BitTrade Review

Verification was painless but I did have to wait a day for confirmation so I could continue the buying process. In a similar approach I've now seen on a few of the simpler services, customers buying bitcoin must provide their own wallet address for the purchase to be sent to, not a problem for me however this may be a barrier for newcomers.

With my own bitcoin wallet provided I was directed to POLi pay to submit my online banking information and had confirmed the order within a few clicks. Actually receiving my bitcoin took considerable longer. I was advised that my order was slow because it was my first purchase and would have to wait until the payment had reached BitTrade's account. Not great if your looking for a one off buy to find out what bitcoin is all about. For my first experience it took a further two days from placing the buy order for the bitcoin to show up in my wallet.

Busy homepages are instantly off-putting for me, and in terms of user experience BitTrade's ticker stream of prices and news does not give a great first impression. Despite the somewhat overly complicated style of the website I did find the actual buy process to be fairly simple, in part due to the single payment method available yet also the step by step interface that does a good job in walking you through things. The four step order process keeps things as clear as possible. Using POLI pay as the sole method of payment is limiting, but it is a straightforward and reliable way to send money and buy bitcoin.

Considering that BitTrade requires new users to create an account I was expecting to be provided with a wallet address and was disappointing to find this feature missing.

Much of the security responsibility is left with the individual user as you are required to provide your own bitcoin wallet. It results in a straightforward service, but for beginners it may be confronting to have to manage your own bitcoin storage.

I noticed that both an address and phone number are listed throughout BitTrade's site, not a common feature of bitcoin services. It is reassuring to see and presents a company taking customer service and accountability seriously. BitTrade also offer one of the best tutorial sections I have seen, comprehensive and clear in providing useful information for anyone interested in bitcoin.

Once you get past the overwhelming homepage, BitTrade presents a clean method of purchasing bitcoin via POLi pay providing you come prepared with your own wallet. The site lacks many features and payment options which other services can offer but for a clear, linear buying experience the site does a great job and I would not hesitate to use it again.

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