Changelly

Overview and History

Changelly is a non-custodial and instant cryptocurrency exchange. Non-custodial means that unlike most crypto exchanges, Changelly does not hold your funds for you when you buy a coin. You will have to input your own wallet address and store the funds on your own wallet. Instant means that they have simplified the interface and made it easy to use for beginners. You won’t see any charts or candlesticks here. Changelly acts as an intermediary between crypto exchanges and users. So you are buying from their partner exchanges at the best rate possible through Changelly’s simplified user interface. They offer more than 150 cryptocurrencies right from their own platform.

Changelly was founded in 2015 by Eric Benz (CEO) who has over 10 years of experience working with financial technology products and has been in the Blockchain space since 2012. The company mission is making the exchange process effortless for everyone who wants to invest in cryptocurrency.

It has partnered with several top blockchain related companies like Jaxx, Coinmarketcap, Binance, Coinomi, MyEtherWallet, Exodus, Edge,Trezor and Ledger to name a few.

Supported Countries

Although it’s a platform based in Prague, its service stretches across the globe, including the USA, Canada, Australia and the Middle East. Changelly can be used from any country and supports the following fiat currencies: USD,GBP and EUR.

However, for the United States, the following states are not supported at all: Georgia (GA), New Mexico (NM), Hawaii (HI), Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), Vermont (VT), Florida (FL), Alabama (AL). New York (NY) and Connecticut (CT) are currently supported only for the purchase of BTC.

Fiat withdrawals in EURO are limited to the following countries:

• Austria
• Italy
• Belgium
• Latvia
• Bulgaria
• Lithuania
• Croatia
• Luxembourg
• Cyprus
• Malta
• Czechia
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Poland
• Estonia
• Portugal
• Finland
• Romania
• France
• Slovakia
• Germany
• Slovenia
• Greece
• Spain
• Hungary
• Sweden
• Ireland
• Liechtenstein
• United Kingdom
• Norway
• Israel

Changelly Exchange Interface

Upon landing into the website you’ll see a simple and beginner friendly user interface designed to look clean and straightforward. Prices are updated in real time. Located at the right side of the page are 3 options: Exchange, Buy and Sell.

Exchange

This option allows you to exchange and trade cryptocurrencies. Choose the cryptocurrency you’d like to swap for as well as the cryptocurrency you’d like to pay with. Fill in the fields as well as the wallet address of the cryptocurrency you’re buying. After that, Changelly will send you an address where you will send your payments.

One thing that worries most people is the fluctuation of rates in between a transaction opening and it closing. Changelly offers a lock the rate feature. Normally, Changelly refreshes every 30 seconds. By clicking on the lock icon, it will activate the “fix rate” feature and guarantee the rate displayed on the screen. As soon as the transaction is created, you have 15 minutes to send the money and close the transaction.

Trade

Changelly’s fiat buying and selling option is also very intuitive and easy to use. Just enter the amount of USD, EUR or GBP you’d like to spend and on which currency.

After inputting how much Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency you’d like to buy, you will be redirected to the Simplex website to process your credit card transaction. Gone are the days of buying Bitcoin through Craigslist. Buying Bitcoin, or any cryptocurrency for that matter, is as easy as shopping on Amazon.

Fees

Changelly charges a fixed 0.25% service fee on all exchange transactions. This is at par with the rates of most exchanges which makes this relatively cheap given the service they are providing.

