users can purchase real cryptocurrencies.” Additionally, the fees are not excessive.
Second place goes to “Plus500” (plus500.com), which is also based in Israel. A unique feature of the app is that it is available not only for iOS and Android but also for Windows smartphones. Additionally, like eToro, it offers deposit protection for users.
In third place among the best apps for buying cryptocurrencies is “Capital.com” (capital.com). The company promotes its app by highlighting several awards and accolades it has received. “Coinupdate” points out that the company holds a CySEC license and thus must comply with European regulations. CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) is Cyprus’s financial regulatory authority. When Cyprus became an EU member state in 2004, all CySEC regulations, processes, and operations had to align with the European law for harmonizing financial markets, MiFID. Additionally, CySEC was the first regulatory authority to recognize binary options as financial instruments.
Read more: Earn Bitcoin while browsing – are crypto browsers worth it?
Made in Germany – the “Bison” App
Ranked fourth by “Coin Update” is the “Bison” app (bisonapp.com). It is considered “Made in Germany” because the provider is a subsidiary of Börse Stuttgart GmbH. “Bison” holds a license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). This seal of approval is confirmed by the “Freie Presse,” which attests that the app not only advertises beginner-friendliness but is genuinely beginner-friendly. “Bison is a crypto trading app operated by Sowa Labs GmbH, a subsidiary of Börse Stuttgart,” the paper states. Coins purchased through Bison are managed by blocknox GmbH, also a subsidiary of Börse Stuttgart. EUWAX AG, a trading partner, is part of Börse Stuttgart as well. The “FP” concludes: “Bison is indeed a ‘Made in Germany’ product.”
About equal with “Bison” is the app from “Bitpanda” (bitpanda.com), a crypto exchange from Austria. According to “Coin Update,” it features “a very clear structure and a user-friendly interface.” However, the fees are higher than those of other apps for purchasing cryptocurrency.
High Fees at “Coinbase”
The fees are also too high at “Binance” (binance.com), one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, which ranks sixth. Additionally, the interface is not particularly user-friendly for beginners and can cause confusion during the first purchase, according to “Coinupdate,” which also criticizes the fact that there is only one deposit option.
The last place goes to “Coinbase” (coinbase.com). This cryptocurrency platform based in San Francisco suffers from the fact that app support is only available in English, and the fees are also much too high in comparison. Additionally, it lacks a BaFin license and thus regulation in Germany. However, “Coinbase” is reportedly working to obtain this license.
Trading Bitcoin and More – An Overview of the Best Crypto Exchanges
Cryptocurrencies: What’s the Deal with Digital Money?
Even the Savings Banks Want to Join In
According to research by the online portal “Finance Forward,” even German savings banks are considering entering the crypto market. The “magazine for the new financial world” has collaborated with the business magazine “Capital” and discovered that German financial institutions are contemplating the launch of an in-house crypto wallet, a digital storage place for cryptocurrencies.
If this actually happens, the savings banks, generally more traditionally oriented, could help Bitcoin break through in the German financial market. “The enormous momentum the savings banks can generate was evident when they linked the Girocard with Apple Pay in August last year, as the only local financial institution to do so,” according to “Finance Forward.” Within just a few days, more than 500,000 users had activated the function, and a few weeks later, Apple proudly reported that 1.5 million savings bank customers were already using Apple Pay. However, if the same happens with cryptocurrencies in the future, many of these customers might initially find dealing with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Binance Coin to be Terra incognita.