With the cryptocurrencies it seems to be a bit like with electromobility: Slowly but surely we are working our way towards the middle of society. 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 an almost dramatic drop in value compared to the cryptocurrency’s peak of almost $69,000 just a few weeks earlier. But that by no means meant the end of all crypto dreams. On the contrary: none other than the experts at Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s leading US investment banking companies, believe that Bitcoin could soon compete with gold as an investment.
“Coin Update”, an online portal that has been dealing with everything to do with cryptocurrencies for several years and provides useful guides for both beginners and advanced users, has tested seven apps for the mobile purchase of Bitcoin and Co. 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, the other four apps are “Bison”, “bitpanda”, “Binance” and “coinbase”.
Cryptocurrency Apps Test Winner: “eToro”
“eToro” (etoro.com), founded in Tel Aviv in 2007, is an international broker that has been offering a crypto wallet for Android and iOS since 2018. In addition, in November 2018, Gooddollar, a research institution, was founded to investigate how blockchain technology can at least alleviate global inequality in wealth through a universal basic income. “Coin Update” also praises the “ease of entry” of the “eToro” app, because “all important deposit options are available, and users can buy real cryptocurrencies.” In addition, the fees are not excessive.
Second place goes to “Plus500” (plus500.com), which is also based in Israel. The unique selling point of the app is that it is not only available for iOS and Android, but also for Windows smartphones. There is also – as with eToro – a deposit guarantee for users.
The third place of the best apps for buying cryptocurrencies is taken by “Capital.com” (capital.com). The company advertises its app as having won multiple awards and accolades. “Coinupdate” points out that the company has a license from CySEC and must therefore comply with European guidelines. CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) is the financial regulator of Cyprus. When Cyprus became an EU member state in 2004, all CySEC regulations, processes and operations had to comply with the European law on the harmonization of financial markets MiFID. In addition, CySec was the first regulatory authority ever to recognize binary options as financial instruments.
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Made in Germany – the “Bison” app
The “Bison” app (bisonapp.com). This is considered “Made in Germany” because the provider is a subsidiary of Boerse Stuttgart GmbH. “Bison” thus has a license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). This seal of quality is also confirmed by the “Freie Presse”, which certifies that the app not only advertises that it is beginner-friendly, but is actually also beginner-friendly. “Bison is a crypto trading app operated by Stuttgart-based Sowa Labs GmbH, a subsidiary of Boerse Stuttgart,” the newspaper said. The coins purchased via Bison are then managed by blocknox GmbH, also a subsidiary of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.” EUWAX AG, as a trading partner, also belongs to the Stuttgart Stock Exchange. The conclusion of the “FP”: “Bison” is actually a “Made in Germany” product.
About the same as “Bison” is the app from “Bitpanda” (bitpanda.com), a crypto exchange office from Austria. According to “Coin Update”, it is characterized by “a very clear structure and a user-friendly interface”. However, the fees are higher than other apps for buying cryptocurrency.
High fees at “Coinbase”
The fees are also too expensive for “Binance” (binance.com), one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, which comes in at number six. The interface is also not particularly clear for beginners and can cause confusion when making a first purchase, according to Coinupdate, which also complains that there is only one deposit option.
The tail light is “Coinbase” (coinbase.com). This San Francisco-based cryptocurrency platform suffers from app support that is only available in English and, again, fees that are way too high by comparison. In addition, the license from BaFin and thus the regulation in Germany is missing. However, “Coinbase” should work to obtain this license.
The savings banks also want to get involved
According to research by the online portal “Finance Forward”, even the German savings banks are said to be considering entering crypto. The “Magazine for the New Financial World” cooperated with the business magazine “Capital” and found out that the German financial institutions are considering launching their own crypto wallet, a digital storage location for crypto currencies.
Should this actually happen, the savings banks of all people, generally more traditionally oriented, could help Bitcoin to break through on the German financial market. “The enormous flywheel the savings banks know how to set in motion was shown when they were the only local financial institution to date to link the Girocard to Apple Pay in August last year,” according to “Finance Forward”. Back then, more than 500,000 users activated the function within just a few days, and just a few weeks later Apple proudly reported that 1.5 million Sparkasse customers were already using Apple Pay. However: If things are similar in the future when it comes to cryptocurrencies, then for many of these customers dealing with Bitcoin, Ethereum or Binance Coin would probably be the first thing to do terra incognita.