For fiat transactions, Changelly charges a 5% fee on top of the payment merchant’s 5% processing fee. Users are able to purchase using their MasterCard or Visa (either a debit or credit card) from any country as long as they use USD, GBP and EUR which comes with a 5% commission (which is currently one of the lowest for crypto-to-fiat transactions on the market) or a flat fee of $10.
It is also important to take note that there are limitations for each country. For example, USA, Canada and Australia are limited to $59 for their first transaction, only after 4 days can these residents purchase $100 and only after 7 days can they purchase $500. Moreover, CIS residents are limited to $200 for their first transaction, $2000 after 24 hours and reach up to $10,000 for the first month. Lastly, users from the EU and the rest of the world are limited to $100 for their first, $200 after 4 days and $500 7 days after the first transaction.
Aside from limitations per country, there are also limitations for fiat payment merchant partners:

MoonPay

• List of supported countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
• Monthly limit is 150€ / Daily limit (24-hour period since purchasing) is 2,000 $/€/£ and the monthly limit (31-day period since purchasing) is 20,000 $/€/£.
• Changelly and Moonpay charge a total fee of 7.5%.

IndaCoin

• UK, Canada, and Australia – $200 limit for the first transaction, the next purchase could be made in 4 days (500$ limit), $3000 after 7 days of the first buy. No more than 3 payments within the first week. No limits in one month at all.
• CIS region (Russia/Ukraine/Belarus/Kazakhstan/Armenia/Georgia) – $1000 limit for the first transaction. The next limit increase could be done in 24 hours. The total limit for the first week is $3000 and for the first month is $10000. No limits in one month at all.
• EU and other countries – $500 limit for the first transaction, the next purchase could be made in 4 days with a 1000$ limit. No more than 6 payments within the first week. No limits in one month at all.
• Changelly and Indacoin charge a total fee of 10%.

Simplex

• If a user is from the United States, the following states are not supported at all: Georgia (GA), New Mexico (NM), Hawaii (HI), Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), Vermont (VT), Florida (FL), Alabama (AL).New York (NY) and Connecticut (CT) are currently supported only for the purchase of BTC.
• The daily limit is 20,000 USD and the monthly limit is 50,000 USD.
• Please note that the daily and monthly limits include all fees. Please also note that the daily limit is calculated not as a calendar day, from 00:00 till 23:59, but as a 24-hour period since purchasing.
• The daily limit is counted not as a calendar day, from 00:00 till 23:59, but as a 24-hour period since purchasing.The monthly limit is counted as a 31-day period since purchasing, and not as a calendar month.

Wallet

Changelly does not offer wallet services as it is a non-custodial exchange. However, it has partnered and recommends different third party wallet apps such as Exodus, MyEtherwallet and Jaxx.

Mobile App

Changelly is also available on both iOS and Android. The interface on their mobile app strongly resembles the user experience on their website. It’s intuitive, uncluttered and easy to use.

KYC

Changelly offers different KYC levels. The more KYC info you provide, the higher your limits will be.

For the Basic KYC you must provide the following ID documents:

• Passport
• ID card (Israel only)
• Driver’s license (Israel only)

For the Advanced KYC procedure, you’ll need to go through a face to face recognition call, provide an additional ID and sign an additional document that will be provided during the procedure. This procedure will be required in case the size of your transaction exceeds 10,000 EUR in 48 hours or if all your transactions in total exceed 50,000 EUR. After the Advanced KYC procedure is passed, there will be no limits for your future transactions.

Changelly Customer Support

Since they are targeting mostly new users, they have made customer support one of their top priorities. Changelly users are given different options to help solve their problems and issues. They offer comprehensive support FAQs. They have a 24/7 helpdesk button to access the Knowledge base as well as send support tickets and chat with their staff.

Operation Security

Unlike normal crypto exchanges, the fact that Changelly is a non-custodial exchange means that you do not have any stored funds with them. The security of your Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies that you buy will be based on your wallet’s security.

Conclusion

It is clear that the strength of Changelly is its straightforward and user friendly platforms. It knows its target market and has developed a product that’s tailored for them. Changelly has been successful in consistently delivering a seamless experience from the interface,transaction requirements up to the coin selections. At present, Changelly has attracted over a million visitors monthly through its high limits, fast transactions and 24/7 live support.

Changelly is also very aggressive on its marketing side. They have partnered with multiple top tier crypto exchange, wallets, and projects. The validation of other projects’ support shows Changelly is a reputable and easy exchange to work with.